North Point Mall/Shops-Atlanta GA

Ok so I just got back from a few day trip to Atlanta. The place I'm going to tell you about isn't actually in Atlanta but it's the Atlanta area. Alpharetta is where this is. And to be honest I hate shopping, I can't tell you how much I hate it, but this mall is really nice and I enjoyed just walking around it and looking in the stores that aren't located where I live. Northpoint Mall, and the surrounding shopping areas. The mall itself is two stories and has a lot of the more common department stores but it also has stores that not all areas have. I hate to say it, but the area I live in has very little on the nice stores front so this was a treat for me. If you have a little girl they do have an American girl store and bistro, I didn't go it in, but it's suppose to be very nice. Some of the stores that you may know what they are are, Apple, Macy's, Banana Republic, Brookstone, Oakley, Coach, Pottery Barn, The Disney Store, Pottery Barn Kids, Sephora, Godiva (one of my favorites), H&M, Williams Sonoma, and a ton of other places that I know I always forget to mention. The mall itself is really nice and you can go and just walk around and look in the stores. So many malls I have been to seem run down and don't really have much to offer if you just want to go and look around. This mall however is one that I would say if you like shopping you should stop at and take a look. However it's not just the mall itself that is worth a stop, they stores that are around the mall are worth looking at as well. Crate and Barrel, Dick's Sporting Goods, and some other places that maybe don't seem special to some people. Best Buy, TJ Max, Marshalls, Sports Authority, Target etc....

Alpharetta seems to be a really nice place and within this shopping area there is a lot of food places as well. If you are anything like me and love Cheesecake take a trip to the Cheesecake Factory. If I could have I would have eaten it everyday I was there at every meal. Bahama Breeze is another place I was told was good. California Pizza Kitchen has also gotten good reviews from people I know.

If you want to find out more about the North Point Mall go to http://www.northpointmall.com/

Scottish Rite Temple Mobile Alabama

Me, being a huge fan of anything and everything Egyptian was very excited to find this place. It was built in 1921 to be used as a meeting place for Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. The same person that designed the Bellingrath Home (also in Mobile) designed this building, George Bigelow Rogers. The building was inspired by the architecture of Karnak, and has many features seen in Ancient Egyptian architecture. Two sphinxes are on either said of the door. And two obelisk site atop the building, (these were orginally used at chimneys). The Temple is the only remaining Egyptian revival style building in the city.

When I went to see this building I was thinking that I would get to see the outside of it and take a few photos and be done. I was shooting for a school project and needed something different as far as architecture goes. I got there and while I was shooting a man noticed me, and I realized

that he was waiting to put up a banner on the building. He came over and we started talking and he was telling me that he actually has a store in the Temple. It's a train store, he sells train cars and other things. This was a couple years ago so I'm not sure if he's still there, but if he is go to the Temple on a Thursday and you may get to go inside. I went inside and the inside is beautiful, and yet a little creepy. It's not a place I would want to be by myself. The floor when you walk in has some very detailed tile and design. I am not sure what the meaning was, but it looks like something I don't want to stand in the middle of. The store owner also show me some secret passages, that are in between the walls. I was not brave enough to travel down them to see what was there or even just to say I did. I have a couple of photos of the outside however these photos do not so the building justice, they are simple scanned copies of on contact sheets. If you're in Mobile make sure you stop by and see it, even if it's not on a day when you can go inside. It's located at the corner of N Claiborne and St. Francis Street.