In my typically rushed way of walking, I actually stepped onto the asphalt a bit to pass a family of five on Pryor Street early this afternoon, on my way to Five Points MARTA station. Perhaps I should have asked them what it was they were looking for; they were white, expensively dressed, and nervously scanning their environment with every step. No information kiosks were immediately available to them; indeed, they would soon pass the visitor's center, into which I've never personally seen anybody enter. It appeared closed today, presumably for continuing holiday-themed carnage at the airport and various stores, most of them in other parts of town.
On Wednesday evening, during a rare scenic stroll of mine, I found a man and his young teenage son sitting outside the Capitol, puzzling over a map of Downtown attractions. As soon as I approached, the father, in a melodic Middle Eastern accent, asked me how to get to the King National Historic Site, and whether there would be anything entertaining for his son there. Not wanting to direct him to a civil rights center that was likely closed after evening rush hour, the day before Thanksgiving, and sincerely knowing of nothing there but Martin Luther King's tomb, I so informed him. I could have directed him to the World of Coca-Cola, but as their money would go farther at the solidly enjoyable restaurants on Marietta Street, I advised him to head there, and told him how.
It's fine, and even commendable, that the Convention and Visitor's Bureau is trying so hard to lure visitors into town for attractions other than pole dancing, or those less legal. However, for the Bureau to obscure just how spread apart attractions are in the city is less than welcoming to those unfamiliar with its layout. Though it's true that, to truly enjoy a city, one must dig deeper than the standard, heavily-promoted tourist spots, there are still throngs of people who are content only with those, and we must not leave them stranded for their inflexibility. The Bureau has issued maps of attractions, divided into different parts of the city; in addition to this, I propose that further subdivided 'visitor's district' maps be issued, for those areas bestowed with several attractions separated by no problem areas.
By the way: if anybody wants to know of some truly fulfilling, decent places to visit according to their own tastes, ask me. I never leave people stranded.
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