Category: Georgia Page 1 of 2

Can’t Believe I’m Living In…

On April 15, 2016

In Georgia, Life Stuff, New Orleans, Texas

Sometimes it hits me at the strangest times.

Like last week as I drove back from the grocery store.

I just crossed the intersection of Bienville Street and Galvez Street and caught a very brief glimpse of the skyline through a clearing in the trees.

“I’m living in New Orleans.”

I honestly said it out loud as The Weeknd’s “Low Life” played on the radio.

It’s not the first time — and definitely not the last — that those words left my mouth.

I said the same thing at some time about every other location I’ve lived since I started my communications/journalism career nine years ago.

Lebanon, New Hampshire? Can’t remember when, but probably.

Bar Harbor, Maine? Yup. When I sat on the side of Cadillac Mountain after a hike.

San Marcos, Texas? You bet. Hanging out on my ex-girlfriend’s porch in Austin, of all places. I remarked how wild it was to be living in Texas.

Athens, Georgia? For sure. Walking around UGA’s campus.

New Orleans, Louisiana? See above.

My career and pursuit of whatever else is out there for me has taken me places I never thought I’d live. If you asked me right after I graduated if I thought I’d ever be living in New Orleans by the time I was 30, I’d laugh.

Life is all about the road, not the destination.

CONCACAF Gold Cup And My Sports Bucket List

By Tyler Mayforth

On July 22, 2015

In Georgia, Sports

By the time you read this, I’ll already be on my way — or already have been — to the Georgia Dome to watch the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The first game pits the United States against Jamaica; Mexico takes on Panama in the second clash.

Tickets have been sold out for more than a week. Prices on second-hand sites rose $15 or more across the board in the day it took me to decide to go. It’s going to be mayhem inside the Georgia Dome as more than 70,000 fans will be chanting back and forth throughout both games, trying to will their nations into the title match.

To be honest, it didn’t take me that long to know I wanted to go. Soccer, more so international soccer, had my heart since I went to summer camp in New Hampshire.

There was such an international influence at William Lawrence Camp each summer that you heard counselors argue and debate about their favorite club teams. When the World Cup happened — and I think I was there for one or two — chaos reigned.

Near the end of each summer, counselors would trade personal tokens, which often would included soccer jerseys being swapped for regional items from the U.S. There were two summers in a row where I brought home a Portugal national team jersey and one from Hertha BSC Berlin (Yeah, I don’t really know either, but go with it).

After I quit going back to William Lawrence Camp, I bought a new jersey every year from an online store. One spring my sister went abroad to England and brought me a reversible national jersey, which was absolutely one of my favorites to show off.

Through those purchases and trades, I grew to like soccer more. I don’t mind kicking the ball around — even though I still toe it when I shoot — and even served as goalie for the camp’s counselor team in our annual grudge match against Belknap. Yet, the true joy comes from watching soccer being played at the highest level — Premier League, UEFA Champions League, CONCACAF Gold Cup and the highest of them all, the World Cup. Last year I think I watched every game the United States played in Brazil and caught a majority of the other matches. The camaraderie that comes from cheering for your nation is second to none and one of the best memories was when I was in the St. Louis airport coming back from my interview in Athens and we huddled around this one bar that had one TV to watch the game against Belgium.

Today I’ll watch many of those same players from the United States Men’s National Team try to reach a sixth consecutive CONCACAF Gold Cup final. From what I’ve read about Jamaica, this game won’t be easy for the Yanks. Jamaica hasn’t allowed a goal in 287 minutes or something crazy like that and they always play them tough.

Win or lose, I’m really excited to see an international soccer game. I’m fired up to be in that atmosphere and will cross off yet another item from my sports bucket list.

P.S. — You should read the game story I wrote on a soccer match earlier this year.

P.P.S. — I know it’s Wednesday night, but I got a team member holding trivia down.

Happy One Year Anniversary, Tyler Mayforth and Georgia

By Tyler Mayforth

On July 20, 2015

In Georgia, Life Stuff

Allow this to be a disclaimer for this post: I have no idea how I’m going to format it. Most likely it will be a free-form type where I just post running thoughts. Anyway…

I don’t know when it was, but I recently celebrated my one-year anniversary living in Georgia. Yes, I, Tyler Mayforth, have been in the Peach State for about 365 days.

I say I don’t know when it was, but I could look back — or ask my dad, who helped to move me from Texas to Georgia — and find the exact date. For some reason, July 10 sticks out to me as my last day at the San Marcos Daily Record. My last column ran July 11, which would have been the following day. And for another reason, July 17 jumps out to me as the day I started at the Athens Banner-Herald. I could be wrong.

Over the past year, I’ve matured a great deal and been humbled more than I choose to admit. Life teaches you lessons when you think you have it all figured out. I’ll take those opportunities and not regret what I’ve done because I learned from each one. Am I proud of any of them? Not one bit. But they’ve happened — and I’m stronger.

Moving to Georgia put me in a foreign land and broke me out of my comfort zone. I’ve tried to explore as much of this state as possible, but there is still so much more to see and I plan to as soon as I am able. I hit several state parks, saw a bowl game in the Georgia Dome, had an awesome vacation in Savannah and discovered a bunch of great disc golf courses around the area. Later this week, I’ll be headed to Atlanta once again to see the semifinals of the Gold Cup. I read the Georgia Dome was sold out and with it being full of soccer fans, I can only imagine how much fun it will be.

Working at the Banner-Herald pushes me and molds me into a better journalist and co-worker. It’s still jarring to think this is my first full year at a daily newspaper. I’d like to think I’m holding my own and bringing my own style to the readers each day.

When it comes down to it, Georgia — and the Banner-Herald, for that matter — became my “What if?” Now, it’s my “What is.” A smidgen over one year later, I’m glad to have taken the opportunity and turned into the person I am today.

Traveling, Savannah and Family Time

By Tyler Mayforth

On June 28, 2015

In Georgia

I’m fascinated by travel.

New places. Old places. It doesn’t matter.

More specifically, I’m enthralled with the means of how we get to our destination.

Hundreds of years ago, it would take days or weeks to travel between major cities. Now, you can just drive your car, get on a plane, hop on a train and you’re there.

Last week my family, my girlfriend and I traveled to Savannah, Georgia for a short — but much, much needed vacation. My family (mom, dad and sister) flew down from Delaware (via Philadelphia) while my girlfriend and I drove from The Classic City. It took my family six hours to traverse 720 miles (drove from Atlanta to Savannah); our trip from Athens — a one-way trip of 219 miles — took just about four hours.

Click for full version.

Once we got to Savannah after an eventful drive down (flat tire, drugged out driver at the gas station at which we filled the tire, being chased by a storm system from right outside of Athens to Savannah, etc.), the beauty struck me. The Spanish-moss draped trees lining the roads, parks and everything about the history stopped me in my tracks. No wonder why General Sherman decided not to torch it during his march through Georgia.

Here are a few more highlights of the truly amazing trip, in bullet form.

For as much talk as there is about Savannah’s food scene, it’s warranted. Over the three days in “The Hostess City of the South,” we ate at three different restaurants (not counting the bed and breakfast where we ate breakfast two mornings and the riverboat for dinner) and I left satiated. Coco’s Sunset Grill had a great salmon BLT sandwich; The Olde Pink House, while pricey, was as advertised and the Green Truck Pub has a decent mushroom cheeseburger. By the way, if you’re eating at the Green Truck Pub, bring your own ketchup. You’ll thank me later. Trust me on this.
Speaking of that riverboat, I never opened up in public as much as I did while dancing the night away to whatever random songs the hokey DJ and keyboardist decided to play. Surprisingly, I was the only person to join him on the dance floor for “The Wobble.” Living in San Marcos taught me that.

My girlfriend and I went on a jet ski tour of Dolphin Bay as well as a little bit of the Atlantic Ocean (who could have thought Hilton Head, South Carolina was that close). Once we got to Dolphin Bay and into the Atlantic Ocean, dolphins were less than 10 feet from us the whole time. Nature is an amazing thing — and scary at the same time with the storms we had.
Houses in downtown Savannah are built up, not back. We stayed in a house through Air BnB and it was four stories. Our room was on the fourth floor. Yeah, it got pretty hot up there and those steps were quite steep.

Want to know how great the trip was?

I’m not an emotional person. Ask anybody that knows me.

But when my family left for the airport Thursday afternoon, I couldn’t help but to tear up a bit. This was truthfully a nearly perfect vacation in every single way.

P.S. — I turned 29+1 last Tuesday.

Flash Floods and Severe Weather, Oh My!

By Tyler Mayforth

On May 25, 2015

In Georgia

Less than one month after I moved to Georgia, I shot out of bed early in the morning to the sound of a siren. It honestly seemed like it was right outside of my window.

When I first heard it, I couldn’t put a finger on what it meant. I opened my blinds and scoured the outside trying to find what kind of person would try to pull a prank that hour of the morning. You can probably tell I don’t think too straight when I wake up.

Once I checked my phone and turned on the TV, I realized it was a tornado siren — not a practical joker. Tornadoes had touched down around the Atlanta area and the forecasters predicted the weather system would head to the Classic City next.

I never heard a tornado siren in the six-plus years I lived in San Marcos, Texas.

Needless to say, I was scared out of my mind and called home. Yes, there was 29-year-old me frantically pacing around my apartment with my mom on the line.

Long story short, nothing happened. The cell passed right by Athens.

Come to think of it, I never experienced any severe weather while living in the Lone Star State. An inch of ice on the ground is treacherous, but nothing more extreme.

Old-timers in San Marcos always brought up “The 100-Year Flood” as to the worst disaster to hit the city. Being situated between two rivers — the San Marcos and the Blanco — I had no doubt in my mind that it could be horrible if the rains came down.

Well, they finally did over the weekend and the aftermath is/was devastating.

Thousands of residents in San Marcos and Wimberley were displaced and hundreds of homes washed away in the flash floods. Power is slowly being restored daily.

The apartment complex where I used to live in San Marcos flooded. It was situated less than 2,000 feet from the Blanco River, which crested at 41.5 feet on Sunday.

My heart and thoughts go out to my former co-workers, friends and others affected by this past weekend’s floods. Pictures probably do no justice to what transpired.

Hi, Athens. It’s Been 10 Months

By Tyler Mayforth

On May 23, 2015

In Georgia, Life Stuff

Dear Athens,

How are you, my dear?

It’s been about 10 months since we got serious and started our relationship.

Time flies. I know.

Who could have imagined a long-distance, online courtship that started back in April of 2014 would turn into what it is today?

There was something different about you when I sent that first message. Yeah, I’ll admit it was a little bit cocky — but it caught your eye.

To be honest, you were my “What if?”

When I was much younger, another “What if” came into my life. So did a sure thing.

I’m ashamed to admit I took a run at the sure thing. It didn’t work out.

So when I saw you, I leapt at the opportunity. “What if,” became “What is.”

I don’t know if you see it, but there is a lot of admiration out there for you. Some might even call it “love.” After all, “Athens, I Love You” is the phrase of choice and even beget a Snapchat geocentric overlay the kids use these days.

One thing I noticed is that the people who use those aforementioned four words have been committed to you a long time. They might be lifelong residents, transplants or most likely students of the University of Georgia (woof-woof, etc).

I’m trying to feel that emotion for you. I am.

It took me a while to even think about uttering those words to San Marcos. I know I shouldn’t talk about past relationships in front of you, but it must be done.

I wasn’t planning on staying with San Marcos as long as I did. Two years max, I said.

But the longer you stay in a relationship, the more you grow — and learn.

I finally fell for “San Marvelous” one month after contacting you.

There was just something about the way she pulled together around her softball team and in turn, my coverage and in turn, me. I poured my heart into that month. As the kids say these days, “I felt some type of way.”

That’s probably why I cried when I put her in my rearview mirror one month later. I never shed a single tear over a previous relationship ending, but seven years — plus a lot of long nights, sweat and everything else — finally caught up to me.

Athens, I’m excited about what the future holds in store for us.

I’m learning to like you more and more every day.

Hopefully it turns into love.

Yours for now,

Tyler

Scatterbrained, but for blogging that’s OK

By Tyler Mayforth

On April 29, 2015

In Blogging, Georgia, WrestleMania

As I watch the main event of WrestleMania 31 again — which was highly underrated, by the way — I’m trying to come up with something fascinating to write. I figure it had been long enough since my last post and in order to keep whoever reads this blog entertained, I must keep on a relatively regular schedule.

My original idea for this post was going to be centered around the Athens Twilight Criterium that happened this past weekend in Athens, Georgia. I’d discuss how impressive it was to see those cyclists tearing around the city streets, then segue into my own experiences on a racing bike. I bought a Trek 2000 off Craigslist about six years ago in order to be able to compete in my first triathlon. Three triathlons and countless other rides later, I’m more comfortable “in the saddle” as they say, but terrified of tight turns.

Once that idea fizzled since I thought it would be a stretch to jump from Athens Twilight to my involvement in triathlons, I considered writing about wrestling and listing my favorite all-time matches. Then again, how popular is professional wrestling and who’d want to know my Top 10 includes Cactus Jack versus Triple H at Royal Rumble 2000, Stone Cold Steve Austin versus The Rock at WrestleMania 17 and Daniel Bryan versus Triple H at WrestleMania 30 (I was there), among others.

Then I pinged Todd for ideas and he suggested writing about something “off the wall,” like food, my car or relationship with my sister. Well, I still can’t find a good burger or sandwich in this town, my 2006 Honda Accord is running well but could use some body work and there isn’t enough bandwidth to express how much I love and how proud I am of my twin.

So there you have it. I had three ideas for this post but none of them panned out.

But then again, that’s OK. Scatterbrained is OK when it comes to blogging.

My goal when it comes to this blog is posting something of substance when it tickles my fancy. If I “mail it in” or don’t really have a point, I don’t want to post. It’s as simple as that.

From Afternoon to Morning, Nothing Changes

By Tyler Mayforth

On April 7, 2015

In Georgia, Journalism

While I’m nestled in Athens, Georgia, I still keep tabs on San Marcos, Texas.

How could I not? I spent nearly seven years of my life in that town.

Of particular interest to me is the quality of work my former assistant does (I’m proud of hiring him and want to see him succeed) as well as the state of my former newspaper, the San Marcos Daily Record.

Wednesday Night Means Trivia Night in Georgia

By Tyler Mayforth

On March 26, 2015

In Georgia, Life Stuff

What do a Mushroom Swiss burger and all-or-nothing trivia questions have in common? More than you think, actually.

Back in Texas, there was a restaurant called Tap Room. It had 42 beers on tap, but more importantly some of the best burgers known to man.

Every Thursday and Sunday, the Tap Room had incredible specials. Thursday was “Buy one burger, get one beer free” and then Sunday was “Buy one burger, get the other half-off.” Thursday was generally one of my lighter days in the office, while Sunday was a day off, so I alternated each week which day I chowed down.

Now that I’m living in Georgia, my days off are Tuesday and Wednesday. Those first few days off, I tried to find the best food specials in town to no avail. As much as I hate to say it, there aren’t any good burger joints in Athens.

March Madness and Spring in Georgia

By Tyler Mayforth

On March 17, 2015

In Georgia, Life Stuff

Forget December: March is the most wonderful time of the year.

Spring has sprung, birds are chirping and it hit 80 degrees in Athens, Georgia.

Plus, it’s time for the annual event where my bracket gets shot to pieces and I lose all but two of my Sweet 16 picks by the “third” round — or whatever they call the old “second” round these days. And by event, I mean the NCAA Tournament. The Big Dance. March Madness. Did I hit all the proper SEO terms? Good.