I’ve been to Atlanta several times, and I always feel really comfortable there; quite at home. Perhaps because I spend a good portion of my visits there with family.

This visit was no different. Coming as it did on the heels of three thousand miles of driving, I was ready to lay everything down and get some good rest. I did just that for several days. We attended a fun, native American festival one day. I didn’t sightsee much this time because I’ve been all touristy in Atlanta on previous visits. However, one of my cousins convinced me to hike up Kennesaw Mountain. Several times on that climb, my heart thought it would explode! But I lived to tell the story.

Lake Acworth was the other new place I visited on this trip. It’s a beautiful, urban, man-made lake. The white sand on the beach isn’t naturally occurring, but is purchased from other places and regularly spread on the beach. This concept of buying and transporting sand to make artificial beaches has been interesting for me, having grown up in a place where the beaches I know of occur naturally.

Besides these, there are many other attractions to see in Atlanta, including the CNN Headquarters downtown. You can pay for a variety of studio tours and get to see news being made. Nearby is the Centennial Olympic Park, which is the largest downtown park in the US. It was built as part of the infrastructure for the 1996 Summer Olympics hosted by Atlanta. North of the park is the Georgia Aquarium, the world’s largest aquarium. It made the list of Patricia Schultz’s 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. You may also want to learn about the history of Coca-Cola at their world headquarters on Pemberton Place, close to Centennial Olympic Park.

Let’s not forget that Tyler Perry and his studios are also now an attraction in Atlanta. I’ve heard that Hollywood is completely baffled by the fact that TP has been able to create box-office successes outside of the Hollywood studio system. Regardless of your opinion of his movies, you must admit the man’s a genius, and he’s laughing all the way to the bank. Of greater interest to me on this trip was finding out that the acting industry is beginning to thrive in Atlanta.  I will be back.