Atlantan Leslie Caceda
Location: Wall Crawler Rock Club
Date taken: September 17, 2012
If you are interested in discovering new parts of Atlanta, Leslie Caceda highly recommends biking to work. As she tries out quicker routes, navigates around road construction and works to avoid automobile traffic congestion, Leslie often stumbles upon new places in city.
“I’m a different person when I bike,” said Leslie. “When I drive to work, I feel myself becoming impatient and angry. But, on the bike, I take more time. I see things I didn’t see before. I actually enjoy getting to work.”
A native of Peru, Leslie spent her teenage years in Newnan, Ga., and then graduated from Wesleyan College in Macon, Ga. Although she fondly recalls the yellow bike of her childhood, Leslie didn’t start seriously cycling until she attended Georgia Tech for graduate school. With the high price of a parking permit and shortage of spaces, Leslie decided it would be more cost efficient and effective to bike to class. She’s been biking around town ever since.
Now, Leslie works as program manager for the Atlanta Bike Coalition. You might find her managing bike valets at Atlanta events, helping teach bicycle safety, demonstrating how to install a bike rack or working with the city’s transportation officials to improve and increase the number of bike lanes. According to a report by the Alliance for Biking and Walking, the number of cyclists in Atlanta increased by 386 percent between 2000 and 2009. Leslie is not only one of those new cyclists, she’s an advocate for all of them.
Interested in biking around Atlanta? Check out the upcoming Atlanta Streets Alive on Oct. 7. There’s also Mobile Social, Heels on Wheels, Java Lords rides, Atlanta BeltLine Bike Tour and lots of events and workshops offered through the Atlanta Bike Coalition.
Walk and talk about art
Location: Art on the Atlanta BeltLine in Reynoldstown
Date taken: July 29, 2012
Read a storybook
Location: Decatur Education Foundation tent at the 2012 Decatur Book Festival
Date taken: September 2, 2012
Go jump in a lake
Location: Chickamauga Lake
Date taken: August 23, 2012
Unfortunately, there is no big, beautiful body of water in Atlanta. For those of us who love the water, Piedmont Park’s Lake Clara Meer isn’t quite enough. So, take a weekend trip or a day trip to one of these larger lakes, all within a few hours of the city:
Chickamauga Lake | Lake Lanier | Lake Allatoona | Lake Oconee | Jackson Lake| Lake Hartwell
Lake Keowee | Clarks Hill Lake | Lake Burton | Lake Nottely
Hang your wish on a tree
Location: Wish Tree at the 2012 Decatur Book Festival
Date taken: September 2, 2012
I don’t know who sponsored this Wish Tree at the Decatur Book Festival, but it was certainly popular. By the time I stumbled upon it, all the tags had been used. People had started writing their wishes on receipts and sticking them on the tree. Some wishes were playful, such as the one from a 9-year-old who said, “I wish I could have a pony.” Another kid wrote, “I wish I would grow up to be an astronaut.” Other wishes were more serious. “I wish people wouldn’t argue so much” a tag read. People wished for health and happiness. One person wrote, “I wish everyone knew they are beautiful just as they are.” And, another hung this wish on the tree: “I wish I had the power to grant wishes.”
atlantaheydays.com 
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