Lots of Kermits at the gardens

More pictures from the Atlanta Botanical Gardens from our trip in June.

We got there right when it opened on a weekday and there wasn’t too many other people there. Luckily as we walked through the front section a Mom with her babies walked right by. I was able to get a couple of shots before they headed into the bushes.

I saw several eastern towhees. They were not skittish at all. One landed on the sidewalk right in front of me.

The gardens have the most fabulous green frogs when you can find them. On my last trip here (November 2022) I couldn’t find any. This trip there were a lot of them in the big lotus and lily pond in front of the orchid building. I’m sure they keep the mosquitoes down.

There was also a turtle peeking out.

A dragonfly on a lotus bud.

The orchid/rainforest building is on the left with a few buildings in Midtown in the middle.

Walking down the elevated canopy walk.

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Walking around Midtown Atlanta

On the first morning we were in Atlanta I got out early for a long walk. I headed down to Colony Square near Piedmont Park. The big complex is a mixed use area with offices, condos, restaurants and shops. Many years ago we used to cut through here on our way to the park for the Dogwood Festival. It was weird being back after so many years. The park is just down the block but I was saving that walk for later.

On my way back I stopped and walked around the old IMB tower (now called One Atlantic Center). They have a pretty garden in the back and had lots of hydrangeas. Many years ago it was the tallest building in Midtown and you could see it from the interstate.

A lot of the streets in Midtown look like this, all lined with trees. Walking back around 8am I expected to see lots of people pouring into the office buildings but it felt like a Saturday morning instead of a Monday. I guess a lot of people still work from home even though all I hear is “back to the office”.

For lunch we went to one of our favorite local taco places and the parking lot was full of Canadian geese. The lot was next to a small river which might be why they hang out here (and hoping for a handout). People must be feeding them here because a few walked right up to us when we got out of the car.

We got our food and was sitting outside when more geese showed up. Of course I had to stop eating and take a quick video.

After lunch Brett had to head back to the condo to do some quick work so he dropped me off at the other side of Piedmont Park and I walked back through the park to get to our condo. This is my favorite spot to get shots of Midtown across the lake.

I found some baby ducks hanging out with some turtles as I walked across the bridge over the lake.

Walking by the soccer fields, it took me about an hour to get back.

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Blooming in Atlanta

While Brett and I were in Atlanta in June we spent a morning at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. It’s funny that in the 17 years I lived here I never visited the gardens and now it’s my favorite place to stop when we are there to see friends.

I was expecting to see a ton of butterflies but only saw a few.

I love hydrangeas. Tulips and hydrangeas are the two flowers I miss the most from Atlanta. Neither do well in central Florida. I saw the above oriental lace hydrangea and don’t remember seeing this type before.

The lotus was in full bloom.

They had fields of pitcher plants. I wish I could get them to grow in my yard but the one I have in a hanging basket is not doing well.

There was a display of Alice’s Wonderland Larger Than Life topiaries around the gardens.

All of the characters from the book were there. Above are just a few.

The view from the vegetable garden. You can’t take a picture of the Atlanta skyline without a few construction cranes in them.

The earth goddess is my favorite spot in the gardens. I think this is the first time I’ve seen her hair blooming in so many colors.  We spent most of the morning here and I took a ton of pictures so more to come.

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What we did on our summer vacation

Brett and I took a roadtrip to Atlanta in June for a week. We hadn’t been since late 2022 when we both got the flu and ended up spending 2 days in the hotel and then going home 2 days early.  We lived there for years before moving to Florida so we were going back to visit old friends and visit some of our old favorite places. We usually stay out in the suburbs near friends but this time we rented a condo in midtown. The first night we were there a storm came in and I shot the above with my phone on our balcony.

The next night we had an early dinner with friends and was back at the condo right before sunset. I went up to the pool deck on the 24th floor and shot the above.

Another sunset the next night with clouds moving in.

Just a few blocks from our condo was this old white house on Spring Street and it was interesting how all of these tall buildings are going up around it but the house remains. After a little research I learned it was a funeral home built in 1928 and was granted historical landmark protection. Margaret Mitchell (writer of Gone With the Wind) had her funeral here as well as other Atlanta notables. It’s going to be renovated into a restaurant and event space.

One afternoon we stopped at the famed Dekalb Farmers Market. It’s a huge building with so many different types of food from all cultures. It’s always packed and since we were not home we didn’t buy any perishables but lots of snacks to take back to Tampa.

One afternoon we headed over to Little Five Points neighborhood. Back in the 80’s this was the cool punk area to hang out in. It was filled with vintage and thrift stores and it was fun to people watch. The area has gotten a little more mainstream now and is known as an artists mecca. The anchor store is the Junkman’s Daughter. This was a great thrift store back in the day but now it’s mostly tshirts and souvenirs.

The black building above used to be the Little Five Points Pub and I saw the Indigo Girls play there back in the late 80’s before they were famous.

We were back at the condo one afternoon to take a break and I noticed how bad the traffic was going through Atlanta at 2pm in the afternoon. Rush hour traffic is all day there.

I went up to the pool deck to snap the above. There are so many cranes here. Most are high rise resident buildings going up.

The frog topiary on the next block from our condo. I took a lot of pictures as we were on the go all week going to see old sites and a new one so I have a few more posts coming on our trip. It’s amazing how much the city has changed in the 22 years we’ve lived in Tampa although a few things were still the same.

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Red, pink and orange in November

The Atlanta Botanical Gardens still had a lot of color blooming when I was there in early November. Atlanta hadn’t gotten a lot of cold weather yet and it was warm the morning I was there. We were hoping we would get to wear our jackets on this trip but that wasn’t the case.

Beauty in the gardens including the blooming lady statue behind the waterfall.

The trees also had a lot of color. I took a ton of pictures with my phone so more to come on this visit.

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Sightseeing in Atlanta

It was a little weird standing under Georgia 400 during our trip to Atlanta in early November. We found this small park that runs along the Chattahoochee River as we were heading north to have lunch with a friend. After lunch we stopped by the park and got out and walked around. It was loud standing under the major highway that is at least 4-5 lanes going each direction. I have driven on this highway a million times when I lived here but never thought to stand underneath it.

Most of the trees were in bright colored leaves with just a few still with green leaves. If you follow the trail that leads away from the highway it starts to get quieter. We didn’t go too far since we still had a lot to do that afternoon but it was a nice quick stop.

The next morning I headed out early for a walk around Piedmont Park before going to the Botanical Gardens. I love this spot on the lake in the middle of the park where the buildings reflect off the water. The park was busy and there was a movie being filmed in one corner of the park. I couldn’t get close enough to see what was going on though.

The trees here were just starting to turn colors.

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Road trip to look for color

It was time for a road trip. We headed up to Atlanta for a long weekend to visit friends. I was also hoping to see some fall leaves but we may have just missed the peak season. 

Along the way we passed miles of cotton fields that were ready to be picked. It almost looked like the ground was covered in snow as we whizzed by. 

As we got closer to Atlanta I could see lots of color. There was still a lot of yellow, orange and red in the trees so we didn’t miss the season completely.

Passing by the iconic Olympic torch tower. This replica was built for the 1996 Summer Olympics that was held here. At the time you were able to climb the stairs and see all around Atlanta but it has since been closed. We were living here at the time and my sister and I spent many nights down at the Olympic park during the games. 

The parking lot at our hotel was like a fairy tale with all of the bright colors.

An early morning walk before heading out for the day.

We stopped at a friend’s house for lunch and her camellia bushes were still blooming. 

She also had some little green critters hiding in her garage. 

More to come on those fall leaves.

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Craving yellow, red and orange

Now that we are well into November, I’m really craving fall leaves. Normally, Brett and I would have taken a trip in early October to see fall leaves. Last year we were in Boston and the the year before in Utah and we saw a lot of yellow and orange. Here in central Florida, we don’t really see fall leaves until late December if that and this year we just had day trips close to home. I was looking through some old folders and found these pictures of the leaves in the north Georgia mountains. Years ago Brett and I were visiting relatives and went hiking at Amicalola Falls State Park. It’s about an hour north of Atlanta so it was easy to get there. It hadn’t been raining for a while so there wasn’t much water coming over the falls but the leaves were amazing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Fun Atlanta shots with my phone

A shot of downtown Atlanta from the Ponce City Market.

Street art.

Two old favorite hangouts in Little Five Points. Old vintage store, Junkman’s Daughter  and the best burgers in the Point at the Vortex.

We always stop at Doc Chey’s Noodle house for lunch when we visit Atlanta. Brett and I use to go there when we first started dating. We’ve been married over 24 years so it’s been open a long time.

A view of Buckhead from Lenox Mall. There’s a lot more buildings since we moved.

We went to a Braves game at the new stadium with Cobb.

I climbed all the way up to the top row. Nice breeze up there but the players looked like little ants. I didn’t stay up there long. A little creepy going back down the stairs.

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