Saturday Morning on the Eastside Trail

That’s Sugar pictured above. She loves to walk…and meet people….and eat. So do I!  That’s why we spend our Saturday mornings on the BeltLine Eastside Trail..

We start our morning routine on Auburn Avenue in the King Historic District in The Old Fourth Ward which is just a couple of blocks west of the BeltLine. We stroll past Lotta Frutta offering a nod and a “Good morning” to the folks sitting outside enjoying their Latin American fruit cups, smoothies, and breakfast fare. Then we cross over Randolph Street headed toward Irwin. On our way to the Lake Avenue trail head I enjoy the beautiful mix of the old and new. StudioPlex, Irwin Street Market, Stove Works, and the old water tower share the landscape with a recently completed modern home and the “built to look historic” homes. I’m pretty sure Sugar doesn’t care about any of that, but apparently there’s plenty of good smells along the way.

Once on the trail we encounter many other wonderful sights. There’s Atlanta BeltLine Bicycle where the proprietor is very French and friendly and fun. He’ll fix your bike or rent you one. Just past that are the eclectic art studios and lofts on Sampson Street to the left and to the right is a reclaimed brick building on Krog Street, home to Rathbun’s Steak and several other businesses.

There is no shortage of people and animals to meet and greet as we make our way toward Inman Park Village and the prized destination: Parish Foods & Goods. Oh, how we love Parish. We sit on the back patio overlooking the BeltLine and have a delicious breakfast. I always share my bacon with Sugar and one of the terrific wait staff always brings her a treat and tells her what a pretty girl she is. (No wonder she loves Parish.) She takes a short nap under my table as I drink my coffee and read.

When I reach a good stopping place in my book we continue our journey past the Freedom Parkway Trail and the Historic Fourth Ward Skate Park. There is some pretty incredible art under the Freedom Parkway overpass. As we approach the NuGrape Lofts and Two Urban Licks I’m always amazed at the clever re-purposing of the old buildings! Again, Sugar doesn’t care much except that it smells good.

We usually turn around at North Avenue near Historic Fourth Ward Park, the world’s most beautiful stormwater retention pond, and head home. It won’t be long until we’ll be able to access the park from the Eastside Trail via a gateway trail now under construction!

Thank you, funky cool buildings and homes on the BeltLine. Thank you, Parish. Thank you, runners, cyclists, skaters, children and dogs for just being you and sharing our Saturday morning stroll. This is truly the good life.