Nate Shivar

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On Camping at Panola Mountain State Park

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Panola Mountain State Park is a Georgia State Park about 30 minutes east of Atlanta, GA.

Panola Mountain State Park focuses on programming, activities, and conservation. They have everything from archery to tree climbing to fishing to biking. Unlike Vogel and Fort Mountain, Panola Mountain does not have many overnight accommodations.

But – Panola Mountain does have 5 walk-in primitive campsites. They are a real hidden gem for Atlantans looking to get outdoors.

I had been looking for the right time and place to take my son on his first overnight camping trip. My brothers and I usually camp in the backcountry, especially along the Appalachian Trail.

And unlike my first overnight trip, I had zero desire to have a bear walk into my son’s first camping trip.

That brings me to Panola Mountain. [Read more…]

On Visiting Vogel State Park

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After an incredible long weekend at Fort Mountain State Park in October, my family decided to make staying at every Georgia State Park a goal. We opted to try Vogel State Park…in February.

Vogel State Park is one of Georgia’s oldest and most heavily used State Parks. It’s set in a beautiful valley with a creek feeding a lake. It was one of the State Parks that received upgrades from the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

It also has more cabins than almost any of the other State Parks in Georgia, especially given its size. Most of the cabins have been renovated post-2012 as part of Georgia State Park’s big renovation program.

Even though the weather wasn’t ideal, we decided to give Vogel a try in February. [Read more…]

On Visiting Las Vegas, Nevada

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In January 2017, I visited Las Vegas for the first time. I went there on business to attend a conference. I was only there for 3 nights, but tried to see as much of the city & region as I could outside of meetings & sessions.

I flew into McCarran Airport and stayed at the Paris Las Vegas right on the Strip. During my stay, I also had the chance to visit Hoover Dam, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, a few towns in the Las Vegas area and several other casinos including the Aria and Planet Hollywood. I went to a private party in the Cosmopolitan, had a business dinner at a hyped restaurant, and walked 6 to 8 miles around the Strip.

I also did not gamble once. And I was not able to visit Downtown Las Vegas. I also did not attend a show or play cards.

Either way – here’s what I observed visiting Las Vegas. [Read more…]

6 Pros and Cons of Commuting and Getting Around by Bike in Atlanta

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When I originally published this post in February 2013 – I had just moved to Atlanta, GA (metro area of 5.3 million) from Athens, GA (metro area of 0.19 million).

I had loved Athens’ bike-friendly culture (though not its very bike unfriendly hills). I used to bike nearly everywhere in Athens, and wanted to keep up the same biking habit in Atlanta.

I’ve had been a bit over 2 weeks, but had already started taking MARTA to work, and biking home – while also biking around the city for the sake of exploration and exercise.

So – for anyone who was curious about biking in Atlanta – a famously car-only, traffic clogged city  – I wrote up this pros / cons list.

[Read more…]

On Visiting India’s Big Tourist Attractions

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My trip to India was spent primarily at my sister’s wedding and on the train to Delhi – but since we had the last few days in Delhi free, we got to see some of India’s Big Tourist Attractions.

India is an enormous country with more history than you could see in your lifetime. But – most of their world-famous tourist sites are all located in and around the Delhi to Agra corridor.

On our first day, we did a grand tour of Delhi’s attractions. The next day, we drove down to Agra to see the Taj and Red Fort. [Read more…]

On Riding Indian Railways

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When I traveled to India, we flew into Bengaluru for my sister’s wedding. But we also wanted to make our way to Delhi to see their house and do some sightseeing.

We could have simply flown. But when you only have a week in a country – what better way to see the physical country than a train?

Plus – there are few, if any, rail systems as famous as Indian Railways. They were the crown jewel of the British and India has used them to physically and symbolically tie the country together since independence.

And not only is there the romance of train travel – but Indian Railways has even more romance as the setting for a section of The Great Railway Bazaar and trains such as the Maharaja Express.

Either way – I wasn’t going to visit India without riding a train. So here’s how the experience went down. [Read more…]

On Traveling To India

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In June 2016, I traveled to India with my parents and younger sister to attend my other younger sister’s wedding. Previously, my travels had been limited to Nicaragua, Guatemala, The Philippines plus a handful of US cities such as Chicago, Boston and New York.

So it was exciting to not only attend my sister’s wedding but also have a good excuse to visit the world’s second largest country – which also happens to be one of the world’s oldest civilizations and one of the most powerful countries in the 21st Century.

Our visit took us to Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore) then to Delhi before flying back to the US. This post will cover general lessons on traveling to India while another will cover traveling on Indian Railways and yet another will look at my visit to some of India’s most famous landmarks. [Read more…]

Tourist’s Guide To Running In Atlanta: The Best Routes To Run

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Running is possibly the best way to see any city. It’s fast enough to cover a lot of ground, but also slow enough to really see and notice things. You are also combining sightseeing with exercise, so it’s an efficient use of time on a business trip.

Running through the Back Bay and North End was my favorite part of visiting Boston, and it’s been a travel habit ever since.

There is a problem of running in a city you’re visiting – you have no real idea of where to run. Usually hotels in large cities are in heavily-trafficked areas that aren’t very fun to run in.

And if you go too far off the beaten track, you might get into a neighborhood where you don’t want to be (crime-y & confusing) or at least a neighborhood that is not fun to run in (no sidewalks; cars flying everywhere).

I’ve been living and running all throughout Atlanta for more than 3 years. And have run in 3 marathons winding throughout Atlanta. If you are a tourist in Atlanta for fun or business, here are the best places to run in Atlanta.

Aside – most start/end in Downtown or Midtown. If you are in Buckhead or Perimeter Center, I’ll cover your options at the end. [Read more…]

How I Cut 1:57 Off My Average 5k Time By Tweaking My Playlist

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[Note: This post originally ran December 2012 back when iTunes was still a thing. You can skip down to the bottom to find the current best option for running based on BPM as of September 2015]

I’ve rarely run with music. In general, I always thought it was too much trouble – where to stash the iPod, cords getting tangled, getting tired of it and having to run with it for a while – but last week, I updated all my music to store the song’s Beats per Minute.

I ran to the playlist with the highest beats per minute…and shaved 1:57 off my average 5k time and nearly set a personal best…without even trying. Here’s how to set it up and use it on your runs… [Read more…]

All The Stuff I’ve Ever Tried

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The best career advice book I’ve ever read is How To Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big by Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame). One of his core arguments is that every skill you acquire doubles your chance of success (ie, Bill Gates was an incredible developer AND incredible at business).

Hopefully that argument is true because by both necessity and planning, I’ve done a lot of stuff and acquired a lot of skills before hitting 30. Although I can’t compete with the likes of my friend Matt Moore went it comes to number of jobs had, I have a lot of people ask exactly how many projects/jobs I’ve done over my career.

So here’s the list of every job I’ve ever had, and every money-making project I’ve ever had a “solid go” at and what I’ve learned at each as of December 2014. [Read more…]

Observations & Training Tips from My Second Marathon

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It’s been 2 1/2 years after running in my first marathon, but on October 4th, 2014 I ran in my 2nd marathon  at the Southern Tennessee Power Classic Marathon in Winchester, TN.

I finished 48 out of 86 with a time of 4:52:31, which was a huge improvement over my first marathon in my overall time. But more importantly to me, I wasn’t completely wiped out at Mile 19 and I actually ran without walking or breaking my pace through the final finish.

And those improvements were really just because it was my second marathon, and I that learned so much from my first. Here’s how those lessons carried over to my second. [Read more…]