I’m writing this as I’m sitting in a Starbucks in Orlando, FL after having had a bad experience with the host I was supposed to stay with tonight. I don’t know what else to do with my time right now and hope that my current emotions don’t taint what I remember of my wonderful experience in Atlanta these last few days.
2019-03-12 Atlanta, GA
Even though it was delayed by an hour, the bus ride to Atlanta was not too bad. I arrived in Atlanta at 4 pm and my host came to the station to pick me up. We took the train to his place, that is technically not in Atlanta, but only 25 minutes from Downtown. I had only requested one night with him, as it was a last minute request (I didn’t have a place to stay in Atlanta until less than 24 hours before I got there), but Clayton was nice enough to let me stay with him for 3 nights.
He has a beautiful house in a nice neighborhood and I had a big bedroom all to myself. I really like the house; it still had the original hardwood floors from when it was built back in the 1920s (it even smelled like wood inside the house) and it was really spacious.
I spent the whole rest of day editing photos, looking for hosts in Orlando, FL (to no avail) and doing nothing (read: watching Netflix and reading). And I also video called my mom, which was nice - if unexpected (because I actually suggested it).
2019-03-13 Atlanta, GA
Another couchsurfer had messaged me a few days before if I wanted to hang out with her and I liked the idea of spending time with someone. So, around noon, I took the train to go to Atlanta, where Marijn and her host, Keary, picked me up. We went to a big food hall together and had lunch before we walked around for a bit. Then, Keary took us to the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park. He dropped us off and went back home. Marijn and I visited the tomb and the museum before we walked around town to find some of the famous graffiti spots. We got stuck at the Skatepark for an hour and a half, just people-watching. We had really nice conversations but also enjoyed comfortable silence. I took a lot of pictures and when it got later, we went to another food hall where we had pizza for dinner. Afterwards, we walked around again, talked and enjoyed each other’s company.
Before we knew it, it was time to head back to our hosts. I went to the grocery store and picked up some fruit (okay, and some sweets) and then returned to Clayton’s house.
I spent the whole evening editing my pictures from New York City and finally got done with that chapter of my trip.
2019-09-14 Atlanta, GA
The day before, Keary had recommended going to the Georgia Aquarium, but since it’s quite expensive I didn’t think I would go. In the morning, I looked it up, changed my mind, bought a ticket and went there around noon.
The Georgia Aquarium is the second biggest aquarium in the world (the biggest being in China) and the only place outside of Asia where you can see whale sharks. I had an amazing time at the aquarium. It was even more impressive than I had expected. I loved the sharks, the manta rays, the beluga whales and the dolphins the most. The smaller animals were exciting as well, but there is something about seeing those huge fish and marine mammals up close that cannot be matched by the bright colors and interesting camouflage from the smaller marine animals. I watched the dolphin and the sea lion show, and the dolphin show almost moved me to tears. It was so amazing to see these beautiful creatures live in action. They are incredibly smart and just stunning. I definitely got my money’s worth.
After the aquarium, I was pretty exhausted. I just stopped by a walmart before I went back to my host’s house.
Later that evening, Clayton and I went to the couchsurfing meetup in town. We had great conversations with other surfers and hosts!
2019-09-15 Atlanta, GA
On my last day, it was finally time to meet my friend Joi. I’ve known her for a couple of months and was really excited to meet her in person.
When we met up, it didn’t rain, it poured. It was insane. Despite umbrellas, we got soaked and were happy when we made it to the Cuban restaurant where we would have lunch. The food was delicious and the conversation so much fun. Fortunately, it stopped raining while we were eating and we could walk around town for a while. We joked around and laughed a lot and I just had the best time!
After we parted ways, I walked around by myself for a bit and then went back to Clayton’s house.
I had already packed all of my things in the morning, so I used the time before I headed to the bus terminal to keep looking for hosts in Orlando.
The bus terminal was super crowded and even though I got there almost half an hour early, I couldn’t get a tag for my bag before boarding for my bus started. I was told that I needed a tag and started getting really worried, because there was no way I would make it in time if I had to get back in line. Luckily, there was a lady from the shipping department that was kind enough to print me tag and I made it onto the bus in time.