The empty streets surround me, bustling with non-existing sounds of the non-existing people surrounding my family as we walked, following the dim lights coming from the moon and the street lights. The wind bracingly twirled around me, lifting every inch of my body covered in goose bumps — goose bumps that rose moments ago out of fear of the isolated area.
“Can we go back now?” I cried like a cat meowing to be fed.
“We just came out here,” My dad said, walking steadily on the streets of Atlanta, Georgia. I turned to see houses that could have been built in New York and sighed.
“There’s nothing here at this time of night and I’m cold. Let’s go back,” I begged. The cold wind once again whispered in my ear petty things, sheering a piercing sound in my ear drums, concocting more impatience within me.
“Can we please go back? You can drop me back at the hotel. We are only a block away,” I said.
“Fine,” My dad said, turning left towards the hotel. As we walked swiftly back to the hotel like lily pads floating on water, I came eye to eye with the Georgia Tech Barnes and Noble. The one I went in a few days’ a go: full of books and college merchandise and the one right across from my hotel, the Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center. I crossed the street to a building twice as big as our school. The glass doors opened automatically and I felt a breeze of welcome as I entered the hotel lobby. I walked pass the breakfast restaurant, a taste of southern hospitality and delicious sorts of morning awakening food, then into the elevator.
When I finally got to my room, thoughts grasped my every breath and every move. They condemned me knowing that this was one of my last night’s here; thoughts of the time I spent on this trip fluttered around my mind. I recollect the first day I walked off the small ridiculing airplane. The smell of urine from the airplane was rinsed away with a newly fresh southern air as I stepped into the airport. As I waddled behind my parents we walked through glass automatic doors that let a splash of cold air that hit me, telling me that Georgia is no escape from the cold weather. We ran across the street to a garage full of cars. We stopped at a dark blue Lincoln. My dad’s face lit up like a light bulb and before I knew it we were off hitting the road. The night sky sparked a different type of atmosphere but a friendly face of a southern chain, sparked some happy gestures in the car.
“Can we go daddy please?”
The car pulled into the driveway of Waffle House; a chain that we frequent quite often every time we go to a south. We walked in, waiting enthusiastically till a waitress came. She had the biggest smile implanted on her face. She welcomed us, so kind, such with gentle southern hospitality. We ordered the best food on their menu; hash browns. They had a variety of different hash browns each crisp and golden. When we finished we left full of gratitude and headed to the hotel.
On our way to the hotel my eyes spotted a huge building with glass windows and plastered on the wall was a sign for Coke. This was like an awakening alarm clock to me. I asked, “There’s a coke factory here?”
“Yes, there is,” My mom said.
“Are we going?” I said, my eyes widening.
“We are,” she said.
This took me to a world of joyful thoughts but little did I know what the coke museum was really like a slew of people waiting in the entrance and huge lines that follow to every exhibit and a bad animation show. However, the exhibit our worth waiting for and, they do have a room where you can taste endless amount of flavors of sodas.
As I turned to the other side of my car window, I saw right across the street there is the CNN Center where my family and I went on a tour of the news station. We even got to see them doing a live recording. This tour is very intriguing and puts your attention fully on how working with CNN works. The only thing I’d say be careful of is on your way to the tour you go up a long escalator and midway when my family and I were on it it broke down.
Then the car swooshed by the CNN Center which is what used to be the world’s largest aquarium. With so many exhibits you can get overwhelmed. This place is kid-friendly whether it comes from the movie or the slides they have inside the aquarium. When my family and I walked into one of the exhibits we were in shock by the colorful fish swim high above our heads. This is a great place to visit, however, as evidenced by the Coke museum.
This reminded me of a less crowded place to visit: the exquisite High Museum of Art Atlanta. They have a collection of art that will make you ponder. They have a large selection of modern art and is a decent size to spend a few hours in. My memory is seized as I hear the door crack open. “We’re back!” My sister said.
I slowly let all my thoughts fade away. I stare blankly as my sister. “We didn’t go. Mom and dad ended up looking up houses in Georgia. What would you think if we got a house in Georgia? “
After all those precious memories invading my head, full of art and history I smiled at her and said, “I’d love to!”
