| So there was I, working away in England .... when along come this artist from South Carolina and steals my heart. Well actually it was nothing like that, after our initial contact on the ICQ network our love took time to grow and was nurtured over a year talking on the World Wide Web.
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After much careful planning I flew to Atlanta from Manchester, England and at 8 hr. 40mins it was the longest flight I have ever made. Delta Airlines made the trip very comfortable, nice food, good movies and at last we arrived on the ground again, but then I stood over an hour waiting in the Immigration queue. By the time I got through customs, all I wanted to do was to get out into the fresh air, but as I walked out into the airport terminal, there stood Mamie, camera in hand, taking snaps of me as I zigzagged my way towards her. When I finally reached her, we threw our arms around each other and had our first kiss. |  |
We walked out of the air terminal hand-in-hand, caught the bus to the car park and eventually found Mamie's car. I threw my case in the trunk and we were away....Oh no we weren't......Mamie had left her headlights on and the battery was flat. I asked the driver of one of the passing buses if he could send someone out to give us a boost. In a matter of minutes a young guy arrived and got us going. As I had started the car, I sat in the drivers seat and Mamie quickly ran round into the passenger seat ( She was supposed to be driving ).
Now I had driven before on the right hand side of the road, but in nothing like the 6 lanes of traffic that I found on the main highway heading north. It was a bit scary at first but I settled down got the hang of it pretty quickly and soon we were turning off the highway and into the Blue Mountains of Georgia. |
THE CABIN
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Our first night together was spent getting to know each other face-to-face, in the flesh as it were, for the first time. It had been a long day for both of us and we retired early, but both woke early and sat listening to country music on the TV as we talked more about each other.
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It was dusk as we arrived at the Lazy Bones Cabins, our home for the next 4 days. At the main cabin we picked up the keys and talked a while with Jeanette, the owner, before driving the few hundred yards to our cabin.
Set between pine trees the cabin had a few steps up onto the porch which had a hot tub.
The air conditioned cabin had a living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. |  |
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After plenty of coffee and a bite to eat, we set off on a trip through the Blue Mountains to Hiawasee and on the way stopped in a diner called "Shonee's" for my first American burger. It was one of the best burgers I have tasted and the salad bar was great with lots of stuff I hadn't seen before. Then next few days were spent travelling about the Blue Mountain area of Georgia, visiting places like Delonega, Cleveland ( Home of the Cabbage Patch Kids ), Helen ( The Bavarian Village ) and Talllulah Gorge with it's magnificent views of the falls.
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On the Wednesday morning we set off for Greenville, South Carolina and Mamie's house. Arriving about 1.30pm, I was introduced to Dorito & Chacha ( Mamie's chihuahuas ) who took to me like an old friend, much to Mamie's amazement. We had not been in the house long when Mamie's son Donovan arrived. We had talked on the 'net' before, so it was like meeting an old friend. It was my birthday and I knew there was to be a party for me later and Donovan set off to pick up his brother Shawn who was flying in from Baton Rouge, Louisianna. They arived at the house and I met Shawn for the first time.
 
Two young friends of Mamie's, Shonda and Jennifer came later that evening and we 'partied' til about 12.00pm. Mamie had had a birthday cake made for me and I tasted my first 'cannoli', which I have been looking for, without much luck, ever since.
The rest of my stay was spent with Mamie just hanging out in the house and doing a little bit of shopping.
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The last day of my stay was spent with Mamie and neither of us wanting to be parted, but eventually the time came when we had to set off for the aiport in Atlanta. Shawn was going back to Baton Rouge and drove the 4 of us ( Mamie, Shawn, Donovan and Me ) in Mamie's car to Georgia.
We arrived at the airport slightly late and it was a rush to get to the departure gate on time. A swift hug, a lingering kiss and I was on the plane. As the plane moved away from the terminal building and I could see Mamie still there, and a tear came to my eye.... I didn't want to be flying home...I wanted to be with her...
Mamie and America ....had been more than all my dreams come true, rolled into one and I couldn't wait until we were in each others arms again.
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