9/1/2019

Weekly Update 9/1/2019

On Saturday, I was awake at 7, so I got up. I showered, got dressed, read my news apps, and started toward Atlanta, stopping first at McD's for a large coffee. Swine Google maps - I wanted the route 20 directions, but it took me all the way on 16 to 75. I made it almost to the end before missing my turn, but then was able to follow quite well to Peachy Parking. Allen's flight was early, so I had only a little over an hour to wait. Allen and I found each other easily and took a taxi to the hotel. We walked around a bit and got our City Passes, but didn't really have time to get inside any museums. We went to the hotel happy hour, then out to Der Biergarten for dinner. When we returned to the hotel, we looked at the pool. It's pretty nice - outdoors on the rooftop. But we were both tired and saved that for another day.

Sunday, we walked around the area a bit, then returned to the hotel and sat in the bar to watch the Spurs game. It was not a fun game, because the Spurs seemed to control the ball for most of the time, but couldn't get a goal and lost 1-0. Then we got on the MARTA trolley and rode to Ebeneezer Baptist Church which was the stop for Oakland Cemetery. It was a pretty good hike - I'd say probably a mile - to get to the cemetery front gate. We'd just missed the 2 pm tour, so we wandered around a bit and I took a lot (really, a LOT) of photos. We went on the 4 pm tour, which was a 90 minutes and it was very good. I’m something of an expert on cemetery tours, and I know a good one! I also am quite proud of BC, as I think we're lovelier. When the tour was over, we had to hike back to the trolley stop. We got to the hotel about 6 pm, and went right for the snacks and drinks of the reception. We went to the pool and sat in the hot tub to soak our aching feet.

On Monday, we began to do some serious tourist activities. Most of the museums that were included in the City Pass were within walking distance of the hotel. We began at World of Coca Cola. I really liked the museum - the vault, the history, all the memorabilia, the tastings. The only thing I didn't really like was the 3D experience, which really was OK, just not my favorite. We went to a sports bar that was close by for burgers for lunch and to watch some tennis between our museum visits. And then we went to the Georgia Aquarium. That was grand. We wandered through the exhibits, saw a seal lion and dolphin show, and looked for the sea turtle (unsuccessfully). My favorite was Allen in the penguin exhibit. There is an acrylic tube under the exhibit, with a view places to stand up and view the penguins at their level. It’s mostly for little kids, but Allen IS my little kid, so I made him crawl in there.  We stayed at the aquarium for a long time.

We began Tuesday at the CNN tour. It was pretty good, but no one offered either of us anchor jobs. Go figure. That really didn’t last too long, and then we went to the Civil rights Museum. The museum was wonderful. Although they allowed photos, there was so much to see and read, I didn't know where to start to take pictures. The African American movement was thoroughly documented, and it was a lot to take in. We decided we would still have time to go to the college football HOF.  When we entered, we had to designate a favorite team - I choose Syracuse University. We saw the evolution of equipment and uniforms, the replay of Flutie’s BC pass to win the Orange Bowl, lots of UGA the mascot pictures, trophies and awards, and interesting trivia. We could have tried to catch a pass or kick a field goal, but didn’t want to embarrass ourselves. Then we went back to the hotel, and Allen suggested we might like to try a nearby rooftop bar. That was really nice. We sat there with a glass of wine and a beer and watched the sun set. When we ended there, we went to the ferris wheel. It was totally dark out by then, and we could see all the lights in Centennial Park. Great views!

Wednesday was to be our last full day in Atlanta. Allen figured out how to do the underground MARTA, and we took that to the Arts District to go to the High Museum. I enjoyed the decorative arts, the impressionist paintings, and the special exhibit of children's book author/illustrator, Maira Kalman. After that we wandered around a bit, but it was hot. We found a Starbucks for iced coffee. Then took the subway back to the hotel. Then it all hit the fan. The room key wouldn't work. I checked my reservation and found that we only had the room until AUGUST 28 - THAT'S TODAY, and we needed to be checked out before 11 am, and it was already late afternoon! I quickly went to the desk, and luckily I could get the same room for one more night. When I finally got everything straightened out, we went back to the football HOF and spent another couple of hours there. We each bought a t-shirt. And then went to Chic Fil A for sandwiches. A few minutes of tennis, and then to our last happy hour. And finally, back to Der Biergarten for another big beer, a glass of Riesling  and a shared an apple strudel. A very nice ending to a great get away.

Thursday, we were up pretty early to eat our last large breakfast at the Embassy Suites. We checked out (on time, as I was keenly aware that this needed to be done TODAY) and had no problem taking the MARTA to the airport and finding the Peachy Parking Lot shuttle. This time, when I wanted the swine GPS to take us on the highways so we could make good time, it took us on all the back roads - past cotton fields, through small towns, past signs indicating that we were near I16, but not taking us to the highway. We needed to get to the Savannah airport to pick Ishy up, and we didn’t have time to go to the condo first, but we were on time to meet her. None of us had eaten anything since morning, so we stopped downtown at Treylor Park to enjoy suds and food on the outdoor patio. Then, finally, we went to MP, where I immediately started to do laundry, and we relaxed and visited a bit. 


We decided that Friday would be a good day to go to the pool, since it might be crowded on the weekend. Ishy had packed 3 pounds of Zweigles white hots dogs in her suitcase, so after a nice swim, Allen grilled those for us. We invited Debra, Barbara and Anthony to share our picnic, and that was nice. We went home, watched a little tennis, and then went downtown for the Morons tour. I thought the tour was just as great as before, when Kay, Lisa and Dave took the trolley last May. I think Ishy and Allen liked it, too; at least they seemed to laugh a lot. After that, we went to Rocks for drinks, and to Leopold's for ice cream. Then home. We played a few board games, and just watched more tennis.

When I got up Saturday, I turned on the tv to watch The Weather Channel and see what's going on with Hurricane Dorian. At first, it was predicted that it would make landfall Sunday in central Florida and Savannah might be on the edge of the storm. But it's moving slowly, and will probably impact weather later in the week, and the path is unknown. That's good news for Ishy and Allen flying out, but not so good for going to Wales. We'll just have to wait and see. We mostly just sat around all morning because it was raining. We did play a few games of Rummikub. The rain continued, but we drove out to Tybee anyway. Just as we got there, the rain stopped. It was still cloudy, but we were able to walk out on the pier, and then had drinks and snacks at a bar. We were back at the condo for a short time and then decided to go to Coach's to get a good seat before all the UGA fans showed up. We had a table on the patio and requested that they change the channel to the US Open. We ordered some food and watched the Gauff / Osaka match, which wasn't even competitive, and the first part of the Dawgs game, which also wasn't much of a contest.  We’d been drinking all day, so it was time to go home and finish watching the sporting events in the comfort of my condo.

Sunday, we played a few games and watched more of The Weather Channel before packing up and heading to the airport. Ishy’s flight was first, so we dropped her off, gave hugs, told each other how much we had enjoyed the time together, and then she was gone. Allen had a couple more hours until his flight, but that’s not really time enough to go back to the condo. We went to Wild Wings, sat at the bar (are you seeing the theme here?) and watched some tennis. And then it was time to take him to the departure drop off. More hugs, and then I was alone. This is going to take some getting used to.