Atlanta, GA - Hot Chocolate 5K

January 2023

Restaurants / Foods visited

• Cheesecake Factory (Buckhead, GA) - connected to Lenox Square Mall - easy access through mall from hotel, very spacious, large menu variety, drinks were just ok, bar area is quite large and first come first serve seating to avoid wait
  
• Ray’s in the City (Atlanta, GA downtown) - Fantastic atmosphere, excellent service, martinis were excellent, nice bar seating for casual dressers, food was fresh/excellent, and great people watching. Try their shrimp cocktail - large, fresh and real horse radish for the cocktail sauce.
  
• Ton Ton Ramen & Yakitori (Ponce City Market) - since it was lunch time, we only got a chance to sample the Ramen and slurp, slurp, slurp - mmmmm delicious. Fast service, table checkout, and convenient location off the belt line for a nice lunch during a long exploring walk. We stuck with the classic Hakata Tonkotsu Classic and it filled us up nicely.
  
• Ruth’s Chris Steak House (Buckhead, GA) - convenient location, near many hotels and shopping area. Large bar area for the casual dresser. A chain we visit often for consistently great food, service and mixed drinks. If there is one around, we usually stop.
  
• Caribou Coffee (Peachtree and Piedmont) - delightful surprise. Wanted to grab some coffee while waiting for a pedicure appointment. As fans of regular, plain coffee from Dunkin (not Starbuck’s fans) - we enjoyed the coffee so much we bough some to have around the house.
  
• Metro Diner and Bar Atlanta - Breakfast after the race. No link - just search for it - great breakfast food, fast service, and a large menu.
  

Hotels

• JW Marriott Atlanta Buckhead
  
• Free breakfast in the separate breakfast room for our Platinum status
• Connected to Lenox Mall - convenient especially during the winter / rain weather
• On site restaurant and bar (drinks were made well and service was great) - met lots of new people and chatted with many guests.
• Valet is attentive
• Front desk was super friendly
• Rooms were a good size - just right
• Lounge access provided some evening snacks and beer and wine (extra $) if you wanted some quiet away from the main bar area
• Twelve Downtown, Autograph Collection (Downtown Atlanta)
  
• Not sure about breakfast - since we only stayed the night before the race and we had to get up early for the start line. However, they did provide us with some extra K-cups at the front desk and some cream/splenda from the bar for our early a.m. needs. They do not have coffee in the lobby until after 7 am so we were accommodated for our in room Keurig.
• SPACIOUS!!! - Living room, kitchenette, huge bathroom - would stay here again for sure - especially if a longer stay.
• Lobby bar was friendly and lots of locals seemed to stop there later in the evening. Great conversations. Younger crowd (20s/30s) the evening we were there - maybe workers from around the downtown service area?

Sites / Special Attractions

• Atlanta BeltLine - great walking loop around the city. Lots of access to varying restaurants, shops and parks.
  
• Estate Sale 365 - Located in Amersterdam Walk. Great shop with quality furniture, high end estate sale liquidator. If you enjoy estate sales, stop in and see them. Wish we had a car, but since we flew - we left empty handed.
  
• Ponce City Market - shop, restaurants, events. Easy access off the BeltLine. Great variety of food.
  

Race Day / Race info

• Hot Chocolate Race Series (nationwide)
  
• Atlanta Race Date: 1/29/2023 - our first race since 2020 due to Covid restrictions. Finally, we are back - love to run small races in different cities.
• Very organized race, expo was smaller than expected but we haven’t been to one at all for 3 years so we still picked up some new running gear.
• The new sweatshirt this year was surprising. Past year hoodies were not as comfortable - this one had extra zip pockets and we have already used them several times.
• Race times were posted by the time we showered and went to breakfast.
• Temperatures were chilly 30s but not the coldest we have experienced.
• Corals were encouraged and somewhat monitored, but you still saw runners and walkers move around.
• Pacers were available for the longer 15k
• Start was on time - see video on youtube : https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2292731820887697

Final Thoughts

We aren’t the biggest fans of Atlanta’s airport, and as thrifters - we would love to have a vehicle next time. Our current thoughts are to add Atlanta to our future #roamaimlessly #roadtrip when we finally get a chance to do so. If anyone has links to great neighborhood garage sales, church rummage sales, and/or must see flea markets / thrift stores - send us info via our social media sites or contact page.

So next time Atlanta - we will find another 5k, walk more of the BeltLine and visit a few more suburbs.

Road Trip Roam Aimlessly Freedom Travel Discover Wanderlust Garage Sales Rummage Sales 5K Race Run Train Cities Furkot Dream Experience Memories

List of links in this blog

https://locations.thecheesecakefactory.com/ga/atlanta-176.html

https://www.raysrestaurants.com/raysinthecity

https://www.tontonramen.com/

https://www.ruthschris.com/restaurant-locations/atlanta-buckhead/

https://locations.cariboucoffee.com/us/ga/atlanta/3261-peachtree-road-ne

https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/atljw-jw-marriott-atlanta-buckhead/overview/

https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/atlpk-twelve-downtown-autograph-collection/overview/

https://beltline.org/

https://www.estatesale365.sale/

https://www.poncecitymarket.com/

https://hotchocolate15k.com/

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2292731820887697