Wednesday, June 7th, 2002
On Wednesday I caught a flight to Atlanta (thanks to my sister’s buddy pass) and arrived at about 2:30 PM EST. Caught the MARTA (Atlanta equivalent of TRAX) right from the airport to downtown. My hotel was only a couple of blocks from my stop. One thing I notice is the humidity. To me, it actually felt good. Keeps your skin moist and when it’s hot you actually sweat. Just the way it should be.
A couple of hours later I walked back to the MARTA and took a short trip (Just one stop north) and walked through Underground Atlanta. Not much of a big deal, just an underground mall basically. But it lead right to the Braves shuttle, which is a bus that takes you right to the game. I arrived at Turner Field at about maybe 5:30 or 5:45 PM. Other people are there also. I spend the time before the game touring the stadium, taking in the Braves museum and trying to decide what I want to eat.
Turner Field
I found my seat, then got 3 tacos, making sure I got soda with the souvenir cup that I use to record my stadium visits. Soon after I finish eating the game starts and guess what! The starting pitcher is Greg Maddux! For those of you who don’t know, he’s probably, currently, the best pitcher in baseball. The Braves are playing the Mets, so I will also get to see Mike Piazza. Another star player, who should still be playing for the Dodgers :)
Mike Piazza
It was a good game with leads being exchanged but both teams staying close. You could tell that the Atlanta fans really love their Braves. Always cheering and trying to get them back in the game and booing the umps when they make a bad (which they made 2). In the end the Braves came on top with a game winning triple to win the game 6-4. Jon Smoltz (another great pitcher) came in in the bottom of the 9th and sealed the victory.
The next morning I had to get up early (3am MST) to catch an early flight, which of course was full. I eventually ended up going to Denver and then to Salt Lake, arriving home at about 2:30 PM. And finally, on the flight from Denver to SLC, I got to sit next to an interesting women. A young, sharply dressed brunette. As soon as she said, “It looks like I’m sitting between you all”, I had a good hunch she was from Texas. She slept through most the flight, but I finally got to talk to her as we were landing. And yep, she was from Dallas. Coincidence? We shall see.
I had been to Atlanta once before when I stayed the night on my way to Florida for my summer internship with IBM in Boca Raton. Then I really didn’t care for it. This trip was much better. The people were friendly and I was more open-minded. Atlanta made me realize what a real city was like. It had a lot more energy than Salt Lake.
Next up, my west coast tour.