Atlanta…

I hate to break it to you folks. But Atlanta is no Atlantis, a lost paradise. Not even close. However, Atlanta does have a few benefits that hide behind the overly congested freeways packed with people who can’t drive, the racism, no alcohol on Sundays, bad shopping, cold weather, mosquitoes, cockroaches on steroids, SNOW, and terrible customer service. (Did I mention that the malls are horrendous?)
Those things are as follows: Piedmont Park and Waffle House

Piedmont park is the most gorgeous place in the south on those first days of spring when everything blooms at once and all of the people in the city come and share this lovely communal space in such a peaceful way that you could never imagine that segregation in this city implicated Piedmont Park as a “color line.” Its beautiful, interesting, and surprisingly easy to find parking. For an afternoon all can pretend that Atlanta is a real city with a cosmopolitan feel. Although that veneer dissipates as soon as you get back in your car to go home, Piedmont park feels like New York’s Central Park on those fine days early in the spring.

For the rest of the year when the weather isn’t anywhere near nice enough to walk in the park like a teenager in love, Waffle House is the spot. Open 24 hours, having locations all over Atlanta, and the cheapest menu possible, Waffle house is that perfect thing anytime of day or night when you want some good greasy breakfast that will allow you to eat away your troubles (even if they are, like mine, related to dieting). Don’t forget to tip though, the waiters don’t even make half of the state’s minimum wage. 

Screw Virginia. Piedmont park is for lovers.