ATL

Water or Coke?

Athens

On recommendation of a friend at the DC brunch, I drove about an hour out of the way on the path from Savannah to Atlanta to end up in the college town of Athens, Georgia. Getting there was almost entirely backcountry highways, grasses and forests. Sections of it had a decent chunk of people seemingly located twenty miles from the nearest grocery store. For whatever reason, I had the idea in my head that Georgia was relatively densely populated; that is not the case. Looking up the numbers, it's actually only rank 16 in population density of US states, just behind Indiana. I find it amazing how much empty, unbroken and arable land the country has.

Downtown Athens

The University of Georgia dominates the city. There are only a few blocks total of downtown area, which is directly connected to campus. I only allotted myself a smidgen of time to go through the colossal campus, which was unremarkable from the approximate quarter of it that I saw. I felt a high density of homeless population, and drove by many construction sites - maybe Athens is up and coming. And I finally got a hold of the pork ribs I've had a hankerin' for.

The university's Sanford Stadium

The Tree, in all its glory

Sarcastically, the best part was the "Tree That Owns Itself", Athens' most prominent landmark. According to lore, the tree actually owns the deed for itself and land immediately around it. It is just a tree. Visitors have taken to giving it humorous reviews.

⭐✰✰✰✰  This tree could be much better. It offers little to no shade, there is no seating, and acorns were all over the ground. For a tree that owns itself, it could do a better job with the maintaining of its property. I've seen better trees in my lifetime, and I was genuinely let down. I wont be "barking" up this tree ever again, and I don't think you should be either. Was not worth the 7 hour drive.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  It was definitely well worth the five hour flight

⭐⭐⭐⭐✰  Customer service was a bit rude i would not suggest to bring your children here

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  This is the last surviving remnant of Athens' formerly glorious punk rock scene. This tree is a testement to the punk spirit, and still stands today in defiance of societal norms. It seems to say, "You don't own me!" And nobody does. Rock on, rebel tree. Rock on.  

Atlanta

Fox Theater

The ATL contrasted heavily my recent stays in Charleston and Savannah, in that it is not a city for tourists at all. It's a city for living in. It is a city-city, average in most aspects - and I don't mean average in a less-than-good way, if that makes any sense. It feels like somebody said "I want to build a city here" and then did in a very methodical manner. Indianapolis felt the same way.

Lake Clara Meer and Aquatic Center at Piedmont Park

The Meadow at Piedmont Park

I never experienced the traffic everybody complains about in Atlanta, but I mostly strategically chose when and where to drive. What I did experience is the high cost of parking. For the abundance of parking spaces Atlanta gave itself, it costs a ton to park anywhere midtown or downtown, whether in a garage or on the street. Contrast to Montgomery, which is where I write this from, where two quarters get you an hour of street parking.

I wandered midtown on my arrival to Atlanta and ate at Taqueria Del Sol on recommendation from my high school friend, Maggie. Mouth-watering and inexpensive tacos. I stayed with Maggie's college friends, Angela and Dawson overnight. It was awesome to finally meet Angela, about a decade after helping her with calculus and sporadic chatting on Facebook. She and Dawson helped set me up for my next day in Atlanta.

Ponce City Market

The BeltLine trail, some paved and some dirt, took me from Angela's to Ponce City Market, an historic building with a purposely-dilapidated feel holding retail shops, offices, and residences. From there, I walked to Atlanta's #1 TripAdvisor restaurant, Aviva by Kameel in Peachtree Center Mall's foodcourt, definitely not where you expect such a highly praised restaurant. Expensive for foodcourt food, the mediterranean outlet is completely deserving of its praise. Kameel is a very excited and friendly chef, concerned with the experience of all his patrons.

Large capitol occupies an entire block

After lunch, I walked toward Olympic Park and got rained on for the first time while on this trip. Olympic Park was unfortunately completely cordoned off for construction. At the neighboring Pemberton Place, to take refuge from the rain, I had the touristy choices of Atlanta's famous aquarium or World of Coca-Cola... and chose the Center for Civil and Human Rights. That museum felt most in line with my trip. I'm happy with my choice, but I hope to return to Atlanta for the other two big attractions. About two thirds of the this museum is devoted to the blacks' civil rights movement of the 50's and 60's (MLK Jr. grew up in ATL), and one third for the other aspects of civil rights.

Rolls Down Like Water: The American Civil Rights Movement gallery

Wrap Up

Atlanta is a complete city with many skyscrapers and adjacent welcoming suburbs. The public transit seemed sufficient for most travels around and through the city. In my mind, it sets a standard for how a city should look by default.

Root Beer

Atlanta's notable root beer brewery is Red Hare Brewing. But it is closed every week on the days I happened to be in Atlanta (only open Wednesday to Saturday)! Given my recent bad luck in acquiring local root beers, I'm parched.

On Repeat

Album: Chicago ST, back to musicals for a bit

Song: White Lies - Death, first found this song in college and I'll still put it on repeat now and then, I think it's a phenomenal driving tune, up there with Radar Love by Golden Earring

Up next: Montgomery, Mobile, New Orleans

Foreseeable: Jackson, Birmingham

A very happy birthday today to my Momma! I love you!

Still cartwheeling at 60!