You should have acted like a true MN fan and left before the traffic got bad.
I feel like this time between Christmas and New Years is the official migration of the snowbirds to Florida. Living in Atlanta, I’ve done the drive down to Orlando a few times. My son has a lacrosse tournament just outside of Orlando this weekend. It took us nine hours of driving on Friday to make it to our hotel. That’s about 90 minutes longer than it has ever taken us. Traffic was brutal. Traffic has been bad all weekend. Plus restaurants and grocery stores crowded as heck. For those in the Twin Cities, do not underestimate how much the lack of crazy traffic adds to the quality of life.
If taking I-75 back through Georgia consider a quick stop at Andersonville National Historic Site and National POW Museum. Here's the link:
Andersonville National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)
Nearly 13,000 men died on these grounds, a site that became infamous even before the Civil War ended. Their burial grounds became Andersonville National Cemetery, where veterans continue to be buried today. This place, where tens of thousands suffered captivity so others could be free, is also...www.nps.gov
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Takes about 2 hours to do the basic visit. Also a nice drive in the countryside off the interstate.
It used to be at The Varsity for your order to hear..."Whatdayahave...whatdayahave...whatdayahave?" Any type of dog walking was an appropriate response.
Funny. We also stopped for BBQ in Tifton for the very same reason. Hogs N Bones?
Number 1 rule in Hotlanta is to drive as fast on the interstate as everybody else no matter the posted speed limit. Outside the metro is a different animal.
True! Last year driving thru Hotlanta, there was a wheelbarrow in the center lane with cars dodging it like a nascar event! A few miles further on I witnessed a kayak lifting off a car and landing in the road spurring another round of dodging and positioning! Great fun!
We stopped at The Pit Stop. It was right on I75. The pork sandwich was not good, reminded me of jr high lunch.
I used to be surprised by these random road obstacles when I first moved down to Atlanta in 2005. I’ve become so accustomed to them now that they don’t even faze me anymore. So this gave me a laugh. I have a long commute into work every day that takes me from the north end of the metro to the south. Often I go right through the city on 75/85. It’s common to see mattresses, lawn chairs, couches, ladders... Any assortment of things directly in the road or sitting just off the highway. And the number of stalled/abandoned cars along the road is something you would never see in Minnesota. Cars up there need to be reliable or you’re gonna have big problems with the weather.
I don’t understand why people continue to live way up in the northern suburbs of Atlanta and endure a long commute every day. At some point that has to be miserable right?
There are a lot of reasons. For my family it was the place we first landed when we moved here. All my wife’s friends and activities are in this area. My office moved locations from the north end of the 285 loop to south of the city five years ago. Even before that my commute was about 45 minutes. Now it’s closer to 90 minutes. Having grown up and had an early professional life in Minneapolis, the two most polarizing things about moving to Atlanta, assuming you have a family, are the traffic and the schools. I chose to bite the bullet on the traffic. All the public schools in our area are outstanding. Elementary through high school they are ranked at or near the top in the state. But there are so many sketchy schools in all parts of the metro it’s very hard to find that. I’ve had friends that had kids in a great elementary school but had to move when they reached middle school age as the middle school was atrocious. Private schools are extremely popular here for that reason. They are everywhere. With four children I’m not able to go that route, but have many friends that choose to do that.
Actually, I have friends of all races that go to private schools. Do you know the Atlanta area well?
90 minute commute? Hell to the no.
I like your priorities Bulldog!
The time it takes away from family is a real bummer. Something I’m certain I’ll regret. However, I’m fortunate that my employer allows for me to be in a really nice car (which makes a huge difference) and I’m able to pass the time with a lot of podcasts. I always look forward to the Gopher Gridiron podcast that Ryan Burns puts out. Especially when Derek Burns joins them. I’m always incredibly impressed with Derek’s ability to breakdown game situations and adjustments. A really eloquent and well-spoken guy. I’m not sure what he does for his day job, but would bet he is extremely successful at it.
