We arrived at the Atlanta/Northgate Elks Lodge #78 about 1:30pm.  I had spoken to Web the day before to verify there was a spot available and he said “Come on in!”  To be clear – we VERY much appreciate any Elks Lodge that allows RV parking – but this one is truly just a parking lot with a plug (which isn’t working right – more later) and water spigot to fill our fresh tank.  Don’t get me wrong – everyone has been very welcoming – its just not what I was expecting.  

We got parked with the help of long-term visitor, Rick.  He and his wife have been here a couple months while attending to some medical issues.  

Since we wouldn’t be seeing family til the next day, we headed inside the lodge for dinner.  Web introduced us to a bunch of people, and made us feel at home.  Dinner was very good, as was the company.  

We were up and out VERY early the following morning – cousin Noam (15 years old) was performing in a dance competition and we didn’t want to miss the chance to see him!  His solo was about 3 minutes long, so we weren’t there very long, but this is one of my fav parts of our lifestyle – we knew we would be coming to Atlanta – so we just planned it to coincide with his competition!  How cool is that?   He was one of 115 competing and he earned a high-gold award, which is only one down from the top award!  We are so proud of him!  

We spent the following day mostly at home, I did some cleaning and reading, and a new thing I’m trying out – coloring.  Last time we were in a Walmart, I picked up a coloring book, pencils and a sharpener.   I’ve done two so far with mixed results.  The box of pencils I got has 36 colors, I may need more if I keep this up.  

Bill had to drag out a gennie and set it up, as the GFCI in the outlet we were plugged into at the lodge keeps tripping, and it was rainy so not enough solar.  He was told they were planning to fix it, but when that will happen – we have no idea.  Thankfully – the weatherman says the sun is supposed to come back out! 

We headed out one day to DeKalb Farmers Market.  What an enormous place!  They have signs that they don’t want you taking pics inside, I have no idea why, but I snapped a few just to show you how HUGE it is!  We spent quite awhile there checking out all the items and filling out cart!  

The only negative thing was there were armed guards walking around near the check-out area.  Bill says it is probably because they except only cash or debit cards at the final check-out and the smaller inside check-outs for the “pay by the pound” buffet style eating area, tea/coffee by the cup, and eat now bakery area only accept cash.  It was just a bit unnerving.  

I went back to watch Noam again on the final award day of the Radix convention.   He received the top male award for his range!  How exciting is that?  I might mention now that he has only been taking dance for just a year and most of the others have been taking it since they were much younger.  So proud of you Noam!

 Teddy came over one afternoon to take the tour of our home.   She was definitely surprised, as a lot of non-RVers are, at the amount of room we have inside, as well as all the features (residential frig, stove/oven, shower, TV, etc) and how self-contained it is.  She now better understands why we don’t need to stay at the house.   We talked about the freedom we have and how brave she believes us to be, living our lives like this.  It’s always interesting to me to watch someone’s initial skepticism turn to full understanding and (in Teddys case) a bit of awe of the whole thing.  While we do not seek or need anyone’s (except initially our kids) acceptance or approval, we never turn it away when it comes our way.  

The time we spent with Teddy, Bruce and Noam was short but wonderful!  Bill and I love being able to pop-in for a few days to see family!  We will be seeing them again for the wedding!