In the heart of VA Highland sits Manuel's Tavern. Manuel's has a very rich history of being the place to be for discussion about news, politics, and technology trends. I was first introduced to Manuel's Tavern in 2005 when I attended a bloggers meeting. 

While I was working on some projects that focused on building an online community focused on Atlanta activities I found myself going to Manuel's for lunch and inspiration. 

Last night I attended the July Social Media Club event where two of my clients discussed their online community building efforts. It was appropriately held at the place that has been my source of inspiration during these projects, Manuel's Tavern. 

Jeannie Ericson Director of Lens on Atlanta, a project that is being sponsored by Public Broadcasting of Atlanta discussed the vision of creating a site that brings the many various communities within metro Atlanta together to discuss arts and entertainment, neighborhood and city improvements or to simply stay connected with our neighbors. The site will be launching soon, but you can follow the development progress at their Twitter account, @lensonatlanta.

Tony Conway from the Atlanta Children's Shelter discussed the amazing work that they do in the basement of a church on Peachtree. Children of displaced families are cared for and educated in a NAEYC accredited program, a program that holds the highest standards of quality for child care centers. While the children are getting the best in quality education, their parents are going through programs that help them get back on their feet. I had the opportunity to develop a plan for the Shelter to leverage social media to connect with the local community about their different programs and fundraising opportunities. I learned last night that through our social media outreach efforts their 5K run exceeded expectation by more than 100%!

It was a great meeting and Manuel's provided wonderful service. The only challenge with meetings like this at Manuel's is that the place gets busy, which means it gets loud and the rooms are not sound proof. But it is a place where members of the community continues to come together.

I grew up in a era and an area where the best restaurants where the chain restaurants. We would dine at Denny's - alright more like hang out after a late night or grab a bite at Bennigan's or TGI Friday's.

Metro Atlanta has no shortage of chain restaurants, but the city of Atlanta is well know for their unique restaurants. Whenever I have the opportunity to meet someone for lunch in-town I often try to get someone to make a recommendation for a restaurant I have not been to yet.

Today I met  a friend at Taqueria del Sol on Howell Mill Rd. We were to meet a little after noon, but my morning meeting ended early so I got there around 11:30 thinking I would grab a table and get a little work done before meeting my friend. Taqueria del Sol is a restaurant where you order at the counter first and then grab a table where your food is served, so I was not able to grab a table yet. I would have sat at the bar area and had a beverage while I waited, but by 11:30am the bar area was already full.

I sat at the bench in the front of the restaurant and began to write notes for my ongoing to-do list. As the time ticked away the line to order food grew out the door and into the parking lot. I called my friend to inquire if we REALLY wanted to deal with this growing crowd. She assured me the food was worth it, that this was why the line was growing. As I sat there I saw someone who I know worked a good 30 minutes away from the restaurant come in. 

 My friend arrived and we stood in line for about 15 minutes. I ordered two tacos and the guacamole. The service was fast and friendly and the food was incredibly fresh. I understand how Taqueria del Sol, is NOT one of Atlanta's best kept secrets.

 Tip - the line was not long from 11:30-11:45 but it stretched out the door until after 2:00. 

 Alright, it is time to test your knowledge of the Simply Southern Tour.

Before we get to that though, I want to sincerly thank the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau for the opportunity to participate in this tour. As a resident of metro Atlanta for more than 10 years I had not experience most of the destinations that were on the itenary. This experience has truly changed the way I see this city. 

 As a quick reminder, I tweeted during the tour, I took pictures during the tour and I blogged during the tour. From those tweets, pictures, and blogs I have come up with 5 trivia questions. Send me the correct answers to those questions to be qualified to enter the drawing for two MVP passes

This includes:

2 tickets to Six Flags Over Georgia (one day admission valid through Sept. 27, 2009)

2 tickets to the World of Coca Cola (valid through Dec. 31, 2009)

2 terrace level seats to see the Atlanta Braves vs. Florida Marlins at Turner Field on Aug. 22 at 7:10 p.m.

2 tickets to the Georgia Aquarium (no expiration)

2 single-day adventure passes to Stone Mountain Park (valid through Dec. 31, 2009)

The way you would submit the answers is:

1. Log in to ATLInsider (you must create a free account if don’t have one)
2. Click on Sherry Heyl under the Community Blog section of the site. The trivia questions will be posted here on my blog page.
3. Under my photo (on the top right on this page), click “View my profile”
4. Under “Options” click “Send Sheyl a private message”
5. Type “Trivia” as the subject line of the message and then write the answers to the five trivia questions in the body of the message
6. Click “Post” to send the message to me

The official contest rules can be found at http://www.atlanta.net/simplysouthernRules/terms.aspx.

OK now for the trivia...

1. What  quote caught my attention at The King Center?

2. What are the titles of the very unique books that can be purchased at the Oakland Cemetery?

3. Name the developer of Inman Park.

4. According to my records, how did Cabbage Town  get it's name?

5. What is the name of the new exhibit at the Margaret Mitchell House?

You have just this weekend to submit your answers. The winner will be chosen on Monday. 

Good Luck!

 Well I am back home now. My tour of Atlanta has concluded.

Today we visited the Margaret Mitchell house, which was the home of Margaret Mitchell when she wrote the very famous story, Gone With the Wind. The book was translated into 27 languages when it was originally published and was the second most popular book, with the Bible being the first.

 Margaret Mitchell actually did not occupy the entire house that is named after her. Her and her second husband occupied apartment number 1, a small one bedroom apartment on the bottom floor. We we able to visit the apartment today as well as the museum dedicated to her that is located on the upper floors of the house.

We also got a sneak peak of the new exhibit, "The Making of a Film Legend" which houses the story boards and custom designs and the many various stories behind the making and premiere of the movie Gone With the Wind. 

 Margaret Mitchell's life and her famous book are known for truly capturing the spirit and culture of southern charm and grace. A tour through the house and hearing about her story can take you back into a another time where things were not simpler, but were definitely full of drama and adventures. 

 From the Margaret Mitchell house we drove to the Atlanta History Center, which was actually founded by Margaret Mitchell's father. Our tour guide took us through the Tullie Smith Farm Gardens where we got to experience what southern life was like before the Civil War. Do you know the saying "sleep tight?" Well it might have originated from the fact the people used to sleep on beds with rope holding up the mattresses. Weekly they would have to tighten up the rope, which gives way to the saying "sleep tight."

We concluded our tour with an absolutely lovely lunch at Swan Coach House where we were treated to wonderful chicken and shrimp salads served in their hand made timbales and complimented very nicely with their Champagne punch. However, the southern hospitality that we were given was just as wonderful as the food.

As I departed I explained to one of my companion's that I am going to make my mom proud this weekend. You see, my mom is a southern girl, born and raised in Kentucky. I was born and raised in Miami, which although it is in the South, it is not southern. I never truly allowed myself to truly appreciate the southern culture, but the past few days I have come to more than appreciate it, but to  actually fall in love with many aspects of  the culture and of Atlanta's heritage.

Today is the final day of the Simply Southern Contest. Make sure you are following along with us on Twitter. 

 Yesterday our morning started at Highland Bakery, another favorite spot of the locals which I have never been to. Our server started us off with a sampling of Sweet Potato Pancakes, Blueberry Pancakes and Grits. I was not so sure about Sweet Potato pancakes at first, but as stated on Twitter 

Magic Crutcher @atl_insider man, those sweet potato pancakes are the best!

 For my breakfast I opted for something more traditional, the French toast.

We had an opportunity to look through the portfolio of cake designs at Highland Bakery. The one that I think impressed us all was travel trunk, complete with a little gold lock. The Highland bakery can seat about 70 people inside and on a nice day 40 people outside. Apparently on Sundays they keep the house packed serving over 700 customers throughout the day.

 From the bakery we headed over to StudioPlex where we picked up our bikes and met our guides from Bicycle Tours of Atlanta. We learned some critical rules of the road and headed off to Inman Park. We learned the history of Inman park as being Atlanta's first planned suburb. It was developed by Joel Hurt.  Some of Atlanta's famous entrepreneurs lived in Inman Park. We saw the house of the founder of Coca Cola, Asa Griggs Candler which is currently undergoing some renovations.

We then road over to the birth home of Martin Luther King, Jr and took a brief opportunity to stroll through The King Center which is another Atlanta Destination I had never taken the opportunity to visit. The King Center is filled with inspiration; from quotes on the walls, to stories told through text, movies, and pictures to life sized statues of people marching for freedom.

After that brief stop we road over to Oakland Cemetery where we were greeted with true Southern Hospitality. The Oakland Cemetery stretches across 48 acres and is the resting place of more than 70,000 people. The "residents" include 26 mayors, thousands of confederate soldiers, both known and unknown and 16 Union soldiers. It is the resting place of Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone with the Wind. And, it is still and active cemetery, meaning there are still several thousand plots available. 

From there we road through Cabbagetown, a neighborhood that got it's name because of a perpetual small of Cabbage, a name that I believe they are still proud of...

 We finished our tour by riding our bikes up Peachtree street back to the Georgia Terrace to enjoy lunch at the Livingston. I highly recommend their 3 martini lunch. You get to choose 3 lite and tasty items which are served in 3 martini glass. I figured you have to have a martini with a lunch called 3 Martini lunch, so I enjoyed a nice southern lemon drop. YUM!

 You can imagine that we were all exhausted and needed some freshing up by this time. We took a nice two-hour break and then met again to head down to Stone Mountain Park.  Now not only have I been to Stone Mountain Park many times, it was actually one of the destinations that lured me into wanting to live in Atlanta. However it seems every year there is something new to do in Stone Mountain. We explored their new ropes course, and in fact one of the journalist in the group jumped into a harness to try them out. We enjoyed a southern style dinner at Ms Katie's restaurant where they literally toss rolls to you. From there we explored the shops and then headed over to the field to settle in for the laser light show. The laser light show is a celebration of everything Georgia, everything southern and everything American through laser lights, pictures, fireworks, and of course music, mostly country music.

 When we returned to the hotel I went to the rooftop pool to enjoy a nightcap as I looked around the city. A city of lights and noise.  A city that seems so very young and vibrant but which actually rests on top of a lot of history. A city where we entreprenuers, writers, activists, and dreamers are truly standing on the shoulders of some pretty significant giants.

Today is my second day on my Atlanta Tour for the Simply Southern Contest. 

Yesterday I checked in to the GA Terrace Hotel. After getting settled in my room I we to tour their rooftop pool. It was hot and somewhat smoggy day, but still an amazing view.

 Since the entire hotel has wifi I decided to take my lap top downstairs to the patio area of the Livingston and enjoy a cocktail. I sat there looking at the city through the eyes of a tourist. There were so many things on Peachtree Street that I noticed for the first time, such as the architectural details of the Fox Theatre. I began snapping pictures and for the first time seeing little details around a city that I have spent a decade driving through.

 I sat there watching people walk up and down the street and noticed how many people kept their heads toward the direction they are headed as they moved rapidly along their way. I wondered how many people travel long distances to be wowed by scenary and activities that they have simply not noticed in their own backyard?

 The tour group met in the lobby of the hotel a couple of hours later. We toured through the 4 ballrooms that are here, including the beautiful ballroom that was featured in the movie Gone With the Wind. The hotel has two sides, one which was built in 1911 and the other that was built in 1991 and you can stand in the middle of the lobby looking up to see where the two sides meet. 

From the hotel we departed to dine at Dogwood. I have to tell you I do not ever think to order grits, but we ordered a sampling of grits as an appetizer for the table and they were amazing. The GM said they secret ingredients were cream and butter. Yum. Our server told us a few unique activities that happen at the restaurant. For example on Tuesday and Thursday evenings they host a "toss up" at the bar. Basically after you have enjoyed some appetizers and drinks they will toss a coin to decide on who gets the check, you or them. If you win the coin toss they will pick up the check. 

 After filling ourselves with rich food and beverages we headed over to PittyPat's Porch, a southern style indoor patio with amazing deserts and a fascinating history with a concept based on Gone With the Wind. The restaurant only opens for dinner, but will open up for lunch for a large (40ppl or more) reservation.

 This morning we are meeting at 7:45 for breakfast, a bike tour and to visit many other places that I have yet to visit in the 10+ years that I have lived here. Be sure to follow along with me on Twitter. 

Today I will be checking in at the Georgia Terrace Hotel for what I am calling my "staycation." I live in the north suburbs of Atlanta, so the Georgia Terrace Hotel is only 30 minutes or so from my home.

I have been invited by the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau to participate in a "Fam" tour, or Familiarization tour of Atlanta. We put our minds together and decided that we can virtually extend this tour to all who are interested through the power of Social Media. Over the next few days I will be posting on the ATL_Insider Twitter account, blogging on this site and posting photos over on the ATL Insider photo gallery.

After thinking more about the tour and all the great things in Atlanta I will get to enjoy, we realized we needed to do something to extend the fun to other. So we launched the Simply Southern Contest. 

Here is the deal:

• Keep track of what I am posting while on the tour 
• At the end of the tour I will post a few trivia questions on this blog
• Submit answers to the questions to be entered to win 2 MVP passes for your own Atlanta experience!

The way you would submit the answers is:

1. Log in to ATLInsider (you must create a free account if don’t have one)
2. Click on Sherry Heyl under the Community Blog section of the site. The trivia questions will be posted here on my blog page.
3. Under my photo (on the top right on this page), click “View my profile”
4. Under “Options” click “Send Sheyl a private message”
5. Type “Trivia” as the subject line of the message and then write the answers to the five trivia questions in the body of the message
6. Click “Post” to send the message to me

The office contest rules can be found at http://www.atlanta.net/simplysouthernRules/terms.aspx.

 THE WINNER OF THE CONTEST WILL RECEIVE

The winner will receive 2 MVP prize packages. This includes:

2 tickets to Six Flags Over Georgia (one day admission valid through Sept. 27, 2009)

2 tickets to the World of Coca Cola (valid through Dec. 31, 2009)

2 terrace level seats to see the Atlanta Braves vs. Florida Marlins at Turner Field on Aug. 22 at 7:10 p.m.

2 tickets to the Georgia Aquarium (no expiration)

2 single-day adventure passes to Stone Mountain Park (valid through Dec. 31, 2009)

 Well, I need to get packing...

 Feel free to share with me your own ideas and insights while I am on this tour.

I am so ready for Spring and luckily there are preliminary signs of Spring in the air; warmer weather, a little rain, birds, and a city of people ready to get outside. 

Last year I posted a status update on my Facebook page that stated something about needing to get motivate to get in shape. A good friend of mine suggested that I sign up for something, like a 5K, that I would be motivated to train for. I will be WALKING in the Strides of March for the Atlanta Children's Shelter on March 8th...If you would like to join me - and help me get to the finish line, check out the details at the Atlanta Children's Shelter site. 

UPDATE

Just In.  Star Atlanta rapper T.I. and his team from Grand Hustle Records will be running in the Strides of March 5K benefitting Atlanta Children's Shelter! Taking a break from his tour schedule for only a few hours, T.I. is hot in the middle of two hits, Dead and Gone with Justin Timberlake and Live Your Life with Rihanna.

He's in shape and ready to make a showing to support the mission. Register at www.acsatl.org         See you on the starting line.

OTHER NEWS:

Looking for a fresh new place to dine - check out the review of The Spice Market on the Random Atlanta blog. The Spice Market is located at the prominent W Hotel in Mid-Town, which is something to see as well.

The Family is growing over at Nature's Harmony.  I was vert touched by the story of their story of the little lamb. When I was a child I had a stuffed lamb - which is the only stuffed animal that I still have. Little Pee-Wee is only 4 lbs! And the mommy lamb has been responding very well to her little one.

The Wren's Nest has a little "name that drink" contest happening over at their blog. If you are not familiar with the Wren's nest, I definitely recommend putting them on you list for getting in the Spring Mood. Many of us have heard the wonderful stories of Brer Rabbit - what could be more "Spring" than rabbit stories right? The Wren's Nest is preserving the legacy of story-telling that was brought to the world through Joel Chandler Harris who recreated the oral tradition of Brer Rabbit.

Spring is in the air - it is time to get out and get going. Let me know what signs of Spring you are seeing throughout the city. 

Sherry

I just read in the AJC "Is Castleberry Hill "the new Buckhead?"

 It highlights some of the latest places to hang out. More importantly is also highlights that with the new popularity comes the controversy.

"We're becoming the new Buckhead," she said. "It's awful. It's just awful."

Pines, 36, president of the Castleberry Hill Neighborhood Association, runs through a litany of problems: Noise blares at all hours of the night; cruisers have taken over the streets; crime is up; discarded fliers and other debris litter the sidewalks.

"It's not part of our master plan to become a bar district," she said. "We really believe our neighborhood is a jewel, and we'd like to keep it that way."

 OpenTable has listed the best places for lunch

June 22 - June 27 Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA will hostThe Creative Problem Solving Institute’s 54th annual conference – The Nature of Inspiration

One of the presenters is Andy Stefanovich who will discuss the importance of bringing inspiration and creativity to your business.

As one of the most disruptive advisors in business, Play's founder Andy Stefanovich brings creativity and innovation to the world's top companies.  After 17 years of changing business, Andy has realized that creative processes and innovation outputs are only as good as the inspiration that fuels them.  How do you seek new inspiration to spur creativity and innovation?  How do you stay inspired and engaged in your daily life and work?  Andy shares inspiring best practice stories and critical problem solving methods to empower to people, and thereby enhance their ability to develop and share new ideas.  Andy proves that it's not only necessary to encourage creativity and innovation in today's marketplace; it's dangerous to ignore them.

• Creativity and innovation in business.
• Practical skills, leadership behaviors, and methods for developing and implementing ideas at work.
• Making business a lot more creative and its people continually inspired.

I had the opportunity to ask Andy a few questions about his passion of having creativity in business.

What motivates you to want to change the way business is done and encourage organizations to bring creativity and innovation to the world's top companies?

After working across industries for almost twenty years, I’ve seen so many uninspired individuals.  Everyone from the facilities manager to the CEO can change the way they individually work to positively affect the culture of the entire organization.  By teaching a small group of catalysts how to change their individual mindset, it creates a ripple effect to make others more engaged as well.

What are the risks to companies who go about each day following the status quo without regard to nurturing their employee’s creativity?

People are the source of tomorrow’s great ideas.  By ignoring your people’s creativity, you are ignoring the best resource you have for tomorrow’s business growth. 

What are some of the resistance points you get from companies about your message?

Innovation is everywhere and it can be hard to sort through the cluttered space to find the real value.  Companies have focused too much on the process and not enough on their people.  By inspiring your people and enabling them to be more creative, you’ll see the results of innovation.  In short, Inspiration + Creativity = Innovation.

How do you overcome objections to your offerings?

Generally, our clients come to us with a specific need or problem they are facing.  Innovation is no longer a new term, and companies are searching for the real how to steps.  We try and find the right blend between knowing their culture and knowing when to push a little.   

How do you think your message relates to the generation coming into the workforce today?

The millennials that are entering the workforce today will soon be managers and then leaders.  By giving them the tools they need to create now, we leave the door open for new possibilities.  They grew up in an overscheduled, socially open and technology rich world, so they crave individualism and expression.  Inspire the people – without people, the process is hollow.

The conference will also host:

Frank Prince - Be Creative 24/7!  11 Key Strategies to Boost Your Creativity

Michael Jones - Moments of Illumination:  An Evening of Music, Story and Reflection

Susan Davis and Denise Knight -  coke^®/care

Dimis Michaelides - The Art of Innovation:  How to Integrate Creativity in Organizations

Barry Johnson - Tapping Our Gift of Polarities: For Families, Organizations, Nations and Planet

For more information visit http://www.cpsiconference.com/home.cfm 

Twitter is a social networking phenomenon where people tell their friends and followers what they are doing within a limit of 140 characters.

What has been most interesting about Twitter, for me at least, is all the other applications that are being developed around it.

 For example, the ATL Insider street team found TwitterLocal.net a site where you can enter your zip code and follow Tweets from people in your local area.

 I also located Summize, a type of search engine to find conversations. Click here to see what people are saying about Atlanta right now!


 

 I have not been down around the Lindberg Station (Piedmont Road, Sidney Marcus Blvd.) in Buckhead for a number of years. In fact, I remember a time when I avoided the area.  A couple of months ago I had a meeting with a client and they recommended the Starbucks in the area. Reluctantly I agreed. That was the first glimpse I got of the redevelopment of the area and I was impressed.

Last Thursday Brand Atlanta and NetParty hosted an event at the Tongue & Groove. The City Walk area where it is located looks amazing. There are all kinds of restaurants, clubs, and shopping. It seemed to be the place where some of the best looking people in the city hung out.

Photos were uploaded to the ATL Insider Gallery and we have some video of the party on YouTube.

November is coming to an end and now the buzz in the blogosphere is about the Holidays.

Timothy Moenk at Continuous Partial Attention has decided to provide the Gift of Giving to the blogosphere this year, by asking for a group participation to mobilize behind a cause and create some buzz and find a way to make a difference.  

Amy's Random Thoughts as turned toward Christmas and she is in search of some great Christmas Recipes.

 The Mad Prophet of the Blogosphere is listing the nominees for the Most Annoying Holiday Song Ever.
 

The Cozy Reader is feeling Christmas in the Air and she was prepared for the shopping crowd she endure after first visit to the chiropractor and a little prayer.  

Quilts and Creativity has started her Christmas Traditions of making Christmas Gifts.

 Over at Valtools Box you get a bit of Charlie Brown's Christmas and a Photo a day.

 
If you are now in the holiday spirit... holiday lights are everywhere...

Lake Lanier is hosting their Magical Nights of Lights.

Callaway Gardens is offering a Fantasy in Lights getaway deal.  

Centenial Olympic Park has turned into a Winter Wonderland.