I've never been a beach person - nor much of a water person for that matter - there are only lakes and rivers in the land-locked Prairies scoured out of the ground by the glacial action of the last ice age and the meltwaters of the Rocky Mountains .
But, I think I could be... Place name links like Carolina Beach, NC go to Wikipedia. Place name links like Carolina Beach use the local tourism or government website.
| 2012.12.15 |
Atlanta, Georgia |
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| Apart from being on the Google Maps best route, Atlanta also houses the Georgia Aquarium right in the heart of downtown. The aquarium is the world's largest, with over 8 million gallons of water holding 120,000 animals representing 500 species. I had seen some "engineering wonders" program about the aquarium, so was curious to see the facility. What we weren't prepared for was the $35 admission fee, and the TSA-style security to get into the place. Nonetheless, we made our way inside. |
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Approaching downtown | |
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| There are many interactive exhibits, with chances to touch and get close to various non-harmful creatures. |
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the window is
4 feet wide | |
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| A walk through a long tunnel under the water surrounds you with fishes
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| an 8-foot diameter hemispheric window lets you appear to be in the tank | |
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| One large, dark room is devoted to a window on the main tank, with the largest piece of cast glass in the world holding back the many tons of water needed for such a range of creatures to get along. The mood in the room was a playful reverence, hushed but not somber, wide-eyed and awe-struck in the blue glow of the water as various fishes swam and drifted by near and distant. THis room would made a real neat cafe or restaurant, or even just a place to sit and relax. |
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| Frogs large and small had their own zone |
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| 2012.12.15 |
Saturday Night on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, LA |
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| After a serene couple hours it was time to hit the road again and head south to a livelier New Orleans, LA . We zoomed through the rest of Atlanta, then Alabama and Mississippi, into Louisiana.
And slowed to a crawl... as we navigated into downtown New Orleans on a busy Saturday evening with cars and people clogging the streets. This picture was our first view of Bourbon Street, waiting to cross it as we waited in a slow-crawling line of cars making our way to our hotel. |
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Once we got settled into our room we set out to see what Bourbon Street was about. It was just around the corner from our hotel on Canal Street so we headed out into the warm (for December) humid evening. Other than reputation, my only exposure to 'Bourbon Street' was an area of a big shopping mall back home (Bourbon Street - West Edmonton Mall). As could be seen once we rounded the corner onto the real Bourbon Street, the mall's interpretation of the place was a cheap marketing facade.
The first indication of the character of the place was the crowds, people streaming, wandering, stumbling onto and off of Canal Street. And along with the crowds comes noise, a constant burble of chatter and laughter and shouting and hooting and hollering, fueled by youth and music spilling from various venues and street barkers hawking their libations and entertainment, all fueled by youthful exuberance and open alcohol consumption. On Bourbon Street you can grab a beer or something stronger and join the crowd andering the streets. But, no glass. So around 8:30 pm, we did.
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| At the end of the liveliest part of the street we turned around |
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| and got a corner table on a 2nd- floor restaurant patio for dinner. |
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From our perch overlooking the Maison Bourbon we had an excellent view down the street to watch the commotion. Drinking revellers, tourists, bachelorette parties, religious proclaimers all wandering the street generating a constant wall of noise that according to our waiter didn't wind down until 5am. After dinner we stopped in at the Maison for some jazz at a table right in front of the band. Nothing fancy music-wise, but a taste New Orleans entertainment, and more beers.
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After Bourbon Maison we wandered back down the street, stopping in at a Zydeco club, and then an open-air jazz venue, stopping in at some shops along the way, before making our way back to Canal Street to wander around a bit more, then to sleep, leaving the early-morning revellers to keep the party going, which they were still doing in full force. We still had some more touristing and then another day of driving to our next stop. |
From the family-friendly blue-tinged serenity of Atlanta's Georgia Aquarium to the alcohol-fuelled hubbub of Bourbon Street, punctuated by a 6-hour drive, we had packed quite a lot into one day. |
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