C-L-E-M-S-O-N and HOT-Lanta

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Today was largely spent on the road. I left Charlotte this morning to head to Atlanta. On the way, I passed through Clemson so I had to stop and look around. Given that it’s summertime I expected the campus to be dead, although UNC and Duke got my hopes up. Well, dead doesn’t begin to describe it. Other than a few university buildings I wouldn’t have even known it was a college town. The real shocker came when trying to find a place for lunch. I had heard of such a thing but had never experienced it myself. Clemson is DRY on Sundays. And all the places I knew to go eat are considered bars, not restaurants. That severely limits the dining alternatives.

I did eventually find an Italian joint which served its purpose. It was an order then sit type place. When I got there, I was behind two families who didn’t quite grasp the concept of others. It must have taken them 10 minutes to get their act together and order. Gene Wilder put it best in Blazing Saddles,

You've got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know... morons.

Nevertheless, seeing Howard Stadium and the rock were pretty cool. I snapped a nice photo of a sign commemorating the 1988 Citrus Bowl and Clemson’s defeat of Penn State. I couldn’t go up to the rock though because kids from a football camp were getting their pictures taken with it along with Dabo Swinney, Clemson’s head coach.

The rest of the day was spent driving to Atlanta. Since it is very hot down here right now (some bank thermometers showed 100+) my skin took nicely to the sun. My left arm, which dangled from the car window, is about two shades darker than my right arm. I figured I’d avoid a farmer’s tan as best as possible so I chucked my shirt in the back seat. To add to the Southern ambience, I threw the race on the radio (it was on no less than three different FM stations). It had been a long time since I heard racing on the radio. I missed it.

I arrived in Atlanta this evening and am taking it easy tonight. The hostel (my first of this trip) is on the cusp of the less affluent sections of town. It will be interesting to see if I find myself short of certain accessories tomorrow. I’m here until Wednesday morning and should stay pretty busy.

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