I buzzed down to Harley-Davidson of Clayton this morning to visit their nice dealership and was very impressed. The store was large and nice and the staff was very friendly. The trip involved going through the heart of Atlanta and, whooeee, the crazy D.C. area drivers have nothing on those around here. However, taking my chances with Atlanta’s wildest was worth the nice tee shirt I came back with.
I discovered yesterday that my hotel was right next door to a Sonic Drive In. The Sonic, which is primarily found in the South, has a particular place in my heart because I discovered them the summer I worked at an outdoor theatre in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The days could be scorching and the wide expanse of the cement stage unforgiving in reflecting heat but we managed to survive because at lunch we’d go for a “Sonic Boom”. This was a slurpee sort of drink that, if consumed too quickly, delivered the well-known cold drink headache for which it was named (see phtotos). The Sonic Boom was our salvation that summer! Here in Atlanta I managed to resist the temptation to eat every meal there and have only had one Slush (as the Boom is now called). But it was heaven and, yes… I drank it too quickly.
During this trip, I’m listening to a Book-On-Tape (on iPod actually) version of “The City Falling Angels” by John Berendt. He was the author of that great book about Savannah, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil”. The book I’m listening to is about the burning and rebuilding of La Fenice, the opera house in Venice, and it’s very good. I’m listening to it to get myself prepared for visiting there later this month.
You never know who you will run into at Starbucks, do you? I topped off my stop in Atlanta this evening over coffee and tea with Claudia (yes, that Claudia). We had not seen each other in about 25 years and it was great to spend some time with her. She is still a very classy lady.
Tomorrow: I ride southeast through Georgia, past Macon to Valdosta.
The Occasionally-Examined Life 