Chattahoochee River, Shopping, and a (hopefully) Minor Disaster

 I decided that I should get outside and have some exercise today. I went to the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, specifically the Island Ford unit, which is surprisingly near. The park Visitor Center is there so I was able to get a map and some advice that resulted in a 2.5 mile hike along the river bank. It was hot and I got sweaty, but the route was not difficult. There were many people out, and many dogs. The big winner of the day was the plentitude of fungus. I even came across some people with baskets who were collecting a certain yellow ruffly mushroom to eat.

Besides fungus, there were interesting rocks and trees to look at. I saw many large spiders, mostly on big orb-type webs. I heard ever-present cicadas and a few birds that I could not identify. I only saw one small brown bird that was moving fast around a fallen tree trunk.

The riverside trail goes about a mile north, then one can turn around and walk back or take a side trail into the hills that loops around and rejoins the riverside trail close to the start. That's what I did for the extra mileage. At the end, I detoured again to visit the turtle pond. At first, I didn't see anything. Then two big turtles appeared and swam in my direction. A third, smaller turtle briefly surfaced, but dove under when I moved to get a photo. There were also some schools of little fish in the pond.

After my hike, I thought I'd try to get a couple of things for the house so I shopped a nearby Target and Ace Hardware. It was past 1 pm by then, so I had lunch at Village Burger in Dunwoody.

This is the House Burger with lettuce, tomato, and pickles. I also had french fries and an unsweet iced tea. Not expensive, not fancy, just a good simple lunch.

Then I went across the street to Bruster's Ice Cream, because it has been a while since I had ice cream. I got $3 off for signing up for the rewards program. Um, yes please!

Small cup of Almond Chocolate Coconut. 

Then I went back to the house and tried to let the sweat dry while reading a book. I had just gotten comfortable when my neighbor, Samson, knocked on the door saying that there was a water leak in his house. We also found water puddling on the floor of my downstairs bathroom. He mopped it up for me, and we couldn't find a source, so he went back to his place. After awhile, I noticed the water was still coming into my bathroom. I mopped a few times over the next couple of hours. Finally, I went next door and talked to him and his wife Chu-chu. They called a guy they knew, who showed up and did something on their side of the wall that made the water stop leaking into my house. The guy is Iraqi and was very excited when he heard I was from Michigan because of the large Arab population he knows is around Detroit. Okay, so that's fine. The guy will come back in the morning to fix the problem, but I'm relieved that whatever he did tonight stopped the water coming in without having to shut it off at the main valve. I was afraid I would need to spend the night at a hotel. Hopefully, the disaster has been averted.

Stranger In A Strange Land

 Not so weird as that, but this was my first full day living in Atlanta.

I slept badly, not too surprisingly. It was uncomfortable on the floor and hot, and all the noises were strange and there are no curtains so there is more light in the bedroom than I'm used to.

When I got up, I first had to install the shower curtain rod and the shower curtain before I could have a shower. And just thank goodness I had the forethought to pack the shower gel and shampoo in an easily-accessible place, given how chaotic my last day of packing was. I had some hot green tea and a couple of granola bars and got to work setting up the wi-fi after that. With success, I was able to update my FB followers on progress so far.

I unloaded the car and unwrapped all the pantry items. Discovered that my refrigerator has no light inside; I'll try to order a replacement. That activity made me hot and sweaty again. Photos of the new house:

Empty living room.

Empty dining room with view of the patio.

Front of the house.

Then it was time for lunch, and I have little food and almost no cooking utensils so I tried a local restaurant: El Matador, which is not quite two miles away. It is in an unassuming strip mall, behind a Quik Trip, but the interior of the restaurant is clean and welcoming. It was not busy when I arrived and only a few others came in after me. There is a covered patio, but I chose to enjoy the A/C indoors and was able to watch a little Team USA water polo on the television as a bonus. I ordered the burrito suizo that came with rice, beans, and a little taco shell containing shredded lettuce, sour cream, and a thick slice of tomato. I also ordered an unsweet iced tea, which arrived in a huge cup! The meal was tasty and filling. The rice and beans were unremarkable, but the burrito stuffed with shredded chicken and topped with salsa suizo was very good. 

Next I wandered around the local Kroger, trying to figure out what food to buy that I can eat at home using my limited supplies. I checked out the craft beer aisle and found the big Michigan breweries represented: Bell's Two-Hearted IPA and Oberon, Founders' Green Zebra (variety pack!) and All-Day IPA, and New Holland's Dragon's Milk.

As I was pushing my cart over to the corral in the parking lot, a young man came up to me and asked for my phone number because, he said, he had seen me in the store and thought I was really pretty. I thought it was quite strange, though maybe flattering, and declined to give him my number. 

This evening, I visited a local brewery, Social Fox Brewing over in Norcross. Parking was problematic and I needed to circle the lot a bit before finding a space. Seems like lots of people were out for dinner in little Norcross. The brewery was great! The bartender listened to my preferences and suggested beers for me to try. I first had the Place to Imagine apple pie sour, which I enjoyed outside on the deck while reading My Effin' Life and listening to the brewery's playlist. Then I had the Cross Czech lager, also good. It was warm outside, but the sun was behind the building and I was quite comfortable. I got a new sticker for the collection as well as a map of Gwinnet County breweries. I would definitely return to Social Fox.

Feeling pleased with myself after a good day.

Hard to miss the building with the foxes painted on the sides!