Trip to the Southern US, part 3 - Atlanta

My one-hour flight from Cancun to Havana is delayed seven fucking hours, so I figured now was a good time to catch up on some travel writing since I have fuck all else to do. So some Dos Equis and I will guide you through the last half of my Southern US trip last summer. I'm only nine months late writing this one. That's pretty good for me.

It was a hot summer's day in the south. And I only started with that line because it's so cliche and cheesy, by the way.  I woke up with a pretty nasty hangover after spending July 4th in New Orleans, which should hardly come as a surprise. On tap for July 5th was a quick flight to Atlanta, which didn't seem too bad. It turned out to be pretty easy, but my hangover was definitely getting the best of me despite my attempts to drink my way through it at the New Orleans airport.

Upon arrival in Atlanta, I quickly figured out two things - holy fuck was it hot, and holy fuck there was no way I was taking public transit when it's 104 degrees. An air-conditioned shuttle it was, even if it was a bit pricey. I would have just gone for a taxi, but I couldn't find one. Go figure.

I eventually arrived at my hotel, and it was unreal. The Hyatt Regency in Atlanta might not sound very glamourous, but it was pretty sick. It's basically 3 buildings surrounding a massive lobby, with these space-age looking elevators going up in the middle.  There's also a pretty cool bar right there, which ended up being my home for a while on both nights because...well, that's how I do. 

I was actually supposed to (briefly) meet up with a friend from ATL that was heading to Vegas that night, but my hangover was still kicking my ass so I never saw her. Sorry again Katie! After having a nap, I went for a walk around the hood but it was still insanely hot. To the point that I couldn't get very far without thinking I was gonna die. But I am the one that came to the south in the summer and didn't pack any shorts. I'm pretty fucking dumb sometimes.

After a trip to a local bar for some food and the final kick to the hangover I was good to go. The only problem with that was that I had no idea what to do. Everything I wanted to see in Atlanta was already closed, so...bar time again. Specifically the hotel bar. And the place was pretty funny.

Since it's in the middle of the hotel, the area is quite busy. And one side of the hotel is shaped like a pyramid, with open-air floors...meaning that if someone wants to walk out their door on the 20th floor and yell at the lobby, they can feel free. And you'd be surprised how many people took advantage of that. Full-on yelling conversations took place between people in the bar and people on the 3rd, or 11th, or 23rd floor. It was extremely odd. And fucking loud.

Anyway, I went down there to do exactly what I'm doing right now - catch up on travel blogs. I was paying 7 bucks a Corona, which was pretty steep, until the bartender chicky asked me I wanted something better. She suggested a beer called Three Philosophers, which is 9% alky, as opposed to the Corona since they were the same price.

SOLD!

I can't say I remember the whole night, but I did have to completely edit my travel blog the next day because it didn't make any fucking sense at all. I'm pretty sure I didn't see any purple aliens the last time I was in Mexico, for example. But I do remember the hotel had a foodstuff shop where they sold the best chicken pot pie of all time. I know that for sure because I had it the next day again and it was amazing. 

Speaking of the next day...not much happened. I didn't really check out a whole lot other than Olympic Park and the area around that. It was way too hot. I feel kinda bad that I didn't see more, but it ain't no thing. I'll just go back. I did have another amusing night at that hotel bar though, which shouldn't surprise anyone.

When I went back down that night, I was wearing my Hines Ward Pittsburgh Steelers jersey. I vaguely remembered that he played for Georgia in college, but didn't think much of it. Well I should have, because I quickly became the most popular guy in the hotel somehow. Everyone wanted to know why the Canadian liked Hines Ward so much. 

To be honest I do like the dude, he was an awesome player. But I just got the jersey from my boss. It didn't really mean a lot to me. But I've learned from experience that people love to talk if they find something in common with you, and wearing sports gear is a great way. For example, I'm in Havana right now and some hot Brazilian girls have a friend that's a diehard Canucks fan somehow....they took a pic with me to send to their friend, just to show that there are hockey fans everywhere. Works for me.

Anyway, back to ATL. Everyone wanted to talk football with me. In the elevator, in the lobby, on the street, everywhere. It was kinda funny because I have an old beat up Mike Vick Falcons jersey (which my friends still tease me about), but no one brought up the Falcons once in my convos even though I was in ATL. College football is king, and Hines Ward was my ticket to acceptance. I got drinks bought for me, people wanted pics with me, the whole deal. I thought it was great. 

As I said, this continued into my second trip into the hotel bar. All four bartenders knew me on sight, which was kind of confusing. And right away, one mentioned that I wore a much better jersey this time around (the night before was a Cards jersey - Larry Fitzgerald). One dude came over and asked if I was writing again. I said yes, but how did he know that? He explained:

"I asked to read a little bit of what you were working on last night after you told me it was a travel blog. We all ended up reading it because it was so funny. You don't remember that?"

"Whoa really? No, I don't remember that."

"Really? Bro, you do a good job of hiding how drunk you are then, and I'm a bartender. You were completely with it the whole time, despite drinking us out of Three Philosophers."

"Wait, how many did you have?"

"I think we had 8 left? 10 maybe? We have none left though....you were going to ask for one, weren't you?"

"Heh, yeah I was."

"Hold on, I got something else you might like at the other bar. In the meantime I'll get you a shot on me for the entertainment last night. And the jersey. Great jersey."

"Sweet!"

I spent the rest of the night talking to all the bartenders and all sorts of customers that came and went while I wrote some more. Everyone was incredibly nice and I learned a lot about a bunch of different places. The ironic part was that I was in a hotel in Atlanta...but I really didn't learn much about Atlanta.  All the more reason for me to return one day (hopefully in the the winter). 

I know what I'll be wearing as a conversation starter, that's for damn sure.