The Gracious Folks of Atlanta, GA
I recently spent two wonderful days in Atlanta, Ga. I haven’t been to Atlanta in years and quite honestly, I was pleasantly surprised at what a wonderful time I had. My Hubby-Do had a business trip, so I went with him.
During the drive, we were commenting on what an easy trip it had been even with all the road construction, when low and behold we see a sign announcing an accident ahead that has the left four lanes of traffic blocked. Count them…1…2…3…4…out of six….in Atlanta, GA. I can only imagine what type of accident would do this. It had to be tragic.
A Gracious Blogger Friend
Of course, I had made this trip to spend time with Hubby-Do, but I was really looking forward to meeting a very successful blogger friend, who had so graciously agreed to meet me for lunch. Time keeps on ticking…
Can you imagine four lanes of traffic merging into 2? I texted my friend to tell her what was going on and to my great surprise, she said she would wait for me. I had no idea if this would take 10 minutes or 2 hours, but if she would wait, I would GO! At this point, I was wishing our car was a tank. We crept along for about 30 minutes and then it was as if the traffic fairy had sprinkled cooperation dust over all the drivers and we all merged together like we loved each other. It was magic.
Once we were able to exit the freeway, we put the address for the restaurant in my phone and began to follow the voice through downtown. The voice didn’t know what type of neighborhood she was leading us through, but she sounded certain enough about our surroundings, so I was sure we’d be ok. Hubby-Do wasn’t so sure.
Restaurant Closed
Finally, at 1:25 pm, we stop in front of the restaurant – only to see the sign in the door being flipped over. Right before my eyes it changed from OPEN to CLOSED – due to no water. Area construction woes! My friend was sitting on a bench at the front of the restaurant and fortunately, already had a Plan B.
It was an Italian restaurant and the food was very good. More importantly, however, was the time I spent with this new friend. I am new to blogging and the lady I was meeting is a veteran. She started blogging about 6 or 7 years ago and agreed to meet me because we had attended church with a mutual friend. I know how busy she is, so for her to take the time to meet with me was such a blessing. We spent about 1 1/2 hours together and she gave me some great advice. Advice that you, my nearest, dearest and newest will benefit from in the future. She suggested that I:
- Purchase a professional blog design.
- Resize photos before uploading them to the blog.
- Learn all I can about photography.
- Purchase a DSLR camera.
- Take my time in growing this business.
- Keep my posts to under 500 words. (I’m trying!!)
Shopping with Gracious Folks
After lunch, Hubby-Do and I drove over to Virginia Highland for some shopping.
We discovered the neatest consignment shop. Wellspring Treasures. Everything in the store is donated by Atlanta residents and the proceeds go to an organization that benefits victims of sex trafficking in Atlanta. Even the sales people are volunteers!!!! This was my purchase from Wellspring Treasures…
They will look great in my guest room. I am planning a shopping trip to fill them with house plants that I will try not to kill.
It seems that everywhere I went, I met friendly, helpful folks during day one of my trip. While crossing the street, a lady rolled down her car window and shouted, “You are beautiful!” At first I thought it was strange, but I turned and smiled at her which prompted her to say “you belong in Hollywood, I hope y’all have a great day!” Just before that, a salesperson told Hubby that he looks like Tommy Lee Jones without the scars. Hey, we need to plan a “discovery” trip to Hollywood, because most of his life, he’s been told he looks like Robert Urich.
After a waitress told me about Scout Mob – an app for discount shopping in Atlanta, Hubby-Do turned into Hubby-Don’t. No matter – we’d experienced courteous drivers, helpful waitresses, volunteer salespeople, complimentary residents, and last but by far not least…
The most gracious of my trip….
Rhoda Vickers of Southern Hospitality Blog. It was a great day with the folks in Atlanta, GA.