Thursday, April 28, 2016
Columbus When No One Is Looking
Alan Cross, author and public policy influencer, recently visited Columbus, GA and shared his thoughts with us about his experience on a normal day. What a great perspective from a first-time visitor to Columbus!
If you are considering a visit to Columbus, GA when it “goes all out,” you might be thinking about coming for a huge event like RiverFest in May to enjoy food, music and activities. Or, you might want to try the longest urban whitewater course on in the world, visit world-class museums, or taste from the many restaurants that the Fountain City has to offer. As for me, I love experiences like that, but I also like to see a city on a normal day when it’s not expecting visitors and is just being itself.
Spring is a beautiful time of year in the Deep South when everything is in bloom, and the air is thick with the smell of honeysuckle and dogwood blossoms. Columbus embodies this and more. As I took an afternoon stroll on the Chattahoochee RiverWalk, I was struck by life breaking out all around me. Kids were running and exploring fountains at the Splash Pad. People were fishing. Kayakers were navigating the rapids below, and you could hear laughing with every splash of whitewater. People were jogging at the end of a beautiful day. There were couples and families everywhere from different heritages enjoying the sunshine. When Columbus thought no one was looking, it was peaceful and invited you to partake in the art of life painted in front of you. The city found another way to "go all out."
It was just a normal evening in late April, but as the river roared and the sun set on the Chattahoochee, the breeze reminded me again that the cool of spring was giving way to the warmth of the coming season. Summer is breaking in and you can feel it in the air, hear it in the laughter of the rafters and children playing. Everyone seems anxious to get on with the season's change much like the river itself can't keep from bounding over rocks and rushing through channels forged by time, water and the energy that is in this place ready to be unleashed.
Summer will have so much more to offer and it will all be on display. As for me, I found something meaningful and soul awakening at the end of a normal day in Columbus when the city thought no one was looking!
Click to find Resources in the Guide for your visit to Columbus, GA.
Categories: River Fun