Atlanta: Day 2

We spent the first 5.5 hours of the day looking for a Waffle House, which I just learned is affectionately called the “Awful Waffle” by the locals. We finally found one in Tennessee, then from there we couldn’t escape them. They seem to own the whole south; but the waffles were much better than the nickname implies. I recently heard that the Waffle House chain was rated the dirtiest in the nation; I can see why. I’ve never seen a place where cleaning fluid is sprayed from a large bucket inches from where you are eating above your food on the floor and where the food is cooked. Then they literally hose down the floor while you are eating, I’m still not sure what the bits in the liquid that floated by my feet were. At least the food was good.

We arrived in Atlanta at about 12:30 PM EST, 20 hours after we left the Twin Cities. We kicked off the day with a driving tour of the city. I have never seen so much money flaunted. I saw several Ferraris, slews of BMWs, Lexus’, and Mercedes. There is even valet parking and front door parking so you can show off your money even while shopping. I’m told Georgia has the highest amount of debt in the nation, I can see why.

This evening we went to Stone Mountain, it is a massive monument dedicated to the leadership of the confederacy. The place started as a monument, but now the whole place is some kind of kiddy amusement park by day and a cheesy laser light show by night. It was a great look into southern culture. Georgians are very proud of their state, more so than any other state I’ve seen. Nearly every song played was relating to how wonderful Georgia was and how great the south is. Naturally, “Dixie Land” was a prominent feature of the evening. There were minimal fireworks to add to the show, something that helped to keep the pace and energy level up. It ended with a patriotic tribute to our troops, leaving the entire crowd feeling like they could each personally over throw a small country’s dictatorship.