A Little House in the Hood

I love this Airbnb place but without a doubt, it is in a questionable neighborhood.  We are living in a little blue house on Ezra Church Road, where an important Civil War battle took place in 1864 as Sherman was taking Atlanta.  We have three bedrooms in case anyone wants to visit hint-hint, and it is convenient to everything touristy… the CocaCola Museum, Georgia Aquarium, Centennial Olympic Park, and more, but it is nowhere near any place we need to be during this next month.  Lots of driving in store for us. 

This cute little rental is on the west side of town, just a mile or so as a crow flies from Mercedes Benz Stadium which, whew, is a stunning structure, especially at night when it’s all lighted up!   

Like the East side is now, this area of Atlanta is becoming gentrified, but neighborhoods here are at least ten years behind their counterparts east of I-75/85.  Many small houses around here have been recently rehabbed, or possibly just cleaned-up, painted, and flipped, but the area is on the upswing.  Our little blue house has been rehabbed. It has nice flooring, stylish new bathrooms, new kitchen appliances, and fresh paint.  But sections of baseboards are missing, thresholds are loose and the underpinning to the dishwasher is missing, all signs of efforts to simply get-er-done quick. The house across the street from us is in the early stages of rehab, and the house just two doors down from ours has three dogs tethered to ropes in the front yard where not a blade of grass grows.   

Stan and I do like our walks.  There is nothing here that keeps us from doing that.  We walk the hood.  We get our five miles in almost daily and every single person we meet greets us in a friendly, caring manner.  We feel safe; we feel at home. 

So, why do we need an Airbnb in Atlanta? For one reason, we have been in and out of Cody’s house since December 15.  In total that would be a little over 60 days!!!  Whew, that’s a long time for even close family members to be together. Although we have been in and out, we haven’t been underfoot very much.   We’ve made several trips traveling from Cody’s house to Arkansas, the PAC NW, and Mid-Atlantic states, Maryland to South Carolina.  We have even made a trip to PCB to see our beach friends.  All in all, we have spent only about 20 nights with Cody.  Still, though, imagine having people in and out of your house for that long!  Since we have no more local trips planned, Stan and I figured, it is time, probably way past time, to get into our own place.  

We had planned to find an apartment similar to the one we had last year, near Cody, near Truist Park, and close to all our favorite haunts.  Nope. That could not happen 

So here we are, in the little blue house in the hood, and you know what, it is just fine. 

Last weekend we did our tourist thing and booked a walking tour in Atlanta using the GuruWalks App.  I’ve written about his app before.  The tour is free.  Just sign-up on the app and show up at the designated place and time.  The GuruWalks guides are typically knowledgeable and gifted speakers.  They know the city; they know its history; they know the architecture, and they combine all that in an easy, sometimes humorous way.  Participants tip the guide based on what they think the tour was worth.  Most people are very generous because the guides are worth it. 

Ours was the Civil Rights Tour.   

Although Atlanta has been our home for many years, we were amazed at all we learned on this tour. The day was a picture-perfect, sunny, and clear Georgia spring day, just right for a leisurely walk.  We met our tour group on a corner on Auburn Avenue. Among the walkers were people visiting from Sweden, Spain, Italy, San Diego, and Nashville.   Stan and I felt right at home.   

The fascinating walk took us through the Sweet Auburn neighborhood past MLK’s birthplace, the fire station just down the street, and the school where his father learned to read and write. MKL grew up on Auburn Avenue; it was fun to imagine what things were like back then.  Now I was born in Marianna, Arkansas in 1947, so I know, first-hand what things were like back then for African American country folk. Black folks living on Auburn Avene, however, were different; they were well-to-do.  They were preachers, teachers, merchants, and professionals.  They built these stately homes.  Nearby though, were rows of shotgun houses built by area mills to house their white blue-collar workers. In September 1906, racial tension throughout the city led to the Atlanta Race Riot in which over 25 African Americans were killed and their businesses burned to the ground.  We walked past the Ebenezer Baptist Church where Martin Luther King Sr and Martin Luther King Jr, both preached.  We could almost hear them.  In the King Center, we walked through the maze of moving and emotional photos and recordings of speeches and interviews that took place during peaceful desegregation efforts in the 1960s.  Seeing the photos and hearing the voices from 1955-1970 made our knees weak and brought tears to our eyes.

Like smart-alecky children, Stan and I blurted out answers to many of the questions our tour guide asked to get participants engaged.  We could not help ourselves.  We just spewed them out there, but we were amazed at the interesting facts and stories we didn’t know or may have forgotten about that movement. Some of the foreigners knew names, events, and stories we did not, again reminding us that the world pays attention to the USA and to our history. 

At the close of the tour, because we were still in our tourist mode, we walked a few minutes to the east to Atlanta’s new amazing Beltline which today almost encircles the city.   The Beltline invites everyone. This vibrant, exciting place is often targeted by tourists but locals love it as well. On a pleasant day, it is teaming with 30-, 40-something upwardly mobile people having a chat while enjoying a glass of wine or a craft beer from one of the local breweries.  But it is a favorite place for families, friends, and couples to meet and hang out to shop, have lunch or dinner at one of the many fabulous restaurants, or just sit and people-watch.  Many come to the Beltline to walk/run/skate for a little exercise and some come to travel e-style on rented bikes and scooters.  It is a must-visit place in the city.  We did it all . . . we walked, ate, shared a beer, and chatted with people passing by. . . especially if they had a dog or two.

Work is underway now to complete the west side of the Beltline connecting the dots on what will be in a few years, a fully paved, walking/biking circle around the city of Atlanta.  It will connect 45 in-town neighborhoods with a single 22-mile paved corridor that will go through many parts of the city and will be lined with parks, cool shops, bars, and restaurants.  Boom! How nice!  Atlanta may not have a beach or mountains, but it has the Braves and the Beltline! 

Okay, here is the real reason we needed this little house in the hood.  Our 50^th Wedding Anniversary was just this past Friday, March 14.  Shea and Tessa travelled here from California to be with us for a few days and help us celebrate.  We needed room! Cody made all the arrangements.    It was fantastic — just the five of us enjoying each other, making memories . . . and having steak at Atlanta’s famous and classic old school restaurant, BONES!! 

Here’s to fifty years together!  I love you, Stan Weeks!  I would do it all over again.   

Stan says, “Me too.”