Family Happenings: Atlanta Baby!

Oh, What a GLORIOUS trip we had to visit Graham and Melissa in  Atlanta, Georgia!

On November 1, Maeve and I flew south!

And of course,the pics are in backwards order...

that happens when I choose upload from phone option...

fast but backwards...shoot!

On Saturday night,before we went to Dad's Garage

 for 44 Plays for 44 Presidents and

and Comedy Improv

(Each was an AWESOME performance, by the way!)

We ate at two wonderful places...

YoForia!  A YOGURT bar where you make your own sundae.....MMMMMM!

Melissa and I LOVING our treats!

Just before that we had REAL CHEESE STEAKS...oh, heavenly!

Maeve and I above...Graham and Melissa below

Earlier that day

Graham, Maeve, and I rode the train (subway for our portion) 

from MIDTOWN where he lives,

 to DOWNTOWN to The World of Coca Cola...

oh, I LOVE that place...the gift store anyway!

We also had cocktails and hors d'oeuvres in the iconic

 Westin Hotel

with its outside glass elevator and revolving restaurant on the 72nd floor!

Wow! North American's tallest hotel!

Here the kids are pretending that the revolving part of the skyscraper was going fast.

It was a breathtaking view, but an entire revolution took about 30 minutes.

In the elevator...

Okay, I DO NOT LIKE escalators 

but have learned to deal with them,

(think about Will Farrell in Elf...that's how I FEEL)

but THIS monster is one of the longest escalators in AMERICA!

(it's a data filled vacation when your son is a structural engineer!)

Oh, I DID NOT LIKE IT, but what an ADVENTURE!

Here we are on the train....another first for Maeve!

and this is Graham pretending to push his sister onto the tracks!

Melissa was at work...one of her 3 jobs!

It is crazy 

but this Minnesota girl works in Atlanta 

for a Minnesota company,

Caribou Coffee!

I adore this lovely little house tucked amid the skyscrapers in Midtown!

We began Saturday morning letterboxing in Piedmont Park, just outside of Graham's apartment.

Here is one at the dog park...

This one was in the park...Maeve found it!

Graham is a bit competitive!

This is NOT a letterbox...funny funny funny as it was where one

could have been.  The clues were a bit ambiguous!

This was a homeless person's bathroom kit...Graham FOUND it!

Imagine my surprise when I opened it!

Here Graham is bringing it out of the woods...so proud to find it before Maeve did!

Haha...NOT A LETTERBOX!  This has never happened before!

When I unzipped it and discovered a razor, shaving cream, deodorant, etc..

I screamed "Put it back, put it back....WAIT! 

Let's take pictures first!"

We did put in some cash....hope it brought a smile to its owner's face!

A beautiful tree ...the picture doesn't do it justice!

Here is Maeve and I at the Farmers' Market....

Noogie time!  Big brothers are sooo much fun!

A noogie for Mom, too!

We had an unexpected surprise as the military cadets where practicing at the park.

There were HUNDREDS of young men and women marching...

their footsteps were THUNDEROUS!

It was a very touching and moving moment as the flag came whirring past!

FRIDAY, we ended our evening at 

Mystery Supper Theater!

Here is a blurry picture of Maeve and Melissa 

interviewing one of the suspects.

This was a fun, interactive night!

SPOILER ALERT...ERIC DID IT!

We did not guess correctly!

But, we sure had a ton of fun trying.

Graham worked on Friday, so Melissa treated us to a tour

of the Botanical Gardens,

where she also works...this is a dream job!

She teaches 16 hours a week in a beautiful classroom

right in the middle of all this beauty!

Here she is finding a letterbox that was planted 

in the Botanical Garden!  

Another reason I love this girl,

She is so excited by a new children's book

about ROCKS!

This is the orchid house...

Graham and Melissa live just a bit from the Gardens,

which is just another block from that beautiful skyline.

The carnivorous plants were cool!

The rain forest building was 

AMAZING!

Do you recognize these glass sculptures?

They were featured in our July blog about 

the Children's Museum in Indianapolis!

Same artist...same delightful artwork!

Ms. Carlberg in her classroom!

Graham met us for lunch at a cute little pizza place

called Vesuvius Pizza.

We "discovered" a secret entrance to an old fashioned

speak easy...cool!

Look at the size of those slices...$5 for 2 slices and a soda!

Maeve and I had Friday morning to ourselves 

as both kids worked.

Here I am with the first letterbox of the trip

just  outside of Margaret Mitchell's mansion.

(she wrote Gone With the Wind...I am not necessarily a fan,

but it was the closest letterbox to find)

Maeve laughed at me as I was so excited by the 

REVOLVING doors, window washers, and 

the SEGWAY tour people!

You just don't see things like that everyday!

Thursday, after school we began our adventure.

Maeve's first flight was quite unremarkable,

except her Mom got slightly patted down at security 

AGAIN.

Here we are at the airport,

being tourists.

So, that's it folks...a whirlwind weekend!

4 letterboxes, a Mystery Theater, Comedy Improv, a play,

CocaCola World, skyscraper rides, subway trips, 

Botanical Garden, Farmers' Market, metropolitan shopping 

(Crate and Barrel 2 was my favorite)

What I didn't tell you is I could have spend all day

SUNDAY in Atlanta, too, 

as I assumed our flight back home was for 9:55 am

but actually was PM!

The nice lady at the help desk said it happens

EVERY SINGLE DAY...

so I am not the only DORK in the world!

We opted for an earlier flight back to Minnesota.

I am sure going to miss my kiddos, Graham and Melissa.

But NOT the warmth...79 degrees seemed HOT HOT HOT!

 Sorcha and I are already saving for HER

trip to  Atlanta in the Spring!

Stay tuned.....