Atlanta (Appalachian Trail prep)


"Do you have lighter, white man?" Woman at the Ashby Station, Atlanta

Two fairly forgettable days in Atlanta. After over 30 hour flight with three changes in Keplavik, Iceland,  Boston and Baltimore I arrived in Atlanta on 3rd of April in the morning. Since I couldn't check in to my hostel until 3pm in the afternoon, I had a stroll downtown and sorted my American phone number. I went with T-Mobile as it was over twice cheaper than (apparently better while hiking) Verizon - having less coverage might be a good thing after all.

I've spend my second day resupplying (went for 4 days of food) and buying things I couldnt take on a plain with me (gas canister and lighter) I've thrown an extra water filter for good measure, as having a spare one gives me a peace of mind in case I loose or damage the first one.

Second half of the day was spend exploring Atlanta, I visited Centennial Olympic Park, had a quick look at World of Coca Cola and Georgia Aquarium but decided to skip both as I didn't want to throw extra cash into the Coke corporations pocket and I've been to an amazing aquarium on my last visit to San Francisco.

Instead I went down Auburn Avenue, also known as Sweet Auburn a historically African American area, closely associated with Civil Rights Movement. I've visited  Martin Luther King Jr. burial site along with a small museum right next to it.

After the visit I made my way back to the hostel in West Lake area I was staying in, with a short stop for a meal at Ashby's fastfood "Chick-fill-A", I must have been the only white person in the neighborhood, and even got a shout out from a local person asking if I got a lighter, which I found quite funny.

I made sure I was all packed for tomorrow's Amtrak train journey to Gainsville, had a shower, recharged my phone and went to bed. Luckily the over hyper person staying in my room last night (he was running around the room at 2am, eating and shutting the door really loudly) wasn't there so it was a peaceful night (until he rolled back in at about 4am)

Few pictures from charming but windy Keplavik in Iceland where I had few hours stop over between flights:

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