Just go.

Yesterday morning, I got up at 7:30, showered, jumped in the car, stopped at BP to gas up and grab a coffee and muffin, then set off on my trek for Chatsworth in the north Georgia mountains (one hour and forty-five minutes away) to get my first COVID-19 vaccine shot. It was a peaceful, uneventful drive in the morning fog.

I got off 75 onto 411 just below Dalton and followed it along a valley flanked by misty mountain vistas, Insta-worthy car junkyards and the occasional Dollar General until I got to the bustling hub of Chatsworth. Once there, I pulled into the nearly empty parking lot at the Murray County community center, donned my mask and walked in.

The place was abuzz with various senior activities, some form of early voting on one end of the building and Covid-19 vaccinations on the other. I walked into a gymnasium off the side of the building straight into their vaccination effort that was well-organized, friendly and efficient. Most everyone arriving for their shot were from the metro Atlanta area.

From walking through the front door, filling out paperwork, getting the shot (which I didn't even know was in my arm until it was done) until sitting on the bleachers in the gym for my required 10-minute hold after the shot, all of this took literally four and a half minutes.

I chatted with a handful of other people from Woodstock, Decatur, Buckhead and Inman Park while I was sitting in the bleachers. All of them were amazed at how easy it was.

When I walked out of the building, I strolled around the grounds for a bit and took photos of the fog lifting from the mountains. I walked down to a little holding pond a few hundred yards away and listened to the deafening chorus of frogs just singing their hearts out. I even saw a little family of deer scampering through the woods.

I got back in my car and headed back along the same route to see the same beautiful sights in reverse. I arrived back at my house right before the crack of noon and had the rest of my day ahead of me.

All this to say, if you register for your vaccine appointment and you end up getting a place that's out of town, JUST GO.

It's a blessing. Make a morning of it, a day of it, whatever.

Enjoy the ride, enjoy your time there, enjoy the ease and peace of getting out of town and discovering some place new in this beautiful spring season while the weather is cool and nature is bursting with joy.