Taking in Atlanta

So the primary purpose of my recent stay in Atlanta was to attend the AMS ECP Conference.  But there was a whole lot more I got out of the experience.

It all started when, shortly before 7 PM on the evening of Friday, January 31, I boarded a Greyhound bus, which would take me all the way from Chicago to Atlanta.  I decided that riding Greyhound would be a very direct way to get to Atlanta, while also allowing me to take my time and soak in the journey.

This was my first trip on Greyhound, and it worked out okay.  The schedule managed to work out very well so that the only inclement weather we traveled through was in northwest Indiana on my way south, and none whatsoever on the way back.

On the way there, we made a few stops, briefly at Gary, and then Indianapolis and Louisville, for longer stops so that the bus could be serviced.  In Tennessee, we had another service stop in Nashville, and then two brief stops in Murfreesboro and Manchester, before reaching Chattanooga.  Our final stop was on the outskirts of the Atlanta Metro Area in Marietta.  (The major city stops were generally the same on the way back to Chicago, but the smaller stops were different, as the only one was at Lafayette, IN.)

In many ways, this journey by bus allowed me to have the road trip experience, seeing the sights along the interstate routes, although much of the travel took place at night.  It was I-65 from Gary to Nashville, then I-24 to Chattanooga, and then I-75 down to Atlanta.

One of the exciting parts about road trips is the thrill of seeing the signs on the side of the roads that welcome travelers to a new state.  It was especially thrilling to see the sign welcoming travelers to Georgia, for it was at that moment, approximately 11:05 AM EST, that I entered the State of Georgia for the first time.  When I stepped off the bus at the Marietta station, at approximately 12:25 PM EST, I took my first step onto Georgia ground.

And it was a thrill to drive along I-75 into the heart of Atlanta.  It kind of reminded me of the many times I’ve ridden on the Kennedy Expressway I-90/94 from Chicago’s Northwest Side into the downtown Chicago area, as we passed by all the skyscrapers and such.  (Two buildings I took note of riding into downtown Atlanta were the headquarters of The Weather Channel and the Turner Broadcasting System.)

About 1 PM, we reached the Atlanta Greyhound station (see above).  After retrieving my checked bag, I walked the short half-block distance to board the MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) train at the Garnett Station to reach my hotel.  From the first time I stepped onto MARTA, I was impressed with the fast, sleek, modern light-rail train system to whisk me around Atlanta.  Many aspects of MARTA reminded me of the Washington, DC, area Metro train system: the network of colored lines, with two lines sharing track for a good distance of their routes, and the design of the train cars themselves.  Even the Five Points station reminded me of the bi-level hubs underground that serve as transfer points between different lines.  (When the train first pulled into the Five Points station, I was impressed that the car doors on both sides of the train opened to let passengers board from two different platforms.  And the one thing I really got a kick out of was that the automated announcements were in both English and Spanish.  It was really interested to hear a person with a Hispanic accent speak in Spanish and then say the name of the station, which was essentially switching from Spanish to English while carrying the Hispanic accent.)

I disembarked at the Peachtree Center station, and then walked the short distance to the Quality Hotel Downtown where I would be staying (see below).

After checking in, and settling everything into my room, I went sightseeing, with the specific destination of the Jimmy Carter President Library and Museum in mind.  I got back on MARTA, and rode it east to the Inman Park-Reynoldstown station.  I got off and then headed north toward the museum.  That’s when I stumbled upon a delightful find: Inman Park (see the two pictures directly below).  It’s embedded right within a quiet residential neighborhood filled with lovely old-fashioned homes, and a winding path through it leads north from the station, right into the landscaped grounds around the Carter Center (see third picture below).  Some signs along the way narrate the story of the Sectional War Battle of Atlanta back in 1864.

As I walked around, the scene before my eyes reminded me so much of what it’s like when winter finally breaks and spring makes its arrival.  The ground was free of snow, the temperatures were in the 50s, and people were out walking, jogging, and walking their dogs.  And I’m sure they appreciated this weather in Atlanta after a disastrous wintry mix of 2 inches of snow and some ice accumulation earlier that week.  (As I rode along I-75, I noticed a few patches of snow on the grassy areas beyond the shoulders, the remaining remnants of a winter wallop--see picture below.  But, you know, it’s all in proportion:  While they were dealing with this mess in the South, in Chicagoland, we were dealing with temperatures below zero and wind chills as low as -30 degrees.  In both cases, normal circumstances were suspended due to weather, even if to us Northerners, it seems absurd that two inches should shut everything down.)

I apologize for the quality of this photo, as the bus windows were quite soiled from traveling through wintry conditions.  If you look closely around the center of the picture, you can see some patches of snow on the embankment leading from the level of I-75 up to the road that goes on the overpass over the interstate.

The Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum is the second NARA presidential facility I’ve visited, the first one being the Lyndon B. Johnson Museum in Austin, TX, when I went to last year’s AMS meeting.  After starting with a brief video on Mr. Carter’s life, I walked through the exhibits, which takes visitors chronologically through his life, from his childhood in Plains, GA, to his days in the Navy, and then as a politician rising through the ranks from a local school board member to Georgia Governor and US President.

The thing that draws me to these types of museums is the opportunity to view objects from the President’s life.  On display were a high chair Jimmy and his siblings used when they were very young, one of Jimmy’s report cards, and the coat he wore as he walked on Pennsylvania Avenue during the Inauguration Parade.  There was also a model of the Oval Office as it looked during the Carter administration (see below).

A large section was devoted to the peace treaty Mr. Carter helped negotiate between Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin at Camp David.  The exhibits concluded with the work the Carter Center has done to promote peace in various areas of the world since the end of the Carter presidency.  One thing the Carters have done is travel to other countries to monitor elections.

What was neat about visiting this museum was getting a look at a time in American history that’s well-embedded in the recent memories of my parents’ and grandparents’ generations.  And it always so fascinating to look at actual items from the life of a president.

Here I am posing in front of a picture of the Carter Oval Office in the main entry lobby of the museum

When it was coming time for the museum to close, I left, and headed back to the MARTA.  I then headed to Midtown, to see the house where in her rented space, Margaret Mitchell wrote the draft for Gone with the Wind.  This was something I stumbled upon when I picked up a map of Atlanta.  It was in a small group of historic buildings surrounded by several tall, modern buildings.

Then I headed back to Five Points.  I was looking for an outlet of my favorite store, Alamo Flags, which was supposed to be somewhere around that station.  And that led me to stumble upon another amazing find: Underground Atlanta, see picture below.

It’s a retail-entertainment complex that is located on a couple different levels below the city streets of downtown.  In many ways, the layout of the shops and its food court reminded me very much of Navy Pier.  Sure enough, I found the Alamo Flags store, as well as an Atlanta snow globe, and some dinner at the food court, which I took back to the hotel, and enjoyed while watching a talk show of mine on cable.

The next day, Sunday, during breakfast, I watched the live coverage of General Beauregard Lee’s annual appearance.  He’s the famous local groundhog, and he predicted an early start to spring.

Then I went to Church at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, just north of my hotel, before heading to the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) (see picture directly above).    After a few hours at conference proceedings, I stepped back to the hotel before the ECP reception later in the evening.  While walking back, I passed through the Centennial Olympic Park (see second picture below), with its Fountain of Rings (see directly below).

I also took in the view of Atlanta skyline, and a large Ferris wheel that was all lit up.  And I enjoyed the lovely mild weather that evening (see below), with temperatures in the 60s, after it had reached 74 earlier that day, which broke the high temperature record of 72.  (You know, I’ve never really had a strong desire to escape a Chicago-style winter in my life.  But this was nice.  I didn’t need a Cancun-style escape.  That night in Atlanta was enough.)

Look Mom (and everyone else), it's the start of February, and I don't need to wear a jacket, much less a heavy winter coat!

The next day, I had some time for sightseeing, as my bus wasn’t scheduled to leave until the early evening.  So after I checked out, I got on MARTA, and went east to the King Memorial Station, disembarked, and then walked about 10-15 minutes to the Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site, which incorporates a number of sites in a neighborhood along Auburn Avenue NE. 

After my visit there, I went back to the MARTA, and rode it to that mouthful name of a stop by the CNN Center to join Valparaiso University meteorology students, faculty, and alumni for lunch, graciously provided by the College of Arts and Sciences, at McCormick and Schmick’s.  It is customary for the department to arrange a lunch for current students and alumni who attend the AMS meeting.  We had for our choosing, three items from their menu (see second picture below); I had the grilled chicken sandwich.  It was great spending some time with meteorology students I know well from my days at ValpU.

Here's the ValpU meteorology group inside the restaurant

Once lunch was over, I got back on MARTA and rode it to the Georgia State station, and then walked the short distance to the Georgia State Capitol.

This was the first time I had made a first-time visit to a state capitol on a day of the state legislature’s session.  By the time I got there in the afternoon, the session had adjourned for the day, but there was still plenty of activity, with lobbyists and legislators milling about.  I walked around, looking at the statues, artwork, and busts of famous Georgians, the architectural features, and the state museum displays on the fourth floor (such as the one with the various state symbols in the picture directly below).  I also looked inside the House and Senate Chambers, since the two bodies had adjourned their sessions for the day.

When I stepped into the House Chamber, I was greeted by a friendly woman named Donna, one of two Assistant House Doorkeepers.  She showed me around the chamber and shared a little bit about the workings of the Georgia General Assembly.  She also introduced me to Henry Howard, Representative for Georgia’s 124^th House District, based in Augusta.  Donna and I also got to chatting about things in Atlanta and Georgia.  When she found out I was in town for the AMS meeting, she asked if I was going to be on the Governor’s new task force in response to the wintry weather disaster the week before.

Donna took this picture of me in front of the podium in the House chamber

Then I went to look around at the grounds outside, and took note of some of the state government buildings surround the Capitol.  Subsequently, I walked over to the Five Points station to make a quick jog up to Midtown to get a peek inside the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank’s museum.  The museum had some exhibits on money, and large glass windows that gave views of the vaults and cash-processing areas.

With that, I headed back to the hotel to get my luggage, and then made my way onto MARTA for the last time, back to the Garnett station and then to the Greyhound station.  By 5:30, the bus was loaded—at full capacity, which wasn’t always the case on all the legs of either journey—and made its way out of downtown Atlanta, bound north for Chicago.  While we headed out, I got to experience Atlanta-style rush hour traffic (see this picture below).

I also admired the setting sun as we headed out of the Atlanta Metro Area and through northern Georgia.

So that's the way it was, another trip for me, this time into the great Southern locale of Atlanta, which rose from ashes to become a major city again.  This was a valuable chance to the see the world from new perspectives:  I gained them from interacting with meteorology professionals about their work in the field.  I garnered them from the people who call the Atlanta area home.  I experienced it in the southern-style February weather.  And I saw it at the sites I visited, through the eyes of those who went from Atlanta onto the world stage to make a lasting impact, which surely have an impact on me as I go forth in life.