Lunch in Macon, Georgia

The perfect lunch stop on I-75 in Georgia

On our 17 day RV adventure we had to rent a car one-way from Tampa to Chicago.  While we were anxious to get there we allowed a little time for a few stops.  We don’t like the ten minute stops at an interstate exit so we budget a little more time.  On the way up the I-75 we stopped in Macon, Georgia for a lunch break.

The town is incredibly historic and rather larger than I expected and it had what I consider an unusually large number of parking lots in the downtown which gave the feeling that the town hadn’t preserved as much of its history as perhaps it might have or that a terrible natural disaster wiped away a lot of its downtown.  Again, this was just the feeling I got and I’ve done no checking on this.

I was surprised to find out the population was over 150,000 and definitely a city but its streets retain a town feeling in certain blocks which are filled with buildings mostly no more than three stories tall.  And there are over 5,000 National Register historic properties in 11 distinct districts according to the Bibb County Convention and Visitors Bureau.  Though I couldn’t find a map or walking tour of these districts on their web site, I’m sure they exist because they say they do.

Molly’s Cafe jumped at us because it was open and it was there in a fairly nondescript mid 20th century building that appeared to be partially a parking garage.  As if the town needed more parking!  But it was on a street with some very nice architecture (at the corner of Cherry and King Streets).  There is ample on-street parking just about anywhere.  And prime corners of real estate that should be thriving businesses that are vacant parking lots.

Though the city is a county seat, meaning the governmental center of its administrative district, it does have plenty of other things besides lawyers offices and governmental buildings but they are just spread out and the lack of much residential seems to be affecting the sidewalks and pedestrian feeling to the city.

Back to Molly’s.  It is a nice cafe on a tree-lined street and the food is excellent.  It has a very cute decor with ample seating and very friendly service.

In a few short minutes after a short walk around we were back on the expressway and had enjoyed our brief stay in Macon.  Not the most walkable city but there are sections to visit that are more compact.  The city would do well to identify districts as the medical district seems fairly well established with modern buildings in the downtown.

We will definitely stop again if we get the chance and hopefully discover something else new and different in Macon where they have streets that are more like boulevards and avenues that are more like streets.  It is all part of the travel experience of discovering things that are different.  But I still can’t get over the abundance of parking lots!

#MaconMemories