Gone with the Wind

Every trip I take on my own tends to have a theme. Sometimes I plan it out accordingly, but more often they manifest themselves throughout my journey.  This one was a little more obvious.  

In high school my senior year English teacher was having a book giveaway to make room in her library for newer copies.  I grabbed an old paperback of Gone With The Wind and have held onto it for seven years now and haven't had the time to open it, especially considering it's 1024 pages long.  But it seemed fitting to pack since I was on my way to Atlanta for the first time.  My goal is to finish it by September, so whenever I had a lazy moment on the couch, I'd read a few chapters, diving into a different time of Atlanta's past, when Peachtree wasn't a four lane highway, but a dirt road where ladies in hoop shirts walked to their grand houses.

I didn't plan on going to the Margaret Mitchell Museum, author of Gone With The Wind, I didn't even think about looking for it actually. But while riding the Marta, I heard the announcer mention the stop and it seemed to call to me. For a last minute trip, I stopped by the house and learned a little more about her and where the story came from.  I even got to sit on a bench in her courtyard and read the book where it was written, which was a pretty awesome moment.  For one, Margaret Mitchell was an extremely private person and would probably be appalled that there is a museum in her honor.  She was a cat lady and a tom boy.  She only wrote the book as an way to deter boredom after an accident that caused to be bedridden for a few months, making her to have to quit her job at the local newspaper.  She wasn't even planning on publishing it and she wrote the last chapter first and the first three chapters last.  I haven't quite gotten to the end and in truth I may be a little behind my deadline, but it makes me even more intrigued to know how it will end so I can see it the way she did, a women who came from a family from Jonesboro with fathers who fought in the civil war.  Plus finally finishing it will give me a great excuse for an extra long movie night.

Day 1: Journey down 1-85, Wine Wednesday at Dantana's

Day 2: Take the Marta to the High Museum of Art

Day 3: Shopping in Little Five Points

Day 4: Mimosa Brunch at Bricktops in Buckhead, Afternoon at the Botanical Gardens, Dinner and Drinks at Tap

Day 5: Georgia Aquarium, Sushi dinner

Day 6: Lunch and shopping in Decauter, Journey back up I-85.

Atlanta Botanical Gardens

Here's another post with a photo overload, but being surrounded by so much natural beauty at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens it was impossible not to snap my camera constantly!  This was my favorite day in Atlanta, after all the rain we finally managed to have one afternoon with perfect temperature and no clouds, ideal for an outdoor adventure!

This summer the gardens are hosting the Imaginary Worlds exhibit, which has toured all over Europe and is now seen for the first time in the US.  Imaginary Worlds is a series of beautiful living sculptures that tower over visitors, creating a larger then life wonderland!  Between these amazing sculptures and the exotic orchid house, the Atlanta Botanical Gardens is a place to reconnect to the Earth Goddess and to find her in yourself.

 

 

Georgia Aquarium

I've said this before, but I have a fascination with aquariums.  They are breathtakingly beautiful and they have a serenity that is hard to come by on land.  The Georgia Aquarium houses 120,000 animals, representing 500 species, in 8.5 million gallons of marine and fresh water; it was the world's largest aquarium when it opened in 2005. 

My favorite sea creature is the sting ray, they glide through the water like a bird glides through the air. Standing 10 inches away from them, I just put my hand against the glass and almost feel the manta ray's silk wings swim by.  Standing in the IMAX of aquarium displays was a whole new experience, just sitting and watching all the animals around me.  Even the dancing jellyfish and the tiniest seahorse, with its tail woven around the seaweed have a genuine beauty. Every time I leave an aquarium I have a new sense of calm around me and can only image a life away from the sun and into the deep dives of the blue ocean.

Rainy Day Art

It's that time of year again, for another adventure and another place to add to my collection!  Last week I traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to see Amy, a good girlfriend from college. It's always more fun to share trips with people close to you, having more laughs, a second opinion and a local tour guide. 

On our first day of adventuring in Atlanta, we went to the High Museum of Art, somewhere Amy had been wanting to explore and I, as an artist, am drawn to by nature. We were lucky to see their latest exhibit of Dutch painters including Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring! It was such a beautiful collection of paintings where I could have spent hours staring at the delicate flower still lives or the warm landscapes that make even a blizzard scene look cozy and inviting.

Museums become the keynote of my travels since art lifts my spirits and inspires my creative soul. I hope these beautiful images I collected from the day inspires you and gives you a little taste of the High Museum of Art.