"Our" Business Trip to Atlanta

We got to tag along on Jason's business trip to Atlanta last week.  Jas doesn't travel much (thankfully), and when he does it is not unusual for us to get to tag along....and boy howdy: We love it when this opportunity comes up!

Pulling out of our driveway - I am so good at "us-ies" I overwhelm myself

We were there for 2 nights, which I thought would feel long enough.  I was wrong, we would have loved to have stayed longer.  

My favorite thing about Atlanta - hands down: The diversity.  Loved. this.  Our first evening there we went to a big, beautiful mall near our big, beautiful hotel.  It took me a while to notice it, but then when I started looking around I realized that Jas and I were usually the only white people I could see at any given time.  It was wonderful!

The leaves are changing in Atlanta, much more so than they are here right now (of course, we're mostly just surrounded by pine trees anyway), so that was beautiful to see:

credit: Elisabeth

credit: Elisabeth

When we arrived in Atlanta it was quite foggy, and the children marveled at how we couldn't even see the tops of the buildings...it was so mysterious!  (Made us think of the Tower of Babel)

One thing I will not miss about Atlanta - TRAFFIC!  Just a wee bit different than in our small town - where we have five lights total.

While Jas was busy in meetings the whole time (the whole reason we were there), the children and I were out and about all over the place, so we definitely got to experience our fair share of traffic.  But the children got to learn what an HOV lane is...so there is that.

I was truly quite proud of myself, just loading all of us up and heading out on our own.  This totally wouldn't have been possible before GPS.  

We have been talking and planning for weeks, so we knew where we wanted to go with our limited time.  Yes, Atlanta has a wonderful aquarium, and yes, Atlanta has a wonderful museum (more than one, actually)...but where else in the whole world can you tour The World of Coke and CNN?  Seriously, this is what the children wanted to do, and we don't regret it...we had a blast!

Having fun in the "Taste It!" room, where you can sample Coca-Cola products from five different continents:

One of them stained Daniel's fingers...so that was nice and reassuring:

The second morning, we toured CNN's World headquarters.  I knew ahead of time that it was going to be a 55-minute walking tour, covering 8 flights of stairs.  What I did not know ahead of time was that Gabriel was going to be so tired that he would refuse to walk another step once I took this picture before the tour started:

So I got wear A in the ergo, while holding G in my arms.  For 55 minutes.  And 8 flights.  A wonderfully nice black guard that we passed on the tour commented on how strong I am and that I am his hero.  Haha!  It was sweet of him anyway.  

The other stop we made sure not to miss?  Abby's house!

It was so wonderful to see her again and get to visit...and to meet her newest precious bundle!  I chose this particular picture to go with this post because JH has his head turned, and that means you can't see the scratch that G had just given him on his face.  (not intentionally, but still!)

We were away from home for two of each meal.  Two breakfasts: I froze and brought Chai-Spiced Muffins and Cinnamon-Swirl Muffins and boiled eggs.  

But we got to eat for two lunches and two dinners.  FUN!

The first night there, Jas got to eat with us.  We ate at a Ted's Montana Grill, and it was yummy!  And the children were oh-so-impressed that instead of crayons, the restaurant passed out to waiting children....Wikki Stix!

For the other supper the children and I were on our own, and we headed to a place that Jas had spotted for us that looked very promising:  The Big Chow Grill - "A Stir-Fry Evolution"

It was awesome!  If we'd stayed longer, we for sure would have gone back again.  You went through a buffet of raw/fresh items and just filled your bowl with meat, veggies, sauces and spices that you wanted, and the cooks stir-fried it up for you right there:

Great picture, I know -  including my fingers.  But we loved this place - it was fascinating, and yummy!

We went to PF Changs for the last lunch in Atlanta.  Total splurge and totally yummy!  I came home and googled (and found!) homemade versions of their Lettuce Wraps, Ginger Chicken with Broccoli and Mongolian Beef.  Oh, this is making my mouth water!

The post wouldn't be complete without some pics of our hotel.  We were on the 4th floor, which the children loved...anything is better than ground floor.  

And Gabriel loved looking at "The Frozen".  It took me a while to figure out what he was talking about, but it was a sculpture that looked frozen (but wasn't):

The hotel had an atrium in the middle, open all the way up to the top, so this is what The Frozen looked like from right outside our room door:

The children (and their mama) loved riding in these glass elevators, too.  (Doesn't take much to keep us country-folk happy).  But one time LK and I totally forgot to push a floor button and we ended up going all the way to the top of the building in the glass elevator.  That was enough to make this mama's stomach a little queasy!

We knew for our research ahead of time that our hotel boasted an indoor, saltwater pool.  We were excited and brought our bathing suits, but never made it to the pool because we were out gallivanting around!

And we wore ourselves out!  Not long after we got in the Silver Bullet to head home, everyone looked like this: