Castles in Kennesaw

The landscape shifted as I drove from rural north Georgia to suburban Atlanta.  Fast-flowing highways replaced laid-back roads; hazy plains replaced forested foothills.  Sleek new Acuras and Mercedes replaced older-model Hondas and Toyotas.  Speed limits became irrelevant.  I glimpsed the beautiful skyline of Atlanta to the south before the highway curved and I shot north again, this time deep into the suburbs.

Down a tiny side-street, tucked away from the main thoroughfares, I found a row of well-groomed small castles of red brick.  Queen Jennie stood in a driveway waving to me with her good hand.  Her right hand, encased in a brace, suffers from a strange illness the doctors have still been unable to identify despite her weekly visits.   However strange and sad this malady, this Queen has a cheerful heart, loves company and has a gift for making guests feel like family… although, to be quite honest, I never turn down an invitation to make myself at home and usually end up doing so whether invited or not.

Although the houses line the street austerely, the house was warm on the inside with color: blue, yellow, red and bright wooden floors.  We dragged my suitcases down a twisting staircase.  I couldn’t wait to see where I would be staying.  As we rounded the corner, I couldn’t help smiling.  A touch-me lamp cast soft light over a bed with blue, purple, gold, and Sherpa covers, colors all strikingly deep and royal.  Carpet softened all footsteps. Beside the bed, an overstuffed sofa and TV invited relaxation.  I set up my little electric teakettle in the kitchenette.  It couldn’t have been more lovely.

Of course, I wasn’t alone while I moved in.  Besides the Queen, the happy golden retriever, Captain, and expressive boxer, Penelope, made sure I didn’t feel neglected.  These two might be my favorite part of living in this castle.  They are the official guardians of the house and the unofficial doorbells.  No opportunity to meet new friends eludes them.  No scrap of food escapes their notice.  Even better, they know instinctively that anyone on the couch needs snuggles, and if that person has a blanket or coffee, even more so.

Right now, I’m sitting curled up on the couch upstairs with this journal. Captain’s large, friendly dog-face is pushing closer and closer to my knee.  Coffee is brewing in the kitchen, drawing out the house’s other inhabitants, David, Hannah, and Jim.  They circle around making terrible puns and dry jokes at eachothers’ expense.  I joined their banter for a while but unfortunately lost all credibility when they discovered I had never watched Back to the Future.

I will be so at home here.  This castle is warm, lamplit, fully three stories and overflowing with good coffee, new books to read, oversized lap dogs and sharp, witty conversation.  I love this castle in Kennesaw.  I can’t wait to explore the suburbs.