Enough of the eatin'! Let's get movin'! Tennis at Piedmont Park

It's obvious that I haven't been doing much lately in my spare time except eating.  So in an effort to get movin', and with a recent re-discovery of my first love, tennis, I decided to search for nearby tennis courts.  And what did you know?  Piedmont Park, a mere five blocks from my place, is home to the Sharon Lester Tennis Center.  Operated by the Universal Tennis Academy, the center has 12 hard courts, open every day of the week.  And the best thing:  they have adult clinics!  

Just call their front desk at 404-853-3461 to reserve a spot.

Let's go!

Game 6: Atlanta Hawks vs Chicago Bulls @ Philips Arena

Sharing some pictures from last Thursday's Game 6, Hawks vs Bulls.

You can tell by this shot that we were in the cheap seats.  

We were so high up that we actually got vertigo by looking down.  LOL

As you already know, the Hawks lost to the Bulls (93-73).  Better luck next time.

Inman Park Festival

Inman Park is a small neighborhood very near downtown Atlanta (or is it actually part of downtown?).  Over the years, it has gone through periods of popularity, decline, and a rebirth which is celebrated through the Inman Park Festival.  This year, it was held from April 29th to May 1st.  With not much to do that weekend, we poor Pinoy expats and a few ATL visitors trooped to Inman Park to check out its friendly neighborhood festival.

Finding a parking spot was just terrible.  It didn't help that we started out late (blame a minor cutover issue that suddenly cropped up!), but we parked more than a mile away from the festival grounds.  We also missed the parade!  Walking through the neighborhood was a treat though.  You could tell it was a good neighborhood; majority of the houses were well-cared for, and actually quite beautiful.

Bungalow style house on Lake Dr

Victorian house (I think)

A number were Victorian style houses, some but some were a little bit more eclectic than others:

Purple!

Did you know that there was a period when many of its houses were neglected and the community was far from genteel?  The festival is the residents' way of celebrating the restoration of the community and its homes.

I must have been confused that day because I was expecting to see carousels, cotton candy, and a freak show.  I thought I was going to a fair!  The festival actually had a number of events:  a parade (which we missed), local band performances, dance performances, and even a foot race.

The festival also had a very big market that showcased  handcrafted pieces from artists:

There were also some flea market stalls with vintage stuff:

And in one of these stalls I found a 'sungkaan'!  This Pinoy toy made it to the A!

Of course, Southern cuisine was strong and present!

fried everything

butterfly fries with cheese and bacon, aka 'heart attack waiting to happen'

fudge!

There were a lot of people, and everyone seemed to be having a good time, often with a beer or margarita in tow.  Not a bad idea with the temperature in the 80s that day.

Oh, and the Inman Festival also had an event called 'Tour of Homes' where you get to visit featured houses in Inman Park.  The cheapskates that we are, we opted to skip this.  Tickets were $20 apiece.

Kudos to the organizers.  I'm already looking forward to the next festival!

Super Saturdays in Atlanta: Oakland Cemetery

Who would've thought that hanging out at a cemetery would be a good way of whiling away your Saturday afternoon?  With warm weather came a burst of  wanderlust, and we were on to our next destination: Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta.

Final resting place of famous Gone with the Wind author, Margaret Mitchell, Oakland Cemetery was established in 1850  and is now considered as a public park.  It has several sections which somehow represent Atlanta's evolution and history:  Confederate Memorial Grounds, Slave Square, Jewish Section, African-American Grounds, among others.  Walking through the cemetery, we were struck by how beautiful and well-maintained the place is.  A far cry from our cemeteries in the Philippines where most mausolea were home to actual living people.  Noticeable, too, were its monuments:

Quite a number of mausolea and headstones were immaculate and well-preserved but quite a few made an impression on me:

Margaret Mitchell’s grave.  Though humble, it is one of the most visited graves in Oakland Cemetery.  I have long withheld reading Gone with the Wind for one reason or another.  But with Rose’s exuberance and exaltation of this literary masterpiece, I have since picked up a copy from the library.  I resolve to read a considerable part of it in preparation for our trip to Savannah next weekend.  It is a hefty book, I’m a little intimidated, but I am hoping that Margaret’s spirit inspires, not “push”, me to finish reading it. Right, Rose? Oh, and did you know that Margaret had the accident that eventually killed her right on Peachtree Street? She was on her way to a movie with her husband when she was struck by a car. So take extra care when crossing the street, boys and girls.

For better or worse, for richer or poorer, 'til death do us part."  Correct?  Okay ... But husband and wife even after death?  Come on ... LOL!  But kidding aside, it does seem like common practice to bury husbands and wives together.  I have a question though?  If either one had multiple spouses, what then?  You, philanderers, better get big plots to accommodate the party.

I don't think you can make out the epitaph on this headstone but it tells how the boy (lying in this plot) was killed by an accident not very far from where this headstone is.  This tugged at my mommy heartstrings.  I could imagine the parents' grief and heartbreak of losing an offspring so soon.  The parents have since died and are buried (again, together) alongside their son's grave.

This is my favorite mausoleum.  Notice the name above it?  I wonder if this is where their loyal employees and afficionados are lain to rest?

Overall, it was cool (albeit a little nerdy and quirky) to hangout at a cemetery on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.  We have plans to go back, perhaps join one of the walking tours or even hold a small celebration there.  So what if we are quirky?  And, yes, we have checked and you can hold a small party there; it is a public park after all.

Oh, and another cool thing:  an enterprising individual set up shop right across the entrance of the cemetery.  Guess what he called his shack?