An old friend and a new city!

Back when I was a scrawny teenager embarking on my high school career I became friends with a guy called Ryan. Ryan was born in the USA, but as a baby moved to South Africa with his parents. As teenagers we were both of the adrenaline-seeking persuasion and would spend afternoons and weekends sneaking into places where we probably really shouldn’t have, in order to find new and exciting places to rip up on our skateboards. (Although I can’t prove it, I am going to boast that we, along with another mate Ralph, were the first and possibly only kids to sneak in and skate on the roof of the Arwyp Medical Centre in Kempton Park. I can see my mother shaking her head as she reads this little boastful admission.) When not skateboarding we would take Ryan’s Kawasaki off-road motorcycle and head at break-neck speeds along the sandy trails and paths around the outskirts of the neighbourhoods in which we lived. In hindsight we probably should have been wearing something more protective than the t-shirts and jeans that we had on. (But Mom, if you are reading this, know that we did at least wear a helmet.) Irresponsible and slightly dangerous choices aside though, with the exception of a few cuts, scrapes and bruises, we came through it unharmed. The only possible negative side effect that my mother might argue is that it was these little excursions with Ryan that probably fuelled my current penchant for scuba-diving, mountain biking, bungee jumping, and my desire to still go skydiving. Physical dangers aside, our extra-curricular pursuits were wholesome, outdoor activities and we never once felt the need or desire to experiment with drugs, alcohol or cigarettes. In fact, by the time that Ryan and his parents moved back to the USA at the end of 1993, we had never once shared a beer or gone out to a club, pub or bar together.

Unfortunately Ryan and I lost contact with each other for the next 12 years and it was only through a set of fortunate circumstances that I managed to track him down again. As a result of the combination this good fortune and the timing of my little adventure to the USA, I was able to not only catch up and spend Christmas with a dear old friend, but also visit another city for the first time. So while Ryan didn’t become the storm-chasing climatologist I had always imagined him to be, he does still ride and race motorcycles, and he owns his own production company, called Lionstarfilms, which makes corporate video for many of Atlanta’s and the US’s top companies. And on top of that he makes a pretty darn good tour guide of Atlanta as well. And as neither of had a skateboard handy we decided to sit down and enjoy a drink together for the first time.

Atlanta really is a huge city. In fact, as a result of its location and not being impeded by any physical landform, it is continuing to grow sideways rather than. That is not to say that the city doesn’t have an abundance of plate glass and steel skyscrapers. It has that and more. There are the old, historical neighbourhoods, the esoteric, eclectic, and alternative suburbs and the trendy, yuppie post-modernistic design, living developments, all thrown into the mix too. The one warming observation that I did make while visiting all these areas though, was that it is clean. The city definitely takes pride in its appearance. The city can also brag being Martin Luther King Jr’s hometown, as well as being the venue for two excellent tourist traps, the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca Cola. I also got to experience my first ice-hockey game while in Atlanta. The Atlanta Thrashers verse the Toronto Canadiens ice-hockey game proved to be a really fortunate game to attend, as not only did the game end in a tied score, resulting in an exciting and relatively rare penalty face off, but I had the hilarious pleasure of witnessing someone proposing on the big screen to his girlfriend. (And here we thought it just happened in the movies!)

All in it was both an exciting and nostalgic trip to Atlanta for Christmas.

If you're gonna drink together why not make it single malt, 15 year old, at the top of the Westin Hotel, in a revolving restaurant on the 70th floor, while enjoying the night lights of Atlanta?

$50 first prize if you can tell me where the puck is?

Beluga whales, which occur naturally in the Arctic Ocean, but have been brought to the Georgia Aquarium by way of Mexico! Huh!

So how much pressure can that glass take anyway?

The World of Coca-Cola!

High fructose corn syrup anyone?

Not to be too obvious, but, um, Atlanta at night!

And while we are stating the obvious, Atlanta's skyline during the day!