These Streets Remind me of Quicksand

Yesterday afternoon some friends and I decided to go hiking. We decided to go hiking at the same time that everyone else in Atlanta decided to go to the Braves game. T R A F F I C. Thank goodness these newfangled GPS thingies do not run on Apple Maps and can actually get you where you want to go, even sporting handy "Avoid All Possible Traffic" features. Now, avoiding all possible traffic is not the same thing as avoiding all possible ghettos. I know this because our route took us through a bit of a shady neighborhood. But here's the thing, y'all: it felt like home. So far, the majority of my Atlanta sketchiness exposure has been limited to big city stuff, which is not anything you'll ever see in Tyler, Texas. This adventure, however, had me feeling like I was in North Tyler, crusin' down Gentry. I can't explain it, but that just made me feel so at home and at peace. Odd, I know. Completely unplanned, we came across a rickety shack touting Atlanta's Best Burgers. It was Ann's Snack Bar. GHETTO BURGERS, Y'ALL. These burgers are legendary, meaning we couldn't very well just pass up the opportunity, could we? So we walked in, occupied four of the ten bar stools (when all ten are full, no one else is allowed to come in the building - it's serious stuff), and sat there until the cook was ready to take our order and grill up our Ghetto Burgers. Goodness gracious, they were delicious. And after the tiny detour we got back on our quest to Arabia Mountain, which is actually less mountain more monadnock, where we walked in and around the old quarries until the sun set. So, here's to new adventures, to exploring more of what Atlanta has to offer, to eating Ghetto Burgers, to being outdoorsy chic, and to going to bed by 9:45 on a Friday night. Sometimes, life is alright.