FINALLY, from Shreveport to Atlanta

10 years and one month to the day, I set foot in the state of Georgia for the first time.

The day started by me and my dad driving east on I-20 in Louisiana and stopping for gas and a McDonald's to start the day. We drive from Louisiana to Mississippi, and we get stuck in a mid afternoon traffic jam in Jackson along the way. There's a part of Jackson where I-20 and I-55 merge to become one freeway, and we were on that for a time.

We pass I-55, then we get to a point of the freeway where I-20 and I-59 merge to become one freeway just before Meridian, Mississippi. We would be on I-20/I-59 well into Alabama for a couple of hours.

We pass through Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Home of the University of Alabama) and just before we get to Birmingham, there is a sign on the freeway that says "I-459 NORTH (t0) Atlanta". Just like that, we were getting close to our destination.

We take the I-459 bypass in order to get to our destination faster. There wasn't much along I-459 to look at while we were on the road, but it got us back on I-20 on our way to Georgia.

We passed by Leeds, Alabama (Hometown of Phoenix Suns great Charles Barkley) and by Talladega (Home of the famed superspeedway).

Finally, it was getting darker and we got into the state of Georgia. The drive through East Alabama seemed forever. It was my first time that I remember ever seeing the state of Georgia in my life. Getting through West Georgia seemed like an eternity. We eventually got past the Western half of I-285 and shortly thereafter got past I-75/I-85 at night. To my right, I saw the night lights that shined on an empty Turner Field.

We sort of got lost in Atlanta because we missed the on-ramp of I-75/I-85 NORTH; instead, we got off at Memorial Drive and hopped back on I-20 Westbound to get to where we needed to go. We eventually got on I-75/I-85 and Got past Downtown Atlanta. We got past the Brookwood Split (Where I-75 and I-85 go their seperate ways). We aso got past the Northern part of I-285 and Stopped at a Howard Johnson's Hotel off of Delk Road (Exit 261) and checked in for the night.

I saw my first Atlanta Hawks telecast on the old WHOT-TV (Channel 34). Hawks beat the Knicks that night at Phillips Arena. Phillips Arena looked magnificent on Television.