Four days of celebration and non-stop fun for free. This is what Thanksgiving weekend meant for scores of people scurrying towards and away from home and hearth on the weekend beginning November 25.
For Atlanta, lashed as it had been with the onslaught of rain and foul weather for the whole of last week, a clear, bright, sunny Thanksgiving weekend has been the perfect pinnacle to an otherwise trying week, at least weather wise.
An upbeat start
For some merry makers, the holiday season got just the right start with a trip down to Atlanta's pride, the Stone Mountain Park. Off the connecting artery, I-285, this park has its own novel way of ringing in the holiday season. The resort, famous for good old Southern style hospitality, wore an even more resplendent look this Thanksgiving. Apart from being lit up in traditional robes, it featured added attractions like carol singing, plays and fairyland tableaux for kids, and kids at heart.
While Macy's annual parade at NYC was the toast of TV through Friday morning, Atlanta's believers sang it like they meant it in and around downtown Atlanta.
{{/usCountry}}While Macy's annual parade at NYC was the toast of TV through Friday morning, Atlanta's believers sang it like they meant it in and around downtown Atlanta.
{{/usCountry}}Stop, shop, show
No holiday is complete without a dirge of gifts and goodies. No one cashes in on this impulse better than stores that have been in the business for as long as man has celebrated Christmas. Little wonder then that shops were wreathed in colour and splendour almost all across town. Nowhere was this more apparent though, than at the posh upscale shopping glitz, Buckhead.
This zany neighbourhood is the crown jewel of the holiday gala for reasons better known to the senses than to sensibility. It is characteristically bathed in ornate, colourful lights and gigantic mock-gift packages all through the holiday season. Each speciality shop within has its own singular Christmas tree. From explicit greens to pristine snowy whites, each tree rings a merry tune owing to the many trinkets that graze its exterior. The whole show; designed to perfection.
Merry-go-round
While weather forecasts had been projecting a rather dismal close to the month of November, optimistic revellers kept their backpacks ready for a relaxing and slow winding weekend getaway. Their patience paid off, and the weekend was kicked off for many by a quick readying of the goods for an overnight trip to out of town attractions in Georgia.
Of the many sightseeing vistas that this peach-state boasts of, Savannah is an experience that becomes even more beautiful with fading memory. This quaint, balmy, winding, tree-combed, cobbled and laid back picture perfect place is unique in its show of pompadour. Every inch of the town, from horse carriages to the old fashioned buses; from the jet tying boats along Savannah river to the chiming clock towers in the myriad green squares across the city, welcomes visitors and dwellers alike to the hustle bustle of holiday fervour.
Savannah's beach, the Tybee Island offers a solitary and edifying detour to an occasion that is every bit of the people as can be. At one with nature and all but alone, a weekend getaway to this haven, about 4 and half hours away from metro Atlanta is well worth the trip with friends and family.
About eats, about time!
As is customary, Turkey and a prayer for togetherness, good health, bounty and cheer is an integral part of this merriment. And, when it comes to a gala that calls for feasting, there's hardly any competition to doing it the Indian way.
Many offices of Indian origin organised a get together this weekend that served as a harbinger to fall. Also, people mingled and cosseted informally in club houses across apartment homes that line satellite towns as Marietta, Kennesaw and Smyrna. Eat well, be jolly and enjoy a sneak preview of the Christmas holidays next month seemed to be the motto of this preseason montage. Here's to the Thanksgiving marathon that came full circle with a buoyant surge of kindliness and bonhomie.