Gadsden is about 4.5 hours from Spartanburg or 2 hours west of Atlanta and only 10.5 hours from Katy (4 hours closer!). It also returns us to the Central time zone. The Coosa River runs through the middle of the city. I created a map of some key places from our trip here. (What do you think for my first try, Carrie?) Chris and I both decided it reminds us a lot of Abilene in size and amenities.
(Random side note: Gadsden is about 5 hours from the coast--this will be the furthest inland I have ever lived. For someone who does not love the beach, it was weird to realize that I have always lived less than a 1/2 day's drive from the coast.)
We left Friday afternoon with the ice warning beginning about the time we would arrive in Gadsden. Well, I should say the time we thought we would arrive in Gadsden, since we forgot to account for the time change. Let's just say it is pretty disappointing to think you are 35 minutes away per the GPS ETA, only to realize you are really 95 minutes away--all of sudden your butt is achy and you really just want out of the car. We did hit snow, but nothing to make us stop for the night. When we reached Gadsden, one of the first things we saw was the sign for Chris' hospital.
It was very exciting. We continued to the hotel and spent the rest of the evening looking over some brochures and doing a little research.
The next day we called a realtor and asked about residential areas to explore. And since Chris is friends with everyone he meets, we also talked to the hotel receptionist, a cop, and people at church on Sunday. We found Gadsden to be even friendlier than Spartanburg. We then spent the morning driving all over the city and neighboring towns. We found several great places to live. We also checked out Gadsden Regional Medical Center, which is the hospital where Chris will do most of his rotations, as well as Riverview Regional Medical Center, where Chris may do a couple of his rotations. Both hospitals looked very nice and had a great feel.
Down the street from Gadsden Regional, we discovered this comforting sight:
The first words out of Chris' mouth were "we will be just fine here."
Amidst all the researching and exploring, we did take time to enjoy the city and the trip. We ate incredible catfish at Top O' the River, an extremely popular local place with a great atmosphere (Greg & Dad--we already know we are taking y'all there).
ĵ
We also ate at Kati Thai, which is a little hole in the wall Thai place that was consistently ranked as one of the top restaurants in all of my research, and rightly so, as it was the best Thai we have ever had.
Sunday morning, we attended Rainbow Church of Christ and felt very welcomed. There are a couple of other churches we plan to visit as well, but it was nice to know there is already one that may work as our new church home.
The trip really was a great little chill family weekend away. Lottie's schedule was even more messed up than it ever was on our 3 week tour of OK & TX, but she handled it like the precious sweetheart she is. One of my favorite moments of the trip was goofing off with Lottie in the big king bed after her bedtime.
All in all, we really enjoyed ourselves. Gadsden seems like a great city. I think we will enjoy our 2 years there. We are still very sad to leave Spartanburg, but it was comforting to find Gadsden so promising and pleasant.
(Random side note: Gadsden is about 5 hours from the coast--this will be the furthest inland I have ever lived. For someone who does not love the beach, it was weird to realize that I have always lived less than a 1/2 day's drive from the coast.)
We left Friday afternoon with the ice warning beginning about the time we would arrive in Gadsden. Well, I should say the time we thought we would arrive in Gadsden, since we forgot to account for the time change. Let's just say it is pretty disappointing to think you are 35 minutes away per the GPS ETA, only to realize you are really 95 minutes away--all of sudden your butt is achy and you really just want out of the car. We did hit snow, but nothing to make us stop for the night. When we reached Gadsden, one of the first things we saw was the sign for Chris' hospital.
It was very exciting. We continued to the hotel and spent the rest of the evening looking over some brochures and doing a little research.
The next day we called a realtor and asked about residential areas to explore. And since Chris is friends with everyone he meets, we also talked to the hotel receptionist, a cop, and people at church on Sunday. We found Gadsden to be even friendlier than Spartanburg. We then spent the morning driving all over the city and neighboring towns. We found several great places to live. We also checked out Gadsden Regional Medical Center, which is the hospital where Chris will do most of his rotations, as well as Riverview Regional Medical Center, where Chris may do a couple of his rotations. Both hospitals looked very nice and had a great feel.
Gadsden Regional
Riverview Regional
The first words out of Chris' mouth were "we will be just fine here."
Amidst all the researching and exploring, we did take time to enjoy the city and the trip. We ate incredible catfish at Top O' the River, an extremely popular local place with a great atmosphere (Greg & Dad--we already know we are taking y'all there).
ĵ
We also ate at Kati Thai, which is a little hole in the wall Thai place that was consistently ranked as one of the top restaurants in all of my research, and rightly so, as it was the best Thai we have ever had.
Sunday morning, we attended Rainbow Church of Christ and felt very welcomed. There are a couple of other churches we plan to visit as well, but it was nice to know there is already one that may work as our new church home.
The trip really was a great little chill family weekend away. Lottie's schedule was even more messed up than it ever was on our 3 week tour of OK & TX, but she handled it like the precious sweetheart she is. One of my favorite moments of the trip was goofing off with Lottie in the big king bed after her bedtime.
All in all, we really enjoyed ourselves. Gadsden seems like a great city. I think we will enjoy our 2 years there. We are still very sad to leave Spartanburg, but it was comforting to find Gadsden so promising and pleasant.
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