Sun. 26 Jun. - Marietta to Gatlinburg (part 1)...

Up at 5:45, breakfast at 7, load the van with our bags, riderbriefing, ride out at 08:30...


.... riderbriefing, ....

ride out at 08:30...

Mainly interstate for first 50 odd miles but with some scenic bits over bridges and lakes towards the end of this stint.

10:10 Rest and Espresso break at a Starbucks in Gainesville, GA

Sat. 25 Jun. - Afternoon .... Motorcycle pick up ...

Saturday morning brief: breakfast at hotel (not bad, but not as good as the Residence Inn) then walk down to marietta square again, where the raods are still closed off and there's a Farmers market and Craft market
.

We stopped for a drink in the Australian Bakery Cafe, and were tempted by their vast array of oies (even Cornish pastiies!) but we just wern't hungry so left it at just a drink.

I called the hotel to send the shittle bus down to pick us up, and withinn the few minutes it took to arrive there was about another 10 people wanting it to take them back.

at 3 the wholw tour group met up in the bar at the hotel for a 1/2 hour briefing by the tour leader, then we were bussed to the Easyrider branch to pick up the rental bikes.

Much of the paperwork had already been completed in advance so we had anothergroup  briefingbny the 2 Eaglerider guys, and then went downstairs to collect the bikes and take the short ride back to the hotel.

Fri. 24 Jun. - Evening, Marietta Square ...

The hotel runs afree  shuttle bus which we used to transport us down to the town (they call it a City!) square. Certainly it saved our leg muscles.

The square was really buzzing, thousands of people were crammed in there, but it wasn't claustraphobic at all. Lots of the eateries were full, even with waiting lists for tables..

We did find an Irish bar (http://www.johnniemaccrackens.com) just off the square and got a atable outside

this place has a list of beers thas spans several A4 pages, both draught and bottled beers from around the world. I was very adveturous and ordered a pint of draught Guiness (I know what I like!)

above: 3 Harleys parked next to our pavement table.

As we were waiting for food service, the band started their 3 hours set on the main stage.

As wet sat there there was a constand stream of people walking in carrying deck chair , huge coolboxes and the like.


We finished our meal and set off towards the main square.

It was packed but not so you couldn't walk around.

So we wandered, around and about, in and out...

tried some "Snowball" - not what you might think of as a Snowball, this was non alcoholic, made of shaved Ice, our choice of flavor being Georgia peach. Thats that one ticked off then!.

by about 10 oclock, with band still having an hour to play, we decided to return to the hotel, so summoned the shuttle to pick us up, and he was there in a few minutes.

Back at the hotel, we met up with several of the others on our tour, and the tour leaders Jan and Nig from HVT. We had a nightcap with them before retiring for the night at about midnight.

To be continued ....

Frid. 24 Jun. - Lunch in Marietta Square

From the hotel it's about a 15min walk into the old town square.

We have a quick look around the square, and settle for lunch at The Marietta Local, where we 'split' (ie they give us 2 plates) a fried chicked sandwich with a side of 'mashed potatoe in skins'), and a couple of 'Soda' (eg Coke Zero)

There's something going on in the suare tonight, right accross the square people have set out their tables and chairs ready for tonights free concert,

There is some interesting shops here, a few antiques shops, quite a few places to eat / drink. We decide to come cabk here this evening, and taka stroll back to the hotel.

Fri. 24 Jun. - Arrived in Marietta...

it took about 30 mins to do the 20 milke cab ride this morning. The driver was very friendly, originally from Ethiopia (so todays heat was not a problem for him) although he did say its been much hotter than normal for this time of year.

The cost including tip $45, less than I was expecting.

This hotel is big, with a conference centre and its own gold course, which our room 539, 5th floor view overlooks

Fri. 24 Jun. - Bye-Bye Atlanta ...

Today we check out from our 1st hotel and transfer to the Hiltom Marietta, 500 Powder Springs St.

First we set ourselves up with another great buffet brekfast at the hotel, go pack the bags and...

Before we head out, we taka a walk out to find an ATM to get some more $$$.

Every ATM here charges a fee to use it - worst case was $6. I settle for the lowest I found - 3$ . manke a mental note to reseatch this on t'internet laster.

Back to the hotel and down from the room with the bags, we checkout and the front desk oderes us a cab, which comes in a couple of minutes.

Thu. 23 Jun. - free day in Atlanta

After our second night at the Residence Inn, we had another great breakfast at the hotel and set off for Atlanta Zoo - only because they have Giant Pandas there.

We decided to get there just after they opened (09:30) before it gets too hot and too busy,

Fortunately the zoo has an agreement to provide free taxis to and from the zoo and our hotel.

No queues to get in, and we head straight to the far side of the zoo where the Pandas are. only a couple of people are there already so we can get an excellent view.

The Pandas are not outside today -it's far too hot for them, so the're in their climate controlled quarters.

After the Pandas, we spend a bit of time watching the Goillas - theres 20 here altogeter of various ages from about 2-1/2 up to 57 years old.

By now the zoos getting much busier, and tgher's lots of groups of kids here. it's getting warmer, a lot of the animals are not very active, so it's time to call the Checker cab co for our free cab back to the hotel.

There is another place of interest to us in Atlanta, as Mrs. K does work as a Puppeteer, we decide to go visit the Centre for Puppetry Arts.

to get there we go via the underground train (known as MARTA) there's a station just accross the road from our hotel and its 5 stops up the line.

Fares are flat rate $2.50 / journey regardless of distance.

Leaving the station at the other we make the mistake of coming out of the wrong side and then walking in the wrong direction. We do realise after about 1/2 mile , stop for lunch (another Chik-fil-A , this time at Colony Square). then retrace our steps and carry on to the Puppet place.

The puppet museums displays are divided into 2 - Jim Henson relatred and then World puppets (much older and historic). I enjoyed the Jim Henson part the best, rhey have lots of the original items, and show how they worked and how they were made which I found interesting.

A 10 minute walk from there back to thge MARTA station and a 5 minute train ride back to Peachtree Center, and the hotel.

Time for a rest.