Memorial Park

Memorial Park

If you find yourself with some free time and no money, take a trip to Memorial Park. Entrance is free and visitors can check out a wildlife zoo and walk the Fred E. Birchmore Nature Trail.

The zoo features wildlife indigenous to the United States. It features pheasants, bears, alligators, owls, bald eagles, bobcats and more! All of the enclosures for the animals are open enough to get a good look into. Each exhibit features education plaques that talk about the history and biological information of the animal. There is also a reptile room run by volunteers that you can go into to touch the creatures. Unfortunately they didn't have enough volunteers to run it while we were there. Here are some pictures of my favorite animals from the zoo:

The bears are mine, and most everyone else's, favorite exhibit. There are three black bears that roam the enclosure. They have lots of room to run around and play. I fell in love with the guy above who was rolling around like a dog trying to get comfortable for a nap.

After exploring the zoo, we checked out the trail. We were expecting it to be a short trail, but it took us 30-45 minutes to walk the whole thing. The trail winds around the park and runs along side residential areas. It is a great alternative to more trafficked trails. The best feature was the extremely long and tall stone wall that was built by hand by Fred E. Birchmore. It is beautiful and helps make a boundary between the natural trail and the houses next to it.

This wall is super tall! For some perspective, he is 6ft 5 inches! 

The zoo is great for young kids and college students alike. For the low low price of free, it makes for a fun afternoon outdoors.

Memorial Park Recommendations:

• If you plan to walk the trail, wear tennis shoes! (Flip flops were not a good choice for me)
• Take pictures:)
• Give yourself at least 45 minutes for the zoo, and 2 hours if you plan for the zoo and trail
• Don't just walk by each enclosure. Take the time to check everything out and read the plaques, you can learn some interesting stuff

Marti's At Midday

A Midday's Dream

A favorite restaurant of mine is Marti's at Midday. 

1280 Prince AvenueAthens, Georgia 30606

Marti's is open for breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday. Their lunch menu consists mostly of sandwiches and saladas but you can also get bigger meals like lasagnas that are pre-made and frozen to take home for dinner. At my last visit, I tried "The Mary Francis", a homemade chicken salad sandwich.

My Boyfriend got his favorite, "The Amy" a curry chicken salad sandwich. You can get a half or whole sandwich which comes with fresh fruit and fresh baked pita chips.

 I like to get a side scoop of homemade pimento cheese togo with my pita chips. It is the best pimento cheese you wil ever have and is made fresh daily.

M boyfriend loves the pimento cheese so much, he got a 1/2 lb tub to go with a ton of pita chips for later.

 If you are dining in, you can choose to eat inside or outside. The inside is set up like a little house with two dining rooms and even a fireplace! It is so bright and cheery inside and everyone who works  there is super friendly.

 On a nice day it is great to sit on the front porch and feel at home eating delicious food. After ordering you are given a picture to mark your table, we had Lucy to decorate our table. I also highly suggest trying their home brewed mint sweet tea.

 I usually get a half sandwich because they are HUGE!! I forgot when I ordered, but it made for a great dinner that night. Marti's has a great atmosphere and even better food. The prices are good and you get a lot of food.

Marti's at Midday Recommendations:

• Try something new, every sandwich has a unique twist 
• Get a scoop of pimento cheese
• Try the mint sweet tea
• If you are a light eater, get a half sandwich
• Plan ahead, only open M-F til 3:30
• You can order ahead of time and pick-up for convenience
• Get chicken sald and pimento cheese by the pund for later