Road Trips : Bi-coastal 2001 : Page 11
Saturday 14 April 2001 (More)
After dinner, I somehow managed to convince myself to go out. I've had the same tumultuous relationship with Atlanta nightlife as I have with the city itself. I often find it a little tedious and annoying, but there are sometimes surprises.
I went to the Eagle. Not because I particularly like it, but because I knew where it was, it was easy to get to, and it's usually a little less preppy-uptight than other Atlanta bars. And easier to cruise.
The crowd was miserable and evocative of San Francisco's Powerhouse on a Saturday night: clones galore, with a small circuit contingent, and way too many people whose sole identity revolves around being a gay bear. There was one person in the whole lousy crowd of 300 or so who caught my eye. Fortunately, I caught his too. Love when that happens...
He smoked, liked supermarkets, made websites, and wanted to move to San Francisco. I smoke, like supermarkets, make websites, and want to leave San Francisco. Conversation ensued.
As I found myself driving to a Midtown condo at 1:30 AM, I thought back to the one other time I'd gone home with someone in Atlanta. That was a strange trip too; it was my first road trip with someone I'd been dating but wasn't really dating anymore. We got to Atlanta and realized (at the ATM) that our paychecks hadn't cleared, so we were left with about $50 in cash. We survived for a day on Frito's and Cokes I bought with my gas credit card. It was also the first time we'd watched each other pick up other people. He got the DJ at Club Velvet. I got a cute rich boy.
This time around, I got back to the Red Roof Inn about 5:00, which allowed me all of six hours sleep before checking out and starting the intentionally long trip home on Highway 29. Another sleep-deficit night...
Sunday 15 April 2001
Of course, it rained as I was leaving town on Ponce de Leon Avenue, and continued raining through Decatur, where I got my final Krystal and decided not to have any more of those annoying flashbacks.
I've always wanted to drive from Atlanta to Greensboro using only old US Highway 29, and that's what I was going to do, by God, no matter how tedious it might be and how long it might take. Plus I was too sleepy and irritable to drive on the freeway.