Atlanta at Sunset

I love city life. The hustle and bustle. The constant noise and movement. Each day is different, even if it is slight and almost unnoticeable. In this season of life I appreciate the beauty of transformation. Sometimes I want to freeze moments in time and hold onto them forever, and other times I wish I could press a fast forward button such as when I’m in line ANYWHERE. Usually, I’ll walk with JJ to a checkout line, and then JJ will turn around and suddenly I have disappeared only to re-emerge once all the items are paid for and it’s time to leave. Patience has never been my virtue. I stopped praying for patience because usually God in His infinite wisdom allows circumstances in my life that require me to develop patience.

As I wait and pray for complete healing, I have decided to do my best to live fully in this body. I’m on Phase 2 of my individualized LEAP MRT Diet. In addition to turkey, pork, beef, oats, tomatoes, onions, green beans, cucumbers, oranges, strawberries, pineapples, dill, basil, and cumin, I get to add rice, spinach, celery, pinto beans, bananas, and sesame. I’m living the dream! Nightmares are dreams, right? Just kidding…I was most excited about pinto beans! Next phase I get to add garbanzo beans, and you better believe I’m making my own hummus. Still struggling with feeling hungry, but that’s to be expected.

I got to cross some awesome activities off my “Atlanta Bucket List” this past weekend. On Thursday, JJ and I segwayed (a verb which means to ride on segways – created by the Shakespeare of her time) to Piedmont Park. JJ has done this multiple times, but this was my first trip riding all the way to the park. I made it! And drum roll…I didn’t fall! I call that a very successful trip. We rode to the park to watch the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra perform a free concert. You know we are classy like that.

A Man and His Segway

Don’t I look like a pro?!

It didn’t disappoint. They almost canceled because of bad weather, but the rain held off and we all got to enjoy beautiful music out in nature. Classical music is wonderful, but I get bored very easily. Riding the segways around the park rather than sitting down to watch them play made it more fun and whimsical. As we rode up and down the winding pathways, it felt as if the musical selections were narrating our mini-adventure through the park.

Segway Riding At Its Classiest

Then on Sunday we were even more ambitious, and did a 7.25 mile ride! You can just imagine how exhausted we were after all that…standing. All joking aside, though it isn’t much of a workout, you definitely feel it in your legs. Learning to ride a Segway is really easy. It feels very weird and awkward at first, but each time you get on it you feel more comfortable until it feels like second nature. You adapt to bumps and learn how to stop as quickly as possibly if you see something that you can’t go over smoothly.

We rode to Piedmont Park to connect with the Atlanta Beltline. If you live in Atlanta or are planning a visit to the city, it’s a great place to walk(you, yourself, your dogs, etc.), run, or ride a bike.  Even and nicely paved lanes made the ride enjoyable, and there were interesting places to stop and take Instagram-worthy photos. I was sweaty and hot, so I didn’t really want this commemorated for all time on social media. Piedmont Park in Atlanta is very well known, but Historic Fourth Ward Park is a hidden jewel. The Atlanta Beltline takes you right to it. It’s a great place to walk around, and take a breather. While we were there, there was a photographer taking pictures of a model. With so much variety in backdrop options, I could see why they chose that location.

Love shots of my back, especially when my face is camera shy.

Aren’t we cute? This is a rhetorical question.

Historic Fourth Ward Park

Still feeling energetic we decided to ride to one of JJ’s favorite juice bars. It took us in the direction of the Margaret Mitchell House, so of course I had to stop to take in this architectural sweetheart. Side note: One of my absolute favorite things about historic cities is the architecture. There are so many different styles to admire, and each structure is unique and beautiful in its own way. Along the way, we got asked several times about our Segways. If you are looking for ways to meet new people or start a dialogue, pets and tech gadgets are great icebreakers.

The Margaret Mitchell House

All in all we had a memorable weekend enjoying our new city. Segways and pinto beans for the win!