Day Trip to Atlanta

 

Blairsville, Georgia  (high 75, low 56)

On Saturday, we decided to take a day trip down to Atlanta.  We wanted to go to Camping World, so we decided to bite the bullet and make the long drive.  We don’t mind driving around here because the scenery is so beautiful and the traffic is so light (until we got to Atlanta).

 

Our purpose on going to Camping World was to pick up two gravity recliners.  We had looked at them before, but found most of them uncomfortable and too bulky to store in our already full bins on the motor home.  Since we have a cabin here, for some extra storage, we decided to go ahead and see if we could find one that was comfortable.

We got to the Camping World in Woodstock, which is on the northern side of Atlanta.

I had planned on buying the fabric covered chairs but after looking around and seeing one with the mesh fabric, we decided it would be cooler, wouldn’t get dirty, and we wouldn’t have to worry about rain or dew. 

Here is what we found.   I don’t know why the CW photo insisted on putting the line across the photo. Maybe they didn’t want me to copy it?

They have the canopy over the top which as it turns out is a pretty nice feature to block the sun.  It flips back when not needed.

They match the side of the coach pretty well, and we found them to be pretty comfy.  I will pull those white labels off once we’re sure they are keepers.

I managed to squeeze in a little reading time yesterday, but never quite got to see how they worked for napping.  :)

Once we left Camping World, we decided to go ahead and take a drive through downtown Atlanta and see how the traffic and road signs were.  We had been nervous about driving the motor home through Atlanta, and  avoided it on the way up here.  We’ve  decided to go back to Tampa via the Atlanta route.  It keeps us on nice straight 4 lane highways until we get to the interstate, and then it’s interstate all the way back to Tampa. We will avoid mountain roads and have a nice easy descent out of the mountains.

The traffic was pretty light when we first approached downtown Atlanta.

The lanes quickly multiply until you are in 7 lanes of traffic each way.  You have to be careful to stay out of the two furthest right lanes, that are always merge and exit lanes, but there are plenty of other lanes to travel in without impeding the flow of traffic.  The drivers seemed better than Tampa drivers, but maybe it was because there were so many of lanes to choose from, and the lanes didn’t end without warning.

The Atlanta skyline was pretty. The roads were good and the exits well marked.

The gold dome of the state capitol building was pretty in the sunlight.

There is a lot to see in Atlanta, including the famous Atlanta Aquarium, which is home to a whale shark.  I’m not a fan of aquariums capturing these amazing creatures to put in a fish bowl, but I have never seen one in the wild and would really love to.

These 40 foot fish are plankton eaters,so are no threat to man.   Can you imagine an aquarium large enough to hold one?

We hung around Atlanta most of the afternoon, and as the day wore on, the traffic increased.  It was particularly bad south of the downtown area in the town of McDonough, where we went to a Home Depot. 

We bought a pretty new plant and scarecrow for our fall decorations.  They are big into decorating their yards and storefronts around here.  Fall tourism is very big here, so I’m sure that’s part of it.

How do you like our cute little scarecrow?  This plant is a Rudbeckia, or black eyed susan.

We think that we will probably go back and explore Atlanta on the way back up here next time.  It looks like an interesting city with a lot to do.

After a full day, we headed home, hit the hot tub, watched a little TV and went to bed. 

The other day, at the Farmers Market, we found this cute little bluebird house day, for only $10. 

I know the bluebird is not colored correctly, but I don’t think the reddish colored breast would have shown up as well.  Notice the shingled roof?  It even opens up for cleaning.

We’re going to hang around the house today and do some much needed cleaning.  We have company from Tampa coming tomorrow.  On the 20th a friend I worked with at USAA is coming up. We were told the prime leaf peeping time is sometime after the 20th, which is what we remembered as well.

On the 8th of October, Chuck and Anneke, of Goldenshoe Rv Trip, are coming.  I guess my photos inspired them to visit this area.  We can’t wait to meet them.

 

If any of you say my post on Facebook last night about the missing granddaughter of my cousin, please know that she has been found safe and sound.  She had been missing 24 hours from the Carlsbad, New Mexico area and her family was worried sick.  I don’t know the details, other than the fact that she is safe.  Thanks to any of you who shared my post.