One of the reasons we spent time to pack on Monday was that we had planned to visit one more Atlanta attraction -- the Atlanta History Center -- on Tuesday before heading to the airport. The AHC is located about a mile north of our condo, and consists of several components focusing (not surprisingly) on the history of Atlanta, with a special emphasis on the Civil War. It is listed as a "must see" in the AAA guide and the reviews in Yelp were all very high. However, moving forward with that plan proved a little more challenging than we had anticipated. By the time we had breakfast, finished the remaining laundry, completed packing and tidied up the condo a bit it became clear that we had neither the time nor the energy required to do a visit justice. We decided instead to have lunch at the restaurant located on the Center's grounds, the Swan Coach House restaurant, located in what was the garage and servants quarters of the Swan House, a restored 1928 mansion that is one of the Center's attractions. Among other claims to fame, the Swan House is one of the locations where the next Hunger Games movie was filmed. Like Cafe Jonah (see post for Day 26), the Swan Coach House is located a few blocks away from the Buckhead business district--however any similarity between the two establishments ends right there. The Coach House has been converted into a beautifully decorated classic representation of southern gentility, complete with large floral prints on the wall paper, white linen table cloths and a dozen roses on each table. When we visited, the clientele consisted almost exclusively of well-coiffed women dressed in tasteful but not showy outfits (we felt under dressed in our jeans and polo shirts), with the vast majority being of our vintage or older. The food was delicious and the service efficient, and it was easy to see why the restaurant can justifiably bill itself as an Atlanta tradition. After lunch we spent a few minutes driving along West Paces Ferry Road, which the Coach House hostess assured me is "the" Atlanta address. It was easy to see why as we drove past large elegant mansions located on well-groomed 2-4 acre lots for over a mile, and while some of them posted discreet 'for sale' signs, we didn't stop to inquire but I found this online video that will give a sense of what these places are like. We also stopped to take our own photo of the Swan House, then headed back to the condo to finish getting things together, and then we were off to the airport where we turned in the rental car and after spending 28 days, traveling 4407air miles and putting 4487 miles on the rental car, visiting sights in 17 cities or towns (not counting pit stops) in 12 states and one province, and watching 13 complete basketball games and parts of 5 others, we headed home.
We arrived at the stadium early (5:30 for a 9:20 tip off) in part to avoid traffic but mostly to take advantage of a pregame party that had been included in the tickets we purchased online. The party gave us a chance to relax a bit, have a beer and/or drink (no alcohol is sold or allowed at NCAA events) and meet some additional Michigan folks. It also gave me a chance to meet the cheerleaders from Georgia Tech (technically the Georgia Institute of Technology), which is the host school for the tournament, and to scope out some of the more unusual garb at the game. Unfortunately I was not able to get a picture of the middle-aged Michigan fan who was dressed as a Jedi Warrior, complete with a 3' x 6' Michigan flag as a cape. We had arranged to meet our friends Jon & Annette before the game, but had only a few minutes to visit before it was time to head in. The atmosphere inside the stadium was electric, with a large contingent of Michigan fans and a much larger of Louisville fans, which was not surprising given that Louisville is much closer to Atlanta than any place in Michigan. The Wolverines played well, and built a significant lead sparked by Michael "Spike" Albrecht, a 5'11" freshman guard who came off the bench to score 16 points in the first half. Unfortunately, as they had Saturday evening against Wichita State, Louisville came back, and in the second half took control of the game. Michigan didn't give up, but the superior experience of the Cardinals plus some poor foul shooting by Michigan combined for a Louisville 82-76 win. We took solace in the fact that they had come further in the tournament than anyone had expected, and that no seniors played for Michigan. All five starters plus the strong bench should be back next year, and even if Trey Burke decides to opt for the NBA, Albrecht will be a solid replacement at point guard. After the game our decision to park at the stadium paid off, as we made it back to the condo an hour earlier than we had Saturday night/Sunday morning.
One feature of our building that we hadn't explored is the roof top terrace, so after spending some time packing up for Tuesday's return home (and Thursday's departure for San Francisco for Summer's birthday) we headed up to enjoy the fabulous view of the Atlanta area it commands. Then we headed out for a more serious pursuit. Last Thursday was the 45th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was born, raised and buried here in Atlanta, so it seemed appropriate to pay a visit to the complex of buildings in the Sweet Auburn Historic District east of downtown Atlanta that honors his memory. First stop was the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, the most prominent external feature of which is the long reflecting pool with an island in the middle containing the crypt in which Dr. King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, are buried. There were large floral displays remaining from last week's anniversary, and the air was filled with recordings of Dr. King's speeches. Inside there are exhibits reflecting his work, focusing on the development of his understanding of the power of nonviolent resistance as a force for change. Just down the street is the restored original Ebenezer Baptist Church where King's father was a pastor and where he decided to pursue a career in the ministry, and across the street is the Historic Site which includes more exhibits and films detailing his life and the civil rights movement that he spearheaded. All of the buildings are constructed of red brick, presumably to match the historic church as well as the new much larger church next door to the historic site. A few blocks east is the home in which Dr. King was born and where he lived as a child, but by the time we finished the other exhibits it was way past time for lunch so we decided to save that for our next visit. After our experience with the MARTA on Saturday we had decided to suck it up and drive to Monday evening's game, and were able to reserve a parking space in one of the parking garages near the stadium online. Heading in that direction, we stopped first near Five Points, where we found covered parking for $5.00 -- and that was the rate for all day -- no wonder Atlanta has a traffic problem! The weather had warmed into the 80s so we found a small place which offered outside seating and had what was by that time a very late lunch. Then we headed off to the stadium to get ready for the game.
It should not be surprising that we slept late Sunday morning. After all we didn't get in until 2 a.m. and didn't really settle down to sleep until closer to 3. I went out for a morning Starbucks run and found another beautiful spring day, and after our internal fog lifted a bit we decided a quiet drive out of the city was about all we could muster for the day. First up was a search for a place to have breakfast, but by the time we got out and started looking for places it turned into a very late brunch. After deciding against one place because of the long line waiting outside in the sun we happened upon another unusual eating experience at Cafe Jonah and the Magical Attic, located not from our condo in Buckhead. It turns out that in addition to being a tony residential area (as I described it in the post for Day 24) Buckhead has become an important center for business and shopping area, sort of what Bellevue is to Seattle without the lake of course, complete with gleaming office towers and a shopping center that includes both a Nordstrom and a Saks. Cafe Jonah is located in an old house one block off Peachtree Road, but in many ways the distance is much further--in fact it reminded me of something you might see in west Olympia operated by former Evergreen students. First, there is no hostess to show you to a table; rather the system, if one dares call it that, is to take the food you want from among the variety of dishes presented on the table in what probably was the dining room in a former life and then find an empty table among the eclectic tables and chairs scattered throughout the other rooms of the house, on the back deck or out front. The food looked (and was in fact) quite tasty, and we were assured by hand-written signs posted about that all ingredients were organically grown by local farmers using sustainable practices in their free range gardens. The problem was that when we arrived there were no empty tables, and the laid back attitude of the staff was reflected in the customers, many of whom had obviously finished eaten but were continuing to occupy tables. We finally found an empty table in front of the house on what would have been the front yard had it not been paved over (there was no indication whether the paving process included sustainable practices). That brought us to the second problem: there were also no plates; however we were assured they were being washed and would be available soon, and in due course they were. The food consisted of a variety of salads--kale slaw, quinoa, and the like--as well as bagels and lox, a chicken salad, a wonderful fresh fruit salad, a frittata, a cheese quiche and beautiful juicy beefsteak tomatoes, and it was all delicious. The Olympiaesque touch was strengthened when we noticed that the coffee being served was from Batdorf & Bronson, which we had forgotten has a presence in the Atlanta area, including two Dancing Goats espresso bars. We did not explore the "magical attic" part, which, according to posters prominently displayed at the foot of the stairs, by practitioners of such mystical arts as psychic readings, seances and tarot cards. The crowning Evergreenesque touch came when I went to settle up the bill and was told that customers just paid what they thought the meal was worth, and that the proceeds of every Sunday's business were donated to local charities. After lunch we headed out of the city to Stone Mountain Park located an easy fifteen mile drive east of Atlanta. The park is named after the egg-shaped granite outcropping that rises about 600 feet above the surrounding terrain, includes a number of options, including hiking and biking trails, picnic areas, a stone quarrying exhibit and a 100 year old grist mill. We passed up the doable but challenging 1.3 mile hike up the west side of the mountain, opting instead to take the short cable car ride to the top. The view was spectacular, and included the outline of the skylines of both downtown Atlanta and Buckhead, which can barely be seen if you enlarge the photo above. After the return trip down the mountain I took a short walk to get a picture the Confederate Memorial Carving, which is billed as the largest high relief sculpture in the world, with likenesses of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. ("Stonewall") Jackson. (Some of you may know that my middle name is Lee, and my aunt who shared the same middle name once told me that our lineage was connected to the general's is some manner, but I have not pursued it.) At the foot of the mountain is a large park that includes plaques with information about all of the states that seceded, as well as Kentucky which did not secede but many of whose residents were sympathetic to and supportive of the Confederate cause. We chose not to stay for the evening laser show but before departing we took the lovely drive around the mountain, and then headed back to Buckhead for dinner, and were home in time to catch the season premiere episode of Mad Men. Then we headed to bed so we would be fully rested for Monday's big game.
Spring has come to Atlanta, and that was nowhere more evident than during our drive to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum, which is part of the Carter Center located on a beautifully landscaped 35 acre park east of downtown Atlanta. Perhaps sensing our angst about another experience with the Atlanta freeway system, our GPS routed us through a series of residential areas where the trees were green (mostly Georgia pines supplemented with some deciduous trees sporting new leaves) and many flowering plants were in full bloom. The museum was practically deserted when we arrived around 10 a.m., so much so that we initially thought it might be closed, but as a result we enjoyed an uncrowded unhurried visit. The museum traces Carter's early history as the son of a peanut farmer to a Naval officer in the nuclear submarine fleet to his return home and the beginnings of his political career, to his campaign for and service as the 39th president (including a replica of the Oval Office). It also highlights the efforts of the Carter Center to address major global issues, including election reform, health care and, spearheaded by Rosalynn Carter, mental health. By the time we finished our tour the sun was shining brightly in a clear blue sky, and the temperature was a very pleasant 68, quite a change from the low 20s and snow flurries we encountered in Michigan and Buffalo a mere two weeks ago. In the afternoon we connected with Jon & Annette Manger, who we had met two years ago at the Final Four in Houston. Jon is a Duke alum (and thus the connection) and we had an enjoyable lunch and a less enjoyable but successful trip to the games on Atlanta's rapid transit system, MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transportation Authority). As some of you may know, MARTA was built, at least initially, largely with federal funds that had been programmed for Seattle, but Seattle voters narrowly defeated a referendum that would have authorized construction and operation of the system, and the money went to Atlanta instead. Not surprisingly, the combination of the two upcoming games, a series of free outdoor concerts being held near the stadium, and the spring weather brought out large crowds, and we were barely able to find standing room on the train. Once we emerged we found the festival atmosphere that is common to large sporting events, and joined the crowds heading for the Georgia Dome, site of the games. The first game of the evening featured the dark horse Shockers from Wichita State and the tournament favorite, Louisville. The Shockers lived up to their name for most of the game, leading by as many as 12 points well into the second half, but Louisville did not quit, and aided by strong play from some of their bench players came back to win a very exciting game by 72-68. The game ran longer than expected, and as a result the second game between our Michigan Wolverines and the Syracuse Orange didn't get underway until around 9:15, about 30 minutes later than scheduled. Although Michigan's start was a little shaky, they soon figured out the Orange's vaunted zone defense, and took a strong, but not commanding lead into the second half. Syracuse chipped away at the lead, but when they got close Michigan would pull out again, but the Wolverines' customarily good free throw shooting abandoned them, allowing the Orange to draw close again as time was winding down. We and most of the 75 thousand others present were on our feet and in full throat during the agonizing last 3 minutes until Michigan scored with about 4 seconds left to put the game away, 61-56. By this time it was 12:30 Sunday morning and by the time we could find a place to stand on a northbound train, we finally arrived back at the condo around 2 a.m., exhausted but excited for Monday night's final game.
The condo we rented via airbnb.com is small but well suited to our needs, with a bedroom, a living room and a nicely equipped kitchen (including orange juice and bagels provided by the owners), and is far less expensive than the hotel room we had originally reserved. It's located on Peachtree St. NE in the Buckhead section of Atlanta, a tony residential area about 5 miles north of the city center. We spent the morning doing laundry, unpacking and in general taking care of the mundane needs of daily life. After lunch we gathered up most of the souvenirs we had acquired along with some of the clothes we won't need immediately upon returning home, and shipped them home. Max had lived in Atlanta for about six months shortly after graduating from Duke and as she remembers lived in an apartment on Peachtree Street, but closer to town. It turns out there are 73 streets, roads, circles, drives, etc. with Peachtree in the name, so we quickly gave up the idea of trying to find her former residence. Instead we drove down our Peachtree Street to find the Margaret Mitchell House, which though constructed as a single family home had been converted to a ten unit apartment complex by the time Margaret and her second husband moved in. It was in Apartment No. 1 (on the lower left in this picture) on the first floorthat she wrote most of "Gone with the Wind," something she said she had done "in a weak moment." We had a most informative tour, which included descriptions of some elements of her personal life (her relationship with her mother, the death of a fiance in war) that are reflected in the characters and/or events in the book. We also got a close up look at the lion's head newel at the base of the stairs right outside Apartment No. 1 that is also referred to in the book. We then left for a Michigan pep rally being held at the headquarters hotel in northwest Atlanta, and soon had a first hand experience with the famous, or should I say infamous, Atlanta traffic, and as a result arrived just in time to see the hordes of maize-and-blue clad fans streaming out of the ballroom in which the event took place. However we did arrive in time to acquire more Michigan paraphernalia, which we hardly needed, and then headed back downtown for dinner at The Varsity, an Atlanta institution which Max remembers as bigger but otherwise the same as it was almost 50 years ago.
We awoke Thursday morning to the kind of heavy overcast skies and drizzle that we have come to know and love in western Washington. However it meant that our plan to visit the site for which Chattanooga is most well-known -- Lookout Mountain -- had to be scrapped, given that we can look out at fog banks pretty much anytime. After doing a little research we decided to skip the International Tow & Recovery Museum (whose mission is to recognize outstanding individuals in the towing and recovery industry worldwide, record the history of the industry, and to collect and display industry artifacts and memorabilia and again I am not making this up). Instead we set out for the Tennessee Aquarium, which according to a 2010 survey was the top aquarium in the country in terms of guest satisfaction (8th overall among all kinds of attractions). When we first arrived we suspected that those who had been surveyed had not attended on a rainy day during spring vacation, but we soon came to see why it is so highly rated. After taking an escalator to the glass enclosed top floor, visitors are led along an extended one way ramp gently spiralling downward that takes them by exhibits illustrating the path followed by water falling as rain in the Smokies down the mountain to the river system and ultimately to the ocean, including displays illustrating the kinds of flora and fauna residing along the way. All of this cleverly built around what appeared to be a series of glass water tanks filled with wide varieties of fish and other water dwelling animals (I suspect it may be one big water tank but the architecture of the building made it difficult to tell for sure). We followed up with a 3D IMAX movie about the important role that reefs play in the ecosystem and the threats they face from global warming and the increasing acidity in sea water. It was beautifully filmed which helped soften the depressive nature of the message, as did the hopeful note on which it ended, citing the ability reefs have to regenerate as demonstrated by the recovery of the reefs near the Bikini atoll 50 years after they were destroyed by atomic and hydrogen bomb tests conducted by the U.S. government. After the movie we had lunch at another place Max found on "Drive-ins, Diners and Dives" called Aretha Frankenstein's located across the river from downtown Chattanooga. We were glad it was a late lunch, as the reviews indicated that waits for one of the four tables and six bar stools can be as long as 90 minutes. The place was funky, the food unusual but good, and we had yet another unusual dining experience. As we headed out of town we stopped and took a driving tour through the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, which straddles the Tennessee-Georgia border south of Chattanooga. The park was the site of fierce fighting in September of 1963 between Confederate and Union forces for control of Chattanooga, which was considered to be a key to ultimately controlling the deep south. Although the Confederates won, it turned out to be a classic "win the battle but lose the war" situation because the losses suffered weakened their forces significantly, and two months later a reinforced Union army took control of the city, which then became the base for Sherman's march to Atlanta. And the rest, as they say, is history. The battlefield was the first and largest of the nation's military parks, having been authorized by Congress in 1890 and dedicated in 1895, and is replete with substantial monuments to those who fought here on both sides. Following that we headed south, and were soon settled in at the condo that we will call home for the duration of our trip.
One of the reasons we spent time to pack on Monday was that we had planned to visit one more Atlanta attraction -- the Atlanta History Center -- on Tuesday before heading to the airport. The AHC is located about a mile north of our condo, and consists of several components focusing (not surprisingly) on the history of Atlanta, with a special emphasis on the Civil War. It is listed as a "must see" in the AAA guide and the reviews in Yelp were all very high. However, moving forward with that plan proved a little more challenging than we had anticipated. By the time we had breakfast, finished the remaining laundry, completed packing and tidied up the condo a bit it became clear that we had neither the time nor the energy required to do a visit justice. We decided instead to have lunch at the restaurant located on the Center's grounds, the Swan Coach House restaurant, located in what was the garage and servants quarters of the Swan House, a restored 1928 mansion that is one of the Center's attractions. Among other claims to fame, the Swan House is one of the locations where the next Hunger Games movie was filmed. Like Cafe Jonah (see post for Day 26), the Swan Coach House is located a few blocks away from the Buckhead business district--however any similarity between the two establishments ends right there. The Coach House has been converted into a beautifully decorated classic representation of southern gentility, complete with large floral prints on the wall paper, white linen table cloths and a dozen roses on each table. When we visited, the clientele consisted almost exclusively of well-coiffed women dressed in tasteful but not showy outfits (we felt under dressed in our jeans and polo shirts), with the vast majority being of our vintage or older. The food was delicious and the service efficient, and it was easy to see why the restaurant can justifiably bill itself as an Atlanta tradition. After lunch we spent a few minutes driving along West Paces Ferry Road, which the Coach House hostess assured me is "the" Atlanta address. It was easy to see why as we drove past large elegant mansions located on well-groomed 2-4 acre lots for over a mile, and while some of them posted discreet 'for sale' signs, we didn't stop to inquire but I found this online video that will give a sense of what these places are like. We also stopped to take our own photo of the Swan House, then headed back to the condo to finish getting things together, and then we were off to the airport where we turned in the rental car and after spending 28 days, traveling 4407air miles and putting 4487 miles on the rental car, visiting sights in 17 cities or towns (not counting pit stops) in 12 states and one province, and watching 13 complete basketball games and parts of 5 others, we headed home. 
