Once Callie had finished her dance recital, it was time to hit the road for our annual summer adventure with Grammy. This year's destination was none other than Atlanta, aka Hotlanta or Catlanta depending on the time of year. In any case, it's a nice six hour drive from Lexington and we were ready to go.
This was the first major trip that we took in our relatively new three row vehicle. We must admit it is pretty roomy, and Grammy didn't mind that the girls wanted to sit in the far back so that she could fully stretch out in the second row. Of course we still had to stop for food on our way down, and nothing says a southern road trip like Cracker Barrel.
Our first major stop once we reached town was the Georgia Aquarium. At this point we are pretty sophisticated connoisseurs of aquariums, and we were eager to see what this one had to offer. We knew going in that they had whale sharks, but weren't sure about everything else. The whale sharks were certainly impressive, along with the giant manta rays that were in the same tank. And the picture to the right shows Callie and Reese looking at the belugas that we were able to watch while we sat down for lunch. We could certainly have done without the dolphin show - it was far too commercial. And overall, the visit confirmed that we very much favor the educational focused places like the Monterey Aquarium.
Grammy couldn't let the girls leave the aquarium without getting some keepsake to remember the visit. Unfortunately, Reese has only this picture to remember the pink otter. Like Callie's bitty baby left us for a country music career in Nashville, it's quite possible that the little pink otter left us for a hip hop career in Atlanta.
Of course it is also possible that the otter's departure somewhere between the aquarium and our arrival back in Lexington had something to do with Sarah, who definitely did a good job of holding back her opinion when Reese felt it necessary to have a bright pink otter. That will remain one of life's great mysteries. (Seriously, though, we don't know how it happened)
Our hotel was located a few miles outside of downtown Atlanta in an area called Buckhead. The condo building next door had this statue outside. The girls loved it, and we couldn't pass up the opportunity for a quality photo. Pay no attention to the fact that this particular buck is holding a very large martini that Reese is clearing trying to grab. The hotel was a hit for all the usual reasons. In short, it had a pool and free breakfast. But it also had a Gordon Biersch next door to make the adults happy.
Atlanta has a lot of cool attractions, especially if you are willing to bring your kids to places that are usually frequented by senior citizens and history professors. Take the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library, for example. That is a cool library. Reese and Callie were not totally sold on it, but they did take advantage of some of the interactive exhibits. There was a sign next to the big book pictured on the right that said, "As President of a new nation, what would be the first thing you do?" When Callie was asked this question, she said "Make peace." Sarah then spelled it out for her and she wrote it and then signed her name. Pretty darn cool. Although we all enjoyed various parts of the library, I think we were all a little taken by the amazing photo gallery of all the presidents, as well as the explanations of various tropical diseases that President Carter has helped to tackle since he left office. We were especially intrigued by guinea worm.
Of course the real reason behind each summer trip with Grammy is to get another baseball stadium under our respective belts. This time it was Fulton County Stadium and a match up between the Atlanta Braves and the San Francisco Giants. We were all decked out in our Giants gear, ready to brave hostile home crowd. They were very friendly, and the gentleman sitting in front of us asked if he could take a picture of Reese with his son, who was about Reese's age. And as you can see to the left, the stadium also had some good sized hot dogs. Callie was pretty excited.
Unfortunately the Giants lost. But it was an exciting finish and they put up a good fight. It was a great time, especially since Grammy had purchased fantastic seats near the field and in the shade the whole game. Ideal for Atlanta in June.
But there are two things they need to do to improve baseball in Atlanta. One thing is they need to change the team name and lose the whole tomahawk chop/war chant disaster. Ask John for a lecture about it if you want to know more. The second thing is they have to figure out their parking and traffic management. It literally (and yes, we know what literally means) took us longer to leave the parking lot and get to the highway than it did to see the whole baseball game. Unreal.
To our faithful readers, this picture says, "Aw, doesn't Reese look cute!" To Sarah, it says, "Aw, doesn't Reese look cute!" To John, it says, "Sarah, didn't you read the sign right there that says, do not sit on the lego animals?" Good times. And good thing Reese is still pretty light. This was taken at the Legoland Discovery Center. The girls had a pretty good time checking this place out.
There were quite a few different activities available for the kids, and the girls took advantage of almost all of them. Callie even went on her first carnival ride of sorts with John. It wasn't exactly a roller coaster, but it wasn't a merry-go-round either. In any case, this was another fun part of our Atlanta adventure, and the girls could have stayed there for a couple more hours. But we had other places to visit.
One of those important places to visit was the Martin Luther King National Historic Site. This made the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library seem like Disney Land to the girls. But we would love to go back at another time when we can really soak it all in. One thing we did get to do was walk into the church where MLK preached early in his career. You can walk in and sit down and hear recorded sermons played over speakers. You could tell Callie was comfortable in a church setting, because she walked in first and led us right to the front row. We didn't stay long, but it was a great experience.
Our final stop before we took Grammy to the Atlanta airport for her trip back to Sacramento was yet another Atlanta landmark. It's called The Varsity, and it is famous for its burgers and fries. And although that sounded good, for us it was also the right place for ice cream. Grammy was particularly pleased that they had peach pie a la mode. It was a perfect way to end a great trip. Next year it sounds like Pittsburgh or St. Louis are the top contenders. We can't wait!
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