ATL 2012

I was asked to go back and do some training again for work on new instrumentation back in Atlanta. I had an opportunity to go in 2006 and the whole time I was there I wished that S had been with me. So when I found out I was going again, we jumped on the chance to make it a mini-vacation as well.

Day 0.5

I flew out on Sunday for the training. S met me that Thursday. We both agreed it was really nice to fly again without having to entertain a toddler! I was so happy to see S! I had really missed him. And of course, being a worrier I wanted to make sure he found Norcross alright (I am the navigator on vacations.) I largely underestimated him. He found the place just fine. On his own. In Atlanta rush hour. And it was getting dark. After he got there, we went to Pappadeaux's on his dad's recommendation. It was so good!

Day 1

I finished up class after lunch on Friday. S met me there and was able to see the classroom which was kind of neat. We decided to head downtown and squeeze in as much as we could that afternoon and evening.

Our first stop was the Georgia Aquarium. That place is amazing! It definately lived up to the hype. Well, except for the dolphin show. They tried to do some Cirque du Soleil meets Flipper. In the back of my mind I kept hearing Simon Cowell going that was positively dreadful and You sing like you belong on a cruise ship (yes, the "starkeeper" sang for the entire show. I kept hoping one of the acrobats would accidentally knock him into the water.) But the audience was amazed by it. Everytime a dolphin even jumped out of the water they erupted into applause and it was, like, shocked and amazed applause. I told S that apparently none of them had been to Sea World before. Anyway, if you ever go (in case you can't figure this out yourself) my recommendation is to skip the dolphin show. Luckily, we started out with the show so things only got better from that point on.

They have an enormous aquarium with 3 whale sharks and several manta rays as well. I couldn't stop remarking on how huge these fish (animals?) were.



They also had several exhibits with several animals (fish?) that neither S nor I had ever seen before. I think these below were called garden eels. The director said that once they are laid in the sand, they never move. They just go in and out of their hiding hole. S asked how they mated then. The director didn't have an answer.



I have a confession. I love touch pools. I think it's as neat to be able to touch underwater creatures now as I did when I was 5. These rays were really friendly, too. I had one come out of the water and try to climb the wall right in front of me! Most would think they were looking for food. I think he just liked me.



This is the coolest looking frog I have ever seen. Ever.



After the aquarium we headed over to the World of Coca-Cola. They had the couch used on American Idol in Season 5 (or 4...I can't remember, but does it really matter?) OF COURSE I had to get my picture taken!



A lot has changed since my trip there over 10 years ago, but one thing was the same: the taste-testing room. Yup, as much Coca-Cola as you want to drink, along with beverages made by the company for different parts of the world. There are some interesting (and by interesting I mean nasty) tasting drinks out there... I was also able to get one last taste of Vault before it is discontinued. This was a sad time for me.



I probably had way more caffiene than a mommy-to-be should have, but it was so worth it.

After that we planned to go to the Underground for dinner. It was nothing like I remembered. So we decided to head back up to Norcross instead and go to J. Alexander's (my second time that week--the company I was training with had sent us to dinner there on Monday.) It is a fancy-schmancy steak house that I couldn't stop talking about so S wanted to try it for himself.

Day 2

When we were initially planning this trip for last spring/summer, one of our "must-do's" was to go to a Braves game while we were there. We were bummed that our trip ended up being during the off-season, but happy to find out that they still offered daily tours of Turner Field. I love baseball. I was very excited to go!

Here's a view of the Atlanta skyline from the top of the stadium. It really is a beautiful city.



The highlight of maybe the whole trip for me was being able to sit in the Braves dugout. I thought, who gets to do this? So I stretched my rules and added it to my bucket list--post event.



Again, I had been to a game here over 10 years ago but I was a teenager and our seats were really far away. I definately appreciated this trip here more than I did the one before. Next time hopefully things will align so that S and I can go to a game as well.



After this we headed to Stone Mountain. Looking for lunch along the way, S noticed this little roadside shack and asked if I'd mind stopping there. I admit I was a little hesitant, but it ended up being the best barbecue sandwich I have ever eaten. If you are ever in the Atlanta area, you must go find this place.



Stone Mountain wasn't as much fun as it had been when I was there in high school. The weather was really chilly and most of the attractions were closed for the winter. We did take the tram to the top. The view is still very impressive.



We were pretty exhausted by that point so we went back to the hotel to rest for a few hours. We decided that, being childless for the weekend, we should go see the Muppets that evening while we had a chance. Loved that movie. It makes me wish they would bring it back to primetime. (Does anyone else remember watching the Muppets when they were little kids?)

Day 3

While I was falling asleep the night before, S found an article on MSN about the top 24-hour diners in the country and Atlanta's Majestic happened to be on that list. So we headed there for brunch the following morning.



Wow did we eat good this trip. At the Majestic I had an omelet called the Olympic and it had spinach, tomatoes, onions, feta cheese and was served with tzatziki sauce. A-mazing. Naturally I didn't change my side order of grits to hashbrowns. When in the south, do as the southerns...

After brunch we headed to the Atlanta Botanical Garden per my request. This place was in Piedmont Park and reminded me a lot of what I imagine central park to be like but on a smaller scale. It was so refreshing to be outside in the sunshine and have things actually growing. This place was beautiful in the dead of winter. I can't even imagine how it is the rest of the year. There were also all sorts of exotic plants growing in their greenhouses.




Some trees were even beginning to blossom. Knowing I had to come back to winter at home was really hard after this!



After that we took our time getting to the airport to come home. It was hard to leave.

The best part of the trip hands-down was returning back to S&E for a short while. After being mommy and daddy for so long I think we really needed this break together. We fell right back into our pre-parents days and had so much fun together. No one to answer to. No diapers to change. It. Was. Awesome.