Even in a metropolitan area of 6 million people or so, you can find a nice place to breathe, if you know where to look.

We don’t get down to the Chattahoochee River much. Last time I was there was probably when Luke and I took a rafting trip eight or 10 years ago. But Mary Jo and I went down last weekend — maybe 20 minutes from our house — took goofy Brodie and enjoyed a beautiful fall day away from the traffic, the exhaust, the noise and the 75 Target stores.

This is Atlanta. Deep in the middle of Atlanta.

So for those who think Atlanta is only the airport, downtown (what there is of that) and the traffic … well, OK. That’s a lot of it, sure. But there’s more to this place than that. You just have to know where to look.