2016 RT Day 2: Part 1: Duluth to Senoia TWD

Rick's house in Atlanta...TWD

After a late start we backtracked from Duluth to Atlanta to get a peek at Rick Grimes house.  If you don't know who that is, you should if you have any hopes of 1) being totally cool or 2) surviving a zombie apocalypse.   I know who he is, and now, so does my somewhat hopelessly geeky friend and travel buddy.  Jenn learned so much about the Walking Dead today that I think she's become a fan.  After seeing Rick's house, she was not impressed, but once we got to Senoia and went to the Walking Dead store and saw Alexandria I'm pretty sure she started to come around.  Right?  Ok, maybe not. 

We stopped at a restaurant called Nic and Norman's and ate Greg's Pick Burger on a potato bun.  Seriously, I don't care what you think about Walking Dead, you MUST top by and eat at Greg Nicotero and Norman Reedus' place.   This was one of the best burgers I've had:  ground chuck, short rib, and brisket with blue cheese.   Superb!   We also tried the crab cake (back home we would have called it a crab ball since it is shaped in a ball.  Yeah, ball.)   that is serves with the most fabulous sauce I've had in forever.  The fries were a swirly thick potato that I dipped in the crab cake sauce...it was so good I asked if they bottled the stuff.   I would have bought my weight in that.  If you visit, pay special attention to the details...their logo has a crossbow arrow and pen...and the curtain holdback are crossbow tipped.  All the photos appear to be original Norman Reedus prints.  Kudos to Norman for thinking ahead and utilizing his skills...when he gets killed off on the Walking Dead he'll be in fine shape thanks to fancy footwork and his entrepreneurial spirit.  (Stop it, you know he's going to die eventually on TWD, he isn't even an original character!)

Alexandra...in Senoia, GA. 

My only complaint for the day was the security guard at Alexandria.  He was parked on the street to keep people away from Alexandria's walls...and when I jumped out of the car to take a photo he burst out of his minivan as fast as his 300 pounds would move (real threatening, buddy, I'm gonna need therapy) and says, "If you're gonna take a photo you need to do it from the other side of the street!"  I, being ever the law abiding citizen, calls out to him, "Keep your pants on, Bubba, I got it!"   Ok, I should have said that.  I actually said something more like, "Yes sir!"   At least it sounded like that to me.  He probably heard me whimper and moan about who owns the street with a little profanity.  I'm not telling which one actually happened.   But I AM going to admit it pissed me off because I thought, wait, without people like me watching your little fiction tv show no one would even give a crap about a metal fence that surrounds a make believe town.  Arsehole.  Course he's probably just happy he's sitting in a mini van all day and no longer flipping pancakes at the Waffle House.  Warmer.  

Walking Dead Police:  Rick's not the only one with a badge. 

After taking in as much TWD that Jenn could tolerate, we hopped in our chariot and headed to a few small towns.  Shocked to see so many movies filmed here, we found ourselves quickly in the land of Vampire Diaries, Sleepy Hollow, and Dukes of Hazard in Covington, GA.  Lots of small, quaint shops to drool over, then it was off to Madison for the night. 

Check out my next post for our evening highlights.  Lots of The Walking Dead during the day but suck it up, Buttercup.  I kept telling Jenn it's NOT a zombie flick.  It's about life and what happens when the world goes to shit.  It's about making it despite the people around you who try to push you down and cheat, steal, and try to kill you (that sorta sounds like a day at work).    It's about the human spirit and the will to keep going when all the odds appear against you.  Just ask the lady who owns the antique shop next to Nic and Normans, she'll tell you the same thing.  She'll also spin you a fancy story about Hershel (Scott Green) moving next door to her during filiming.

And it's also about one cool biker dude named Daryl Dixon who has stolen the hearts of many, despite his obvious redneck ways and dirty hands.  How that happened, only Norman Reedus knows.   All I know is, he can ride that motorbike to my house anytime.  I'll even let him use my shower while I take his Triumph Tiger for a ride.  (Dudes, that wasn't dirty, seriously, he rides a Triumph.)