Every day, Atlantans sleep, walk, read, dine, and exercise, usually sticking to their own ZIP code – because we know that the term “rush-hour traffic” around here is actually “you-never-know” traffic.
However, there are ways to circumvent our desire to stay in our own backyard by strategically venturing out for activities that are different and exciting.
If you want to go on a nature walk, why not see some hidden folk art in the forest? If you are craving a restorative yoga class, how about a Sunday morning session with Figgy the llama and her friends?
Need to carve out some quiet time to read? Join a free-wheeling book club where nobody talks. Love food and enjoy a nice stroll? Be part of a food tour that concludes with a biscuit-making class.
Read on for four unique Atlanta-area adventures that include time-travel tips that may ease the pain of leaving your comfort zone.
Doll’s Head Trail
Constitution Lakes Park
1305 S. River Industrial Blvd. SE, Atlanta, GA 30315
The Doll’s Head Trail, a 1.6-mile short loop in the middle of Constitution Lakes Park, is part of a two-mile trail that offers panoramic views of its two man-made lakes, and includes whimsical, sometimes-creepy art installations of found objects.
Most of the tucked-away treasures feature doll parts – heads, arms, and legs – surrounded by other found objects with commentary scrawled on flat rocks. For example, nestled on the side of the trail is a one-armed doll with an 1980s style car phone next to a “call-your-mom” sign to the right.
The nature preserve, formerly a 19th-century brick company that excavated Georgia’s famous red clay, is peaceful and relatively uncrowded. On a recent mid-morning walk, this author spied a young doe crashing through the woods and a majestic heron skimming the surface of the lake in search of lunch.
Time travel tip: Constitution Lakes Park is open from 7 a.m. to dusk every day. At 11 a.m. on a Monday, the commute from the Perimeter area to the Doll’s Head Trail took 25 minutes.
More information can be found on the Friends of Constitution Lakes Facebook page.
Llama Yoga
Alpaca Treehouse in the Bamboo Forest
1152 Fayetteville Rd SE Atlanta, GA 30316
For Kara O’Brien, owner of the Atlanta Alpaca Farm, it all started with bamboo and ended with rescue alpacas, llamas, chickens, and a thriving business.
Her East Atlanta neighbor had not maintained a 1940s-era bamboo forest in his backyard, and in 2014, she bought the property and started the laborious task of restoring it.
O’Brien then started rescuing abused and neglected llamas and alpacas who, coincidentally, love to feast on the tender bamboo shoots, and, fulfilling a childhood memory, built a treehouse out of reclaimed materials in the middle of the bamboo.
“It was first just a place for us to hang out, but someone said that I should put it on Airbnb, and that just took everything from zero to 60,” O’Brien said.
She also built a barn out of recycled materials, and started offering Sunday yoga classes, which involves a 60-minute restorative session, followed by a tour of the property and an up-and-close personal interaction with the llamas and alpacas.
Often the llamas, especially Figgy, whom O’Brien describes as a “huge empath,” join the class.
“At first we didn’t really think it was real, but she continued to connect with specific people who we found out later had undergone trauma,” O’Brien said.
Figgy is so popular, she has her own Instagram account, with more than 1,000 followers (@figgy_llama).
Yoga classes are held each Sunday morning, starting at 11:30 a.m. The site is also a popular venue for weddings, film shoots, and grief recovery workshops.
“It’s magical to be in the presence of these animals,” said Diana DeLatour, co-owner of Be Hot Yoga and one of four regular yoga teachers who run the Sunday classes. “Their energy is so beautiful.”
More information can be found about events, stays at the treehouse, tours, and classes at www.alpacatreehouse.com.
Time travel tip: On Sunday morning, it typically takes 25 minutes or less to get to the yoga class from Brookhaven.
Silent Book Club
Various locations around Atlanta
Atlanta’s Silent Book Club, with dozens of participating chapters, is a bibliophile’s dream come true – with no real rule except to read a book of your choice in silence.
Silent Book Club started in San Francisco in 2015, driven by the desire of its co-founders Guinevere de la Mare and Laura Gluhanich to read a book in compatible silence at their neighborhood bar.
“Traditional book clubs include the pressure to finish a book by a certain deadline, and if I didn’t like the book, it was a real struggle to finish it,” de la Mare said. “We thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to have a club where you could read what you want, without any homework or deadlines?’”
She and Gluhanich started doing just that, and then friends started asking to join them. The concept grew into multiple chapters, multiple locations and multiple states. Today Silent Book Club has more than 1,700 chapters in 55 countries worldwide, including more than 50 in Georgia alone.
Although some silent book club chapters take a slightly different approach, most stick to a schedule that involves 30 minutes of socializing, followed by an hour of silent reading, and then another 30 minutes of chatting.
The Silent Book Club website has an interactive map that shows the chapters all around Atlanta. Readers can connect to its organizers to find out times and dates of their gatherings.
Time travel tip: Some silent book clubs meet online, so commute time could involve simply moving from your desk to your comfy sofa.
For more information, visit silentbook.club.
Historic Market Food Tour + Biscuit Class
Sweet Auburn Curb Market/Municipal Market
209 Edgewood Ave, Atlanta, GA 30303
Looking for a tasty, two-hour adventure at one of Atlanta’s oldest markets, followed by a hands-on cooking class?
The Unexpected Atlanta tour invites participants to try eight tastings from four vendors at the Municipal Market, which includes tidbits about Atlanta’s storied history and a personal look at Georgia’s most famous foods, including peaches, collards, and pecans.
After the tour concludes, attendees learn how to make the perfect Southern biscuit, which, according to almost everyone below the Mason-Dixon line, is art at its finest.
The Municipal Market is located directly on the Atlanta Streetcar line, located between Centennial Olympic Park and the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic District, so attendees can squeeze in some other downtown experiences after the tour.
The tours, which cost $90 per person, are held on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. If you book on a weekday, you get a BOGO.
Time travel tip: From Tucker on a typical mid-morning weekday, it should take less than 30 minutes to get to the Municipal Market.
For more information and to book one of Unexpected Atlanta’s tours, visit unexpectedatlanta.com.
