Put away all your orange sweaters, today’s Saint Patrick’s Day the world around!

The Decatur Minute has a list of events going on in Decatur, while the AJC has a big, fat, bloated list of events going on around the metro.   And of course, don’t forget about DM’s Featured Events Calendar!

But what I’d really like to know is, who has an embarrassing St. Patty’s Day story to tell?

Photo Courtesy of the Internet

Moira Bucciarelli reminds us about the city’s new audio walking tour (mp3), which was mentioned in January’s Decatur Focus (pdf).  Here’s the Focus blurb, transcribed by Moira…

Are you interested in taking a 20-minute self-guided walking tour of downtown Decatur? Download Decatur’s audio tour from www.decaturga.com to your MP3 player, put on your favorite walking shoes and go. The tour begins at City Hall and ends at the old train depot.

The tour features some of Decatur’s history along with Lyn Menne’s observations about the city’s current growth and development. It also includes local musicians (the Dappled Grays and the Stonehouse Posse) and residents, and is narrated by David Hirt. Many thanks to Daren Wang for facilitating the process and to Moira Bucciarelli for putting it together. If you have ideas for other tours, please submit them to linda.harris@decaturga.com.

Honestly, it’s a very enjoyable and interesting tour, for old and new alike.

As promised, here’s the follow up from last week’s post “Daytrippin’ – City Edition“, wondering where you like to go when you need to get away from the Atlanta metro for a few hours, or perhaps a whole weekend.

Last week focused on towns and cities.  This week let’s discuss more rural destinations.  Secluded cabins, hiking trails, campsites, mountain biking trails, fishing spots.

Where do you go when you need a break from civilization?

And that’s not all you can touch!  From 231 Sycamore…(note the location change)

Come out and join the fun at Decatur’s annual Touch a Truck Day on Saturday, March 20, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. The event has been so popular and drawn such a crowd that it has been moved to the Callaway building parking lot, 120 W. Trinity Place.

Children of all ages can see, touch, and explore their favorite truck or equipment on wheels. A City of Decatur fire truck, dump trucks, tractors, police cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and many other vehicles will be on display. For information, please contact Greg White, 404-377-0494, or greg.white@decaturga.com.

I eagerly await hearing those far-off, oddly inconsistent siren durations from my front steps!

(“Oh no!  Did the town wino steal a police car?  Oh no wait, it’s only Touch a Truck Day!”)

The AJC has the story of Decatur resident Ned White, who has been waiting a good two years for his “pain in the pencil” crossword puzzle to appear in the New York Times.

The according to the paper – the AJC that is – it finally appeared on January 16th, a Saturday: the day when the Times crosswords are notoriously the hardest of the week.

A great story that provides background on both Mr. White and the New York Times’ crossword!

Having been on the road a bit the past few days, I’ve been thinking a bit more than usual beyond the confines of good ol’ Decatur. (Gasp!)

Many of us are frequently gushing with pride for our east Atlanta haven, but like any healthy relationship, every once in a while you really need to take a break.

However, in the past I’ve found many online lists of recommendations to be more than lacking, so I thought some of us might benefit from some helpful neighborly advice about where to hang your traveling hat when your looking to escape the metro for a few days by car for a day-trip or weekend getaway.

As suggested by the title, I thought we might divide up the discussion into two posts: urban and rural. Today, feel free to recommend your favorite city and town escapes and then next Monday we’ll focus on less-populated retreats.

So whatcha got?

TeeRuss points us to this fascinating interactive map on the New York Times website, showing Netflix rental patterns for 100 movies in a dozen U.S. cities.

Lucky for us, one of those metros is none other than the city where “every day is an opening day!”  Umm..yeah, Atlanta.

TeeRuss notes that Wall-E, the Tyler Perry movies, and Mad Men provide a revealing look at Atlanta.  I would add Paul Blart: Mall Cop, Milk, Religulous, and Slumdog to that list.  (I can’t link to the individual maps, so you gotta go find ‘em.)

Of the movies I just mentioned, can you guess which map is shown above?

J Murdoch posted this question in this week’s Free-For-All Friday.  I thought we might be able to help ‘em out.

Does anyone know of any good New Year’s Eve events in Decatur? We’re looking for something fun, not too DJ-ey, and maybe a little dressy.

There’s already quite a bit of chatter about tonight’s magnificent sunset on Twitter.  For those still out of town or stuck inside, here are a couple pics my wife and I took of the action from North Candler Street.

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