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Updated 01/30/05
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Welcome
to the online home of travel columnist Donald D. Groff, who has
dispensed advice and stories since 1988 in such publications as the Philadelphia Inquirer,
the Newark Star-Ledger, The Kansas City Star, Newsday, Salon, Condé Nast Traveler, Consumer Reports
Travel Letter, The Boston Globe, and Endless Vacation magazine.
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Just back
from . . .
All photos ©Donald D. Groff except as
otherwise credited
Atlanta
 By
mid-April, spring is already an old friend in Atlanta. Dogwood blossoms
succeed cherry blossoms. At the Atlanta Botanical Garden, tulips explode
outdoors while orchids thrive in the conservatory, whose front door is
watched by poison-dart frogs. The Dogwood Festival in Piedmont Park draws
hundreds of artists and crafters offering nearly irresistible work.
Frisbee dogs leap in competition, the scent of cooking sausage and kettle
corn wafts over the walkway. This year for the first time a vendor
offered fried candy bars -- choice of Snickers or Milky Way. Insert stick,
dip in batter, fry in corndog oil. "Awesome," reported one
customer. The vendor said the technique was introduced "up
north" a year ago. ¶ Half
an hour east near Lithonia, the annual blooming of red
diamorpha was in progress at Arabia
Mountain Nature Preserve, where several miles of hiking trails cross
the monadnocks -- isolated hills standing above the surrounding area. The
tiny plant's blooms contrast delightfully with the largely barren rock
surfaces. ¶ At the Sweet
Auburn Curb Market, piles of fresh vegetables, meats and seafood lend
a fresh, healthy scent to the sprawling space.
 
Dogwood Festival (left and right); tulips at the
Atlanta Botanical Garden.
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Other destinations:
Maine,
Georgia kangaroos;
California; Flight
93 memorial; Nicaragua; London
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