Mesmerizing. From across the gallery, Monet’s 42-foot painting undulated. Soft pink blossoms reflected on the indigo pond, rippling where blue-green lily pads broke the surface. Closer, the illusion of movement was replaced by one of depth. Rosy red lilies floated on water so crystalline it seemed I could see clear to the bottom.

Monet's 42-foot long painting of Water Lilies

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“I wonder where that road goes?”

Some insatiable curiosity has always compelled me to take the path less traveled, searching for little known landmarks, attractions, or beautiful vistas that I am certain lie along its route. I simply cannot resist the allure of the unknown. So when I returned from my westbound trek on the Silver Comet Trail the other day and learned that the ruins of an old mill could be seen on the eastern portion of the trail, I knew I could not leave Smyrna, Georgia without investigating further.

The following day I walked east on the Silver Comet, looking for the side path I had been told would lead to the ruins. Perhaps a third of a mile from the Concord Road access I came upon an unmarked narrow asphalt path that descended steeply, snaking through the forest in a series of loop-de-loops that must have been mapped out by a drunken surveyor. At the bottom of the hill the old mill leaned precariously toward Nickajack creek despite steel I-beams bracing what remained of its two-foot thick brick walls.

Concord Woolen Mills Ruin

When Concord Woolen Mills opened in 1847 it was one of the first industrial employers in the county. During the Civil War the mill made Confederate uniforms until it was burned by Sherman’s troops on July 4, 1864. After the war the mill was rebuilt and prospered until 1889, when fire again Read the rest of this entry »

Seems I have a hard time staying in one place for very long. I am on the road again, headed for Chicago to attend two blogging conferences: BlogHer and TravelBlogExchange. As usual, I am wandering a bit. In Smyrna, Georgia (a suburb of Atlanta) I stopped to check out the Silver Comet Trail, the longest paved trail in the U.S. and one that is extremely popular with walkers, bikers, joggers, and roller bladers.

Portion of the trail west of the Concord Road access in Smyrna

The vision for this trail began in 1991, when a group of cycling buddies envisioned a network of off-road trails in and around Atlanta. Each of them had biked off-road trails in other cities and understood how they connected neighborhoods and encouraged healthier lifestyles. Determined to develop this same type of amenity for the Atlanta area, they convinced the Georgia Department of Transportation to purchase miles of abandoned railroad right-of-way for a potential commuter rail corridor and allow interim use as a trail. It was named the Silver Comet Trail in honor of the Silver Comet train, which had carried passengers along this route from 1947 to 1969. Read the rest of this entry »

So, I’m on the road again. Headed north. Which is crazy, because I hate the cold weather. But my entire family lives in Illinois and I travel back home for Christmas each year, so it is what it is. This trip, however, has presented a few challenges.

Things started to go wrong while I was still in the Tampa Bay, Florida area. On day three the temperature plummeted to 57 and the wind kicked up. The next morning I awoke with my annual sinus infection – a behind the nose raw kind of hurt that made it difficult to swallow. Usually, standing under a hot shower helps a lot, but this was the morning that I had no water in that lovely hotel in Clearwater Beach. I needed new sinuses and a shower that worked.

By the following day I had reached the home of friends in the Atlanta area, who always let me stay with them when I am traveling to Chicago because it is a very convenient midway point. Atlanta’s cold, gray weather ruled out any extended outdoor activity, however I had to wash my car, since it was covered with salt spray from the beach. Within an hour of putting the finishing touches on my now sparkling car, it began to pour rain and it didn’t stop for two days. Spending an hour at the car wash in the cold weather made my sinus infection worse and Read the rest of this entry »

On New Years Day, my friends Patti and Tom treated me to a visit to the Georgia Aquarium in downtown Atlanta. This aquarium, which is the world’s largest, has brought more than six million people downtown since its opening in 2005. Built on what had been a long-empty parcel of land in a neglected end of downtown, the aquarium became a catalyst for economic growth in Atlanta’s city center. Since its opening, the downtown has seen an explosion of development, including high rise condominium towers, new shops and restaurants, and gleaming new office towers. Some 75 additional mixed use projects are slated to be completed in Atlanta’s central business district by 2010 and employers are returning to the downtown every day. It is such an impressive, jaw-dropping facility that I just had to share some photos of it:

After visiting the touch pools, where I touched a shark, we walked through the River Scout Gallery. This area of the aquarium focuses on riverine environments and the exhibit simulates being under a river, looking up. It was a bizarre experience to be surrounded by water, with giant longnose gar fish swimming over my head: Read the rest of this entry »