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Athens is a small little college town, so it reminded us a lot of Austin, but Athens is much, much smaller and much, much prettier. We went to Wuxtry Records which had tons of R.E.M. merchandise on the walls and everywhere, which was so sweet, I thought. Part of me wanted to take pictures, but there were all these college kids walking around, and how dopey would that have looked? I would have been screaming "tourist"! (And I don't know why I should be ashamed to be a tourist, but it's just that from what I understand, Athens has a reputation for protecting R.E.M., and I know I would have been treated with so much disgust if I came off like an R.E.M. stalker. Don't come to this town expecting to find crudely-Xeroxed "Maps to the Stars Homes" brochures at the local record stores or anything...)
We visited some other wonderful stores as well, but kept having to run back and forth to feed the meters. At one point, this totally sweet lady even gave us a quarter to feed the meter! (What did I tell you about the South? Sooo friendly!) One store we visited that is particularly noteworthy was called something like "Junkman's Brother's Daughter". It was huge! It was a two-story building just packed with everything from home furnishings to vintage clothing to Sanrio toys and tons of posters and basically everything you can possibly imagine! I cooed over the Sanrio stuff, purchasing a Hello Kitty eyelash curler. I also got a New Order sticker and Mike got some Star Wars books he's been looking for.
We did the unthinkable and [hanging head down in shame] went to a Starbucks to rest. (Hey! They have some really awesome Summer Frappucinos right now, like the Brownie concoction Mike and I guzzled down...mmmm...I could go for one of those right now...) Then we decided to hit the local thrift stores for our next day's outfits. (We were re-wearing clothes since we didn't find any thrifts the day before.) Sadly, it was a bust. Frustrated, we abandoned our thrifting agenda, and headed for an Old Navy fast! Fun is fun, but I couldn't see myself wearing the same clothes three days in a row! (Plus, Old Navy has dirt cheap clearance stuff! I got this great corduroy skirt for only $3.99!) Then I got seduced by the Barnes & Nobles bookstore next door...what can I say? I'm a sucker for a good book! We settled into the nice squishy chairs for a good hour or so. I know, I know...what a way to experience Athens, huh? : )
Back at the hotel, we tried to figure out what to do about dinner. Mike flipped open the Yellow Pages and found a listing for a place called "The Grit" (199 Prince Ave.). It was wonderful! I'm talking, majorly, totally wonderful! The food was yummy (albeit in huge Southern portions...I maybe ate 1/4 of it) and the service was so nice! It's all vegetarian, and all yummy! Copacetic recommends it! : )