BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu Temple in Good ol' Lilburn, GA

Alright now, this is the best reason to sign up for the full 87 mile distance A2A 2009 as soon as they post the date and registration forms. Don't sign up for the 38, because you'll miss this sight (and don't sign up for the 52, because it's too painless). 

At about mile 64 on this year's 87 mile A2A as our raggedy pack filtered through the fast downhill red-light (thanks Gwinnett Police!) onto Rockbridge Road in Lilburn, and turned almost immediately right onto John Carroll Road, we were thrilled to see Atlanta Peachtree Roadroller's Renee and Greg (?), water bottles in hand walking towards us. We would not have stopped at this particular intersection had it not been for the much needed water and kind gesture from these volunteers. 

Mid-chug I turned around to talk to Roadskater behind me, who was blurting out "Hey do you know what that big sandcastle is over there?!", pointing in the direction of Hwy 29. Annoyed and feeling like crap, I was thinking I couldn't be bothered to expend my precious energy looking for something as silly as a gigantic sandcastle. I tried to avoid the issue but then somebody else in our pack said 'Wow, what the heck is that?!". 

Partially-concealed by boring square buildings on the other side of the road was indeed what looked to me like a life-sized bouncy castle, as in the ugly inflatable things kids jump on at parties. I announced "Oh well it's some sort of bouncy castle". All of our brains must've been three-quarters frazzled at that stage of the journey, because we all just fell silent and got back on the road as if we'd been collectively hallucinating the whole view. I had forgotten all about it until Roadskater came to town last week. 

Whenever we were out in the car he'd ask excitedly "Can we go see if that huge sandcastle is still there?", to which I'd reply "Oh it probably won't be there any more, and it's not really on the way where we're going", blah blah boring boring. 

On Sunday night, however, that section of the A2A course was on our way back from the World of Coke, so we drove in the general direction of where we assumed the mystery object should have stood. Driving down Hwy 29 we approached Rockbridge Road and gasped as the glow from the bright blue illuminated giant bouncy castle spilled over us. My son and his friend both agreed it was that Hindu Temple they had heard about at school. 

The Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) mandir (Temple), is a breathtaking sight!! Not the sort of thing you expect to see round the corner from the Big Lots and next door to Walgreens.

My mind started racing - who else along the A2A course noticed this building? Did the 'fast' people get to see it (Skatey-Mark, Danny, Johnny)? As slow as I was, I never would have seen it if we hadn't stopped. 

Here's an informative paragraph from http://www.architechmag.com

"The finished project features 34,000 carved pieces, 86 decorative ceilings, five shikhars (pinnacles), 116 torans (archways), and 391 pillars. Stone is a primary construction material used in the project: Materials include 4,500 tons of Turkish limestone (exterior), 3,065 tons of Indian pink sandstone (ground floor), and 4,140 tons of Italian Carrara marble (intricately carved on the first floor), contributing to more than 117,000 cubic feet of natural stone used. Some 1,500 craftsmen, working at 26 different sites in India, took 17 months to finish the stone work."

The article is worth the read and the temple is worth a visit. I hope to go back soon with a fresh, non-A2A brain. 

Location