That sounds like a good title…you know, you can’t go home again and all that? Unfortunately for me, Atlanta was never home. But it was where I lived for two years and returning there always is meshed with mixed emotions. This week, me and about a gazillion other romance writers will be heading to ATL for the annual RWA conference. As with any conference, I’m looking forward to going so I can hang with my pals, meet readers, drink and eat huge quantities and re-energize my love of writing.

But I’m going back to Atlanta, a city that holds some definitely depressing memories.

You have to understand, I’m a Florida girl. Born and raised. One of the first things I missed back in 1994 when we moved to Georgia was palm trees. I had no idea I had any affinity for palm trees until they suddenly weren’t there. And seabreezes. And thunderstorms that only last for an hour. And driving over bridges. (Not bridges over the Chatahoochee, either. They simply didn’t cut it.)

I don’t mean to diss Atlanta. As a city, it’s pretty awesome. It’s a little bit country, a little bit rock-n-roll, as Donny & Marie used to sing (yes, I’m showing my age…sue me.) Atlanta has loads of Southern charm, as evidenced by restaurants like Anthony’s and how everything is named Peachtree, but it is incredibly cosmopolitan, too. Excellent clubs, fabulous restaurants, great art and theatre and a boatload of history. Perhaps my mistake was in not visiting the city more as a tourist before being yanked away from all my family and friends (except my husband of course) to live there for 1 year, 11 months, 3 weeks (you get the idea…)

Well, that doesn’t wash since I visited the city nearly every year while my aunt and uncle lived in Dunwoody. But that’s Dunwoody, right? The suburbs. Not the city itself. Different animal entirely.

But I’m looking forward to making the most of my trip. I hope to get over to Mick’s, first and foremost. Mick’s, you see, is an Atlanta restaurant chain that serves the most delicious fried green tomatoes in the world. And because, as I said, Atlanta is a southern town missed with cosmopolitan city, Mick’s serves said fried green tomatoes with a roasted red pepper sauce and goat cheese.

Yum.

I will forgo my usual mojitos and have mint juleps while in Atlanta. I will be riding from the airport with Carly Phillips and chances are, as we pass by the exit to our old apartment (now condo), I’m certain I’ll show it to her. I hear the little shopping village in Vinings is gone, which is a shame. I used to hang out at the Hallmark/gift shop. They always had the neatest stuff. And Key Lime Pie jellybellies…for a little taste of home.

I’d love to get downtown to go to the World of Coke so I can taste the cola from Italy and proclaim, yet again, how gross it is, while I rave over the one from Japan. (Yes, I know I can do this at EPCOT. I do it at least twice a year…it’s just not the same.)

The more times I go back since moving back home to sunny Florida, the more the bad memories seem to fade away. This fall, I plan to bring my daughter, who was not born when my husband and I lived there, to Atlanta to enjoy their new aquarium and Stone Mountain. I think that visit alone will erase the last of the loneliness I associate with the city.

Or at least I hope.

So, travelers, what cities/towns/spots stir up all sorts of mixed feelings for you? Have you gone back? And if you have (or haven’t) how did it go?

And for all of you going to ATL this week, travel safely and see you there!