Hotlanta

In my first Atlanta post, I complained a little about the wisdom of scheduling a National conference in Atlanta during August. People were flying in from around the country, why choose the worst time of year to go to Atlanta? Possibly to save money by choosing an unpopular season. In the first two days, we made brief forays out into the weather, and thus were not too affected. On day three, we felt the heat.

Our hotel was only 1.5 miles from the AirBnb inn we would be staying at the next night, so we loaded our backpacks and walked over, heading north on Peachtree Street. It was in the heat of midday, but we started out fresh and didn’t suffer much at first.

By the time we reached the B&B we were hot, sweaty, and cranky. We arrived a little too early, and sat on the comfortable porch, waiting for check in time.

Soon we rang the bell and were welcomed inside by the property concierge. She was young and engaging, and eagerly gave us a tour of the house. This tour included a history of the home, with actual framed family photographs to tell the story.

We were encouraged to explore outside the home as well.

The concierge explained that one room was called the Warhol room because of an original piece displayed prominently over the fireplace. Meh. I am not that impressed with the artist or the piece.

We were pleasantly surprised to be told that we had received a complimentary upgrade because the better room was going to be vacant for the night. When co-owner, Jason, appeared and asked why we chose to stay there, I explained that I had done much research and found that the price for the least expensive room here was comparable to a hotel room nearby. He seemed dismayed and said that he would have to raise his prices. I responded that if the prices had been higher, we would not have stayed there.

We were then shown to our upgraded room, and it was very nice. In the room, as well as throughout the place, we found many generous snacks for free, and two decadent brownies with a note from the owners.

We unloaded all our gear and hit the streets again, to make the most of the afternoon. This was a sunnier day than my cloudy explorations the day before, and we could definitely feel it. On our way, we found the famous Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail, 22 miles of excellent paved path incorporating multiple neighborhoods, shopping areas and parks. While looking for the BeltLine, a security guard helped us. He laughed when he found out we were from Oregon, and asked how we were liking Hotlanta. “They call it that for a reason,” he said with generous understanding.

Our goal was to walk to Historic Fourth Ward Park. In 1874, the city charter established the Fourth Ward in this area. That was eventually replaced by the new Fifth Ward, but folks still called it the Old Fourth Ward. And then in 1954 the ward system was abolished. Due to drainage problems, Bill Eisenhauer, a storm water activist, convened a group in 2003 to discuss storm water issues in Old Fourth Ward. The work of this group eventually culminated in the current 17.5 acre park that includes a sustainable storm water detention pond as its central amenity. It was completed in 2012.

Then we made our way back to the B&B before it got too dark. The place is equally lovely in the evening.