This past weekend Kath and I went down to Georgia to visit some family and see some old friends. As I mentioned in my previous post, I was kind of not looking forward to this trip. Georgia for me isn't "home." It's the place I escaped so that I could start my real life. Going back, even to visit family or friends, seemed unnecessary. Plus add on to that the fact that Georgia is a red state and I'm a transgender woman and well, you could probably see why I wouldn't be too keen on visiting.
But, Kath had never met my sister and her family. Kath was particularly excited to meet my sister's kid, our little nibbling (the gender neutral word for your sibling's kid) for the first time. Plus Kath had never been to Augusta despite having heard about in the town in great detail. As my novel American Transgirl takes place partly in Augusta, she wanted a tour of the book's locations and of all the places I had mentioned. It was where I grew up, so she wanted to see this town, even if I did describe it as a soulless hellhole of endless strip malls.
Our plan was to spend a couple days in Atlanta with my mom and her husband. Some Atlanta friends offered to take us out and show us the town. I've been to Atlanta a thousand times for flights, NBA games, or concerts, but had never really seen any part of the city. After that we'd spend a couple days in Augusta to see more friends and also my sister's family. There were multiple people to meet up with and hang out with each day. What can we say? We're popular. Well, maybe we were just in short supply.
Our first night out a local friend took us to Ponce City Market. It's an old factory that's been converted into a fancy, upscale hangout with shops, restaurants, and bars. Okay, it's a mall. But it's a mall for young people so there's good food and plenty of booze, plus you can walk around with drinks inside. We figured we would get food there, then find drinks and hang out with some friends.
Okay, the Southern United States has many, many, many glaring flaws. But their food is amazing. The four food groups down there are fried, glazed, pork, and macaroni and cheese. Ponce City Market had a lot of interesting food choices, so we grabbed some craft beer from the stall that had like a hundred things on tap, and took a look around. We decided to go with the seafood po'boy place. The food was super good. Despite it being 30F in New York, it got up to a balmy 70F so we were able to eat outside.
At first I was fairly nervous being out in Atlanta. It was a city I'd never really explored and while we were hanging out in a hipster place, you never know when a random transphobe or homophobe or just an asshole in general will decide to be a general asshole. Plus I also wonder if I'll pass or if I'll stand out. I might have gotten a couple odd looks, but if anyone clocked me they weren't rude about it or anything. For the most part people just ignored me as they would anyone else. All the people that I interacted with used the correct pronouns. My friends and all got plenty of ladies' so that was good.
Attached to the market buildings is a park that's reminiscent of the Highline here in NYC. It's called the BeltLine and it's a re purposed railroad that's now become a walking trail and park. We found a spot and spent the next couple of hours hanging out under a random streetlight talking and drinking. And also taking pictures.
It was funny because Kath said that this was the first time she really understood how I spent high school. I had told her stories of having nothing to do but hang out with your friends in a parking lot, hoping that maybe someone had managed to snag something alcoholic. The only difference was that we weren't endlessly smoking cigarettes.
My friend is not only a fabulously stylish, she's also an amazing pastry chef. She's trying to start her own cafe. She's raising money by selling totes full of delicious homemade treats. Be sure and check it out.
Heck, after the evening was over we even went home to my mom's house. So, it was kind of a lot like high school. Only we were old enough to drink. Either way it was a great time out and I must admit that I actually want to go back to Atlanta now.
My mom does not live in Atlanta. She actually lives "just outside Atlanta." For those not from Georgia, "just outside Atlanta" is a region that extends from the borders of the city of Atlanta all the way out to most of state, and to well, Alabama and Florida practically. If your small rural town is at least an hour and a half from Atlanta you get to go ahead and tell people that you're from the greater Atlanta area. That's how it works. So my mom and her husband actually live in a tiny rural town in a red state. Fun!
Yes, they had an NRA mug. My mom's husband actually has a bunch of guns and his own YouTube channel where you can watch him shoot them. No, I will not link it. But, they're not all bad politically. At least they're anti-Trump and plus they go to PFLAG meetings. So that's good. Sure, I had to share the backseat with a gun, but they've been super supportive during my transition, so I can't complain.
Plus the conversation only ended up in politics once. Deeply hungover from my Ponce City Market adventure, I needed food the next morning, preferably greasy fast food. We had to run to the drug store anyway and there was a Chick-fil-A next door. Yes, they're an awful company, but my hangover convinced me to get a sandwich anyway. Oh my gosh it was amazing. And I felt so much better. Evil only got $7, so that's not too bad.
But, when remarking on my dalliance with darkness, I mentioned that I would never under any circumstances set foot in a Hobby Lobby. Yes, I mentioned Hobby Lobby and that began a short, conversation on why precisely people should have to pay for other people's birth control. That it benefits society as a whole didn't seem a compelling argument and so we thankfully changed the subject. It was my own fault. Ah well.
My mom's husband is actually a bit of a foodie. So he made us mai tai drinks with actual pineapple cups. That was pretty fancy. Actually their whole kitchen was pretty fancy. Suburban kitchens have so much space! They also made ribs and pulled pork for us and it was heavenly.
Speaking of food, Kathleen got to sample the uniquely Southern delicacy that is Waffle House. While it was long my favorite spot for late night meals, Kath had never been to one before. So, I introduced her to the glory that is hashbrowns scattered and covered. She said it was okay.
A bit of this trip was spent in rural Georgia, including our drive between Atlanta and Augusta. This was where I really got nervous about dealing with transphobia. Hipster Atlanta is one thing. Anderson Acres is another thing all together. We made a handful of stops at a couple different gas stations and at a truck stop. Thankfully no one seemed to notice anything off about me at all. Even down in rural Peach Country they gave me "ma'ams." So that was seriously nice. Either I pass, or even country people are just nicer than I'm giving them credit for. We made it down to Augusta in one piece.
Our first stop in Augusta was actually dinner out with my sister, her husband, and some high school friends of mine. One of my friends had already met Faith and so I knew that would be cool. Another though made me kind of nervous. My best friend in high school was a guy and I'm always more nervous coming out to guys. Guess I've just always been more comfortable with women. He and I drifted apart in college and I hadn't seen him in almost twenty years. But, thankfully it was all good. No one mentioned my transition, though I bet they were dying to ask questions. Honestly I wouldn't mind questions as long as they were reasonably appropriate. Ah well.
Kath got to try pimento cheese for the first time. It's a Southern food that consists of cheddar cheese, mayonnaise and pimentos. My friend was absolutely adamant that Kath try it. Now, truth be told I've never eaten pimento cheese either. But, I kept my mouth shut. I can eat cheddar when I want cheese. No need to add mayonnaise to anything.
After dinner, we went back to my sister's place where we hung out on the porch with some beers. It was a wonderful way to spend the evening. I think it got both Kath and I rather jealous. New York City is amazing, but a porch to hang out on is really nice too. Despite my earlier nervousness, I ended up having a great time with everyone and it wasn't the least bit awkward or anything.
And I officially confirmed my suspicion that I now look a lot like my sister. This was our first time hanging out as sisters, and it was our first time meeting our little nibbling. They were a bundle of fun energy and as I was the new aunt, they would not leave me alone. Yes, it was definitely fun getting to play and be imaginative with them but after about ten minutes I ran out of gas and had to have some time with the grown ups.
For lunch though, we went to the nibbling's favorite restaurant. It was actually one of my favorites from back in the day. Nacho Mamma's is a standard burrito joint, but when I lived in Augusta it was one of the only places downtown.
Downtown Augusta was our hang out back in the day. At one point it was a bustling downtown but White Flight hit it pretty hard back in the Sixties and Seventies. By the time I moved to Augusta in 1991, the entire downtown area was deserted. Anyone who could afford it had moved out to the suburbs, to the endless sprawl of strip malls, chain restaurants, and subdivisions. We disaffected teens hung out in the abandoned downtown for lack of anything better to do. As my sister was quick to point out though, the downtown area had been getting developed in the years that I left. Kath even found it charming and pretty.
Because Augusta is right on the border with South Carolina, we hopped over the river so that Kath could officially mark the Palmetto State off her fifty states to visit list.
I had to admit the new parks were actually quite pretty. Though apparently infested with alligators. Unfortunately, we didn't spot any gators though my sister has seen them a few times in that area.
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