Hiatus

Sorry, due to work contraints, resposibilities and other things going on right now, I must put this blog hiatus. Hopefully I will be able to resurrect it but for now I must put it hold. Thanks to those of you (the few and the proud) that took the time to view my pics and leave comments.

Crawfish Seafood Shack

I was introduced to a new seafood place today - it is a really small place that you would miss if you blinked - the Crawfish Seafood Shack. I checked out the rating on-line and there was nothing but positive reviews so we went.

As I said, it is small - only 3 tables. You go to the counter, order crawfish, or shrimp or 3 different kinds of fish (or a combination of these) and 2 sides - all for less than $7. They take the fresh seafood out of the front case, shell and de-vein (if ordering shrimp) and cook it fresh to order.

Whoa nelly - is it good! I'm so glad that I found this place - I know I will be going here a lot!

Squirrel

Okay - so this is not an Atlanta picture by any means but it was taken in an Atlanta neighborhood. The south has lots and lots of squirrels - I love them. I think they are really cute (although some people consider them quite a pest).

I got a glimpse of this little guy watching me from behind the tree.

The new camera is here! The new camera is here !

Whoo hoo - I have had it for about a week now but haven't had time to play with it and get use to the new features before going out for a photo shoot.

So...I took it down to Phipps Plaza today and saw these cute kids giving a concert. They were actually quite good. I enjoyed watching this one little girl on the end. There were certian times when a song was played that she obviously hadn't learned yet, so she would sit down - she would pull her beautiful long flowing green velvet dress up to show her bright pink tennis shoes underneath. As soon as the show was over, that dress came off - she had on a pink and white shirt and pink shorts under the dress - I guess pink must be her "signature color" - too cute!

New Camera - On the Way

My new camera has been ordered - has more than twice the zoom abilities as my last one - hopefully it will be here in 3 or 4 days.

** LOST CAMERA **

FYI:

Have to take a small break - my beloved camera has been lost :-(

And today I took some of my best pictures yet. I hope whoever got my camera enjoys them.

High Museum - Terra Cotta Army

The High Museum of Art currently has China's Terracotta Army exhibit. It is so fascinating. I know, without a doubt, that I will never, ever get to China to see the site in real life. I wanted to be an archaeologist when I was younger but decided I could make a better living if I chose a business major (while that part is true, part of me wonders what it would be like to have studied my first love).

It was so amazing to see these life size figures in person - the detail is just incredible - they each have their own personality, different hairstyles, different clothing - different heights, body build up, etc. It is just hard for me to comprehend that these were made by hand, that they have been around before Jesus was even born - wow ! It is hard to really capture that in my mind.

I am so glad I went to this exhibit. Sadly, if you haven't gone yet, you probably won't have a chance to - the last day is Sunday and then it moves on to another lucky city's museum.

Silhouette

Isn't this a cool building. I found myself stopped at a red light tonight right in front of Silhouette. I've seen this building many times as I sat in traffic on the downtown connector but didn't realize it was on Peachtree Street. It is very striking from a distance and just really stands out - very cool.

This building use to be Atlanta's Museum of Contemporary Art but it is now a special event facility. They still exhibit paintings, sculptures and photography in the building but the gallery

now serves as a unique location for special events.

Tea Party

April 15th is the deadline for all Americans to file their income taxes. This year, it was also a National Tea Party. Actually, Atlanta was already part of a tea party protest in late February of this year but that didn't stop people from turning out today - over 15,000 people showed up in front of the state capitol. Pretty much all major U.S. cities had tea parties yesterday as a means of protesting.

The protesters are in opposition to various aspects of government spending, including the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Homeowners Affordability & Stability Plan and the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009. The name "Tea Party" is a reference, of course, to the famous Boston Tea Party, of 1773.

Peachtree Plaza

When the Westin Peachtree Plaza opened in 1976, it was Atlanta's tallest building, the tallest hotel in the world, and the tallest building in the Southeast. Since then, however, other buildings have taken those titles. But, it is still a very striking and tall building - it is 73 floors and 723 feet tall. It has 1,068 rooms. When most people think of the Atlanta skyline - this is one of the first buildings that come to their mind. The outside is made up of reflective glass windows. It has a cool glass elevator on the outside (see the bump on the left side there) so you can view the entire city while riding up to the Sundial restaurant that is on the top floor. The Sundial is a rotating restaurant, while you dine, you get a full 360 degree view of the city.

As you can see, there seem to be some gaps in the windows. That is is because on March 14, 2008, a tornado touched down in Downtown Atlanta - it is VERY rare for a tornado to hit inside a city (they are more likely to hit open areas). The tornado caused quite a bit of damage and the Peachtree Plaza got hit really hard - breaking over 500 windows.

Of all the buildings that had tornado damage, the Peachtree Plaza is the only one that hasn't replaced all of its windows yet. Why is it taking so long? Well, the glass used is the hotel is no longer manufactured. New windows will look mismatched because the remaining ones have been weathered from 30+ years of sitting in the southern sunshine. Plus, since the windows were first installed, there have been changes in the building codes.

Therefore all 5,600 windows are being replaced from the top down (at a cost of around $20 million - thank goodness for insurance, huh?) . They are expected to have all been replaced by mid-2010

Lun Lun - Atlanta Panda

This is Lun Lun - isn't she cute !! If you get to Zoo Atlanta early (right when they open) and head straight to the pandas, you will most likely be lucky enough to catch Lun Lun and Yang Yang eating away on their breakfast bamboo. I haven't seen Mi Lan since she was about a year old and I still haven't seen Xi Lan yet - maybe next time she will be out and about

Oakland Angel

Oakland Cemetery is one of my favorite places to go - it is so peaceful and serene. I believe I have posted a picture from here before but I just enjoy the quietness here so much that I am sure this is not the last photo you will see.

The tombs and statues are true works of art.

The DOGNY Project

The DOGNY Project, sponsored by the American Kennel Club, is a tribute to the Search and Rescue dogs. This bronze statue was dedicted outside of the Department of Agriculture on September 11, 2003. It is a permanent tribute to America's search and rescue dogs. He faces the Capitol building.

Following the 09/11/01 attacks, search and rescue dogs were called to find survivors. They are called upon often and therefore deserve a fitting tribute.

Atlanta has a lot of beautiful statues but this one holds a special place in my heart.

Underground Atlanta

In the 1970s, Underground Atlanta was THE place to be - lots of different nightclubs and restaurants. I remember getting so jealous of my older brother who would go to Underground Atlanta and come home with these cool hurricane glasses from the various nightclubs.

In the mid 1830, a railroad line was built from Atlanta to Chattanooga, TN. The zero mile post, which is still there was in the location where Underground Atlanta now resides. Between 1866 - 1920, Atlanta grew very quickly (recovering from the war) and of course railroad transportation was viable to the city's growth.

During the 1920's, construction of the viaducts elevated the street up one level - merchants moved up to the 2nd level - the old storefronts were left underneath and used mostly for storage - thereby leaving the older part of Atlanta underground.

Atlanta continued to grow into a busy city above the viaducts and the old storefronts underground near mile marker zero sat quite and lonely until 1968, when the Atlanta Board of Alderman declared this area a historic site. In 1969, Underground was re-opened as retail and entertainment center.

Crime and slowing business, in addition to the subway system, MARTA being built, caused Underground to close around 1980. This left many Atlantans quite sad, but fortuntely in 1989, after $142 million restoration, it re-opened. Although the nightlife is not the same now as it was in the 1970s (but what place is?), Underground is still quite a popular place! There are very unique stores & restaurants.

Also, this is where the annual "Peach Drop" (Atlanta's solution to New Year's Eve Times Square) takes place and has millions of attendees each year !

Pink Azaleas

I know I have said this lots of times before but Atlanta in the spring is sooooo beautiful !!!

I also know I've posted pics of cherry blossoms, Bradford pear tree blossoms, etc. but a picture of Atlanta in the Spring would not be complete without azaleas - they are jut blooming all over the place. My favorite ones are the white ones and the hot pink ones (but there is also purple and light pink) .

Jesus Saves

This Jesus Saves sign can be seen from almost any location in Atlanta - I love the fact that it really stands out while you are riding on the extremly busy 75/85 interchange through downtown - it simply cannot be missed - if you don't see it, you aren't looking at the skyline.

The sign sits atop Big Bethel A.M.E church, which was founded in 1847 and is and is the oldest predominantly African American congregation in the Atlanta area. In 1911, President William H. Taft spoke from the pulpit of Big Bethel.

The original church had a fire in 1920 and was rebuilt in 1922 (though some original walls remain). It was then that the Jesus Saves sign was erected on the steeple.

Click It - or Ticket

It is the law in Georgia (well I think it is the law in every state actually) that the driver and all passengers under the age of 18 must wear a seat belt while the vehicle is in motion. In addition, all passengers in the front seat (regardless of age) must wear a seat belt.

That is of course, unless you drive a pickup truck. In Georgia, at least, if you are driving a pick up truck you are exempt from wearing a seat belt. The legislature decided not to include pickup trucks because of a fear that the law would inconvenience farmers. Georgia is the only state in the nation that continues to exempt safety belt use in pickup trucks.

I think the Click It or Ticket poster is quite interesting - I mean how is this guy in the poster suppose to even put on his seat belt since his is obviously arm-less? Poor little arm-less guy with the teeny tiny legs. I seriously hope this dude is not in an accident. Even though he is buckled in, I'm sure the impact of the crash will cause his head to go flying through the air - considering he also has no neck to speak of.

Zesto !

Zesto is another Atlanta icon (although it doesn't have an "s", everyone I know calls it Zestos (with the "s") - not really sure why, but if you ask anyone where they can get good ice cream in town, they will say "Zestos"

They have such great soft serve ice cream - and boy do they know how to pile it on that cone - you get a lot for the money. My fave location is the once on Ponce de Leon Ave because I love the 50s stlye decor.

My usual order...corn dog and tator tots. If I have room left over, I get the Nut Brown Crown for dessert - great comfort food!

Pollen Time !

Everytime this year, Atlanta turns a lovely shade of yellow-green because there is pollen, pollen everywhere. I cannot believe that with all the rain we had the past week that there is pollen everywhere - it should have all been washed away. Don't believe me? Take a look at some more shots (not taken by me though).

I was pumping some gas in my car and noticed all this pollen on the gas pump - the shapes were quite interesting to me I even see the form of a little hidden Mickey mouse head (do you see it?). They say more rain tonight - so hopefully some of this will be washed away.

Girl with Puppies

How cute is this little bronze piece? It is a little girl playing with puppies. Found this little gem when I was shopping at "The Avenue". How sweet.

Blue Skies - Smiling at Me !!

Finally, the sky is blue again ! The past week has been grey, windy and rainy. I was happy to see the sun shining over Atlanta today !!

Marble Staircase - Hurt Building

Isn't this staircase beautiful ?? It is carved from marble and is located inside the entrance to the Hurt Building. The 18 story building was designed in 1913 by architect Joel Hurt and is considered to be one of Atlanta's first skyscrapers (I am sure in the 1910s that 18 stories was considered quite tall!!). It is one of those "corner buildings" as I call them that sit in a traigular intersection and is my favorite type of building. I'll have to get some exterior shots of the building next time I'm in that section of town. (Click on the picture to see more detail and the beautiful colors spread throughout the marble)

Belly General Store

I love Belly General Store located in the Virginia Highlands area ~ mostly because they have the most AWESOME cupcakes in the whole wide world. One day I was craving their Red Velvet Cupcake and I went there and they were out (when they are out for the day, they are out so you never know what is going to be available when you get there).

So...I had a choice to get a vanilla cupcake or a peanut butter and jelly cupcake. I thought what the heck, and got both. Let me tell you I wasn't expecting much from the PB&J cupcake - sounded a bit odd. But my taste buds did the happy dance when they had it. Now it is my favorite!!

Sadly for me, it is a LOT of people's favorite. They are out of them a lot and the last 4 times I went there they were already gone for the day. But I did manage to get one today - I went for at breakfast time and saved my cupcake until evening - yummy, yum, yum!

Eternal Flame

This is an enternal flame for Jesse Hill, Jr. It was place in front of this church (at Auburn Ave and Jesse Hill, Jr. Drive) to honor him. How cool is that?! If you click on the picture above, you will be able to read what the plaque says.

What the heck is this?

What is this? I have no freakin' idea. My friend and I were just driving around and we spotted it on the side of the road in a field. What the heck is it? Looks like some kind of weird sacrificial sight - we didn't stick around to find out what it was - besides there wasn't anyone around anyway - very strange

ING Marathon

Today was the annual ING Marathon, 1/2 Marathon and 5K. We saw lots of racers today but because of roads being closed off, it wasn't easy to get some shots. I did manage to get some of them wrapped up in their racing blankets and another one of some of the side-line cheerers

Olympic Memories

The 1996 Summer Olympics were held in Atlanta and were AWESOME !! I volunteered at the Media center and met people from all over the world - wicked cool ! The tower with all the stairs on the left is where the Olympic flame burned - it still remains along with other memories like the Olympic rings. What a great summer that was - being a part of it was incredible.

Turner Field

Baseball season is almost upon us - hooray !! I drove by Turner Field and much to my surprise and joy, the gate was open so I could go in and take a look around. I can hardly wait for opening day !! You are bound to see more pictures of Turner Field once the games begin!

City Grill

Look at this highly ornate ceiling at the City Grill. The sad thing is so many people don't bother looking up and seeing this beautiful sight. I am sure the person/people who installed this detailed mosiac were quite proud of themselves when done, as well they should be.

Sculpture

I knot the little plaque placed at the foot of this says the name and artist of this piece of art but I totally didn't write it down, thinking I would remember it - which of course I didn't. I don't know what it is called but I call it Pacman because that is what it reminds me of.

Red Bud Trees

Okay, okay - I know, another tree picture but I can't help myself. They are absolutely beautiful this year. Well they are every year but they seem to be lingering longer and be more full this year. Maybe I just notice them more because I'm constantly seeking photo ops. Either way, I just had to take a picture of this red-bud tree. I have no idea why they are called red-bud trees when they are pinkish/purple.

Bradford Pear Trees

These Bradford Pear Trees fill Atlanta each spring - and they've been quite beautiful and full this year. Sadly, I haven't taken pictures of any until today and they blooms are starting to fall off. I wanted to capture a pic of them while I still could. Be forwarned though - don't get around a big group of them - the actually smell awful - and they don't produce pears either !

Cherry Blossoms

I love, love, love Atlanta in the Spring. One reason I love Atlanta so much is that we really have a full four seasons. Spring, of course, is one of the most beautiful. Last week the Bradford Pear trees were in full bloom and this week it is the Cherry Blossom trees. The sky is blue and the temp. is in the mid to high 60s - just perfect weather.

Get outta the (Seg) Way

I have no idea what is going on here actually but I have heard somewhere that Atlanta offers a tour of the city on Segways - interesting - I might have to check that out !!

No Profanity Allowed

I saw this sign, left over from some kind of event at Turner Field (appeared to be related to rap music since I found several rap CDs on the ground) - wonder how they expected to control that rule at a venue the size of Turner field? What if they found someone using profanity - did they get escorted out by security?

Homeless

It is so sad - Atlanta has a bigger homeless population than most people like to acknowledge. Most of them seem to be black males - perhaps it is because there seem to be more resources for homeless females, especially those with children. Here is a group of men that seem to hang around Hurt Park (located near Georgia State University).

Graffiti Face

I do not like graffiti, as a general rule - it makes a place look beaten and broken down and quite frankly a bit scary. However, I am intrigued by it at the same time. I mean some of these graffiti artist are amazingly talented. This is not one of the ones that fall into the amazing group but it is still very interesting.

2 Swans A-Swimming

I think most people are facinated by swans. It is a not a bird you see everyday - but I see these 2 almost daily. They are in a little man-made pond surrounding some office buildings. There are usally a few ducks hanging around with them but the ducks were off doing their own thing today, leaving these swans time to have the whole pond to themselves.

Agnes Scott College

As stated previously, Atlanta is full of Universities - 13 total I believe. Agnes Scott College was founded in 1889 and has a beautiful campus. Did you see the movie Scream 2 ? Well it was filmed here and this is the campus where Neve Campbell's character attended. It is a women's liberal arts college (although I understand men are allowed to take certian classes there to meet their education requirements).

Those are NOT Roses

I found this tiny but proudly displayed sign by this group of flowers today. I found it quite humorous since there were not any roses within view - I looked all around and didn't find a single rose bush. Someone needs to tell these folks that these flowers, while quite pretty, are NOT roses !!!

Parking Rates

Like most big cities, parking can be hard to locate downtown. Many people that work downtown must pay to park - at their place of employment ! Fortunetly, I am not one of them - we have free parking! But not everyone is so lucky, as you can see. Can you imagine paying $60 a week to park where you work? Although I've heard some say they have paid as much as $200 a week. I usually don't have problems finding places to park, but sometimes I don't want to pay the rates that are being asked.

Fellini's Fountain

Ah the joys of youth - aren't these kids the cutest! They are playing around the fountain at Fellini's Pizza (yes, named after the famous Italian director). Anytime the weather warms, Atlantans flock to the outdoor dining restaurants - kids in tow. They were really having fun just running around the fountain and throwing in an occassional penny that a patron would give them - too cute!

United Way

The United Way building is located near Hurt Plaza. I actually was seeking to take a photo of the hand sculpture - that resembles this symbol but there were quite a few homeless men hanging around it at the time so I decided against it. I don't have a problem with the homeless, per se, but one of them was seriously yelling and talking to himself and frankly, you don't know what a mentally challenge person will do - so I just took a pic of the sign. I'll try to get the sculpture another time.

Land Shark

Isn't this little guy cute? I found him inside Boneheads in the Perimeter area. He holds the menus. I had the fish tacos - mmmm good !!

Spring is Coming

You know what they say about the weather in Atlanta? If you don't like it, wait a minute. That is so true. I can't believe we had snow on the ground this time last week. Look at it now!!

Sweet Tea and Coca-Cola

Sweet ice tea - often called the Table Wine of the South, is a staple in Atlanta, if you aren't drinking a cold tall glass of it, then you are probably drinking a glass of Coke (often shortened to Co-Coler). We drink gallons of this stuff ! Why? Because it is so good!!