In this episode, I speak with Shawn Tylka about Atlanta to get an insider view of the city. Shawn has lived in Atlanta since 1994 making her practically a native by Atlanta standards.  She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her rescued Alaskan Malamutes, Hercules and Beethoven, and is the proud mother of a grown daughter, Mackenzie.  

Shawn Tylka serves on the Americas Field Marketing Team for Ciena focusing on the MSO Practice and the Lumen team.  With more than 25 years in telecommunications, she has been honored as a Cable Pioneer by The Cable Center for her 20+ years of work with the cable industry.

An avid volunteer, Shawn is the logistics leader for Women Orthopaedist Global Organization, WOGO, an Operation Walk team which serves under-served communities around the world. WOGO undertakes yearly trips to developing countries where orthopedic reconstructive procedures are not readily available. Shawn manages all of the non-medical logistics for the team, moving 65 people around different developing nations.  She also spends time volunteering for Atlanta-based charities.

Shawn has a Bachelor of Science from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland.  She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her rescued Alaskan Malamutes, Hercules and Beethoven and is the proud mother of a grown daughter, Mackenzie.  

Links for Experiences:

Atlanta City Pass – https://www.citypass.com/atlanta
Center for Puppetry Arts – https://puppet.org
College Football Hall of Fame – https://www.cfbhall.com
World of Coca-Cola – https://www.worldofcoca-cola.com
Georgia Aquarium – www.georgiaaquarium.org
Atlanta Botanical Gardens – https://atlantabg.org
Atlanta History Center – https://www.atlantahistorycenter.com
The Margaret Mitchell House – http://museu.ms/museum/details/501/margaret-mitchell-house
Fernbank Museum – https://www.fernbankmuseum.org
Martin Luther King Historical Site – https://www.nps.gov/malu/index.htm
The Fabulous Fox Theater – https://www.foxtheatre.org
Zoo Atlanta – www.zooatlanta.org
High Museum of Art – www.high.org
Various Movie Tours (MCU, Walking Dead, Stranger Things and more) https://www.viator.com/Atlanta-tourism/d784-r26993027291-s384239531

Links for Dining:
Le Bilbouqet Buckhead – https://www.lebilboquetatlanta.com/
Atlas – https://atlasrestaurant.com
Gunshow – https://gunshowatl.com
Lazy Betty – https://www.lazybettyatl.com
The Clermont Hotel – https://www.hotelclermont.com
The Garden Room – https://thegardenroomatlanta.com
R.Thomas Grill – https://www.rthomasdeluxegrill.net
Chick-fil-A Dwarf House – https://www.chick-fil-a.com/about/s-truett-cathy-brand-restaurants/dwarf-grill

Others:
Tiny Doors Atlanta – https://tinydoorsatl.com
Sweetwater Brewing – https://www.sweetwaterbrew.com
Monday Night Brewing – https://mondaynightbrewing.com
Ponce City Market – https://www.poncecitymarket.com

Transcript

Here is a transcript of the podcast. Please keep in mind this was done via AI, so there are typos and mistakes. I tried to catch as much as I can, but it is definitely not perfect.

Beth  0:05  

Welcome to the roaming Yeti podcast where we share stories and tips to inspire you to roam your neighborhood and the world. I am your host and Head Yeti, Beth Schillaci. In this episode, I speak with Shawn Tylka about Atlanta to get an insider view of the city. Shawn has lived in Atlanta since 1994, making her practically a native by Atlantic standards. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her rescued Alaskan malamutes Hercules and Beethoven and is the proud mother of a grown daughter Mackenzie, are you ready? Let’s Roam. Welcome back, everyone to the roaming Yeti Podcast. Today, we’re gonna get an insider’s view on Atlanta, Georgia, which is a city that I know we’ve had on our top of our list to visit and I think a lot of people have. We’re lucky today to have Shawn Tylka. With us today. She has lived in Atlanta for 28 years. So I definitely say that gives her expert knowledge on the topic. Shawn, thank you for joining us today.

Shawn  1:12  

You’re welcome.

Beth  1:16  

So, one of the first things I like that I like is, is what is it overall that you like keeps you in Atlanta and you love about Atlanta?

Shawn  1:26  

There are so many things, I would have never thought I’d be a southern girl after being born and bred in New Jersey. But I love it here the weather’s amazing. You know, generally we have mild winters. I love the people, there’s a wide variety. It’s a very diverse city. It’s an international city. So you know, you’re always meeting new people, there’s always new experiences, there’s tons to do. And you know, it’s it’s a historical place. All of the things that I love are here. So, you know, I ended up staying for 28 years, and I don’t see myself leaving. And I love my airport. So that’s probably the biggest thing. I love that I can get anywhere, anywhere in the world from Atlanta.

Beth  2:15  

So that is a definite thing to have a nice airport or two around you that you can get anywhere for, for the most part, probably I’m assuming nonstop for most things. Yeah,

Shawn  2:27  

most places. I mean, I’ve even flown from here nonstop to Johannesburg and South Africa. So you can get pretty much anywhere. Nice.

Beth  2:37  

So let’s sort of jump into it for a visitor coming to Atlanta like I always like to get the local point of view. But, you know, obviously there are some touristy things that you probably can’t, can’t miss doing so so what are the touristy things you should do while visiting Atlanta?

Shawn  2:57  

Yeah, there are. There’s so many there are so many things to do in Atlanta. So I’m going to tell you my absolute favorites because I have some that I’m obsessed with. And my biggest obsession is the Center for puppetry arts. A little known gem and it is one of the coolest places in Atlanta and it grows every year it gets a little bigger. So you probably didn’t know this but the Muppets live in Atlanta. I did not know that you can visit the Muppets, like Big Bird Oscar Burton, Ernie the Fraggles the dozers. Often the Muppets from labyrinth are out or the Dark Crystal I mean, you name it. If it’s a Henson puppet, they are often on display. The Sesame Street Muppets are always on display. You can visit permit and Miss Piggy every day if you want to. The Henson family is very involved in the center for puppetry arts. It is a historical museum. So you can learn all about the history of puppetry from around the world. It’s interactive, so it’s great for little kids. It’s you know, got all kinds of displays. So it’s great for all ages, the masks and puppets from The Lion King live there. Oh, wow. The original Rudolph and Santa from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Rankin bass are on display right now because it’s the holiday time. So it’s really cool Museum. They have puppet shows every week. You can go see. And for for young children. They actually have puppet building workshops before the show. So you can make a puppet and then go see the show. So you’ve learned how the puppet works. And then you go see a show with that kind of puppet. So it’s really cool. Well, my best part about the museum it’s like $10 to get in. Wow. Yeah. So it’s it’s wonderful. I can’t say enough good things about it. It’s a gym and it’s a place that nobody no place else in America really has. So it’s a good one. Another place we have that nobody else has is we have the College Football Hall of Fame. Oh, it’s, it’s if you’re a college football fan. It’s really unique and cool. It covers the history of it’s like 150 plus years of college football, and has a lot of unique things. It’s interactive, again, great for kids and families. But what’s really neat is when you go in, they ask you what your team. And then as you go through the museum, it features your team. So when they’re talking about fight songs, you hear your fight song. You know, it’s it’s it’s a very cool, unique museum. So that’s another

Beth  5:46  

one I love. I love a good interactive museum, too. Yeah,

Shawn  5:51  

yeah. And like the chance to try out stuff like how do you throw football, all that kind of thing. It’s really neat. Fun. So I don’t know if you’re a Coca Cola drinker. But Atlanta is the home of Coca Cola. And we have the world of coke. It’s a really fun Museum. There’s a great 3d video that you see at the beginning. There’s all kinds of art and displays. There’s again, interactive stuff, great videos that you can play with on the computer. And then at the end, there is the tasting room. And you can taste Coca Cola products from around the world. They have them situated by countries and locations. The infamous Beverly is always mentioned. I

Beth  6:42  

was gonna say, fellow, also Disney lover that I know you are, do they have Beverly? So

Shawn  6:47  

Oh, yeah, that really isn’t always there. It’s funny, my daughter and I actually like the Beverly pick. It’s a unique taste. But it’s a cool, it’s a cool, cool location. And it’s situated in Centennial Park, which was built for the 1996 Olympic Games. So there’s a lot to do in that area, including like the aquarium. There’s a Ferris wheel there, CNN Center. That’s where Mercedes Benz stadium is. So it’s in a really cool place. And then the other place that I absolutely love that’s really not historical is the Botanical Gardens, which it’s just a great place to walk around in the summer and spring. And even right now they have lights at night for the holidays. Oh, pretty. Yeah. And then I have a whole historical section and I could go on for hours about it, because I love it so much. But I’ll just pick out a couple of my favorites. The Atlanta History Center is a great museum. It has both indoor and outdoor portions to the museum. Inside you can learn about the history of Atlanta, you can learn about the Olympics, you can learn about Bobby Jones, the golfer who was from here, he’s very famous. And then you can walk outside and visit a historic farm and see actual farming and their sheep to pet and goats and all that good stuff. But behind all of that is the swan house. And the swan house is this beautiful old mansion that’s fully furnished the way it was. Back in the day. One of the richest families in Atlanta lived there. And this house was featured as president snows mansion in The Hunger Games. Because bath as you know, Atlanta is the Hollywood of the South. And there is a lot of filming here. So pretty much wherever you go. You get to see a little peek at at Hollywood and places you’ll recognize from movies. So you know that the Atlanta History Center is a great place to visit President snows mansion, walk in. They literally were allowed to film in the house with all the decor and everything. So it’s exactly as it was actually,

Beth  9:09  

that wasn’t set dress. Oh my gosh. So

Shawn  9:12  

it’s so cool. So there’s a lot of history here. If you’re a book fan, Gone With the Wind was written here by Margaret Mitchell. You can visit her home on Peachtree Street, and that that entry fee is also included in your Atlanta History fee. So it’s a great little home. It’s amazing where she lived. You can see like exactly how she lived. She was a teeny tiny lady. So it feels like a giant when I go in there. So, you know, it’s one of those special things. But we have so many things here that people would love. There’s great stuff for kids. There’s great stuff. If you’d like ghost tours, there’s Oakland Cemetery. You could do a ghost tour at the Fox Theater. are, you know, we have The High Museum of Art, which is amazing and has great, great art coming in. Martin Luther King, Jr. was from here. So there’s a whole historical site that you can go visit, you could see where he was born. You can visit Ebenezer Baptist where he preached. President Carter has a has a library here. Wow. Yeah, there’s just so much so, you know, you could tell I love Atlanta, and I could go on and on and on. And you’re like, Okay,

Beth  10:31  

no, not at all. Like, I think you’re gonna need more than a weekend though the visit?

Shawn  10:36  

Yeah. Yeah, you’ve come back again. And again, we love visitors.

Beth  10:43  

No, I mean, this, it’s, it’s nice to hear about all the different kinds of things that that people people can do and look at. Is there anything that you hear about, but it’s sort of skip worthy

Shawn  10:58  

100%. Um, CNN was founded here by Ted Turner, which is super cool fact. And there is a building CNN that you can go visit. A skip the tour, just skip it, it’s not worth it. It’s expensive. And they’ve changed it a lot. It’s not I’m sure there are people that have friends. Oh, you get to go see them live and on the air. It’s not like that anymore. So I really think it’s, um, it’s always a disappointment for for people who have gone recently. So I say skip CNN, or skip Stone Mountain, it’s it’s just outside the city. It is the largest granite rock in in, you know, the US and it’s carved with some history, historical figures. But all of that said, it’s become very commercialized, and I just, it’s, it’s again, expensive, and, you know, unless you’re just going to hike up the granite rock, I would say skip it completely. You’re going to spend a lot with little kids especially. And then the one that it kind of breaks my heart to say but the varsity the varsity is this very cool old drive in diner type place. I’ve never not had heartburn after I left. So every morning.

Beth  12:24  

Pack your pepsin. Exactly. So talking about food, let’s let’s talk about what’s good to eat. I mean, well, we all know about Southern foods. So yeah, what are the must haves?

Shawn  12:40  

Yes, so I can get you through a full day of eating. So you definitely have to try waffle house again. It’s an Atlanta staple. There’s a waffle house probably on every corner. You can’t miss the yellow and black sign. It is open 24 hours. You’ve probably heard the legends of if your waffle house is closed, stay home because the storm is going to be really bad. I’ve never seen a closed Waffle House and all my years here so I’m pretty lucky. But the food is great. The waffles are great. They make great scrambled eggs I highly recommend. It’s very inexpensive. They have a jukebox for the kids. It’s I highly recommend it. If you’re a brunch person lunch person, if you’re here with your girlfriends, or on a couples trip, I’d recommend the bibble K in Buckhead, especially in the spring and summer. You can sit outside people watch. It’s great French food. Their french fries are absolutely amazing. I don’t know how they make them so perfect every time but it’s great. They have great Bellinis there I love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. It’s a great place. Great snack. The King of Pop’s carts are all around town. Um, they’re flavored ice pops really unique flavors. And they were founded here. It’s probably one of the yummy snacks you can have. Atlanta gets very hot. So an ice pop is always appreciated in the summer. I have a bunch of dinner recommendations. So prepare your stomach. So super fancy. You want to dress up. You’re gonna go to Atlas in the St. Regis. Chef Freddy Mani is a magician. He creates amazing food every time. You’re going to eat a lot of really delicious things. And the restaurant is beautiful. And the art on the walls is like priceless works of art there are you know, I’ve sat under a Picasso and like just cost was there and I’m eating this amazing meal and it’s just really special and you get to be dressed up and who doesn’t like to dress that you know it’s great. Then if your Top Chef fan On. Chef Kevin Gillespie has several restaurants in Atlanta. One of my favorites is done show and it’s like you’re eating in his kitchen. He brings in chefs, particularly young chefs, they create their creations and then they come to your table with their creation and they explain to you what they’ve made. And you say, Yeah, I want to try it, or No, I don’t. And it’s really fun to go with like a friend or your significant other and share everything on the menu that you get one of everything on trial, the really delicious and unique foods. I’ve had stuff there that I never would have thought I would have eaten and it was just amazing. And they have a cocktail cart. That’s fabulous. So cool. If you’re into cocktails, great spot. If you like tasting menus, there’s lazy Betty. It’s in Candler Park, which is part of Atlanta. Chef Ronald sous restaurant. He named it in honor of his mom, because she’s not lazy. So that’s why he named it lazy daddy is a little tongue in cheek honoring his mama. Tasting menus, fantastic. They have an outside patio, it’s great. Cocktails, I love cocktails. You could cocktail. The garden room also at the St. Regis it is a stunningly stunningly beautiful room. The cocktails are amazing. And like the food is so so good. It’s also Friday money. It is more pricey and it is not good for kids. It’s it’s a you know high end cocktail place. Obviously. If you’re a late night, late night person are Thomas and Buckhead great food. So open late. It’s a very unique place. There is the decor. I can’t even describe it. You name it. It’s on the walls. It’s been there forever. It is in Atlanta, like iconic spot, and highly recommend. Highly recommend it. And then there’s one place I wanted to tell you about. So hotel, it’s called the Claremont hotel. It’s a historic hotel in Atlanta, that was just renovated a few years ago. It actually was featured on one of Anthony Bourdain fans, came to Atlanta. So you can see him there with Alton Brown actually, and it’s a very cute clip. But the Claremont has a rooftop for drinks, great views of Atlanta, great spot. They have beautiful rooms. It’s all been newly renovated. They have tiny Luz, which is a restaurant, it’s great. They have all kinds of special I went there for Rosae tasting dinner. So good, just really yummy, good food, they change up the menu a lot. And then downstairs. If you’re an adult, and you feel like staying late, you can go downstairs and watch the ladies dance. The ladies dance there and have danced there for a really long time. And it is a uniquely the Clermont Lounge is a uniquely Atlanta spot that all says you can go meet Blondie and see the show and you know, enjoy yourself. It’s something you wouldn’t do anywhere else.

Beth  18:17  

Interesting. Wow. That’s a lot of a lot of food. sounds so amazing and great to excuse me, or is there like a? Is there a specific food that would be like the specialty of Atlanta or? I know it’s very international city and diverse. So it’s sort of hard. I know. But is there something that when you think Atlanta you think oh,

Shawn  18:46  

you know, it’s funny because it is we’re really lucky. It’s an international city. So any kind of food you want? You’ve pretty much get it. But yeah, when I think of Atlanta when I’m explaining it to people, obviously Coca Cola as I mentioned, but the other place we are home to is Chick fil A. Oh, so they were started here, right down by the airport. And Hapeville GA and you can you can eat in the original in the original location, which is very cute and cool. But I like I like Chick fil A. I hate they’re closed on Sunday. And I don’t agree with everything about Chick fil A. It’s a nice, it’s good chicken. So you know

Beth  19:33  

exactly. Are the lions there is bad as the lions like our chick fillet is. I’ve never seen lions. It’s constantly busy.

Shawn  19:43  

Yeah, yeah, I mean it is but they seem to be like, uniquely skilled at getting those lines. I don’t even it’s like magic.

Beth  19:55  

If they were in charge of all that maybe we should put them in charge of airlines or something. thinner.

Shawn  20:01  

Well, I know that in South South Carolina, they actually during COVID, when the vaccines came out, they actually hired people from Chick fil A to do their lines for the very smart. I was like, why aren’t we doing that everywhere? Magical with the lines?

Beth  20:18  

They really are. They’re a very, very efficient model for sure. I feel like you’ve already shared a lot of best kept secrets about Atlanta, but But are there any any other ones?

Shawn  20:31  

There actually is one that a we we have a ton of new breweries here. Oh, you could do brewery tours, you can walk we have a walkway that goes all the way around the city. It’s called the Beltline. And there are breweries located along there that you can visit. Some of my favorites that are either on or off the Beltline on Sweetwater, you’ve probably heard of Sweetwater for 20. That’s from Atlanta. There’s place Monday night brewing new realm tons more. We’re pretty proud of our breweries. So you know, and that’s happened since I moved here. Like, it’s only happened in the last, you know, 15 years, probably. So it’s pretty cool.

Beth  21:16  

I am always up for a good brewery. So again, it’s living there sort of might be difficult to do this. But if you just had the weekend off, no, nothing you had to do. And you could just be a tourist in your city. What what would be that perfect weekend?

Shawn  21:36  

Well, of course, I’d fly in on a Delta jet. Because delta is based here. So flying on your delta jet, stop and Hapeville and get breakfast at the Chick fil A dwarf house the original Chick fil A. And by the way, they have waitresses there that wait on you. Oh, which is amazing. Then I would take take an Uber over, take a walk on the BeltLine, stroll long stop at plan City Market and do some shopping. Stop at one of the restaurants for lunch. And then in the afternoon, I would either depending on the time of year I would do in Atlanta United game a Braves game hawks game, the Elkins game. But um, you know, that’s what I would do. If I had kids with me, I would instead of the, instead of stopping at a brewery or anything, I would grab a bike or a scooter. And go on a hunt for tiny doors. We have an artist here who has hidden teeny tiny doors all around the city. And you can go find them and hunt them down. So um, and then I would get on my delta jet and fly home. That’s what I would do in just a weekend.

Beth  22:54  

So I love that tiny door thing. That’s so cool. Yeah. Is there like a resource or a map that sort of gives you locations? Okay, yeah,

Shawn  23:03  

you can visit her website to get the maps to find. I think there’s 16 or 17 of them. Now there’s a lot. A lot of them are located at major stops, you know, that you might want to visit if you’re here. Like there’s one at the Fabulous Fox Theater right outside. There’s one at Center for puppetry arts, they’re there all over the city. So it’s great. It’s great way to see the whole city. And you can actually visit her studio in Atlantic Station in Atlanta, and she’s a lovely person and does a lot for the city. So it’s it’s very cool.

Beth  23:41  

It’s very cool. I think you mentioned one place to shop where where else are good places to to get your shopping done.

Shawn  23:50  

Yeah, I mentioned Ponce City Market which has a lot of local there’s a couple stores of local artists and unique places. If you really want to get your shopping on and you’ve got like a credit card ready to go. Go into the shops of Buckhead the shops in Buckhead it’s basically our version of Rodeo Drive. I will admit to stopping in Jimmy Choo recently to get my shoes for my daughter’s wedding. But you name the designer and they probably have a shop there and even window shopping there is worth it. So that would be my my favorite. We have some tradition classic old school malls around. But I really liked the outdoor shopping Atlantic Station is another outdoor shopping place that you can you know visit and often they have special events at Atlantic Station like Cirque du Solei and stuff. Yeah,

Beth  24:47  

very cool. So other than bringing home Jimmy Choo shoes, is there another perfect souvenir that that’s sort of symbolizes and I and And when I say that, I always think people think like, like the snow globes in the airport and stuff, but like the thing that you can hang out and put on your shelf or hanging on your wall that you like, remember that that trip?

Shawn  25:12  

Yeah, well, you can hang this on your wall, but you can enjoy it for a few days after your trip. And I would say that’s praline pecans, or pecans, depending on your preference. I always say you get pecans in the backyard and pecans in the front yard. But they make some really delicious praline pecans here. If you’re an pecan fan, that would be what I would say bring home. There, you know, there’s all kinds of unique things here. But you can get this is kind of cool at the World of Coca Cola, you can make a Coca Cola bottle, like you can design it and they’ll print it for you and you could bring it home. There’s also really cool coke things. Like if you’re if you’re a collector, so but yeah, I would stick with it because they’re my favorite.

Beth  26:04  

Yeah. The sounds like delicious for sure. I think you mentioned you know, walking the Beltline and stuff and and what what are the other good ways to get around the city?

Shawn  26:19  

Yeah, we are a driving city. And you can rent a car. But I would say Atlanta traffic is a little bit notorious. So I would suggest Uber or you know, Lyft it’s it’s the easiest you know, it’s it’s fairly inexpensive. We also have taxis here. So, you know, you can grab a grab transportation, we do have the scooters. If you’re brave person, I’m terrified of them. You know, there’s a point in life where you just go Yeah, I’m not riding a scooter down a hill. But, but and they also had the bike rentals here. Okay, so, you know, there’s a lot of ways to get around. You know, you can of course, rent a car and drive. But you know, you’re on vacation. So, let somebody else do the driving for you.

Beth  27:07  

All right. How far about is the the, like, ride from the airport into the city? Where was the

Shawn  27:15  

city center? It’s like 20 minutes. Oh, okay. So yeah, and there’s a lot of great hotels and stuff. Right, right downtown. Um, the the one weekend if you’re if you want to come for some really good people watching come Labor Day weekend. We have Dragon Con that weekend. It is one of the largest cons. It’s one of the original cons 120,000 People come. You can see your fill of storm troopers and Ghostbusters and all the things there’s a parade. It’s actually a fantastic weekend to be in town. But it’s a little crazy. You’re gonna see some stuff

Beth  27:54  

that’s actually on my daughter’s list of cons to visit. It’s

Shawn  27:58  

it’s a fantastic one. I could talk about it forever. I love it.

Beth  28:03  

I didn’t realize it was Labor Labor Day weekend. So on top of everything else is

Shawn  28:07  

a six day con. Yeah. Oh, it’s a big one. It is definitely like you can buy a one day pass. But it’s, it’s, it’s it’s so worth going and like there’s a bar at the Ritz Carlton where you could sit outside and there’s a Ritz Carlton on Peachtree Street where they marched past for the parade. Great place for breakfast. Have some mimosas watch the parade go by. You know, it’s worth it. It’s like a three hour parade. It’s it goes on. Gosh. Yeah. It’s huge. It’s huge.

Beth  28:42  

That’s amazing. So other than our our cosplay gear for Dragon Con, like what? How should people like what should we pack? What should we wear? When we come?

Shawn  28:55  

Yeah, we, um, people in Atlanta like to dress nice. So I would say definitely like nice casual clothes, like, you know, be comfortable. But But look, you know, nice. Like, think about what your mom say? Oh, nice. Good. It’s a very southern city. So

Beth  29:15  

such a good barometer for something. It’s a simple

Shawn  29:19  

one, like, like, Oh, you’re gonna wear that. Don’t wear that. And then the biggest thing is, especially in the spring, summer and fall, wear sunscreen. It gets very hot here. The sun is hot. There’s a lot to do outside. You don’t want to get burned and ruin your weekend. But we have great weather here. It does rain a lot. Always bring a rain jacket in the spring in particular. Our winter is generally if it’s our precipitation is going to be generally rain. Occasionally we get snow and then we make the news so you know, don’t come if it’s snowing, don’t

Beth  29:59  

cry. other report on the news don’t come.

Shawn  30:01  

Yeah, exactly. Skip that trip. Yeah.

Beth  30:07  

Yeah, I would imagine traffic’s a whole different beast when the weather’s

Shawn  30:12  

bad like that. It’s a long story, but my daughter was one stuck in a car for eight hours driving home from school. So that just gives you a sample of how bad it can be. Yeah.

Beth  30:24  

So I feel like we’ve talked about a lot of experiences that are sort of truly authentic to to Atlanta, but you know, sort of just as a NPS, like, what, what is that true? Even if it’s sort of just the combination? Like what is that truly authentic thing that you can’t get any anywhere else? Well, I

Shawn  30:44  

think the cool thing about Atlanta is people really like people here. It’s a really unique place. We have a lot of things to see. We are the home to some of the best rappers in the world. So you can come here and you’re probably going to bump into someone who’s an up and coming rapper. They’re real friendly. They like to meet people to get you know, get their name out there. I would say taking a stroll on the BeltLine, seeing a Braves or Atlanta United game, eating at Waffle House. Chick fil A drinking a coke on Peachtree Street, you can’t. And we have like 31 Plus Peachtree streets. So there’s lots of opportunity to do. And then maybe catching a show at the Fox Theater. I mean, that’s a really unique Atlanta thing. It’s a beautiful theater. We have great stuff there. So

Beth  31:43  

you know, yeah, it sounds like a lot of fun. And it’s it’s definitely popping up onto the top of my weekend trip kind of situation there. This was great information you’ve provided us provided me at the link so I’ll be able to put those all in the show notes for everyone. Because there’s just there’s so many cool things to try check out. I do have a few questions that I didn’t provide you ahead of time. They’re sort of my rapid fire, but not rapid fire questions. That I asked everyone so we’ll hit you up with those. When you go on a road trip, what is your favorite road trip? Snack?

Shawn  32:28  

Bugles. I love bugles. It’s the only time I ever eat them is if I’m on a road trip.

Beth  32:34  

Well that’s because I’ve said it a million times road trip calories don’t count. So you have to I have not had a bugle in in forever. I’m gonna have to add either a road trip snack. What is your next planned trip? What do you have on the radar here?

Shawn  32:54  

I’m actually this is really cool. I’m going on a cruise with my one of my closest friends from seventh grade on. And she and I are going on the celebrity beyond which is their newest ship. Because we’re both obsessed with Captain Kate, one of the first female cruise ship captains. And we’re gonna go have a girl’s week in the Caribbean. And I am like obsessed about it and in less than 50 days and I can’t wait.

Beth  33:27  

That’s how it’s so much fun. What is your like dream trip? Do you ever? Like the bucket list trip?

Shawn  33:37  

Antarctica? Antarctica? Yeah. And I really, I’m I love penguins. I’d like to see them all.

Shawn  33:46  

And I would really like to do you know, go down the coast of South America to the Falklands, the whole like, the whole thing all the way down. And then, you know, I want to get I want to before I die a goal is to hit all seven continents. Okay, so I’ve got five, the last two are kind of far and hot. A little harder to get to from Atlanta. So

Beth  34:13  

you know, you have Antarctica and what’s the other one you need to get?

Shawn  34:16  

I need Australia, Australia. Okay. Yeah.

Beth  34:20  

Yeah, those are both flight commitments. Yeah. Yeah.

Shawn  34:23  

And like, like, I have friends in Australia. I would very much like to go and see them. I think that will happen before Antarctica, but you never know. You know?

Beth  34:32  

Yeah. Both very cool. Do you have a favorite trip that you’ve gone on? Oh,

Shawn  34:39  

there’s so many that are favorites for different reasons. But one of the most unique ones that I think of a lot is we went to Iceland my family did and we actually we spent a weekend in Reykjavik and then we got on a National Geographic Explorer ship and we circumnavigated the country. Tree. And it was really cool and unique. We actually have walked on an island that sits in the Arctic Ocean saw puffins, which are one of the coolest birds I’ve ever seen. It was very cool. It’s a very, really cool, unique place to visit. People Are Awesome. They’ve got some really interesting traditions. You know, trolls live their elves, they believe in all that they actually rerouted their highways because the trolls lived in place. It’s just highly recommended. And it’s like a four and a half five hour flight from New York. Oh, nice. So yeah, and you could actually do Reykjavik in a weekend and like fly over do a long weekend there. See the we were in the summer, so we didn’t see the northern lights, but you could go in the winter. It’s a really cool place. I highly recommend it. It’s a favorite. I have several favorites for different reasons. But that’s a unique one.

Beth  35:58  

Yeah, that’s so cool. Do you have a favorite travel tip to share?

Shawn  36:06  

Um, that’s a really good question. I’m gonna go back to when my daughter was little.

Shawn  36:14  

So she’s traveled since she was like eight months old on planes. When she was a little older. My favorite thing to bring to keep her occupied on a plane was pipe cleaners. Oh, pipe cleaners can be used for so many things. And we used to make little creatures out of them. And then she could play with the little creatures or she would make things and then they just get on done. And you can reuse them again on the flight. And it was the only time she ever got pipe cleaners to play with. So it was like this unique toy. And they don’t take up a lot of room in the back. Right. So yeah, that was my that’s my big tip for parents.

Beth  36:54  

That’s that’s an ingenious one. I remember that one. Not that. I know. Well, I don’t know, maybe my 18 year old daughter would be entertained with pipe cleaners. You know? Who knows when she’d make? So when you travel or road trips or anything who is on your travel playlist? Are you a podcast? Audio Book person?

Shawn  37:20  

Yeah, I am. Probably like, Billy Joel, Elton John. You know, Taylor Swift. Gotta have Taylor in there. Taylor. Yeah. Lady Gaga. Pretty much any 80s music at all. Like, you know, I’m an 80s kid. Yeah, I’m very eclectic. I like it all. Like I’m obsessing over Ed Sheeran right now. So, you know, but I do like Taylor. She’s great. Yes,

Beth  37:53  

we have that on a heavy rotation here. We did not get tickets. But

Shawn  37:59  

yes. Am I my daughter got a ticket that she left me out. She got a ticket from a friend. She she struggled through that nightmare day. We all did. But yeah,

Beth  38:09  

very cool. Well, this has been great. I know people are gonna if Atlanta was not on their list before, I think it will be after this conversation. So I really appreciate your time and your, your insider view for sure.

Shawn  38:25  

Great. Well, please come we love visitors.

Beth  38:29  

There you go. You heard it? Well, they’re gonna make her president of the travel tourism bureau down there for sure. That’s funny. But Shawn, thanks so much for your time.

Shawn  38:42  

You’re welcome. Thank you for having me. Absolutely.

Beth  38:46  

Thanks again to Shawn for sharing her insider tips on what to do and see in Atlanta. Please head over to the show notes on the website, the roaming yeti.com To learn more about Shawn, and get links to all the experiences and places she mentioned during our interview. And thank you for listening. I hope these episodes inspire you to get out and roam even in your own neighborhood. Please subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes. And if you like what we’re doing here, please leave a review and rating. Also to help support us please head over to Yeti to shop.com to pick up some romaine Yeti merch, talk to you soon and keep rolling.