By: Samie

Travel Dates: July 12th-19th, 2018

Georgia

(Atlanta)

The next stop on our southeast road trip brought us to the Peach State of Georgia, specifically, the Atlanta area!

Our time in the city started on the historic side by visiting Oakland Cemetery. According to the Oakland webpage, this cemetery is the final resting place for more than 70,000. Among its many residents are Atlantan soldiers, mayors, governors, captains of industry, pioneers, authors, and trailblazers.

Among some of the notable headstones we came across within the 48 acres were Margaret Mitchell, Maynard Jackson Jr., and Robert T. Jones.

Margaret Mitchell earned world-wide fame as the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the novel Gone with the Wind! This best-seller has been translated into over 40 languages, and the 1939 film adaptation is regarded as one of the greatest films of all time.

Maynard Jackson was know for becoming Atlanta’s first African American mayor in 1974. During his three terms, he played a key role in bringing the 1996 Olympics to Atlanta.

Robert T. “Bobby” Jones is considered the greatest amateur golfer of all time. He is the only person to win the four major golfing titles in one year (1930). People have brought golf balls to lay at his grave when visiting, and the area surrounding his headstone is completely overflowing with them!

There is also a monument in the cemetery dedicated to the fallen confederate soldiers, which is not something I would’ve thought about. Many people see the confederate side of the Civil War in a certain light, but they were still soldiers with families that lost a husband, brother, or son.

Walking through the cemetery, all the architecture and botanical landscaping were absolutely stunning. As far as cemeteries go, it was a very beautiful and peaceful place. Since our visit in 2018, a few more famous faces have been laid to rest in Oakland Cemetery, including Country Music Hall of Fame singer Kenny Rogers!

After our time at Oakland Cemetery, we made our way over to the next stop of our day. We made our way over to Centennial Olympic Park, where the 1996 Olympics were held! When first walking into the park, we came across the landmark Gateway of Dreams. This sculpture pays homage to the founder of the modern Olympics, Pierre de Coubertin, and to the ideals of the Games.

Then we made our way over to the Hermes Towers, named after the mythological messenger of the gods, Hermes. These eight 65-foot towers encircle Centennial Plaza and are stylized reproductions of markers that led the ancient Greeks to significant public spaces and events and honors their time hosting the Olympic Games.

We continued our way to Fountains of Rings Plaza. When we first got to the fountain, it was filled with kids enjoying the cool water on such a hot day. During our time at the fountain, they also had a musical fountain show, which was very fun to watch and listen to! The show only happens four times a day, so we were really lucky to catch it.

Less fortunate, our trip brought us to the park in the summer of 2018, and just a few months later, in December of 2018, a colorful 5,000-pound plate aluminum sculpture was installed in Centennial Olympic Park. The sculpture stands at 11 feet tall and spans 23-and-a-half feet wide and depicts the Olympic rings. It is named The Spectacular and has since become an iconic fixture in the park and a popular spot for photo ops. So if we were to visit again, we would take full advantage of the photo op here!

The last thing we wanted to do in Centennial Olympic Park for the evening was a ride on the Skyline View Ferris Wheel. My mom does not like heights, especially when moving slowly, so she was not interested in riding the Ferris wheel, so it ended up just being us three girls; Alyssa, Rebekah, and myself.

While up in the air, we got an even better view of the Olympic Rings of the fountain. We also got a different perspective of the city skyline and all the tall buildings that started by towering around us but that we were now creeping our way up toward. We enjoyed the ride a lot!

Also, while standing below the Ferris wheel, either before or after the ride, I was approached by a man that said he liked my style and that I was model material. He gave me his business card and told me to give him a call if I was interested. Whether or not he was a legitimate modeling agent is irrelevant since I had no intention of reaching out since I have no interest in modeling and since I don’t live in the area. It still felt pretty good and made me feel a little more confident about myself! The ferris wheel operator also commented that she loved my outfit, so I was really feeling great!

There was one final stop that strictly came from my bucket list and that I insisted we find time for. We started this last adventure in Atlanta by finding a parking garage that we could walk to our intended destination from. There was even a fun mural next to the parking garage we found, so we got a bonus photo op!

We began the walk over to my favorite stop during our short time in this city, the Jackson Street Bridge! What makes this bridge so special and worthy of an entire stop you may ask? Well, it just so happens that not only does this bridge have a stunning view of the Atlanta skyline (which is what is on my souvenir mug from this travel destination), but it’s also the view from the cover photo used for Season 1 of the Walking Dead, a show I was very into in 2018!

We had planned to arrive right around sunset to get the perfect view. However, we hadn’t planned for an entire party of people standing smack dab in the middle of the bridge and taking up all the space and taking pictures for what appeared to be a recent engagement, if what the balloons and signs they were holding were any indication. And while we were very happy for them and gladly shared in their joy, the time began to tick by, and the sun began to set deeper, and our window to get a picture before it got dark began to dwindle. They saw us standing and waiting and were disregarding us completely until the new bride-to-be finally acknowledged us and let us sneak in to get a couple quick photos before they finished their photo shoot, which was really nice and considerate.

We stepped up and worked quickly to snap our pictures. Alyssa was also a big Walking Dead fan, so it was just her and I that wanted pictures of ourselves on the bridge, so it wouldn’t take long! We got to stand almost exactly where the photo for the cover was taken and got to see with our own eyes the view immediately recognizable by the show’s fans! It was quick, but it still made me extremely happy!

After that, it was time to head to our hotel and call it a night on Day 6 of our Southeast Road Trip!