From my American Diary: I’m off to America again. I have a month to fill in while my office in London sorts out my UK visa sponsorship. My face is almost back to normal after a soul-destroying bout of Bell's Palsy, so I've booked a flight to Atlanta.
Day 1 London to Atlanta, Georgia
I'm off. Although it starts with a horribly early morning to get to Heathrow, I figure I can sleep on the plane. For the London to Boston leg, I',m next to an interesting Canadian man who works as an Economics Professor in London. He's travelling with his wife and two kids who are sitting across the aisle. We chat for a while then drift off into our own pursuits - sleep and movies. I notice, however, that he has a lack of spatial awareness. He encroaches on my space. His leg is pressed against mine and his arm isnot only taking up the entire armrest, but his elbow is against my ribs. He also has an odd habit while he's working on his computer of typing and then dropping his right hand onto his right leg, resting against my left leg. I'm not quite sure about this, but his kids are so hyper that I figure it's probably just out of exhaustion.
I go through immigration in Boston and have no address to put on the immigration form so the guy won't process me. I get out of the line and go and search my email for an address of my Couchsurfing host in Atlanta, but I can't find anything, I'm sitting on my rucksack and everyone else has filtered through when a female officer asks what's going on. She heads off to ask a different officer for advice on my behalf and advises me to make up an address, helping me come up with something that sounds American. I present this to another officer and I'm allowed to set foot on American soil once again.
Boston Logan airport is so big that there is a train from immigration to the baggage collection point. It is three stops away. It's then a hike over to the other terminal. That's my exercise for the day.
My second flight is very social. On my right is Chris, who is travelling to Georgia for a business meeting with Walmart. If I get to Boston at any point, he has offered to take me sailing. On my left is Ed, a young English guy with a bad stutter that screws his face into an odd shape when he says the letter B or P. Since the Bell's Palsy, I have more of an understanding of how difficult that must be to live with. He is heading to Florida where his long-distance girlfriend is meeting him, but he's worried she's going to break things off. Some counselling ensues and he disembarks in a positive frame of mind. I hope she keeps him.
My Couchsurfing host Danny meets me at the airport - I'm going to couchsurf as much as possible on this trip after so many positive experiences on my last lot of travels. Danny is a lovely guy, eager to be the perfect host. He gives me his bed and sleeps on the sofa bed, despite me protesting. His apartment is within walking distance of downtown Atlanta. He drives me around to orient myself before a Mexican dinner of soft shelled tacos and a jetlag-induced coma.
Day 2 Atlanta
I wake up feeling stuffy. Danny has gone to work and we've agreed to meet back at the apartment at 4. He has left me muffins for breakfast - the margarine comes in a squeezy bottle. Say no more.
I walk into town in search of caffeine. It's a beautiful sunny day and Atlanta seems to be a tourist friendly city, with people walking around in white shirts who are just there to help. Their help would be much better if I could follow a map. In search of a pharmacy, I walk the wrong direction. My first mildly odd encounter is a guy who guides me back the right way - I suspect he is homeless and if not, then not far off. He is on his way to the library to use the Internet there to look for work. He lost his job in New York and is hoping Atlanta would have more prospects. He tells me all this while giving me directions.
At the pharmacy. I grab a nasal spray that gives me immediate relief, drying up my nose and eyes. I stroll to the other end of town to check out a memorial . A black guy wearing all red walks up to me and says "You look like a fish out of water." It takes great inner fortitude not to reply "You have no teeth."
My next stop is The World of Coca Cola. Danny has organised a free ticket for me - he is entitled as he is ex-military. Apparently, the guy who invented coke did so in Atlanta. The museum is part history, part amusement arcade, and part blatant marketing, but I have to say it is really interesting to see sider how the brand has been built and integrated into everyday life. The centre includes a 4D movie theatre, the secret vault where supposedly the recipe is kept, and best of all, a tasting room where you can try coke products from all over the world. Some are good, some not so much. The worst is a grapefruit soda from Africa. My personal favourite, vanilla coke. I feel mildly ill after my 65 samples.
I take the scenic route back, not on purpose. Danny has warned me that if I go one block too far, the area is a bit dodgy. I confirm he's correct.
When I make it back, we jump in the car and head off to find some hiking boots. Done. Then a local sim card. Check. I also buy a little voice recorder as I've lined up an interview with some of my personal heroes - Chuck and Josh from the podcast Stuff You Should Know. We have a quick bite for dinner - fast food of course.
Next is the fun part...line dancing at The Electric Cowboy (now closed). This is the bar used in the new (terrible) Footloose film and a lot of the people in the class were extras in the dance scenes. Danny is a really good dancer. Turns out I'm not so bad either. I romp the easy class in. The second one is much harder but I get most of it. They then play tunes and whoever knows the set dance to that tune gets up. Danny dances to all of them and calls me in any time there's an easy one. I also get up for some slow dances and a swing tune with a couple of the older guys. It's a surprising amount of fun.
It winds up late, but when we get home we run up to the rooftop for night views of the city. I don't know how Danny is going to manage getting up at 4.30am for work. I can lie in.
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