I left for Atlanta, GA after getting some juevos rancheros at a Mexican restaurant. I hit a little bit of rain, but didn't bother putting on the rain gear because it was just a sprinkle and it was really hot and humid. About a half hour later, in the distance I thought I saw fog past an overpass. I thought about stopping to put on the rain gear, but pressed on.

That was my big mistake for the day.

The "fog" was actually a huge rainstorm that I got caught in. Visibility was nil and I left the highway as soon as I could. I stopped at a Home Depot in the contractor's area, changed clothes in the bathroom, dried my seat, and waited for the storm to die down before throwing on the rain gear and heading out again. The rest of the trip wasn't bad, with intermittent sunshine and rain.

I eventually arrived in Atlanta and hung out around the area, which seemed equal parts college town and dangerous. The area we were in, which was called Five Points, had that whole Boulder-hippie vibe, but with lots of graffiti and bars on all the windows. The area looked a like a not as nice version of Columbia, SC, which is odd because that area was called Five Points as well.

I ate an awesome guacamole and pepperjack burger at a place called the Vortex, which had this giant skull you had to walk through in order to get into the door. They also had burgers like the Elvis burger, which has peanut butter, bacon, and a bunch of other things that shouldn't go together in it. Next to the Vortex was a liquor store, and inside they sold flat water in glass bottles, which is something I've been saying they ought to do for years. I bought a couple of bottles over the course of the afternoon and evening.

Figuring there is safety in numbers, I parked my motorcycle next to a couple of other bikes in the parking lot. It must be some meet-up area for bikers, because within a couple hours there must have been 100 bikes there!

The venue, the Star Bar, was right across the street. The venue was pretty small and it didn't seem like the staff knew what they were doing, but everything came out sounding great. The Protomen opened, which meant they had a shorter set, but because of that every song they did was killer. I also got to see How I Became the Bomb, which is a band the Protomen have often played with in their hometown. It was cool to see a different take on the whole snyth-pop/guitar rock thing, my buddy Milvestro would be all about that band.

I left about the time the final band was ending, winding my day down at a really nice Motel 6. I didn't think those words would ever go together in a sentence, but it was a pretty nice establishment.

On to Chattanooga, Tennessee tomorrow!