Having secured a cab from Hartfield-Jackson, I sat back and tried to take in as much of Atlanta as possible before arriving at Catherine's.
I don't yet regularly use or travel on UK motorways. I have no need to as 100% of my business takes place locally, along with 99% of my social life.
Even if I did use them regularly, I'm sure it still wouldn't have prepared me for the scale of the highways in Atlanta.
It's been 7 years since I saw anything like them, and the scale of them was impressive to say the least.
As we made our way along Interstate 75, which seemed to have 8 lanes going in each direction, I found myself viewing everything with a kind of child-like enthusiasm. I was transported back to the 1970s and 80s when, as a child and teenager, I'd watch TV and see all those US based shows that so influenced my idea of what the USA was like. Hardly an accurate picture of US life admittedly, though no more inaccurate than what the average American would think life in Britain is like if they watched our TV shows.
Every huge road or building or stadium I saw reminded me all the cop shows I watched as a youth. Anyone for Starsky & Hutch, Kojak, The Streets of San Francisco or CHiPs? How about The Rockford Files, The Dukes of Hazzard, Knight Rider or The Equalizer? The list is extensive and I'll leave it here.
I did indeed have square eyes as a kid, though grew out of the habit I'm pleased to say.
After 20 minutes or so we made it Catherine's and left my day-dreaming behind as my trip well and truly began.
After quickly saying hello to her, her partner Ken and her lovely dog Belle I stashed my suitcase and jumped into Catherine's car as we made our way to her first yoga class of the day.
By now it was 4pm and, whilst I'd normally be feeling hungry, the whole adrenalin and excitement of being in a new country and on a mini-adventure took my mind off food.
The 10 minute drive through Catherine's neighbourhood gave me a chance to take in a more residential area of Atlanta. Simply beautiful. The area of Atlanta she lives in was built in a forest, so the views were fantastic in places as were many of the homes, the majority of which still had decorations up from Halloween (US culture memories surfaced again. Incredible how much of it I absorbed as a child). Beautiful homes in a beautiful surrounding.
The yoga class was held in a high school that (like everything else in Atlanta that I'd seen so far) was huge, and consisted of a group of female teachers from the school. It lasted around 60-75 minutes and certainly helped my body regain it's equilibrium after my flight. I certainly wasn't out of my depth in the class (Catherine knew I could handle it) and enjoyed it. Just as well I'd taught myself sun salutes prior to going on my trip. They came in handy.
We headed back to Catherine's for some dinner and I re-fuelled on organic beef steak and buttered asparagus with strawberries to follow. Fantastic!
No time to rest as Catherine, Ken and I headed off to her second and final yoga class of the day at a local church (The Holy Spirit Catholic Church - once again, huge).
More demanding than the first class I'd attended, with more challenging poses. Once again I coped pretty well. I put this down to the fact I focus on maintaining and developing flexibility to balance my weight-training, and have done so for almost 10 years now. Also, it helps to have long arms when attempting some of the more advanced yoga poses, and I'm blessed with those too!
After that, Catherine and Ken drove me to my hotel: the Courtyard by Marriot in Buckhead. Once again I took in the views of Atlanta by night.
They dropped me off and I checked in. By this time I was ready to sleep. I wasn't overcome with fatigue, I just felt naturally ready for bed.
The local NFL team (that's American Football to the uninitiated), the Atlanta Falcons, were entertaining the Baltimore Ravens that evening and the game was televised (unsurprisingly). I'd seen lots of the Baltimore fans at the airport as they travelled into the game. Atlanta won 27 to 21. I've been a fan of American Football since it was first televised in the UK in 1982 on Channel 4, and wanted to watch the end of the game, though sleep was my priority.
The check-in staff were friendly and my room was pleasant enough. I un-packed, meditated briefly and settled down to sleep.
Tomorrow I was going spend the day with Catherine to have one-to-one sessions with her, and I wanted to be as fresh as possible. I'd enjoyed my first day so much that it made me even more determined to squeeze every drop of benefit and pleasure from the trip.
Stay well, happy and tuned.
Cris (El Baron)
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