Re: [85attendees] ATL Travel Items

["STARK, BARBARA H" <[e-mail]>]

Howdy y'all,
As someone who has spent many Labor Day weekends in and around this Atlanta hotel complex, I'd like to provide a few more specifics to answer some of the questions that have been asked.

As mentioned by others, the Peachtree Center MARTA station is very convenient to all of the "Nearby Hotels", including the Hilton. All trains from the airport go to Peachtree Center MARTA station. The MARTA station has many exits. For the Sheraton, exit east and south. For the Westin, exit west and north. 

To get to the Hyatt/Marriott/Hilton, exit to the East side of Peachtree St, on the north end of the station (hint: the train is going north from the airport; the airport station escalator will deliver you to the north end of the train). You have the option of getting to these 3 hotels either by street (as noted in previous emails), or by Skyway. If you enjoy navigating a maze of twisty passages, all alike, I highly recommend the Skyway. It's also great if it's raining. To get to the Skyways, continue from the northeast MARTA exit into the Peachtree Center Mall food court. You'll pass the CVS drugstore (great for all your drugstore needs) and head to the back left of the food court (great for inexpensive quick dining -- I'm partial to the Sushi restaurant). Pay attention to Skyway signs. For Hyatt, follow Hyatt signs. For Marriott and Hilton, follow Marriott signs. Getting from the Skyway to the actual interior of the Marriott is left as an exercise to the reader -- but don't go up or down anything till you're really in the hotel part of the hotel. To get to the Hilton from the Marriott, go to the far end of the Marriott and go down 2 flights of stairs and/or escalators. Follow signs to the Hilton Skyway. The Marriott and Hyatt are also connected directly by Skyway. 

An additional note about Peachtree Center MARTA station. This station is *deep* underground. I have friends with strong vertigo susceptibility. They describe the escalator as a terrifying experience. Some of them just take the elevator instead. Personally, I really enjoy the escalator ride.

Airport notes: I always take MARTA, unless it's after midnight, or I'm departing on a flight before 7am. If you find yourself with a bit of extra time on arrival or departure, the stone sculpture exhibit between terminals T and A is way cool. If you arrive internationally to the E terminal, be prepared to walk about a mile (1.6 km) to get to passport control. For anyone who might have problems with walking this distance, requesting a wheelchair is free and easy. While you have to take the free shuttle from the International Terminal to get to MARTA (the shuttle is nice and easy, people are nice, and it runs constantly) when arriving, departing internationally is much easier. You can check in to international departures at the same terminal where MARTA is, and the Plane Train goes to all terminals -- but think about walking that T to A stretch to see the sculptures.

Zombie defense: Georgia Tech (campus is about a mile from the IETF meeting) has its annual zombie preparedness week in the fall (Humans vs. Zombies, http://hvz.gatech.edu/) and recommends the use of socks and marshmallows for defense against zombies. You may want to consider these less lethal alternatives, even though they only stun the zombie. Both of these can be transported internationally or domestically on planes, or you can get them at the CVS drugstore.

Feel free to ask me any other questions you may have. I've worked in Midtown Atlanta for 20 years. It's possible I might know answers.
Barbara