Exploring Downtown Atlanta

A few weeks ago I had my first major travel adventure (vacation) as a single gal.

Typically when I have traveled in the past it has been with Mason or when I was younger, with my family. In the weeks leading up to the trip I was really nervous and came close to backing out a few times. I just was not sure if I could figure everything out on my own and still have a good time.

Well, this trip turned out to be one of the best trips of my life, thus far. I think the trip was true turning point and helped me see how much of an independent woman I truly am.

So why Atlanta … In March I was invited to attend an event at the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, Georgia. When booking my flight I build in some time to explore Atlanta, since I had never been there before. I didn’t have much time – 2 evenings and a part of a day of total free time – but I managed to see a good part of downtown Atlanta. The trip was also a good opportunity to practice my photography skills – as any trip is.

The hotel for conference was the Omni CNN, which is connected to the CNN center and the Philips arena (the home of the Atlanta Hawks). The hotel was awesome … very busy the but room was comfortable and it was in a great location for exploring downtown. The only disappointment was that there was no garden tub. The view from my room was awesome … since I was in the north tower I had a prefect view of CNN, the Olympic Park, and downtown Atlanta all from my hotel room. One of the first places I journeyed was the CNN Center. In the middle of CNN Center is the food court. I enjoyed dinner while I watched CNN broadcast live. The broadcast for the night was on the topic of remembering Dick Clark, who died early in the day.

After a quick dinner I headed out to explore the area around my hotel. By this time it was 9 pm and I was not sure if this was such a good idea as I passed through the gates to the Olympic Park and saw a camp of homeless people but as I kept walking heard an announcement about the a water show. When I got to the center of the park people were gathered around “Ring Fountain” and few minutes later an illuminated water show, choreographed to various songs started. The show was amazing and lasted about 30 minutes.

The next morning I got up, got a Starbucks and took out to explore the city. My first stop was the Georgia State Capitol Complex, which was a little over a mile walk (about 5 minutes) from the hotel. Compared to the Texas State Capitol the Georgia Capitol Complex is small. Like most state capitol buildings, Georgia’s State Capitol building is designed to resemble the classical architectural style of the US Capitol building. The capitol’s rotunda is gilded with gold leaf and the statue of Miss Freedom has always adorned the dome since the building’s opening.

My next stop was the Atlanta Underground, a multi use entertainment district. What I loved most about this area was the various street art …

One thing that I quickly became obsessed with was the number of fountains in downtown.

After strolling through the downtown I ended up back up at Olympic Park …

At the end of Olympic Park was the World of Coca-Cola museum and the Georgia Aquarium along with awesome views of the city. I did not have time tour the museum or the aquarium but they are on my hit list for next time.

After exploring Olympic Park, I enjoyed a burger, fries and fresh Lemonade from Googie Burger. The burger was a mix between an In and Out Burger and a classic homemade burger.

After eating, I returned to the CNN Center for a behind the scenes tour of the CNN. While I enjoyed the tour and it was neat to see a live CNN board cast, I cannot say I totally impressed but I think this is due to me working in a newsroom for almost 5 years.