Alpharetta

Living the life

My suite..

Icy drive

Steak dinner awaits
Country side behind the farm

Atlanta Georgia is only 3.5 hours from my front door. The east coast is cool that way. Take a drive in any direction for a few hours and you will most likely end up in another state. Its not so easy on the west coast to do that. I set off two Fridays ago with Amerika the worlds coolest riding simulator, to give a clinic in a town called Alpharetta. Little known to me, this place was similar to Del Mar, CA and Warrenton Va. if they where spliced together and plunked down with in spitting distance of Atlanta. My long weekend however turned into an impromptu week long stay as winter dumped some very "narsty" weather on us Monday afternoon( my departure date). I spent the rest of the week teaching a few intrepid students who braved icy roads and maybe worst of all, the driveway at Prospect Hill Farm who was kindly hosting me. Not to be deterred by a little "weatha", we donned our warmest winter wear and hiked next door for steaks on the grill one evening. When we finally where able to make it out it was for my farewell dinner at a wonderful Chinese bistro, Yay duck salad!!!! It was my first real view of the amenities in the area and I must admit I was suffering some pretty mean amenities envy. First and most importantly a Dover Saddlery, yep, right there on the main street. Costco(remember the one closest to me is in South Carolina), not just any old Costco either, this one had a fresh gelato stand inside, a liqueur barn and DECAF dunkin donuts coffee, inexplicably NOT available at mine(I bought three bags!)There where many, many cute looking eateries and Starbucks, Whole Foods, Trader Joes.....oh the list goes infinitely on and on......anyhoo, paradise has its downfalls too, TRAFFIC the kind only Atlanta can have, and really icy roads. The main ones even. I heard an ugly rumor that there are only 10 snow plows in the whole state. Driving on the roads 5 days after the storm, I can believe it. We made it home, Amerika and I. The roads in rural NC having been salted and plowed(nanny nanny boo boo). I'll be back to Alpharetta of course, just not until the warmer months when week long stays are a choice and not a necessity.