Stone Mountain is the largest exposed piece of granite in the world, and it is right here in Atlanta, GA. On an absolutely gorgeous fall day, I took the suitcase for a photoshoot on Stone Mountain. You can read a more in depth story or check out the entire photoshoot.
Talk about strange looks... I can report at least a dozen different groups stared at me and nudged a companion to point out the strange guy carrying a suitcase up the mountain. Five groups actually stopped me to ask for an explanation, which I gave in varying degrees of detail based on my gut for what their appetite was to hear the story. All but one loved whatever level of detail I shared. One man from NYC just shrugged and looked at his wife as if they just encountered a senile homeless man who thought there was a Greyhound bus terminal at the summit.
The best encounter by far occurred just as I started to hike back down. A man with a thick accent (he was visiting from Bolivia) approached me and asked about the "strange, old suitcase". During our 20 minute conversation with his wife and other family members, he asked if he could take the suitcase back to Bolivia to share and he promised he would send it back. Yes, I briefly thought about inserting a huge wrench in the protocol, but decided against it. The Bolivians are my new best friends.
Meeting up with Michael Gaslowitz to hand off next week! It's been an honor to have had it in my possession.