Saturday, December 31, 2016

wanderlust ATLANTA's 2016 Photo Review

My annual wanderlust ATLANTA photo review has become my favorite post of the year. It's a time that I get to look back—with great astonishment—at just how fortunate I've been to do so much and to share so many wonderful experiences with friends, new and longtime.

Let's have a look back at 2016...at some of the amazing firsts for Atlanta and some of my annual favorites.


Dragon Con Night at Georgia Aquarium | Superman
Dragon Con Night at Georgia Aquarium | Superman

I went to more conventions this year than ever before...a total of six! My favorite of course is Dragon Con. This was my 7th Dragon Con and my second "Dragon Con Night at Georgia Aquarium". I had the awesome pleasure of hanging out with my friend, Superman! How often does one get to do THAT? David is a fantastic Kryptonian and a pretty awesome human being, too.


Habsburg Splendor | High Museum of Art

In January I was blown away by the "Habsburg Splendor" exhibition at the High Museum of Art. Splendor hardly describes how magnificent this exhibition was. I'm so glad I saw it and all this time later, the wallpaper on my cell phone is still a photo from that exhibition!


WildWoods | Fernbank Museum of Natural History
WildWoods | Fernbank Museum of Natural History

Brand new in 2016 is WildWoods at Fernbank Museum of Natural History. I'd so very much looked forward to this new 75-acre outdoor experience...when I got to see it during its opening week, I was amazed at how incredibly wonderful it is! I can hardly wait to see it in the spring! 

It's connected to the 75 acre Fernbank Forest, which I've not yet to explore, but it's on my 2017 list!


Atlanta Blooms | Atlanta Botanical Garden
Atlanta Blooms | Atlanta Botanical Garden

Speaking of spring, the annual "Atlanta Blooms" exhibition at the Atlanta Botanical Garden was spectacular this year! The vivid colors and range of of species of flowers are mesmerizing!


California Sea Lion Experience | Georgia Aquarium
California Sea Lion Experience | Georgia Aquarium

I had the most wonderful experience of attending the media preview of Georgia Aquarium's new "California Sea Lions in SunTrust Pier 225", as well as other new shows and exhibitions...what an amazing night that was!

In the post that I wrote, all the photos were courtesy of Georgia Aquarium, except for the one above, which was a very serendipitous moment and only possible because I sat in the front row—read: splash zone—when most did not. I love this photo! 


Historic Jewish Atlanta Tours | The Temple
Historic Jewish Atlanta Tours | The Temple

I'd been to The Temple on Peachtree Street many, many years ago, but visiting as a tourist for one of the The William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum's Historic Jewish Atlanta Tours was a wholly new and wonderful experience. 



Mary Pat Matheson put the Atlanta Botanical Garden back on the map when she bought a 2004 Chihuly exhibition to the Garden. I first visited the Garden in 1987, two years before the Dorothy Chapman Fuqua Conservatory first put Atlanta Botanical Garden "on the map". 

When I returned to Atlanta after living in DC for nine years, I was amazed and astonished at what Mary Pat had done...she's a true visionary! And she's not slowing down. 

Part of the Garden's 40th anniversary celebration, she bought back "Chihuly in the Garden", a most spectacular exhibition! The above photo is of my favorite of the 19 installations.



A Suzi Bass Award winning show, "The Toxic Avenger" at Horizon Theatre, was one of my favorite shows of 2016...I've never seen a show as many times as I did this one. And I'm not embarrassed to share that I saw it FIVE times! It was that much fun!



I'd been to the JoeLanta Toy Convention before and was thrilled to learn that new friends were very much interested in attending it this year...so we did! The times I've been before, there's been a huge diorama in the main vendor room. This year it was Star Wars themed, and it was stellar! 



I'm totally bummed that the Atlanta Braves are leaving the downtown area. It totally sucks. But, that being said, I had a wonderful time at this year's "Star Wars Night at Turner Field". The on-field Parade was so much fun! 



It's not often that you get to see an only-one-left-in-the-world. That's one of the wonderful things I love about the Atlanta History Center...you will see artifacts, exhibitions and events that you'll never see anywhere else, like this Stutz Biarritz!



Sweetwater Creek State Park is a favorite place to visit. I usually enjoy a picnic before a long, leisurely walk in the park. I highly recommend visiting every season of the year. 



I'd read and heard about the Doll's Head Trail for quite some time and was rather fascinated by it...and finally got to see what it was all about! 

The annual Phoenix Flies tours, by the Atlanta Preservation Center, offers Atlantans and her visitors unique opportunities, and it's one of the programs I most highly recommend for EVERYONE! 

This is a most wonderful opportunity to experience Atlanta...there's no other opportunity like it! This program offers more than 200 FREE tours of Atlanta attractions, many of them not offered to the general public any other time of year. Take full advantage of this!



Did you know that the Atlanta Botanical Garden has one of the largest collections of orchid species in the United States? That's impressive in and of itself, but they never rest of their laurels. The annual Orchid Daze exhibition is spectacular, showcasing thousands of additional orchid blossoms and several weeks of related programming. Definitely a must-see!


Jackie of Bishoku and Nikki
Jackie of Bishoku and Nikki
Nikki (right) is a dear friend. She introduced me to Jackie, owner of Bishoku, when we went to the inaugural Food That Rocks in Sandy Springs this year. Nikki and I went to Bishoku for their annual Christmas Eve Japanese Buffet...the sushi, and everything else, was amazing!



The Atlanta History Center's "Atlanta in 50 Objects" exhibition was magnificent! Today was the last day on display, so I hope you got to see it. There's always something new at the Atlanta History Center...exhibitions, events, lectures...the list goes on and on!



The Atlanta Botanical Garden's "Scarecrows in the Garden" exhibition is one that I would never miss...it's pure and total fun! That it included these awesome aliens this year was a total bonus for me! 



My friend Maria told me about a special screening of Zorba the Greek at Emory University this past spring. I love a theme, so before seeing the film I went to the Michael C. Carlos Museum for a stroll through their Greek & Roman gallery



If you've followed me for any period of time, you know what a huge fan I am of Atlanta Movie Tours. I've been on most of their tours, some of them multiple times!

This year, I had the AMAZING opportunity to go on a one-time "Captain America: Civil War Tour", days before the film was released on Blue-ray. 

If you didn't know, many of the scenes were filmed right here in Atlanta and on the Atlanta Movie Tours tour, we got to hang out with "Captain America" at one of the film sites!

Not long after that one-time tour they launched their new Hero Tour, so you too can see some of the sights that we saw that super day! 



One of the six conventions I attended this year was "Walker Stalker Con". This was my second year attending this one, but the first I went with my friend Nikki. We had a blast! 

They had a couple of HUGE photo-op screens, the one above being a "figurine" backdrop. Nikki posed and I "plasticized" the photo.


 

I had the awesome pleasure of attending my best girlfriend's wedding this year. I've known MaryJo since 1988 and I love here dearly...it was an honor to attend her Florida wedding.

I went with my best friend Barry and of course we played tourist while out of town. I didn't realize it at the time, but Fort Pickens is a National Park...totally awesome that we went during the 100th anniversary of the National Park system. 



Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Journey to Goblin City is on display at the Center for Puppetry Arts through September 2017. This is a must-see exhibition...even if you don't think you're a puppetry fan, go see it! It's fun, it's magical, it's mesmerizing!



The first of the six conventions I attended this year (I'm blown away every time I realize I went to so many in one year!) was a Star Trek "50 Year Mission Tour". It was a smaller convention, but great fun! I got to meet Gates McFadden!!! 

The above couple I've met before at Dragon Con. They're super nice and have quite a collection of awesome Star Trek costumes!



When Barry and I were in Florida for MaryJo's wedding, we stopped by the Pensacola Lighthouse. I'd never been to a lighthouse and was incredibly excited to see one...so much so that when we arrived with only 15 minutes before closing, I scaled the 177 steps, briefly, yet purposefully, enjoyed the vistas from the top, and returned to the beach-side grounds before they closed. 

What a magnificent experience that was!



I've been to Gibbs Gardens many times and was thrilled to return for this year's Japanese Maple Tree Festival with my dear friend Katie. She had visited when they first opened, but this was her first time to see the Maple Trees that time of year. We had a wonderful visit!



'da Kink in My Hair was fantastic! I went to see it at Horizon Theatre with my friends Nekeisha (left) and Jacquetta (right) and we all got to meet the brilliant local actress Terry Burrell.



My most recent excursion was to see the Chinese Lantern Festival in Centennial Olympic Park...stunning colors! The 200 foot dragon was my favorite.



I'm just a big kid at heart. I've loved The Muppets since I was a kid, as well as everything else Jim Henson ever did. That makes The Jim Henson Collection at the Center for Puppetry Arts a favorite destination. And there's so much more than Muppets there!

I also saw a LOT of fantastic theatre this year...more shows than I can count!

Nikki introduced me to Serenbe Playhouse, which won a bazillion Suzi Bass Awards for Miss Saigon this year...deservedly so! I also saw Carousel, Of Mice and Men, and The Sleepy Hollow Experience. Their 2017 season is going to fantastic!

I also saw lots of other great plays at 7 Stages, Actor's Express and Horizon Theatre, as well as the inaugural Atlanta Musical Theatre Festival (AMTF). I got an interview with Benjamin Davis, Founder of the AMTF, and another interview with local actor Jonathan Horne

I look forward to much more theatre in the coming year!

There you go...a recap of my wanderlusting adventures throughout 2016. I hope you too will explore more of Atlanta in 2017 and if you're a local, my hope for you that you become an expert on just how much and how many wonderful things there are to do in your own backyard—Atlanta!

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

Chinese Lantern Festival 2016

I recently went to the Chinese Lantern Festival with my friend Nikki. It's lighting up Centennial Olympic Park like I've never seen...it's quite spectacular! The 200-foot dragon is particularly amazing. You can see it, too, through Sunday, January 15, 2017!

Chinese Lantern Festival 2016 | Centennial Olympic Park | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Chinese Lantern Festival 2016 | Centennial Olympic Park | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

The colors are incredibly vivid and we could not have asked for better weather the night we went! There was a great crowd, but it wasn't at all "too" crowded, and the guests were from all over the country and from all over the world! This is truly an international event!

Chinese Lantern Festival 2016 | Centennial Olympic Park | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Chinese Lantern Festival 2016 | Centennial Olympic Park | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
The Festival includes nightly cultural performances at 7:00 p.m. and again at 9:00 p.m., with ample seating. 

Don't expect a Broadway performance, but I do think the Erhu (Chinese Violin or Chinese Fiddle) portion of the show is exceptional...it's amazing to hear such a wide range of sound coming from an instrument with only two strings!

The Erhu performer is also a pop singer and enthusiastically offers a pop song in Chinese, with only two discernible English words..."Oh, baby". He's definitely the star of the show and everyone enjoyed him...even a rather talented dancing toddler who gave his own performance immediately in front of us from one of the side walls where we were sitting.

Chinese Lantern Festival 2016 | Centennial Olympic Park | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Chinese Lantern Festival 2016 | Centennial Olympic Park | Photo: Travis S. Taylor

If you've read that there are 25 lanterns at this Chinese Lantern Festival, that's just not true. Perhaps there are 25 installations or exhibits, but there are hundreds, if not thousands of individual lanterns! There were parts that we walked through and around a few times...lots to see and from many perspectives. Have fun exploring!

Chinese Lantern Festival 2016 | Centennial Olympic Park | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Chinese Lantern Festival 2016 | Centennial Olympic Park | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
As you explore the lanterns on display, you very quickly realize that they don't all represent China. There may be a tie-in to the country, but I'm not familiar with any windmills in China. Then again, I've never been to China.

I personally like this exhibit, tulips being my favorite flower. Also, when I was a kid, my family followed certain Dutch traditions around the holidays...I still have no idea how that got started in my family, but it was fun.

And I've always loved windmills. I've not seen many in real life, but was wholly fascinated by the Golden Gate Park Windmill in San Francisco...it's stunning!

Chinese Lantern Festival 2016 | Centennial Olympic Park | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Chinese Lantern Festival 2016 | Centennial Olympic Park | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Even some of the musical artists in one of the displays appear to represent various cultures, but of course there are many cultures within China. 

Imagine trying to select a single American culture to represent the entire country. Would you pick someone from Savannah, the Bronx, Austin, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles or New Orleans? It'd be impossible. Same for China!

Chinese Lantern Festival 2016 | Centennial Olympic Park | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Chinese Lantern Festival 2016 | Centennial Olympic Park | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Native to China, the Giant Panda is a favorite worldwide, and there are lots of them at the Festival!

Zoo Atlanta has had quite a lot of Panda excitement this year. In September, twins were born and they received their new names following the traditional 100 Days Celebration. Ya Lun and Xi Lun will be on view to visitors later this month or in January 2017. You can watch the Zoo Atlanta Panda Cam in the meantime!

Chinese Lantern Festival 2016 | Centennial Olympic Park | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Chinese Lantern Festival 2016 | Centennial Olympic Park | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Also important in Chinese culture is the fish and they're well represented at the Festival. I love the ones in the photo above, and there's a "tunnel" featuring fish feeding at the top of a pond...but you're watching from below. It's brilliantly and beautifully designed!

Chinese Lantern Festival 2016 | Centennial Olympic Park | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Chinese Lantern Festival 2016 | Centennial Olympic Park | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Many of the exhibits are animated, either through moving parts or rotating color show displays. This huge peacock is among the most festive!

Chinese Lantern Festival 2016 | Centennial Olympic Park | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Chinese Lantern Festival 2016 | Centennial Olympic Park | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
If you didn't eat before you get here, there's food available within the Festival, but I'm not sure if it's Festival specific or one of the regular food vendors in the Park. There is also shopping, live artists who will paint your name in gorgeous calligraphy, and painting demonstrations. For a small space in the Park, they've packed in a lot to experience!

Chinese Lantern Festival 2016 | Centennial Olympic Park | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
Chinese Lantern Festival 2016 | Centennial Olympic Park | Photo: Travis S. Taylor
The entrance to the Chinese Lantern Festival is at the corner of Centennial Olympic Drive and Andrew Young International Boulevard. There are separate lines for ticketed guests and guests who need to purchase tickets. Be sure to ask about combo tickets that include ice skating and SkyView Atlanta. But you can save a little money if you buy tickets online.

There are multiple, guarded exits from the Festival, granting easy access to other parts of Centennial Olympics Park and nearby attractions and restaurants.

Go, enjoy the lanterns, learn a little history and enjoy a performance. 

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Japanese Maple Tree Festival 2016

Last weekend I went to Gibbs Gardens with my dear friend Katie who hadn't been since they opened a few years back. It's as stunning as ever!


Gibbs Gardens Japanese Maple Tree Festival 2016
Gibbs Gardens Japanese Maple Tree Festival 2016

Their Japanese Maple Tree Festival lasts three weekends, showcasing the various peaks of colors of their thousands of Japanese Maple Trees, representing 200 species! This is the second or third time I've been for this particular Festival, and it's been gorgeous every time!


Gibbs Gardens Japanese Maple Tree Festival 2016
Gibbs Gardens Japanese Maple Tree Festival 2016

Katie's favorites were the yellow fall leaves, which just happened to be at peak the weekend we went! While my favorite color is a deep red, I do love yellow, too.


Gibbs Gardens Japanese Maple Tree Festival 2016
Gibbs Gardens Japanese Maple Tree Festival 2016

We explored the Japanese Garden as soon as we arrived—right after I renewed my membership.

After our initial exploration of the 40-plus acres of their Japanese Garden, the largest in the United States, we stopped for lunch at the Arbor Cafe. We both enjoyed "Mary's Pimento Cheese Sandwich" on house-made Jalapeno Cheddar Bread. Delish! Katie had cold water and I treated myself to a glass of strawberry lemonade!

We enjoyed our lunch in a shaded area with lots of comfortable seating and paper Japanese lanterns hanging from the trees and there was also live music...an accordionist playing zydeco and other familiar tunes. The dichotomy of sight and sound was actually great fun! 

They make several kinds of fresh bread daily and you can purchase a loaf (or three) to take home later. Katie picked up a loaf for her grandmother. She's super sweet like that.


Gibbs Gardens Japanese Maple Tree Festival 2016
Gibbs Gardens Japanese Maple Tree Festival 2016

I've been to Gibbs Gardens a number of times, and every visit reveals new photo ops, or "traditional" photo ops featuring different colors and lighting. This is one of those places that you can go to again and again, year after year and always see something new!


Gibbs Gardens Japanese Maple Tree Festival 2016
Gibbs Gardens Japanese Maple Tree Festival 2016

For me, the Japanese Maple Tree Festival is about more than color. It's about photography, it's about relaxing, it's about discovering fascinating shapes and shadows (bonsai photo above), it's about having fun, and perhaps most importantly, it's about serenity.


Gibbs Gardens Japanese Maple Tree Festival 2016
Gibbs Gardens Japanese Maple Tree Festival 2016

When you visit Gibbs Gardens, know that there's 220 acres to explore! Of course you don't have to do all of it on a single visit, but if you do go this time of year, I recommend visiting the Japanese Garden first, then the rest of the Garden (or the parts that interest you), and then return to the Japanese Garden for another walk-through. 

By visiting the Japanese Garden twice in the same day, you're going to see sights you'd not seen the first time and see familiar sights in a whole other light...literally!

My friend Katie and I did indeed visit the Japanese Garden twice on our visit last week, but we finished our visit with a "We're-not-done-yet!" attitude and walked and talked our way to the Wild Flower Meadow. Their peak has of course since passed, but it was beautiful all the same.


Gibbs Gardens Japanese Maple Tree Festival 2016
Gibbs Gardens Japanese Maple Tree Festival 2016

There's a wonderful array of sculptures (many of Buddha on the upper side of the Garden), statuary, lanterns, structures and benches throughout the Japanese Garden. And there's a crooked bridge to cross—evidently it confuses evil spirits, because the can't travel in a straight line.


Gibbs Gardens Japanese Maple Tree Festival 2016
Gibbs Gardens Japanese Maple Tree Festival 2016

I don't know how often he does it, but Jim Gibbs himself was again in the Welcome Center greeting and talking with guests. We saw him on our way out for the day. He's more than happy to share information about the Garden and its happenings and he made it a point to thank me for renewing my membership. His passion for the Garden really shines through.


Gibbs Gardens Japanese Maple Tree Festival 2016
Gibbs Gardens Japanese Maple Tree Festival 2016

There are flower and plant festivals at Gibbs Gardens throughout the year! I highly recommend the Japanese Maple Tree Festival and the Daffodil Festival, and I can hardly wait to see for myself the Azalea ColorFest and Hydrangea ColorFest!

They also host concerts, book signings and lectures, among many other things. I'm certain their programming will also continue to grow, as fruitfully as the Garden itself has.


Gibbs Gardens Japanese Maple Tree Festival 2016
Gibbs Gardens Japanese Maple Tree Festival 2016
Be sure to stop by the beautifully appointed gift shop on your way out. There's a lot to see, including gardening and decorative items, jewelry and (my favorite) books and stationery items. 

I hope to see you at Gibbs Gardens at one (or many) of their Festivals!

Monday, November 7, 2016

Walker Stalker Con 2016

I had a great time at this year's Walker Stalker Con at the Georgia World Congress Center, my second time at this particular convention! It is The Walking Dead heavy, but there's so much more!


Walker Stalker Con 2016
Walker Stalker Con 2016

My friend Nikki is so much fun and such a great sport! She posed here at the Walker Stalker Action Figure photo-op. I plasticized her to make it look a little more authentic, but you can see that no plastic is going to stop Zombie Nikki!

Yes, that's a Doctor Who beer ad t-shirt...several other conventioneers commented on it and shared their Doctor Who fanaticism. We were in good company! 


Walker Stalker Con 2016 | Stan the Zombie & Travis
Walker Stalker Con 2016 | Stan the Zombie & Travis

I got to see Stan the Zombie again this year, although my first photo with him was at a Zombie Night at an Atlanta Braves game! I've been following Stan the Zombie's adventures on social media and invite you to, too! Stan the Human is totally awesome, as well. 


Walker Stalker Con 2016
Walker Stalker Con 2016

There are tons of experiences and photo-ops throughout the Con, including several zombie vehicles, some of them displayed in a diorama-style setting, some of them with zombies!


Walker Stalker Con 2016
Walker Stalker Con 2016

I don't know who this guy is, but I've seen him at a number of conventions...he's always having a blast! If I find out and he has a public social channel, I'll come back and share it here. Again, Nikki was a total trooper!


Walker Stalker Con 2016 | Cruella de Vil
Walker Stalker Con 2016 | Cruella de Vil
There was a Cosplay Contest the day we went. It's a three-day convention, but our schedules would only allow us to go that Saturday...lucky for us, we got to see the contest!

Cruella de Vil—who was wearing bloody dalmatian fuzzy bedroom slippers—was a total riot! We talked with her for a few minutes at the end of the day and she shared that the Cruella cosplay was her daughter's idea, and that she had had great fun doing it. Shhhh...don't tell the ASPCA, please.


Walker Stalker Con 2016 | Cosplay Contest
Walker Stalker Con 2016 | Cosplay Contest

The most adorable team cosplayers was this group of The Walking Dead miniatures. There's a superstar or two in this group...they barely gave the mic back for the rest of the contest! Totally adorable!


Walker Stalker Con 2016 | Cosplay Contest
Walker Stalker Con 2016 | Cosplay Contest

Most of the costumes in the contest were themed on The Walking Dead, segmented into "Walkers", "Stalkers" and "Other". As with most committed cosplayers, the costumes at this Con were brilliant! 


Walker Stalker Con 2016 | Cosplay Contest
Walker Stalker Con 2016 | Cosplay Contest

There were a LOT of costumes fashioned after a new villain on The Walking Dead, Negan and his freakin' scary sidekick Lucille. The cosplayers served up some incredibly creative renditions of the duo. 


Walker Stalker Con 2016 | Cosplay Contest
Walker Stalker Con 2016 | Cosplay Contest

There were so many Negan & Lucille cosplayers, in fact, including one of the judges—VAMPTRESS LeeAnna Vamp—that they were all called to the stage for a group photo! I'd share with you who the winners of the contest were, but that'd create a spoiler situation, and I know better than to do that!


Walker Stalker Con 2016 | With Freddy Kreuger
Walker Stalker Con 2016 | With Freddy Kreuger

Oh, the precarious situations we find ourselves in during a convention...most of them fun, some of them more adrenaline-rising than others. Freddy Kreuger was awesome! Nikki and I both made photos with him, but hers turned out the best. Of course. 

I didn't notice until I was editing photos that Freddy was wearing a necklace featuring the head of Pennywise the Dancing Clown...creepy! 

In addition to the tiny little bits that I've shared here, Walker Stalker Con also features panels, loads of vendors (I got a book from author J.H. Glaze!), you can have your fortune told and you can get a tattoo—from a working tattoo artist! There are plenty of food and drink vendors, too—we had Jim'N Nick's Bar-B-Q for lunch! 

There were parties, too, including a Halloween party hosted by Tom Payne! AND Atalanta Movie Tours was doing special tours that departed from the convention site! Got to see my AMT friends Carrie and Cindy!

Practically any and every actor who has been on The Walking Dead was there doing panels, autographs and high-end photo sessions, including Andrew Lincoln and Norman Reedus! I finished my Walker Stalker Con experience this year by meeting and getting an autograph from Ross Marquand, who is Aaron on The Walking Dead. Super, super nice person!

If you haven't been to Walker Stalker Con before, keep an eye on their website for when tickets go on sale for next year's event. See you then!