The move is just about completed.  The boxes are empty (well except for a couple).  Now it’s down to the finishing touches.  Of course, the office got set up right away, but the house still needs pictures on the walls and that sort of thing.

I went hiking for the first time in this area last Saturday, and it was great.  Dahlonega is in the foothills of the Georgia mountains.  The scenery is outstanding, and there are waterfalls all over the place.  There are few things, for me anyway, that are as relaxing as sitting on a rock listening to the roar of rushing water.

The town is small, but not backwoods.  There are lots of transplants here that came for the small town atmosphere close to the big city.  And, the tourist trade keeps the town busy with festivals, art shows, and so on.

However, I had to drive quite a ways to a grocery store yesterday, and it was rather annoying.  Evidently, people in north Georgia don’t like bread.  The local groceries don’t have real bakeries.  So, the choice becomes some variation of “wonder bread”.  White wonder bread, brown wonder bread, wonder bread with raisins… you get the idea.

So, mumbling under my breath, I headed out for the trip to a big Kroger to see if they knew anything about making bread. 

My state of mind was quickly transformed as I headed towards town.  For miles along the main road that runs through Dahlonega, the celebration for Memorial Day has started.

As I drove toward town, I started passing white crosses with American flags waving above each one.  On each cross was the name of a veteran who gave his life to protect the rest of us.  On the vertical part of the cross, the conflict each man was involved in was also printed - I spotted World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

The experience gave me a bit of a glow, and pointed out just how insigificant the search for a good loaf of bread really was.

I think I’m going to like living in a small town.