Georgia Sampler Day 7 : Trip Home and Planning Backstory

Today I was reminded why I don't like air travel that originates in big cities. Our flight was to leave at 10:50 AM which in Fargo would mean leaving home at about 9:30 driving or 8:30 walking. Our hotel was about 12 miles from the airport, so we needed to figure bad case traffic on the freeway or alternate route; bad case rental car return and tram ride to the check-in terminal, bad case luggage check and TSA security lines, then the tram ride to the terminal. The result was a 7:30ish AM departure from the hotel across the street from Georgia Tech.

The good news is that things weren't bad at all. The 6 lanes-each-direction freeway was moving normally leaving midtown for the airport, unlike the lanes coming into Atlanta. There was almost no wait for car return, tram, and check-in. Thus we got to the gate with plenty of time to spare. The flight to MSP was a little late, but we still had time to grab lunch in Minneapolis and got into Grand Forks about 15 minutes early. I-29 from Grand Forks to Fargo was great. It was really nice to be driving on a lighty trafficed, 75 mph road again. It also felt a bit odd to have it warmer on our arrival in North Dakota than when we left the hotel in Atlanta.

It was nice to be home, but it was a good trip.

BACKSTORY ETC

We chose Georgia because of the desire to do a campus visit for Georgia Tech. We had considered President's Day weekend, but since that was several days after a big Atlanta snow/ice storm, it's just as well that didn't work out. March is wetter in Georgia than April, but we had only a short sprinkle in our week. Shoulder season was nice for reduced crowds, but April seems to be when the grass greens up and more flowers are in bloom. In the mountains, we did have better views without leaves on the trees.

Due to spring break demand, tickets from Fargo to Atlanta were expensive. The 75 minute drive to the Grand Forks airport gave us a 50% airfare price savings and we were fortunate that the weather cooperated. Less than a week after we returned, a blizzard closed I-29 between Fargo and Grand Forks and numerous flights were cancelled. The drive from Fargo to Atlanta is about 20 hours, excluding stops.

Our "sampler" of destinations was suggested by daughter Lily. I then used TripAdvisor and Georgia tourism materials as a primary resources to work out details. In recent year's, I've liked to use Frommers guides, but when Google briefly owned them, the printed books took a back seat and there wasn't a recent one for Georgia. I'm also liking the crowd-source aspects of TripAdvisor over the single expert-opinion of Frommers.

In future trips, we would like to spend more time at Savannah and the coastal islands. Maybe 4-7 days at each. The Blue Ridge Mountains were nice to visit, but other than being a bit higher, didn't offer much more than the hills along the North Shore of Lake Superior. We also don't need to hurry back to Okefenokee, but if we did, we would want to visit Steven Foster State Park on the west side for some variety. It would also allow us to visit the town of Fargo, GA. There is more to explore in Atlanta, but those things are not as compelling as the coast.

Georgia Sampler Day 6 : Atlanta (3/25/2014)

What's a vacation trip to Atlanta without a visit to the Center for Disease Control?

View of downtown Atlanta from our hotel window.

The center  is located about 5 miles from Georgia Tech and adjacent to the campus of Emory University. We had to sign in with photo ID and go through a metal detector before entering the museum. The upper level had a special exhibit on I'll call "health and economic/education/race/etc" which shared statistics and case studies of how addressing people's needs has a positive impact on their health. The lower level featured the permanent history of the CDC including displays on its present role as well as past work with malaria in the US (which is why it ended up in Atlanta when founded in 1946), polio, smoking, smallpox, ebola, Legionaires, HIV, and more. I found the two hour visit time well spent.

Lunch was at the famous Varsity Drive-In, billed as the world's largest drive-in. I don't know of any that's larger, having, for example, a two level parking ramp. The interior was pretty basic with fixed tables and hard bench seating. Our order was placed at a long counter with at least a dozen poeple calling out a signature "Waddah yah have? Waddah yah have?", taking orders, and then filling them. We sampled the menu including a chili hot dog, bacon cheese burger, fries, onion rings, Varsity orange drink, and an orange frosted shake. I found the food good, but not exceptional. The environment was certainly unique and historic.

After lunch we headed to the Georgia Aquarium where we spent the afternoon. I was a bit disappointed with the lack of description in the permanent exhibits. Typically there was about a sentence per species. By the end of the day, I figured out that I could satisfy my cognitive thirst by getting additional information from Wikipedia. The 30 minutes dolphin show was kind of a musical with special effects (lighting, strobes, water canons). The dolphins were well trained and their trainers played key roles in some of the tricks. It was entertaining, but had close to zero educational value.

There was a special exhibit which I would call a "Body Worlds of the Sea". There were a number of disected and plasticized sea creatures using processes that looked the same as those used with humans etc in Body Worlds. Interpretive text was more plentiful than in the permanent displays. The most interesting one to me was a female shark prepared to show the embryonic sharks inside her.

The aquarium is set up for families with younger kids who won't miss the lack of display information, but will enjoy seeing the fish, buluga whales, rays, penguins, otters, whale sharks, etc. There were probably half a dozen touch tanks. Between the aquariums In Duluth, Mall of America, and Minnesota Zoo, I felt that the local offerings were as good if not better. The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago is probably a level above what Minnesota and Atlanta have.

After the aquarium, we went across the street to a fast Mexican restaurant for burritos and chips before heading back to our hotel where we have been reading and planning our return trip home tomorrow.

Georgia Sampler Day 5 : Georgia Tech (3/24/2014)

Today was the reason we came to Georgia and Atlanta : a Georgia Tech campus visit for daughter Lily. It was my second visit, the first having been for an engineering short course which started September 11, 2001. The campus closed midday and I returned to my hotel room, at the same hotel we are at on this trip, to watch news coverage. At lunch today, I noted that I hadn't explored campus on that trip and noted that due to the somber mood and tension that week, it was probably enough to have class, eat supper, and watch more TV coverage. With the absence of scheduled airline flights, there was also uncertainty about how to get home. Air travel was just restarting as my flight left Atlanta and I ended up spending the night in Minneapolis due to lack of a crew to fly to Fargo. It was good to get home safely that trip and people weren't complaining about the massive disruptions.

Back to the present...The campus visit had five parts: an hour long presentation on Georgia Tech, a campus tour, a presentation on college of engineering, lunch, and walking to Tech Square and the east campus dorms. A lot of the campus and major information is available on line, so the biggest value of the trip is probably in getting a feel for campus, the people, and the environment. I'm coming away impressed with the resources available to students to help them succeed, the campus green space, and the safe feel.  I was already aware of the academic quality and there is something special about a place where 70% of the majors are engineers.

It seems like there has been a lot of redevelopment on the east end of campus since 2001. The campus bookstore is run by Barnes and Noble, but the textbooks are tucked away on second floor. Most of the store seems to be campus apparel. The other unique feature was a "Walmart on Campus" which the tour guide said was nicknamed "Smallmart". No wonder, it's about the size of a convenience store with shelves 8 feet high and aisles barely wide enough for two people. It seems to have three departments : pharmacy, grocery, and miscellaneous. There is also a good campus bus system which includes a route which gets to grocery and other shopping. 

We came back to the hotel mid-afternoon so my wife and daughter could rest. About 5;00, we left to sightsee an area east of campus and sample rush hour traffic en route to the Fox Bothers BBQ which had been recommended by a student. The baked beans were especially good. We then circled back to the hotel via downtown and Olympic Park before settling in at our hotel for the evening.

Georgia Sampler Day 4 : Okefenokee Swamp and More Roads (3/23/2014)

I woke up before dawn so I could walk along the Jekyll Island beach and watch the sun rise over the Atlantic. There were only a hand full of others out and they were on the beach proper rather than the paved walkway along the beach where I was. While there weren't a lot of clouds to add to the event, sunrise did have its moments.

Sunrise at Jekyll Island, GA.

After breakfast, we drove east for a little over an hour to the Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. En route, there were lots of trees, often with obvious management. That means uniform tree stems in rows with underbrush control. That roadside view would continue until we were almost to Tifton later in the day, where a there were greater numbers of grazing cattle and some fields which were often irrigated. It occured to me that with the shorter and less severe winters, there was less need to grow crop to sustain cattle through the winter. Yet there was hardly any corn residue or bins seen for finishing. I have not been impressed with the quantity or quality of ag on this trip.

At Okefenokee, we toured the visitor center displays, watched the overview video, and took a 90 minute boat ride out into the swamp. I have new appreciation for the phrase "alligator infested swamp". I thought we MIGHT see one at a distance if we were lucky. Not a problem here. There were one or two every few hundred feet and within maybe 20 feet of the boat. There was also a near encounter with a poisonous snake, but I didn't see it. A mother owl was another highlight of the wildlife viewing.

One of numerous alligators we saw.

I was expecting a cypress swamp, but there was more variety to the flora than that. The cypresses had taken a hit in a 2007 fire, but were coming back. There were also water lily "praries", floating peat moss "islands", and an ill-fated canal that was to be used near the turn of the century to help transport clear-cut cypress out of the area. The project instigator had not surveyed the canal route in advance and found out too late that the river he wanted to reach was atop a 60 foot ridge relative to the swamp. The canal is now used a as a thoroughfare for tour boats, canoes, and kayaks.

View over the bow of our tour boat, travelling on a canal built in the 19th century,

 Sideways view of part of the swamp taken from an observation tower.

When the boat returned to the visitor center, we had lunch. The feature item was boiled-in-the-shell peanuts which we hadn't heard of until we started seeing signs along the road. The road side stands were closed and/or didn't look very hygenic. We were told, though, that they often have the freshest and best. The ones we had at the restaurant were apparently frozen and then reheated. We liked them and would have them again. We finished out visit with a 1.5 mile round trip walk into the swamp on a boardwalk. Largest reptile on the boardwalk was small green lizards a few inches long. Driving back to the refuge entrance, we did encounter a gator on the roadside.

Roadside alligator.

The rest of the day was spent on the 5 hour drive from the swamp to our motel in Atlanta. As noted above, there were lots of trees and not much ag along the way. The roads were straighter with fewer stops and slow downs than our trip down from the north. Speed limits in Georgia are similar to those in Minnesota, but 4 lane highways are often posted slower than corresponding road sections in the gopher state. We also have noted that almost every little town has a Dollar General or Family Dollar store in it. For a while we played a game to see who could spot the store first and then would go around and name an item we would buy there.

We were surprised at the amount of I-75 traffic at 9:00 PM on a Sunday night heading into Atlanta. It was almost like I-94 heading into Minneapolis during the summer. We don't know why that is the case. It didn't seem like people were coming back from their swamp homes. 

Georgia Sampler Day 3 : Jekyll Island (3/22/2014)

We had a nice second story view of the ocean and cloudy sky from our Days Inn breakfast area, originally built as the Corsair Motel in the 1960s. While discussing possible activities, I was consulting weather forecasts with 40% of showers which radar showed in the vicinity. Fortunately they were moving away and the sun eventually came up for a beautiful spring day.

View from the breakfast area at the Days Inn.

We started by driving to the north end of the island to walk on Driftwood Beach. The sand was flat and firm for good walking. The trees were worth the trip.

Driftwood Beach.

We continued counter-clockwise around the island and stopped at the Jekyll Island Historic District. At the heart is the Jekyll Island Club which was a retreat for the rich from 1886 to 1942. Lunch was at Courtyard at Crane. Afterwards we wandered the historic area, and then headed back to the motel.

Beet salad shared at Courtyard at Crane.

At this point, we split up. Ilene took a book to the pool, Lily took a blanket to the beach, and I headed out on a 9.3 mile walk on the flat, paved trails I had noted earlier in the day. Walking in -15 F weather this winter, I had dreamed of walking in the low 70s again. Hadn't added the details of seaside, palms, and oak trees covered with Spanish moss.

Paved trail on west side of Jekyll Island.

Reunited about 5:00, we headed to Driftwood Bistro for supper which included southern sides cheesy grits and fried okra. After supper, we drove the shore road on the south end of the island before making a spontaneous decision to try to take advantage of sunset colors as backdrop for driftwood pictures. Although arrival was a bit late, I got a good picture of the sun behind the bridge which connects the island to the mainland. As the sun further descended, the colors were not varied or vivid.

The return trip to the hotel included a stop at a convenience store to get some food and beverage for the rest of the evening, consumed after showers and and while watching TV. The plan is too get up early so we can enjoy sunrise over the ocean.

Georgia Sampler Day 2 : Country Roads and Savannah (3/21/2014)

Most of Georgia's high speed, high capacity roads radiate like spokes out of Atlanta. To get from Helen, GA to the Gold Coast required taking a lot of two lane roads that didn't take the most direct path from point A to point B. We also discovered that the roads twisted and turned, went up and down, and slowed in numerous small towns. Passing zones were few and brief when we got behind a slow vehicle. We were also treated to frost on the windshield with no scraper in the rental car to start the day. My daughter found a new use for an old school ID.

Our path took us out of the Blue Ridge Mountains around the east side of Athens, through Washington (the first town named after George Washington in 1790), and into Savannah before the final hour or so to Jekyll Island. I had expected a lot of farm land once we got out of the mountains, but that was not the case. There was quite a bit of forest with active logging, some cow and horse pastures, hay fields, and hardly any row crop farming. Lunch was to-go from Dairy Queen in Washington.

At one point, we deveated from the Garmin's recommended route, thinking it was more direct. After a few miles and further consideration, we decided to go back to it's course. Under the guidance of my Garmin, I was given the driving instruction "Turn right on Critter Crossing." What a name. I knew it was going to be just a short stretch of gravel, shaving a few hundred feet off our trip from just going back to where we had originally turned off. The time savings were used to take a few pictures.

A critter on Critter Crossing Rd.

We had hoped to be in the historic port city of Savannah by 1:00, but with a late start and slow drive, we arrived just in time to catch a 3:00 PM Oglethorpe Grey Line tour which lasted 90 minutes. It was a great way to catch the key sites and hear the history of the city. 

View from the trolley as we approach the Savannah riverfront.

Afterwords we went to the Pirate's House for supper and then ended up at Forsyth Park for some walking and photos. We had hoped to walk along the river front which has touristy shops and restaurants, but we couldn't find a parking spot. The park had good parking and was less crowded than the riverfront with the bonus of great trees, fountains and statues. People watching was pretty good, too. 

Fountain at the center of Forsyth Park.

Central walkway through Forsyth Park lined with oaks and Spanish moss.

The drive from Savanah to Jekyll Island, mostly on I-95, was done after dark without much to see.

Georgia Sampler Day 1 : Blue Ridge Mountains (3/20/2014)

Lily, Ilene, and I had an uneventful trip from Fargo to Atlanta via Grand Forks (cheaper tickets) and Minneapolis. We got to the Drury Inn by the airport about 11:30 PM and headed to bed. We were on the road after breakfast: a narrowing road which over the course of the day went from a 10 lane freeway to a 4 lane freeway to a four lane road to a 2 lane road to a gravel road.

Our first stop was Tallulah Gorge State Park which had some similarity to the grand canyon of the Yellowstone in Yellowstone National Park. We hiked 2.6 miles along the canyon rim, passing on the 1100+ steps and a bridge to go across the canyon. There were 10 scenic overlooks with a maximum canyon depth of 950 feet.

Next up was a short drive to the town of Clayton where lunch was eaten at a little place called Fromage. Our meal consisted of a variety of salads, sandwiches, and cheeses. Afterwards, we stopped at a grocery store to pick up some beverages and snacks for later in the day and trip.

There was a short drive to Black Rock Mountain State Park  where we hiked to the peak of Black Rock Mountain (elevation 3640 feet). While wildlife was limited to a few raptors and butterflies and while deciduous tress were without leaves, our March visit did yield unblocked views of the town of Clayton and other mountains. Only a couple other people were on the 2.2 mile trail.

On the Tennessee Rock Trail.

 At the summit.

View of the town of Clayton, GA.

Another mountain vista.

Our last hike of the day was at Black Rock Lake where Lily and I did a quick 0.9 mile walk around the lake. Back on the road, we drove to the German-themed town of Helen where we enjoyed a supper of schnitzel in onion gravy, spaetzle, and red cabbage at the restaurant Bodensee. Then it was back to the Country Inn & Suites for a restful night. It would have been nice to spend more time exploring the town, but tomorrow was to be a full day.