Atlanta to LA (the fast way)

I had found a great deal online the day before for our Atlanta hotel. I thought the drive from Charleston would take all day and I wanted to know where we were headed in such a big city.

I booked a room in the Westin Peachtree Plaza for $95, and they gave us a king room on the 62nd floor of the tallest hotel in the Western Hemisphere. Amazing view.

Arriving late, we asked the concierge for a recommendation for dinner and found 'Ray's in the City' a few doors away. Excellent dinner, great service.

The next morning we went for a run around the city, seeing the CNN building (headquarters), the home of Coca-Cola, the stadiums, parks and interesting city streets. They were even filming a movie in the city!

We saw policemen on Harley-Davidson motorbikes. Nice.

So why are we in Atlanta, home of the Braves? One way hire fees for the car are greatly reduced if you can return it to a major hub. And coincidentally the airfares back to LA were much cheaper from here than from Savannah or Charleston. So, this is the end of the road trip for us.

We're off to the airport, and will be in LA by mid afternoon, local time, for one last look at the beaches.

Air travel in the USA requires a lot of patience. Leaving the car was no problem, and there is a handy train from the car return to the check-in hall, and another train underground to the departure gates. There is a very long line to get through security, however - it took us about 40 minutes.

Dinner at 'Ray's in the City'

View from our 62nd floor room