Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park — photo by Brian Benefield

[This is the latest installment of “Cobb Cuisine, Culture and Community” by Brian Benefield]

It’s that time of year in Georgia known as the pollening, or some would call it sneezy season. Springtime in the South is beautiful, although getting your car washed this time of year is an exercise in futility. The daffodils awaken from their earthly slumber, followed by tulips, and soon the azaleas will be showing off their vibrant array of colors.  

Spring in Atlanta always reminds me of resurgence and renewal.  The warmer weather this past weekend had everyone out and about. Every patio and park I passed buzzed with people relaxing in swings and enjoying a picnic lunch. Everyone appeared to enjoy each other’s company and being in the present moment with their family and friends. 

Seeing all this activity reminded me to put my phone down, look around, and just be. I have an app on my phone for my job in real estate. It’s beneficial to do field inspections for various banks and mortgage companies. However, it can really tax the brain by receiving multiple notifications throughout the day and sometimes into the late evening. 

I’m no neurologist, but the constant binging and buzzing of our phones is not a natural human stimulus.  When I get home from work, and sometimes drive 200-300 miles daily, all I want to do is be outside. We are very fortunate to live only a few miles from Kennesaw National Battlefield Park. I have hiked almost every square inch of these trails, and they consistently prove to be therapeutic and invigorating. 

Green Meadows Preserve is another place in Cobb County where you can take your four-legged friend on a leisurely stroll to decompress in nature. This area is the very definition of a forest within the city. There are many benches along the trails where you can stop and enjoy the sprawling green meadow views, take a deep breath, and relax. 

If you want to get an adrenaline rush like I tend to enjoy, then check out the numerous mountain bike trails in and around Cobb- Sope Creek and Allatoona Creek trails offer novice-level to hair-raisingly tricky single-track trails that go in different directions depending on the day. Biking these trails certainly isn’t a leisurely experience, but this exercise is very therapeutic. 

The Mountain to River trail is a paved option that goes from the Kennesaw State University area, past the Mountain of the same name, through Marietta Square, and continues down Atlanta Rd. to the Battery/Truist Park. It even winds its way to the Chattahoochee River recreational area, which has a plethora of trails to explore. 

Growing up in the 70s, we had an avocado colored wall mounted telephone in the kitchen, which had a ten-foot cord that I would purposely wrap myself up in while my mom was talking to someone. She was a very patient woman to not choke me out with said cord, but it seemed fun to me at the time.  The irony is that when the phones had cords, we seemed to be freer, and nowadays, not so much with the tiny computer glued to our hand and eyes most of the day. 

I’m just as guilty as the next person for overusing our supposed smartphones. In fact, I’m using it to write this article. But hopefully, this will be a reminder to myself and my readers to put down that phone and enjoy life. Way before there were smartphones, Ferris Bueller predicted the future in the classic 1980s movie by saying, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” 

Brian Benefield is an Atlanta native born in Dekalb County, who has lived in Cobb since 2003. He has worked in Hospitality, Marketing, Real Estate, and most recently Food Tourism. Married to Cecilie Benefield for 12 blissful years. They have a dog, Miss Pickles. Hobbies are mountain biking, running, gardening, and trying new recipes in the kitchen. Member of Les Marmitions cooking club since 2016, where we cook 5-course meals with local Atlanta chefs.