Pedro sometimes has conferences to attend. He’s a Principal Investigator on multiple research projects and thus must attend coordinator meetings around the country. I like to join him, and that’s how I was able to post about Durham, North Carolina in 2022 and Washington, D.C. in 2023. His conference in August was in Atlanta. Yes, I am still catching up from stories I negelected to tell you the past couple of months.
We flew out during daylight, which is a bonus. Don’t you hate those travel mornings when you must set your alarm for 3:00am? Hurricane Debby threatened the East Coast, but we landed smoothly and safely.
Our hotel was one of those high rises in the middle of the downtown area, and it was pretty fun to see the expanse of the inner lobby.
For the life of me I do not know why the decision to meet in Atlanta in August. I had never been to the city, but it’s famous for summertime heat and humidity. I had not forgotten the stories of misery, of athletes suffering during the heat of the 1996 Summer Olympics. I prepared myself, determined to enjoy it anyway. How appropriate then, that Atlanta has an Olympic park that was walking distance from our hotel.
I struck out early, to take advantage of the relative coolness. The day was cloudy, which also helped protect me from the wicked heat. My first delight was finding multiple pieces of public art close to us.
There were many unhoused people in this part of town, but I found they were pretty friendly to me. While taking photos of the library pavillion, I tried to drag a heavy, lime green rental bike off to the side. A man jumped up from his sleeping pad and came over to help me. While taking photos of Ms. Clayton, a bedraggled woman waited for me to finish before walking across the plaza. I learned afterward that a couple of women that attended the conference felt unsafe in Atlanta. I try to approach people on the street as though they are good people in a tough situation. I work to treat them with respect until they lose that right with me by being threatening – which definitely happens sometimes. I hold memories of times in my life when my stability and financial position was minimal, and so I don’t see people on the street as “other” as some people might. I have to believe that they appreciate a random white lady tourist walking through and not being afraid of them for simply being there without a home.
The park was created specifically for the Olympic games, but then after the games were over, the space was revamped a bit to make it an ideal public space. It’s not a particularly large area (22 acres), but very well designed, and exceptionally beautiful. It was easy to spot Olympics-centric art and plaques and themes all around.
The park is surrounded by, and adjacent to, large public attractions such as the College Football Hall of Fame, Centennial Olympic Park’s Visitor Information Center, the Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, and obviously Skyview Atlanta-the giant Ferris Wheel.
Next I was going to try to find an observation deck and see the city from above.
*The park’s Fountain of Rings is currently closed for rennovations and will not open again to the public until the end of the year.
Conscious Engagement 
Despite the heat an excellent opportunity for a photo tour. I agree with you about Richard Jewell
There are so many places in the U.S. that I have yet to see. This was my first time in the state of Georgia. The weather was an obstacle, but I’m glad to have had the opportunity to see this famous city.
I wish there were more info on Jewell. Perhaps that was the year the media took the reins and began driving the media into sensationalism. It’s all I actually remember about the ’96 Games.
I recall the story being more tragic than what I found, so I agree: I wish there were more to find online about this. Your recollection may be true, and so sad. I hope some people in media realized with shock what they had done, and made a conscious choice not to be so careless in the future. I hope that terrible mistake made things a little better, though today it is still hard to watch the news. Even my beloved NPR is too slanted for my taste sometimes. From the games I remember Jewell, and I remember the heat. How the athletes from other countries were so miserable, trying to push themselves to the limit, when it was like a sauna each day with the extreme heat and humidity. I felt ashamed that my country was responsible for that. I know that UAE forced extreme temperatures on people too, when workers died in the heat while preparing for the World Cup.