Off of highway 78 not far from Stone Mountain Park in Georgia, you’ll find a wonderful place for orphaned animals as well ones who cannot be released into the wild. Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary sits along the Yellow River and was once know as the Yellow River Game Ranch from 1962 – 2013. Col. Art Rilling opened the YRGR to give injured and orphaned animals a home and to offer people a chance to interact with deer, goats, rabbits, and more. He sold the ranch to employees in 2013. They ran it until they eventually closed their doors. Along came the Ordway family who have a passion for animals and worked to turn the ranch into a sanctuary as well as a means to educate the public about the residents. The sanctuary kept some of the former animals and added new ones. Tom, Jack, and I visited the venue earlier…
The boys and I went to Chattanooga, Tennessee, for a quick day trip. It’s only about two hours from Atlanta so easy to drive to and back home. I was dying to go walk the Walnut Street Bridge since it’s one of my favorites and I knew there probably wouldn’t be a lot of people so maintaining social distance wouldn’t be as difficult; timed it the Monday after a holiday weekend. The bridge is usually crowded, but with the pandemic, much less. When we arrived, there were probably 20 people on it and everyone was good about masks and keeping their distances. The view even on an overcast summer day was beautiful. Strange not to see all of the power boats, however, it was enjoyable to see the paddle boaters, kayakers, and few small fishing boats. This time in the world has certainly changed things. You’d normally see a lot…
The Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum in Baltimore is offering live virtual tours. I am a sustaining member of the Edgar Allan Poe Society, and once I saw this in their newsletter, I jumped at the chance to book one! Although I have been to the Richmond museum twice, I have never had the chance to go to the Baltimore, Maryland one. It’s definitely a trip on my list to see where he lived from 1833 – 1835, wrote, and fell in love. You can book a public or private group tour. I cannot wait for mine and hope you support their mission too by reserving your spot today. All proceeds benefit the museum. New! And now expanding to the general public. Pay-what-you-can live virtual tour of the historic Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum. Sign up at VirtualPoeHouseTour2020.eventbrite.com ***All tours offered on a pay-only-what-you-can basis and proceeds benefit…
Restaurants are finding creative, sometimes extraordinary ways to continue serving diners during this world-wide pandemic while still staying afloat. Mediamatic ETEN is a vegan restaurant located in a greenhouse alongside an Amsterdam river. They are trying out a unique concept and waiting on permission from the government to hopefully continue it until it’s safe to reopen the full space. Diners sit outside in tiny waterfront greenhouses and staff serve their meals on a long plank thus allowing for social distancing. Looks like a clever way to dine and in a scenic spot. We found out about this new dining idea through Secret LA in an article by Ashlyn Davis. This post may contain affiliate links and we may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. Photo Credit: Mediamatic ETEN We’ve never been to Mediamatic ETEN, however, we need to put it on our…
We are going through a dark, world-wide pandemic with COVID19. It isn’t the first one the world has been through one, and unfortunately, it won’t be the last. According to the CDC, the Spanish Flu of 1918 was the most devastating. It is estimated that about 500 million people or one-third of the world’s population became infected with this virus. The number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide with about 675,000 occurring in the United States. Source: CDC People in 1918 looked for solutions to the prevention of spreading the illness and germs too. They got creative based on what they believed. We’re seeing a similar pattern 102 years later. Atlas Obscura and the Daily Mail both feature an article on this reoccurence. We’re posting the one from Atlas Obscura in a follow-up to our earlier one about their new WFH series. Parents Put Masks…
A wonderful virtual travel experience from Atlas Obscura.
I recently flew to Richmond, Virginia, to attend the annual Birthday Bash for Edgar Allan Poe. It is held at the Poe Museum. I stayed at the Berkeley Hotel which is a 12 minute walk from the museum. The Berkeley is located in the Shockoe Slip area in the business district. Fashionable Shockoe Slip is a downtown dining hub, with Southern-style restaurants, BBQ joints, gastropubs, and taprooms tucked down narrow alleyways and in former warehouses. This post may contain affiliate links and we may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. The boutique hotel seems period, however, it was built in 1988. The original owner was careful to fashion it architecturally after the other historic buildings in the area. Alan M. Voorhees designed it to be in a European style and named it after the Berkeley Castle and Plantation in England. Mr. Malcom Jamieson, the…
Welcome to December. So far in Atlanta, Georgia it’s been a mixture of fall weather in the ’60’s to winter the past two days in the ’40’s. The south doesn’t always make its mind up about the weather! This post may contain affiliate links and we may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. John and I were lucky enough to travel down to Charleston, South Carolina for one night in late November. The Lowcountry as it’s called is one of my favorite places. I am from South Carolina and it feels like home. We stayed on King Street about two blocks from the city market. Before I travel, I like to research restaurants for all of our meals. And, I don’t mean look up a few. I deep dive into cross referencing places. I went to TripAdvisor first and pulled up top…
We love visiting Chattanooga, Tennessee. It’s a quick getaway from Atlanta and very affordable to stay. The city offers numerous festivals and events throughout the year along with beautiful Cooledge Park to play with kids that’s located beside the Tennessee river. There’s an incredible antique carousel in the park that all ages can ride and we’ve done so many times over the years and it’s only about $1.00 to ride!. Photo Credit: Alex McMahan Photography This post may contain affiliate links and we may earn compensation when you click on the links at no additional cost to you. Our kids played for hours one hot summer day at the splash pad and fountains in the park. Connecting the park from the North Shore to downtown is the Walnut Street Bridge and it is one of my favorite places in the city. Photo Credit: Atlas Obscura site It is one of the world’s…
I rediscovered a post I’d forgotten as I’ve been researching spooky places and events for our Halloween page. I’d read about Atlanta’s Doll’s Head Trail and had heard about it from friends who love hiking. Tom, my youngest son, and I decided to check it out in early 2018. Photo Credit: UrbanAlice and Jennifer Graham The South River Brick Company has been closed for over 50 years and its days of making bricks from Georgia red clay are long gone, but its abandoned site has not gone unused. We found this little treasure of a place in East Atlanta this past February. I’d seen photos from friends and other hikers online and waited for a good day to explore it. When the land went unused, a collection of house hold items and trash began to accumulate. A local carpenter, Joel Slaton, envisioned the trail as a community art project using…