Best Day Trip

Driving up the roadway lined with flags and corporate overlord Delta Air Lines, you oddly feel like you’re not in Atlanta, but in a parallel dimension. You notice the sleek building - Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s new $1.4 billion international terminal - on your left. Considered Atlanta’s new front door to the world, the 1.2-million-square-foot concourse - which is decked out with airy atriums and chock-full of public art - is a vast improvement over the former terminal. What will most delight frequent international travelers: arrivals no longer have to recheck their bags, and go back through security, to exit the damn airport, as they did for years at the main concourse. Yes, there were news reports about alleged favoritism over concessions programs. There was debate over whether it was really needed. There’s no direct connection to MARTA rail, a major fault. And some tourists have complained about sore feet from all the walking. But the new terminal remains a wonderful addition to the bizarrely beautiful, romantic, and impressive busiest airport in the world. less...

Few hints of the Battle of Atlanta have survived the city’s bulldozers and steamrollers. Just north of the city, Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park offers a more complete, and scenic, view of the battle that preceded Atlanta’s fall. But if you really want to feel the scope of the last war fought on Southern soil, head about 100 miles north to CHICKAMAUGA AND CHATTANOOGA NATIONAL MILITARY PARK. The Chickamauga part of the park, which is in Georgia, looks and feels like a hallowed old battlefield: rolling fields, idle cannons, somber memorials. It was the site of one of the South’s last big victories. U.S. troops retreated north to Chattanooga, Tenn., regrouped there, broke out of the city, and then, under the leadership of William Tecumseh Sherman, marched on to Atlanta. Parcels of the park commemorate clashes in and around Chattanooga, including Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge.

www.nps.gov/chch

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For continuous whitewater fun within a couple of hours of a major city, it’s hard to match the OCOEE RIVER. Just north of the Tennessee line, the Ocoee’s most famous as the site of the 1996 Olympics whitewater course. But it’s also an incredibly accessible stream for half-day and full-day guided rafting trips. The Class III-IV rapids aren’t super dangerous, but you definitely don’t want to try them without an expert. An added convenience: The Ocoee’s dam-released flows ensure a good ride even in the driest days of summer.
Nantahala Outdoor Center, 888-905-7238, www.noc.com; Wildwater Limited, 800-451-9972, ,a href=”http://www.wildwaterrafting.com”>www.wildwaterrafting.com.

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For a trip back in time - whether you want antebellum architecture or a $2 Budweiser - head to ATHENS. The real draw for us ATLiens, however, is what we can abandon in the Classic City: our cars. Within walking distance of downtown, catch an indie flick at UGA’s Tate Student Center, stalk a certain famous musician and hunt for Velvet Underground LPs. Before you wistfully drive off into the sunset, though, stop to graze at Five and Ten, home of one of “Food and Wine“‘s top 10 new chefs of 2002. That alone is worth the ride. www.flagpole.com. www.libs.uga.edu/athens www.fiveandten.com. less...

www.madisonga.org The sign might say Madison but you’d swear it should read Mayberry. This little timewarp of a town, just 50 minutes due east on I-20, is a pastiche of antebellum architecture, antique shops and towering shade trees. In other words, tourist trap central. For its current affluence, Madison has Joshua Hill to thank. Hill, an early foe of secession, convinced Gen. Sherman to spare the village from flames. So now, when you stroll past real estate you could never afford, remember two things: Always stay on the good side of the man with the torch, and eat at Old Murray’s for the best fried chicken and collards in the state. less...

When you’re ready for a taste of Europe, you can head up I-85 to Chateau Elan, a four-star resort just minutes from the city. Open since 1981, le Chateau features four golf courses, a full-service European-style health spa, a winery, seven restaurants and a tennis center designed by Stan Smith. And this winter, a deluxe-room package will only run you $180 a night. Vive la France! less...

So you’re taking that extra sick day off and looking for a place to spend it? Try hitting Stone Mountain. It has everything, from high-contact rides (hiking trails, a new water park, ice skating) to low-commitment risks (golf, picnic areas, train rides). To cap off your day, you can chill out and watch lasers make psychedelic designs on the side of the huge granite stump while the Charlie Daniels’ Band wails in the background. Yeehaw! less...