I know I've gushed here before about how much I love living here in Atlanta, but... I'm gonna do it again. There are wonderful things about being here, and there are some not so wonderful things too. But, overall, I really like being here.
When Wallace and I decided to move here, I'm not exactly sure what all we based our decision on... We were living in a teeny studio apartment in State College, Pennsylvania. And we started doing some research on the internet. The 1996 summer Olympics were going to be hosted here, and we became intrigued with Atlanta... things to do here, the economy, the climate. But, neither one of us had ever been here in our lives.
For almost as long as I can remember, I've wanted to live in a city. I grew up in very rural areas of Pennsylvania. My parents would not and could not live in a city. The first time I visited a big city, on a vacation, I was immediately hooked.
Around July of 1980, I was seven years old and my parents took us on a trip to New York. We saw a lot of cool things, including the Adirondack mountains and a place where there was a gorge and white water rapids. It was pretty and serene.
We also spent a day of that vacation, in New York City. And, I was enthralled.
I'd never seen so many people before; never seen such beautiful tall buildings which seemed to rise up into the clouds. I was dizzy trying to constantly look up, while walking with my parents. Everything was so close together, and so busy and loud. It was a huge change from the quiet and calm that was our little town. I was in love.
As time went by, and I grew older, I had pretty much decided that one way or another, I would live in a city. I really wanted to live in New York City. I used to buy the Sunday New York Times, and look for apartments that I might want to live in. I was probably all of twelve or so, at the time. I even looked for schools I could go to, in NYC... just so I'd be able to live there, even for only a few years.
My parents took us on other trips, later on. I went with my parents to Washington, D.C., to Boston, MA, to Dallas/Fort Worth, TX, and to Los Angeles, CA. And, then I came to realize, that it wasn't just NYC that I liked so much, it was (mostly) big cities in general. All of them had different and wonderful things to offer, except for probably Los Angeles. But, most any big city would do, for me.
I applied to the University of Maryland, at College Park, mostly because of its proximity to Washington, D.C. (Also, it was UMCP that was featured in a few scenes in St. Elmo's Fire, and gods, how I wanted to be like they were.) I attended UMCP for a year, not doing well academically, but loving where I was, every day.
On Sundays, during that year, I would occasionally put a few books in my backpack, stop at the 7-11 for a Washington Post, cigarettes and a large coffee, and catch the Metro bus for the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station. I would take the subway to the Mall, and sit in the soft grass. I'd read the newspaper, watch the people going by, and sometimes glance at the Washington Monument, the Smithsonian or the Capitol. I was constantly amazed and happy that I lived there, and could be there to do nothing, if I wanted.
I miss Washington, D.C. It was a very pretty city. And there were a lot of places I liked to go there. I miss the Pentagon City shopping mall. I miss the Shops at Metro Center. I miss Georgetown, and the Kennedy Center. I miss being able to ride the Metro just about anywhere I wanted to go. The public transportation here in Atlanta isn't even close to what they have going on in D.C. It was so useful and so incredibly clean.
I know that I haven't even seen a tenth of what is here in Atlanta. There are often times Wallace and I will go out to do something, and we'll go a different way. And we'll see new places; always making being here an adventure.
I'll never forget the first time we saw downtown Atlanta. It was Saturday, 11 October, 1997. And Wallace and I decided to drive into the city, since we hadn't seen downtown, on the way in. My parents helped us move, and we took I-285 around Atlanta, instead of down I-85/75 through it.
I remember going by the TED, and looking up at all the tall buildings downtown. We also got fairly lost, as we drove up and down Peachtree Street, and then tried to find out way back to the highway again. We went through Buckhead, and finally made our way back to I-75/85 again. And it was beautiful. I still feel that way, every time I drive downtown, especially at night when everything is lit up.
I was in awe of living in this city, again, as I drove to the grocery store a couple of nights ago. It was dark and warm. I had the windows rolled down and was driving south from our apartment complex. The moon was gibbous and yellow in the hazy sky, and I could see some of the high-rise buildings in Buckhead lit up in the distance. I still love the tall buildings and the noise. And, it's really pretty here. With a good combination of greenspace and asphalt, quiet and noise. I still haven't quite gotten over the fact that I really live here.
And, to clearly illustrate just how completely city-fied I am now... I now get very nervous when I have to drive in the dark. You see, there isn't anywhere here, that I go on a regular basis, where there is no light at nighttime. That was something that I never thought about, until I took a trip out to see 'Sted when she was living in Birmingham... and between here and there on I-20, it gets awfully dark with no streetlights.
We're taking a short trip to Myrtle Beach to stay with my parents on the beach coming up here in July... And, I'm not looking forward to having to drive in the dark. But, I'll do anything to have a chance to sit in the sand, feel the wind in my hair and watch and listen to the wonder of the ocean. Even if I have to drive in the dark to get there...