My Adventures: Collards and Bumble Bees in Atlanta, Georgia

8.31.08

For the past few days I have been hanging out with my good friend Jon Newman in beautiful Atlanta, Georgia. Today was the first day that I remembered to take my camera out with me. Since Jon's classes just started, most of my time has been spent going into school with him. I had a chance to walk around the Georgia Tech campus on Thursday and I also checked out some of Emory the previous day. It's really interesting to walk around Jon's labs. Most of the time it's hard for me to understand the research posters lining the wall but it all makes me think of how great it would be to go back to school again; which is something that has definitely been on my mind the last few months and will continue to be as Fall 2009 enrollment deadlines begin to approach ever so quickly. Besides walking around his labs and school, I have been studying Japanese and preparing for the GRE test.

So far all the people that I have met her are very kind and friendly. Jon's roommates Keith and Nate are both really nice guys as well as all the people in Jon's labs. They have been really nice to let me hang out in the office while Jon is hard at work. Jon's diligence amazes me. One day I only hope I will be as assiduous as him.

Jon and I rode bikes (I borrowed Keith's bike and Nate's lock) to this little "whole in the wall" restaurant called Eats. The menu was really simple; all you had to do was pick out the different sides you wanted. The Southern home-style food that was served there was quite appealing to my taste buds and not to mention my wallet.

I ordered the three veggie plate with a side of black beans, collards, and baked sweet potato. The corn bread was also included with the meal. Jon ordered Jerk Chicken and a few sides that he said were absolutely amazing.

After getting some food, we continued our bike ride to The Atlanta Aquarium. When we got there we realized how busy it was because of the holiday weekend. In the end we agreed that it wasn't worth it to go on such a busy day. We would go sometime next week when everyone was in work. Instead I suggested that we go to the Piedmont Park Botanical Gardens that I had wanted to visit during my last visit but couldn't go.

Jon-bug

Sheila-butterfly

Inside the Chrysalis

Bumble Bee Close-up

Wasp Close-Up (This wasp was approximately 2.5 inches long in total!)

This frog wouldn't budge despite Jon's pleas.

Here, Jon is demonstrating how to use the Singing Stone. If while you're singing with your head inside the stone and happen to hit the correct resonating frequency, "the result is a harmonious feeling of well being" according to the sign in the garden. Jon said he experienced "a harmonious feeling of well being".

Garden Gnomes

Architect, engineer and artist Tim Prentice, designed just about all of the contemporary sculptures in the garden. Each unique sculpture used the wind to it's advantage. As a result, the movements of the pieces of art work were very interesting to watch. According to his website, he concentrates on "kinetic sculpture". He is "trying to concentrate on the movement, rather than the object."

Geometric Lilly Pads

Spiny and Dangerous Lilly Pads

Traditional Lilly Pads

It's difficult to see but my finger is a centimeter away from a curly vine.

Frog and Jon

The Tropical Rain Forest Greenhouse

Giant Palm Leaves

Strange Vines

I owned this plant while I was in Japan. It is called Antharium and is native to Hawaii. I nearly thought I had lost it this winter until just before I was about to leave for America it started to blossom. Unfortunately, I had to give it to Hiroko before I could see the blooms.