New things I found out about Georgia

Hey, I just went to a family reunion in Camden SC this weekend, but I flew into Atlanta and drove to Camden. I always knew Georgia was hot, but not HHHOOOTTT!! And talk about muggy, is your state always like a steam room, or did I come down at a bad time. Then on my drive back I got hit with the worst rain I have ever seen in my entire life. It was so bad I have to stop driving and wait it out. No self respecting Boston driver would ever do such a thing. It was amazing. Lastly, the people I encountered were amazing. Talk about Southern hospitality. I was blown away. I think I need to come down more often, but only if you turn the steam off and drop the temp a few degrees. (like 30) I have gone through Atlanta several times to catch connecting flight but never really spent any time in town before. Now I can't wait to come back again.

EDIT: I was able to have grits again! I love real southern grits!

 

I'm very glad you had a chance to visit Atlanta, DarthMoby. And I'm glad that you found the food and the people to your liking.

As far as the weather goes, it was actually several degrees cooler than normal this weekend, thanks to the rain. And as for the humidity, it hovers around 90 to 99 percent for most of the summer. There's just no escaping it from about mid-May to early September.

We can have some pretty nasty storms around here. This weekend we had some especially violent weather. It is not like that all of the time.

If you ever pay our fair city a visit again, be sure to let us know.

Grits are wonderful, aren't they?

 

There's a reason why this town is called Hotlanta. It gets pretty miserable hot here. Of course, I've been in New England when it gets this disgusting and more, so I don't know if we can bare full burden of guilt.

Of course, if you want really disgusting weather, just come in town for DragonCon. That's usually when things are at their worst.

I think October is the perfect month around here. Just the right temperature and no humidity. But then you'd miss the beautiful fall foliage in RI.

We all have our trade-offs! Let us know when you're coming to visit again.

 

I lived in Georgia for about 8 years and have recently moved to Florida. After awile you get used to hot weather. I lived half my life in Chicago and the weather *in my opinion* is worse then it is in Georgia. By the way its twice as hot in florida lol. (particulary miami)

I wish i could have known about this group back when i was living in Georgia though. I know i'll be visiting old friends eventually

*i'm so mad i never have once gone to a Dragoncon!! GRRRR

 

Hey, hey, hey. I'm traveling to Atlanta for Dragon*Con. I'm flying in Thursday afternoon and I'm hoping to get a few touristy things done before the con starts - I already know I want to go (or at least get a good look at) Stone Mountain and the MLK memorial. Any other places I should consider?

 

Well, lucky for you we have our handy dandy Visitor's Guide to Atlanta on our website.

The other question is what kinds of things you're into. Historical sites? Museums?

Let us know and we'll give you some ideas.
Paula

 

Some other (more useful?) things to know about Atlanta:

*Atlanta is composed mostly of one way streets. The only way to get out of downtown Atlanta is to turn around and start over when you reach Greenville,South Carolina.

*All directions start with, "Go down Peachtree" and include the phrase, "When you see the Waffle House." Except that in Cobb County, all directions begin with, "Go to the Big Chicken."

* Peachtree Street has no beginning and no end and is not to be confused with:

> Peachtree Circle,
> Peachtree Place,
> Peachtree Lane, Peachtree Road,
> Peachtree Parkway,
> Peachtree Run,
> Peachtree Terrace,
> Peachtree Avenue,
> Peachtree Commons,
> Peachtree Battle,
> Peachtree Corners,
> New Peachtree,
> Old Peachtree,
> West Peachtree,
> Peachtree-Dunwoody,
> Peachtree-Chamblee, or
> Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.

* Atlantans only know their way to work and their way home. If you ask anyone for directions they will always send you down Peachtree.

* Atlanta is the home of Coca-Cola. That's all we drink here, so don't ask for any other soft drink unless it's made by Coca-Cola.

* Gate One at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport is 32 miles away from the Main Concourse, so wear sneakers and pack a lunch.

* The 8:00 AM rush hour is from 6:30 to 10:30 AM.

* The 5:00 PM rush hour is from 3:00 to 7:30 PM.

* Friday's rush hour starts Thursday afternoon, and lasts through 2:00 AM Saturday.

* A native can only pronounce Ponce De Leon Avenue, so do not attempt the Spanish pronunciation. People will simply tilt their heads to the right and stare at you. The Atlanta pronunciation is "pahnss duh LEE-on".

* The falling of one rain drop causes all drivers to immediately forget all traffic rules

* If a single snowflake falls, the city is paralyzed for three days and it's on all the channels as a news flash every 15 minutes for a week. All grocery stores will be sold out of milk, bread, bottled water, toilet paper, and beer.

* I-285, the loop that encircles Atlanta and has a posted speed limit of 55 mph (but you have to maintain 80 mph just to keep from getting run over), is known to truckers as "The Watermelon 500."

* The last thing you want to do is give another driver the finger, unless your car is armored, your trigger finger is itchy and your AK-47 has a full clip.

* Possums sleep in the middle of the road with their feet in the air.

* There are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 live in Georgia.

* There are 10,000 types of spiders. All 10,000 live in Georgia, plus a couple no one has seen before.

* If it grows, it sticks; if it crawls, it bites.

* It is not a shopping cart, it is a buggy.

* "Fixinto" is one word (I'm fixinto go to the store)

* Sweet Tea is appropriate for all meals and you start drinking it when you're 2.

* 'Jeet?' is actually a phrase meaning "Did you eat?"

[From an email, original source Anonymous]

 

***Reads above post***

ROTFLMBO!!

Oh..that is SO true. Especially about I285 and the rush hour. First time I drove on it, I felt like I was in Nascar!!

Yes..the speedlimit here..are merely suggestions. Try to drive em..and you will get run over...or a ticket.

 

Well, lucky for you we have our handy dandy Visitor's Guide to Atlanta on our website.

Very cool. I will check that out.

I'm a history nut. I love historical places (assuming I'm interested in the subject). I also have a weakness for gift shops... but I'll probably get enough of those at the airport and plenty of time after I land/before I leave to check them out!



* Peachtree Street has no beginning and no end and is not to be confused with:

> Peachtree Circle,
> Peachtree Place,
> Peachtree Lane, Peachtree Road,
> Peachtree Parkway,
> Peachtree Run,
> Peachtree Terrace,
> Peachtree Avenue,
> Peachtree Commons,
> Peachtree Battle,
> Peachtree Corners,
> New Peachtree,
> Old Peachtree,
> West Peachtree,
> Peachtree-Dunwoody,
> Peachtree-Chamblee, or
> Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.

Dude.

And I thought my town having Ducklake Trail and Ducklack Road (interesecting) was bad!

 

Historical sites?

Well, depends which history you're into.

Civil War - You can pretty much throw a dart and hit a Civil War historical marker around here. Below is a link to a list of all the sites in Georgia. Kennesaw (#5) , Atlanta History Center (#31) and Stone Mountain (#34) are probably the closest to Atlanta.

http://www.n-georgia.com/civilwar.htm

And if you like "Gone with the Wind," Margaret Mitchell House is right in downtown, along with the Fox Theater where the film premiered.

http://www.gwtw.org/
http://www.foxtheatre.org/

Atlanta was also one of the centers of the Civil Rights Movement. The King Center is a good place to start and you can get to all the other Civil Rights sites from there.

Hope that helps!
Paula

http://thekingcenter.com/

 

That's great. I just hope MARTA can connect me with all I want to see. I'm not into Gone with the Wind (never seen the whole thing - only Scarlett's daughter's death and "Frankly My dear" about a million times... but it's the house... maybe I should watch it), but the other stuff sounds interesting.

~Kristina
Queen of Run ons.

 

For a mere 1000 credits you can have a bantha tour of atlanta. Thats right...The world famous Raging Bantha of marietta. See the kennesaw battle sights safely atop one of our tusken trained banthas. Adventure awaits at....THE RAGING BANTHA!

Available also for rides at birthday parties and jumping out of really big cakes. (note: jumping out of cakes requires pre approved application and proof of insurance)

 

::Rosiewook staring at Raging Bantha and giggling::

You can get to the King Center very easily on MARTA. Just get onto the East Line.

For Stone Mountain, you take the East Line to the end and take a bus into the park.

I think you can also do the Atlanta History Center off of MARTA, but there'll be a little walking with that one.

Kennesaw? That you need a car.

MARTA's website (www.itsmarta.com) does have a function to plan trips. Or, at least, they used to. I do know for sure that they have a phone center that helps. And the concierges at all the downtown hotels can pretty much get you anywhere.

 

I took a trip to Philly for July 4th and flying back I had to change planes in Atlanta (of course).

I decided to schedule a longer layover and took MARTA in to the city to do a little reconnoitering of the Con area.

Walking towards the Hyatt I decided to take this pic:

[image=http://www.darth23.com/peachtree.jpg]

It's my desktop wallpaper[109k]now until the con.

 

See? You're getting it!!

It's a wacky little town, but it's all ours!

 

Darth, loved the list.



Also...

There are actually more than 100 streets here with the word Peachtree in them.

This past year Atlanta was dubbed the "Lead Foot Capital of the US" due to being the city where the difference between the flow of traffic and the posted speeding limits is greatet (the flow obviously being greatly higher than the limit).



Another cool place to check out near Atlanta (I forget if it is an hour or an hour and a half north of Atlanta) is the kangaroo convservatory. It's the largest collection of marsupials outside of Australia.

Don't forget to visit the Varsity for your yearly cholestorol portion in one sitting.

 

Color me intrigued. Where can one find the largest North American contingent of marsupials?

Have never heard of it before. (Which, I realize, is not saying much.)

And The Varsity. It's an institution. Should be experienced at least once in life.

 

Hah!

I watched Gone with the Wind this weekend. It only seemed fitting. Awesome flick, even if Scarlett was a twit much of the time. Melonie was more to my liking.

Question regarding safety: Some of my mom's coworkers were recently in Atlanta and commented that some of big touristy stuff are located near the... lets just saw tougher parts of town. They didn't recommend that I travel alone on the train. Any thoughts? Or even someone willing/interested in going with me? MLK and Stone Mountain are at the top of my list. I just don't want to get myself into trouble... Of course the con comes first, but I'm not interested in everything there...

 

I used to ride the train to and from work in downtown atlanta almost everyday. Most of the time It is safe andI'm a MARTA veteran. Stick to riding the train during the day and you should be ok. After nightfall I probably wouldnt ride the train. It really depends on what you want to see.

 

Regarding safety:

Underground Atlanta is not in the best part of town. However, if you take MARTA there, you can walk straight into the area without having to deal with the locals. Still wouldn't suggest going alone at night, though.

As for the convention? In the immediate area of the hotels, they have a lot of extra police coverage. So sticking to Peachtree Street is usually okay. And you have all the convention-goers milling around. Doesn't help to get rid of the panhandlers, but there's more police presence there.

Before I moved here, I traveled to the convention area a lot for meetings using MARTA. Generally, I felt comfortable riding it by myself until about 8-ish. Before 8p there are a lot of commuters on the train and on the way to the hotels. After 8? I felt safer paying extra for a taxi or shuttle. Still, there are a lot more MARTA police these days than there used to be.

I think it's just a matter of using good safety practices as you would going anywhere. There are very few cities I'd go around by myself after dark. And you watch how you're carrying your things, etc.

 

Here's the website for the kangaroos...

http://www.kangaroocenter.com/


It's really cool. You learn how to throw a boomerrang (harder to spell than throw), get to pet live kangaroos, and you learn a lot.

 

All right. Thanks for the tips.

 

Rereading your post, I see you also ask about the MLK Center and Stone Mountain.

MLK Center is only open during the day, actually. And it is in a downtown neighborhood. But again, it's just a matter of good safety practices, as long as your traveling during the day. But I don't think it would cost terribly much to get a taxi from the con hotels.

Stone Mountain is great. And the park itself shouldn't be a safety issue. You do have the whole MARTA issue. If you don't want to see the laser show, then you could get out and back during the day.

I take it you're coming a few days early? Or staying late? I doubt there'll be much time during the con for touristing.