Atlanta (Part 2)

In our last episode, Brandon and Heather were about to enjoy their Papa John's pizza...LOL Yeah, I know it's been a week, but better late than never - right? ;o) Now let's see if I can remember the rest of our week in Atlanta...

Thursday while I was in class, Brandon decided to take the car and go exploring. I think he went to Buckhead and Piedmont Park. I do know he got out and walked around and ate lunch at an Irish pub. He really enjoyed himself until he had to drive back in Atlanta rush hour. LOL We had actually planned on going out with the car that evening, but after the traffic he battled to get back to the hotel, he wasn't about to drive again, so we once again used the complimentary shuttle.

I had been hearing about all these people in my class who had been eating at The Cheesecake Factory, so we decided to try them out for dinner. There is one at Perimeter Mall, just down the road from the Hilton Suites where we were staying, so we had the driver drop us off there.

So, the plan was to eat at The Cheesecake Factory, and then take the MARTA to the movie theater. That was the plan. However, after a delicious (and huge) meal we were both so stuffed and sleepy we decided to order a slice of cheesecake to go (can't go to The Cheesecake Factory and not have cheesecake!!) and head back to the hotel and just watch TV. I think we're getting old. LOL Whatever...I sure did enjoy getting into some comfy clothes, under a blanket on the couch, and watching TV while I had my 30th Anniversary Cheesecake and a glass of merlot. Mmmm!!

Friday was our last day of class. We got out early, so Brandon and I decided to get out and find something fun to do before we met Jeannie's sister, LeAnn, for dinner. After reading about a lot of the exhibits and other things to do around Atlanta, we settled on the Georgia Aquarium. First, though, we had to get some lunch. We had been eating pretty badily most of the week, so I really wanted a nice fresh salad. We found Doc Green's online and decided to try it out. Oh my goodness, it's definitely a do-over. Great place!

So anyway, we ate our yummy lunches and then went on to the aquarium. We love aquariums and had heard good things about this one, so we were looking forward to it. When we finally go there, though, and saw five or six school buses lined up outside, we almost backed out. Apparently it was field trip day!

A little hesistantly, we decided we were already there so we might as well go in. Oh my goodness...the place was a MAD HOUSE. Keep in mind that we are not parents, nor are we accustomed to hundreds of screaming, shrieking, pushing children. There were so many kids there - and half of them weren't being watched very well - that we could hardly get up to really look at many of the exhibits. If we did manage to squeeze our way up to one of the tanks, we were usually pushed back out of the way, or at the very least elbowed a couple of times. Ugh.

Despite the chaos, we forged ahead. We had, after all, paid nearly $70 to park and get inside the place. After the first couple of exhibits it did get a little better. I guess people were starting to spread out a little more and so it wasn't as cramped after we had been there an hour or so. And there were some beautiful exhibits. I especially loved seeing the whale sharks & beluga whales because we had never seen either of them at any of the other aquariums we had been to.

Being that we rushed through many of the exhibits, we were through the entire aquarium in record time. We found ourselves sitting outside the building at 3:30 with still a couple more hours to kill before we were supposed to meet LeAnn. So we called her up and asked for suggestions. We decided to go to Atlantic Station and find something to do there. She gave us street by street directions from her desk at work, and after turning around a few times, we finally got there and parked in the underground parking garage.

We had never been to Atlantic Station before, but it is a really neat place! We walked around for a while, trying to decide where to kill time before we finally decided on Fox Sports Grill. We were really impressed and want to go back again with friends. The place is huge, and they have a big bar in the center (you can see a pic on their website). There are some tables and chairs, but there are lots of sitting areas with sofas, chairs, and cocktail tables. We chose one of these areas to hang out. There are TVs all around, all of them playing different sports. And while we were there, they had most of their appetizers 1/2 price, so we decided to split an order of BBQ chicken nachos. I also had this really fruity martini with pineapple juice. Very tasty!

When it was time for LeAnn to get off work, we left Atlantic Station and followed her directions to her office. She actually came out and met us part of the way and then led us back. That was an exciting little trip. LOL Anyway, we got to meet her friend, Cynthia, who was also going with us to dinner. She's a hoot...lots of fun! So anyway, the four of us caravanned down the street to the little Mexican restaurant we had heard all about: Nuevo Laredo Cantina.

This little restaurant is very small and very out of the way, but apparently it stays very busy. We were going to have to wait a while on Katie, Ryan, Bobby, and Becky (Jeannie & LeAnn's niece & nephew, and their spouses) so LeAnn ordered us a pitcher of margaritas and some chips and salsa, and we parked ourselves out on the deck with all the other people lined up outside. We were perfectly happy waiting out there. We laughed and laughed. LeAnn & Cynthia are both a lot of fun!

When the rest of our group arrived, we were able to get seated pretty fast. It was extremely cramped in the little restaurant, but that was OK. It was so great to see everyone again, especially Katie. We've been e-mailing and keeping up with her treatments through the family, but it was nice to see her in person. She's doing great! She and Ryan have been through so much and both just have terrific attitudes about everything. :)

Anyway, so we had a wonderful time visiting with everyone and eating the delicious food! And after we ate, we all went back to LeAnn's for a while to visit some more. I was enjoying myself so much that Brandon had to basically drag me out to go back to the hotel...it's usually the other way around. ;o)

The next morning, we finished packing up, ate one last complimentary breakfast at the hotel's grill, and hit the road. Brandon had to work that night, so we needed to get home as soon as possible for him to rest. The drive wasn't too bad, and I was sooo happy to get home and see all our babies!