Earlier this year, Alex found out that his company was sending him to Atlanta for some meetings for the days following Columbus Day. We decided to go down early to explore Atlanta as a way to celebrate both my birthday and the wrapping up of this 90 day adventure. Neither of us knew a lot about Atlanta but were excited to explore it.
When we arrived, we both immediately noticed the traffic. It is hard to go on any of the highways, or roads that connect to highways, at any time of the day or night, any day of the week without hitting a major slowdown or full stopped traffic. This has been incredibly disconcerting after spending so much time in small towns and seemingly traffic-less roads. How do the many people that live here accept the inevitable traffic they live with? This has been a challenging reality for both of us. We are starting to dread going to the car which will surely result in us getting stuck in traffic of some sort.
It seems like a bit of a culture shock. I have appreciated the freedom of the wide open spaces of the central US and the uncrowded towns and cities to where I have adventured. Over the past few months, it has been rare that I was stuck in traffic (except the most notable time around Yellowstone National Park). There were countless times I was the only one in sight on the road and to me, this was like taking a deep breath for the first time. While driving these roads, I felt like I was really seeing the world for perhaps the first time. The lack of traffic and landscape allow you to see for miles and feel more like a big fish in a big pond and not a little fish in a little pond. As we sit in the traffic of Atlanta, or navigate through the crowded roads, it feels like a weight has been put on my chest making it hard to breathe again. Though there are elements of anxiety in this experience, it is not fear that I most feel, but disgust. I think life is too short to sit in traffic, and drive on crowded roads. The people of Atlanta probably spend so much time in their cars, how do they build connection with others?
I am sure our days in Atlanta will be filled with fun and exciting adventures, but will they be worth the immobility and claustrophobia I feel when we cannot get anywhere without seeing hundreds of break lights?
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