As for the past weekend, we went to the "south"...Atlanta, Georgia. My husband had a genetics conference to go to for his work, and I decided to tag along, taking this opportunity to visit a new state. In other words, I took a vacation, while the hubby had to sit in seminars and talks.
I hadn't really planned on seeing much while there, since I knew the hubby wouldn't be too free, and I really didn't feel like sight seeing without him. I also hadn't really taken the time to plan the trip like I normally would, and decided to just wing it. I normally get maps and all sorts of details of where to go, what to see, how to get there, transportation while there...but this time, I think I was too stressed to really care. But, it turned out great. We were there for 3 days and managed to squeeze in a lot of things. We took the metro everywhere, walked A LOT, met some cool people and tried some great food.
Here are some pictures from the trip. I've uploaded a lot to make up for 2 weeks of inactivity. Enjoy :)
Actual portrait of Scarlet O'Hara, from the movie, Gone With the Wind. Did you know, Margaret Mitchell originally was going to name her Pansy O'Hare. How awful would that have been?
It was beautiful up there. As you can tell, from the fact that I could take a pic of the wing, we sat ALL THE WAY IN THE BACK. Which meant Dramamine for me! Woohoo...drugs, yum!
"Limousine" service for us...I felt like a celebrity...not!
We stayed at the Loews. I really had a hard time not thinking of Lowe's the hardware store, haha.
Hotel Lobby. Fancy shmancy...oooo....
First stop, The Underground.
Escalator to heaven. I wish. But they had some crazy long escalators in Atlanta.
MARTA metro station
A definite must if you are in downtown Atlanta.
Fresh Atlantic Salmon. I've always had Pacific Salmon (living on the west coast), so this was a must on our list. It tasted the same though, haha, but nonetheless good!
Southern hospitality really does exist. They gave us the tea for free. Where/when do you ever get that?
Downtown
Yes, yes, her house! The author of "Gone With the Wind".
Margaret Mitchell (pre-book portrait)
Vela's Sailor Chic :)
Einstein's, another great place to eat.
Real southern food: green fried tomatoes. OMG, these were good. We also tried fried okra...yum.
Shrimp and grits. I am not a fan of grits by any means, but this was really good.
Piedmont Park
Yes, that person you see lying on the bench is my husband. He passed out on me in a beautiful garden.
I had to take a picture of our very cool shoes. Ahem, cough...Puma's.
The "edible" garden.
The botanical garden had a huge conservatory with a rainforest. It was amazing.
Quails :)
Orchid center. Totally thought of two very special people while I was here. They know who they are.
High altitude conservatory. It was so moist in there, I was having a hard time breathing.
Out of all fairness to the hubs, I passed out for 15 minutes on this lawn, haha.
Rose garden
Midtown
Atlanta's only mall
Their super market is called Public's. It was expensive, this is all we could afford ;)
Kilwin's is apparently very popular over there. Their ice cream was amazing.
Experts at using the metro...psht. We totally knew how to put money on the "Breeze" cards.
The Smith House. A plantation home from the 1840's.
A Georgia kitty :)
The kitchen was outdoors. Just imagine how hot it would get in the summer standing over a stove. Guess who would be in the kitchen? Of course, the poor slave women.
Slave quarters. It was really sad to see how small the cabin was. This cabin was home to about 13 men and women. It was a one room cabin, with no furniture of any sort. There was a very sad feeling inside that cabin.
The Swan House. Built in 1928 for the Inman family, who were heirs to a cotton brokerage fortune. It was a beautiful house. Quite different from the Smith home, which was a more middle class house.
Georgia Aquarium.
The world's largest aquarium, with more than 10 million gallons of water. WOW!
The fishi's loved him! I tell him our fishi's love him too, but he thinks i'm crazy.
Trying to blow the jellyfish away, HAHA.
Moon jellyfish
Belluga whales. They were beautiful. They were also trying to mate while we were there...quite traumatizing.
What do you want?
I thought about getting this as a souvenir for my dad, but it was $14.
My souvenir :)
Yes, mom, I touched sharks and stingray's.
Dolphins :) we got to the aquarium too late, so we missed all the dolphin shows. But that's ok...it was still great to see them.
We are so cool!
Our last day there and it was pouring rain. A warm rain, but with a cool breeze to keep you sane. This was our view from the hotel.
On our walk (in the rain) towards the MLK Historic Site.
The MLK memorial was in the eastern part of town. It was interesting to see the drastic difference between midtown where our hotel was, and the poorer parts of town.
The eternal flame, which is always lit.
"The Eternal Flame symbolizes the continuing effort to realize Dr. King’s ideals for the “Beloved Community” which requires lasting personal commitment that cannot weaken when faced with obstacles."
Burial site of Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King. They were buried next to each other :)
Ebenezer Baptist Church. The church where Dr. King was baptized and later ordained as its minister. His father and grandfather were also pastor's at this church.
It was quite peaceful inside and they were playing some of his sermons on the speaker. Before we went into the church, I actually thought there was a service, but in the late 90's the church was closed for repairs and restoration to return the church to the way it was back in the 1960's. A new Ebenezer Church was opened across the street.
The home where Martin Luther King was born.
Heading back to the hotel to grab our bags and run to the airport.
I found this very interesting. There were directions on how to cross the street at every street corner. The stupid pedestrians in California could totally use this.
The Atlanta Airport had a non denominational chapel where we could pray. It was so convenient, as it is always so hard to find a place to pray, especially in an airport (without attracting unwanted stares and comments).
Yogurt parfait pre-boarding. Good times.
This is so nice! It's like being there! You did a lovely job condensing your trip. Thanks so much!
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