East Coast Wanderlog, Part 14

I wanted to slap the news bimbo on the TV this afternoon. She was making a segue from a news story to the weather, and she said that it was a "pretty chilly day in the Southland." It was, in fact, in the mid-sixties. People are so accustomed to wearing one thin layer of clothing year round here that they've lost all perspective on what conditions like 'cold' and 'chilly' really are.

Sorry for starting off in a sour mood, but I just got back from the laundromat. I hate the laundromat. If I ever get to live some place with my own washer and dryer, I will be the happiest man. Ever.

Meanwhile, back in Atlanta:

OK, yesterday I told you how beautiful I found Atlanta to be. Let me start out today by saying there's one thing I will always dislike about the South: Even today there are too many people who would sign up to fight on the wrong side of the Civil War. When I see someone displaying a Confederate flag, it might as well have an arrow on it, pointing to the bearer, and say "I'm with Stupid." I'm not saying this as someone descended from the winning side— hell, most of my ancestors weren't even in this country at the time— and I'm not saying it as someone raised in Yankee states. I'm saying it as someone who can see that the Confederacy was formed around amoral beliefs. You don't embrace a rotten apple. You throw it away with all the other trash.

That said, on our first full day in Atlanta, Russell and I headed outside of the city to Stone Mountain. Stone Mountain is a huge state park centered around an enormous granite outcropping. It's hard to convey properly, but it's as if an enormous loaf-shaped mound of granite were slapped down on the land. It's far bigger than a hill and something less than a mountain. According to Wikipedia, its summit is over 800 feet higher than the surrounding land.

Aside from this, one thing that makes Stone Mountain famous is the bas relief carving of three Confederate leaders on one side. This was begun (and abandoned) by the artist who later went on to complete Mt Rushmore. This carving wasn't completed until 1972. Of course, Stone Mountain is also considered to be the birth site of the modern Ku Klux Klan.

We entered the park and drove a few miles to a spot near the train tracks. Our intention was to catch the train and ride once around the park. After 30 minutes and no train, however, we got back in the car, and drove around to the steamboat landing. That's where we found out that neither the steamboat nor the train were running. If the South ever does rise again, it apparently won't do so on a Tuesday.

The docks where the steamboat is moored are on a wide portion of the river. There is an isthmus of sorts jutting out into that river, on which a tower of stands. From the tower loud carillon bells (or a recording thereof) ring out quite pleasantly. As we left, they were donging a cover of 'Blue Moon.' We also saw a lot of geese here— thus the geese pictures in my Flickr stream. Trust me, there are many more geese pics that did not get uploaded.

Other than for a little more driving around the city, we didn't do much else in Atlanta. We rented a few movies, tried a couple different restaurants, and I worked on Russell's computer during the downtime. The day following our trip to Stone Mountain, I was in bed through the middle of the afternoon with a near-migraine, which spoiled my last full day in Atlanta. When I had recovered from that, I went for a walk by myself in the latening afternoon. I found a park just a few minutes walk down the street. The park opened up to an amazing view of Atlanta's skyline. I sat there for some time, enjoying the cool, clear air, as couples and other solitary people walked or jogged by. Many of them had dogs as well. It was so pleasant just to sit there after hiding my head in the dark for the previous several hours.

That evening we enjoyed the movies we'd rented, and the next day, in the early afternoon, I flew out of Atlanta's airport, landing in Raleigh a short time later. I will say that I have nothing but good things to say about Atlanta. I have made the joke elsewhere that I probably do not appreciate history enough to ever live in Atlanta... but that sense of history may have come more from Russell than the actual city itself. I look forward to visiting again some day and seeing more of the city.

As short as this has been, I'll leave off here for the day. In all likelihood, I'll wrap up the travelogue tomorrow with my final days in Raleigh.

Until next time!

"Every year in the South they have re-enactments of the Civil War. Why would you want to re-enact an ass-kicking?"— Ted Mac, comedian