The Griswalds meet Ebay

So. For those of you who aren't up on my husband's newest obsessions.... it's playing the keyboard. Not just playing the keyboard (which he does very well), but purchasing them. Yes, them. You see, the first keyboard that he bought at the end of last year was great, but he rapidly outgrew its capabilities. The weighted keys were nice, but he needed more functions. So, he bought himself a new(er) one (while I was out of town by the way). He did sell/barter the new one, but then I caught him spending a little too much time on Craigslist.

Turns out, you simply cannot play Queen without owning a Fender-Rhodes electric piano. Well, in that case... we need one. He planned a stop in Atlanta on our way through from visiting the parents one weekend at the end of July to see it. It was a 1973 in pretty good shape, missing the legs and cover... but we loaded it up and headed home with his new(er) toy. (As we loaded it, the neighbor of the guy selling it asked, "Hey? Is that the piano that the homeless guy left??" Yes.

Not long at all after playing with his Craigslist gem, he began surfing once again. He needed some parts. Of course he needed some parts, you can't very well play a broken piano now can you? Ebay to the rescue. Very sheepishly he asks me if I would like to go on a trip the next weekend (last weekend). We could go to Tennessee... we could see "The Lost Sea" and go through Dahlonega, he said. Uh, yeah. The Lost Sea? He didn't just find parts, he bought a whole OTHER Rhodes piano. Turns out, the one that was sitting in the rapidly filling "music room" was the parts piano after all. Sure, we can go to Tennessee. Why not. I mean, he did go through all the trouble of searching desperately on the web to try to find family-fun entertainment near Athens, Tennessee.

The boys loved it. They were on a trip to "The Lost Sea". Wow! An underground lake? A glass bottom boat? A cave? Cool! Jeff and I had a mental image of pulling into the driveway of a little shack where a man sat, shirtless and overweight in a rickety lawnchair. We expected to arrive to him yelling to his wife inside, "Go see if the boat cranks, honey! We got visitors!". Along the trip we exchanged sideways glances that exchanged all of these images without a word.

Let me tell you something about Blairsville, GA. Whatever hellish highway takes you over Blood Mountain should have a serious warning label at the bottom. I've taken that road twice. The first time, last year, I cried like a baby, begging Jeff to PLEASE PULL OVER! I don't think I've ever been so nauseous. It was hideous. This time, it was dark and I had a full tummy. I wasn't very sick, but I did have this uncontrollable panicked feeling that we were going to plummet to our death. By the time we reached the top I had my feet on the dash, but arms around me knees, and I was trying to hold in my urge to scream out. I just knew we were going to go over a cliff or hit a tree. I felt like my mom on a plane (not that I've ever witnessed it, but I've heard stories).

After a night in the Days Inn in Athens, TN, we drove through miles of soybean farms and reached the piano. In its (and Jeff's) defense, it is very nice- it has all the parts and is in great shape for being 32 years old. We loaded it up and took two very anxious boys to The Lost Sea. Again, we looked at each other with grins... Jeff's a little more sheepish than mine for taking us on this expedition. The Lost Sea was more impressive than we thought, and more crowded. There were actual people there on actual vacations... they even took credit card. The cave was very impressive, not like the tight jagged caves I have been in before but huge HUGE rooms with flat floors. It was massive in there. There were some formations, but the sheer size was amazing. The lake was alright... but not that big of a deal. The boys liked riding in a boat in a cave, though. Besides the cave they also had a glass shop, some other little shops, and the worst BBQ I have ever eaten in my entire life. But, I was very happy not to see the dirty barefoot man in my head, hoping his boat would start so that he could collect a little money in a dusty Mason Jar.

On the way up there, we ate at the Smith House for lunch. They found a gold mine directly under the building last year, which the boys loved. On the way back, (which did NOT take us over Blood Mountain, by the way), we stopped back through Dahlonega and ate at The Crimson Moon Cafe. They were getting ready for the live music later that night, but we got to hear a little while we ate. It was a much better stop through than expected! We had forgotten that Dahlonega was a college town.

So, now we have 3 keyboards (2 and some parts if you ask Jeff), but a happy husband and two satisfied children... and a wife who enjoys hiding outside the door so she can hear a pretty good Black Crowes cover by the man she loves.

Plus it was a fair price to pay for a get-out-of-jail-free-card for any big purchases that may be made in the future...