Today, I finally made it to the Atlanta BeltLine, which is sort of embarrassing since I consider myself a native Atlantan. Today, out on the BeltLine, I took some photos of murals, and other arty things, including photos of the old Sears & Robuck building and the Ford Factory, but this windmobile piece was just so whimsical, I could not help but pause and admire the way it moved. The tires are windmills and the whole piece, including the sign, circulates around and around, so I have several photos in various positions along the dial.
I loved the BeltLine--a rails-to-trails project that encircles the Atlanta area (about 22 miles in total). When I was young, my brothers and I used to walk a portion of these RR tracks behind Ansley Park (next to Ansley Mall) and we'd collect all the track nails that popped out of the ties over the years. We'd paint them and then sell them around the neighborhood as paperweights.
When the BeltLine started, my mom went down to the same tracks and looked for these nails--then she painted them and gave them to all of her grandchildren one Christmas with the initial Beltline plans. It was nice to take the girls on the BeltLine today and tell the tales of being a railroad track rat as a kid, and that these defunct rails are now part of a very innovative urban transportation plan for walkers, bikers, rollerbladers, and self movers. It took me too long to get here, but I can't wait to return! Next time, I'll bring my bike!
