Last day in Hartwell, Georgia

On this sunny Saturday, we took a drive through a town called Gumlog where I saw my first moonshine still.  Gumlog--a town with Stumpy's Gas: you can't make this stuff up.  A bit further down the road is a Barbecue joint with a sign of a pink pig: Barbecue Pork and Chicken Ribs.  Without a comma there, one can only assume that this is the only venue for chicken ribs in America!

Here's how a still works: They boil the mash in that big yellow barrel.  Then they keep it in the thumper above before sending it through the worm for distilling.  When it comes out, voila!, it's moonshine--so named because they could only do it by the light of the moon.  

Then we returned to Shirley's in Toccoa for one last soul fool meal--delicious!

The little girl with the red-bead braids that we'd seen sing in church, it turns out, is Shirley's granddaughter, McKenna.  The other girl with the elaborate braids is Cookie.  "They aren't even related by blood," Shirley tells us.  "They were babies didn't nobody want so my daughter took them on to raise.  We're trying now to get together enough money to have them adopted."

Mike told Shirley we'd enjoyed her church service and she said, "I just love praising the Lord."

James Brown, Godfather of Soul,  lived in Toccoa and his "real wife" still lives there.  He was a janitor at the school down the road and used to dance and sing with a mop and broom, no music.  

Then we drove to Demorest to see Mike's friend Debbie who is remodeling a house all on her own.  I was impressed by her ability to do everything it takes to turn a ramshackle old house into a gem: lime green and yellow with black shutters and a black metal roof.

After Demorest, we drove to Cornelia and had burgers and milk shakes in a great Fifties-style diner called Fenders.

Just now, Ginger, one of Mike's friends, brought us the most delicious cornbread I've ever tasted--thick cornbread with jalapeños and cheese and bacon.

It's been a terrific two weeks here in North Georgia at Lake Hartwell!