A Southern Tale

Preface - to my "Southern" friends who may read this, don't take offense. You are the furthest thing from the Southerners I refer to in this tale.
The day after Christmas the Palmers and our family braved the 1 hr 45 min drive to beautiful Callaway Gardens for a look at the lights. You all have done something similar in the past (probably just not driven nearly 2 hours to do so). We arrived early and were able to get in for a look at the butterfly house. That was thoroughly enjoyable for Kate and Jackson as they were able to put their new digital cameras to use and filled up their memory cards. I'll post a few of their best shots later.
After the butterflies we set off for the main event. When we arrived, we discovered that there were 2 options for viewing the lights. You could either drive the course in the comfort of your own car or (as we were told at the entrance gate) the preferred method was to board one of the many trolleys and be wisked away through the magical wonderland. Hmmmm... Well, we weren't going to miss out on the magic so we parked our car and headed for the trolley. The Palmers were not tempted by promises of grandeur and opted for their own warmer means of transportation. I wonder, did they know something we didn't?
From afar, the setting was a tranquil scene but as we drew closer to the gates the picture came in to focus. Front and center were half-a-dozen Carnival trailers selling fried dough, brats and any other greasy food you can imagine, a bouncy slide, sling-shot ride and booths full of trinkets. Jason mused, "Are we at the state fair or a Christmas light display"? Still we pressed on to wait for a trolley. As we stood in line, Jason and I looked around and then found each other's smiling faces. One look and we knew that the other person was thinking the exact same thing- we were not in Kansas anymore if you know what I mean.
We live in Atlanta, which contrary to popular belief, it is not really the South. Atlanta is a large city comprised of mostly transplants with varied backgrounds. Callaway Gardens, in Pine Mountain Georgia, is the south though! One man's quote (please pronounce with a Southern red-neck accent) "almost lost my chaw ", there were several child beatings seen but not one set of full teeth spotted.
Nevertheless, we boarded that trolley and caroled our way through the beautiful light and music display. The kids were positively mesmerized by the production but I was mostly in awe of the man sitting directly in front of me who videotaped the entire hour long ride! What? With camcorder in hand and his head bobbing in front of which ever way I leaned with Ava, he was feverishly zooming in and out, and bouncing from side to side in the trolley capturing every light in sight. Seriously folks, is he really going to put that tape in his player and re-live the magical experience that was the 2007 lights display at Callaway Gardens?
Come one, come all for a visit - don't be shy, y'all. If you come in the summer we'll take you to Six Flags or one of a dozen other venues for a true southern experience.