November 6-8 and 16, 2014: A Visit to Quito, Ecuador
	October 24-25, 2014: My 50th High School Reunion
	Return to the Index for 2014

On the way back to Dallas from my 50th high school reunion, Fred and I contacted Jeffie and arranged to stop to see her in Atlanta before continuing on home.

Getting to Jeffie's Apartment

We left the Extended Stay America about nine in the morning to head off to Atlanta.

We took I-77 north a few miles to the interchange     with I-85, and then headed south on I-85.     I-85 goes pretty much east-west through     Mecklenburg County, but down towards South Carolina     it begins to head southwest through Greenville     to Atlanta.

When we approach Atlanta, and come to I-285,     instead of taking that beltway around the city     (as we would if heading home to Dallas), we     just continue along I-85 right into the center     of town.

This route brings us right down into the center of the city, and Jeffie told us to look for the Tenth Street exit.

It actually wasn't hard to find the building that Jeffie lived in. It was on Peachtree Street just a block or so south of Tenth Street. The tricky thing was finding a place to park. We drove through the few blocks east of her building, but all the streetside spaces seemed filled. So we finally gave up and parked in a garage that was actually just behind the building that Jeffie lives in, so for a few bucks we got a very convenient space.

We know all the admonitions about leaving pets in cars, but we were in a sheltered spot and it wasn't warm in any event. We left the windows open an inch or so, and for the hour or two we would be gone, that would be good enough for Zack. (Just before we left, Jeffie came back to the car to see him, and he was, as he usually is in the car, asleep.

From the garage, we walked up onto Peachtree and followed Jeffie's directions to find her building, but the entrance was set back and the street number she gave wasn't immediately evident, so it took a call to her to make sure we were in the right spot.

We finally found the lobby of her building, and we called her when we got inside so she could come down and let us in. While we were waiting for her, we snapped a few pictures. One looks from just inside the building's outer doors back out to Peachtree Street, and you can see that picture here. Another looked in past the security door to the actual building lobby. The outer lobby had some interesting light fixtures and ceiling decoration, and Fred suggested that I get a couple of pictures, and so I did. You can see them here and here.

Jeffie's Apartment in Atlanta

Jeffie is actually renting an efficiency condo from its owner, and she lives on the 14th floor of the northernmost of one of two twenty-story condominium buildings.

Jeffie came down to get us, and we rode the elevator up to her floor, and I asked her to pose in the doorway to her apartment. Her apartment is quite nice, and just the right size for her. It also has amazing views (reminiscent of my high-rise condo in Chicago) from the small balcony off the living room; click on the thumbnail images below to have a look:

I thought her apartment was pretty nice; and pretty much what I thought an efficiency unit would look like. There is a good-sized living room next to the window wall, and at the opposite end of the room is the kitchen. (The door to the balcony is off the kitchen.) From the middle of the living area, I took a picture looking back towards the front door; you can see that picture here. In that picture, you can see the enclosure in which the sleeping area is located. Adjacent to the bedroom area are a good-sized closet and the bathroom.

I thought that Jeffie's apartment was quite nice, and suited her well. She doesn't spend much time there; what with her work and her horse activities.

After showing us around her place, we went downstairs and outside to see if we could find a place to treat her to lunch.

Lunch With Jeffie

Jeffie lives right on Peachtree Street in a trendy urban area that has lots of restaurants and clubs. It was a beautiful day and great for walking around.

Right outside her building, I got Jeffie and Fred to stop for a moment so I could get a picture of them (see left) before we walked north to Tenth Street. Just around the corner on Tenth is the Hyatt Hotel, and I must admit that from the corner of Tenth and Peachtree the views of the architecture all around were pretty spectacular. You should see some of them- and you can, if you click on the thumbnail images below:

We walked a few blocks east to a restaurant that Jeffie wanted us to try, but there was a 45-minute wait. We finally made a big circle, ending up at a little restaurant just a block south of her building where we had sandwiches. While we were there, Fred got a nice picture of me and Jeffie. After lunch, on our way to show Zack to Jeffie, I got a picture of Jeffie and Fred on Peachtree Street looking south. You can see that picture here.

We took Jeffie back to where we had parked the car so that she could see Zack, and he and she got along famously. A short while later, we bade Jeffie goodbye as we had a long drive yet back to Dallas. We had a nice visit, and I hope we will get to do it again for a longer stretch sometime soon.

Driving Back to Dallas

There are not many trips that I have taken that are much more straightforward than the drive from Atlanta to Dallas. From Jeffie's place, we went back out Tenth Street to I-85, and continued south on it, eventually coming to the interchange with I-20. We followed the signs to I-20 west.

Once you get on I-20, there are no turns to make (save for staying on the bypass around Birmingham) until you get bast Tyler, Texas, and angle off on US-80 to get to downtown Dallas (rather than continuing on I-20 which bypasses the city to the south). That's a thousand miles on the same highway. We stopped for dinner in Vicksburg, just before crossing the Mississippi. We were between Monroe and Shreveport when we made the decision not to stop overnight but rather drive on straight through to Dallas. We switched off driving, and made excellent time, arriving back home about 2AM. It was nice to be home.

You can use the links below to continue to another photo album page.

	November 6-8 and 16, 2014: A Visit to Quito, Ecuador
	October 24-25, 2014: My 50th High School Reunion
	Return to the Index for 2014