A Week in Atlanta - What to do, what to do...?

My, how time flies when you're not blogging. Valentine's Day, my birthday, meetings with ex's, romantic roller coaster rides: all come and gone.

But now my blog finds me in Atlanta. Arrived this afternoon (Monday) and after finally scouting out a free source of WiFi in the airpoirt (Delta fliers take note: Screw ATL's lack of free wifi and go to the Delta "Recharge" Station, where you can find both an outlet AND a free linksys WiFi access point), I easily made my way to the OMNI hotel in Downtown Atlanta via the MUNTA ($2.25 each way).

(A bit of back story: I'm here visiting with my mother, who is in town from Thailand for a conference; her birthday is this week and she asked me to come and hang out with her. I've never been to Atlanta in my adult life, so voila, mini-vacation. Hence the hotel swankiness that I wouldn't otherwise be experiencing.)

After checking in, browsing the local Yelp for food recommendations, I went to wander around Downtown a bit. I didn't get all that far, but it seems to be a bit of a cultural and gastronomic wasteland. Lots of empty storefronts and streets, and what eateries were about are designed to cater to the college and convention crowd in the area. I popped into one recommended joint, the Calypso Cafe; about average Caribbean cuisine, stark decor, moderately priced, but they seemed to be out of half the menu. I had the "spicy" jerk chicken with plantains and rice and peas. Nothing to write home about (though here I am, writing about it.)

I strolled around the area a bit more. One thing I found confusing was that it was 50 degrees F, incredibly windy, yet some people seemed to be under the impression that it was much warmer, walking around in t-shirts and spring clothing. Furthermore, no one seemed to realize that they were supposed to be cold. The residents of Atlanta really need to learn to be cold and complain about the weather more - it's positively uncivilized.

Then back to the hotel to exercise a bit in their swanky fitness/spa center, take a bath, finish reading my sugary vampire novel and wait for my mom to arrive.