May 1st, 2008 At some point over the past year or so, I have noticed signs along Georgia 400 that say ‘Hospitality Highway’. At first, I thought this was some sort of program established for highway cleanup, but I could never be sure. A few weeks ago, Michelle noticed another one of the signs, so I looked up “Hospitality Highway via Google. Boy, I was in for a treat.
Georgia 400 is henceforth to be known as the Hospitality Highway, a corridor of highway stretching from Atlanta up to the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Apparently, the site of my daily commute is more than just a road to some — it’s a marketing opportunity, and one that should be exploited to the greatest amount possible. For example, I direct you to the suggested itinerary section of the site.
It’s here that you can learn how to fully explore the quaint southern charm of suburban Roswell, Alpharetta, and Cumming. The activities outlined in this section are laughable to any local North Fulton resident, but that doesn’t stop the writers of this site. Part of Day 4’s schedule includes: Rise and shine!
Get your motor running with a complimentary breakfast—offered at many of the Alpharetta hotels. Then drop by the Alpharetta Welcome Center in the heart of downtown for a glimpse into the charm and vitality of the city. Pick up a local Calendar of Events to find out what’s happening in town.
The Welcome Center is the best source of information on nearly all that the area has to offer. Spend the morning at the Honda Rider Education Center where you can take beginning, intermediate or advanced courses for street or dirt bikes on Honda’s own courses. Be sure to register for this popular experience beforehand.
How charming! The tour takes you all the way from the north end of the highway strip, down towards the toll road in Buckhead. And it’s chock-full of corny things to see and do around town.
I just want to remind everyone that the GA 400 corridor is simply suburbia. Tons of it. There is nothing ’southern’ or ‘fascinating’ about 30 minutes of traffic no matter where you want to go, a Publix on every single corner, and a Starbucks every quarter mile. So if anyone asks you how to get to Alpharetta, just tell them to take the Hospitality Highway — but don’t forget to stop along the way and make a memory that will last a lifetime!
Michelle says: May 6th, 2008 at 6: 59 am This is the biggest joke ever. While stuck in soul-crushing traffic, watching the precious minutes of my day tick down to nothing, hospitality is the last thing on my mind. Daniel says: May 6th, 2008 at 10: 24 am I’ll say this – it’s certainly a team effort: The Hospitality Highway is a cooperative marketing program consisting of the Alpharetta Convention Visitors Bureau, the Roswell Convention Visitors Bureau, the Cumming/Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce, the Dawsonville Convention Visitors Bureau, the Dahlonega Convention Visitors Bureau, and Sandy Springs Hospitality Tourism, and is funded by grants from the Georgia Department of Economic Development/Tourism Foundation.
They should call it the “Hospital Highway” – that would probably be more applicable given the huge number of health care facilities along 400. Leave a Reply Posted on Thursday, May 1st, 2008 at 9: 47 pm and filed under Atlanta, Idiots, Rants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.