Cornelia's Big Apple

So there it is. We told Madison we were going to take her to the Big Apple today. Most folks would assume that's New York, but in North Georgia, that can only mean downtown Cornelia. This is home to something else that I'll get to in moments, something I have to see to believe. But as I said, I'll get to that in a moment.

Around noon, we drove up to Clarkesville in order to sample a new restaurant that opened up there. We've been meaning to go for a while, but it's a bit of a drive and we've been somewhat busy. But today was a good day to head up there.

It's called J•Bo's Burgers & Dogs, and it's actually quite good! It's owned by some friends of friends of ours, and it's a little bit of a drive up there - but it was worth it. We met some co-workers and had a nice meal - Daddy got the Buffalo Blue Burger, Mommy got a cheeseburger and Madison got a hot dog. It was really good stuff.

Madison also got an early birthday present. It was a Minnie Mouse, and a few other items. I don't need to tell you how she feels about Minnie Mouse. In fact, as I type this out, she's sleeping soundly upstairs with Minnie alongside her.

After lunch, Mommy, Madison and Daddy went over to see the big red apple. Why? Because it's there. I mean, why not? The thing is located in front of a train depot, where you can see old cabooses and other train sections - but the train museum was closed for the day. I think. Anyway, it was a quick and slightly interesting diversion. We posed in front of the apple like tourists, and then started our drive back home.

On the way back, we stopped at Jaemore Farms. They had a giant strawberry in front of the place, which was apparently part of our theme for the day: ginormous fruit. It's either that, or places that start with the letter "J." Either way, it was a fun day: we got some fresh corn and watermelon, and Daddy got some sarsaparilla to drink! Like a good pirate, I also nursed a bottle of ginger beer on the way home. Arrr!

The one thing we didn't do is see Elvis' wart. Yes, you absolutely read that right. Apparently, there's a place in Cornelia that has Elvis' wart. Rather than write about it myself, I'll copy and paste below the description of the place found with Roadside America. Read at your own peril:

"One of the 30,000 Elvis items in Joni Mabe's Panoramic Encyclopedia of Everything Elvis on display at the Loudermilk Boarding House Museum is Elvis' wart, removed from his right wrist in 1958. The wart is kept in a jar of formaldehyde. Jonie sells t-shirts proclaming, "The King is Gone, But the Wart Lives On." She also has a toenail that possibly bleonged to Elvis, which she plucked out of a carpet on a visit to Graceland."

I just noted that this place also starts with the letter "J." I've also just noted that I probably should have entitled this blog entry "Cornelia's Big Wart." We certainly could have gone there today, but we weren't quite sure where it was. For this, I'm sure Mommy was quietly grateful. It sounds really tacky, and is probably something you'll read about on this blog some day. I mean, seriously? Elvis' wart? You have to go to something like that. The wart calls to you! It calls to all of us! Answer the wart! Supposedly, once a year they have a big Elvis festival up in Cornelia, where there are impersonators and all sorts of Elvis events. Maybe they have someone dress up as a giant wart. Anyway, during the festival would be a good time to go back to Cornelia. Great gosh almighty, you can't live this close to Elvis' wart and not go see it.

The wart lives on!