Today, Zach and I woke up early and drove over to Atlanta. Totally worth the 2 1/2 hr drive. I've been over there before, but it was work-related, so had little time to sightsee. So, today, we checked off a few things from the East Coast Bucket List there in ATL.
First up: Turner Field.
This one was totally for me. I grew up watching baseball (particularly the Braves and Cubs), and that's really the only sport I seriously follow. Grandparents and uncles are Braves fans too, so that's where that came from (Dad grew up in upstate NY and was a Yankees fan as a result), and I just started following the Braves and the Cubs since those were teams we could reliably get games for (Yay for TBS and WGN!). I keep up with other sports, but I actually enjoy watching baseball more than the others.
Not Zach. Zach doesn't watch baseball and couldn't care less. Still, he tagged along gamely as we went to Turner Field and took the tour. True love, right? Definitely not a baseball person though, and I doubt he'll ever be more than patiently quiet with me during a game. :)
I'd've loved to have gone to a home game while I was so close, but since my social circle here is very small, I didn't feel inclined to drive 2 1/2 hrs one-way to watch a game by myself. Maybe when we get back to the east coast. Or maybe I'll be able to find someone to go watch a game with me out in CA! Who knows?
It was really impressive though, since I'd never been at a major league stadium before, and it was neat just seeing these places I'd only seen on the TV. The press box, the announcers booth, even the dugout with the managers' phones. I know it was only the visitor's dugout (the Braves one was offlimits due to off-season construction) but it was still really cool! And I got to see the Coke bottle where they shoot off the fireworks, too! I hadn't ever seen it up close on TV, and didn't know it's made (decorated) with old baseball memorabelia. At the neck it's bats, around the 'band' of the bottle, it's got jerseys, etc. So cool!
Next up: Georgia Aquarium
Very impressive, but a little bit of a let-down too. Don't get me wrong, I loved it. The whale sharks and belugas were awesome, and the penguins were particularly perky, and the tropical fish and loggerhead turtle were great (very cooperatively photogenic!) But at the same time, it only took us about 4 hrs to go through the whole thing. Monterey's aquarium was a bit smaller size-wise, but still took us 4 hrs and we didn't even get to see everything! Zach and I were talking about it, and we think the difference was the amount of written material available. The aquaria were impressive, but the displays and exhibits and descriptions were smaller, less to read, so it didn't take us as long to go through the whole thing. Still worth the trip, though, no doubt! The belugas alone I could have watched for hours!
If you do plan on going on the weekend, though, make sure that you go either early morning or later in the afternoon. Based on our schedule, we got there around lunchtime and stayed through til we were getting hungry for dinner at about 4:30. It was crazy-busy in some areas! Definitely still a BIG attraction in Atlanta. Not so bad that my agoraphobia was kicking in, but it was still very loud at times, and is just something that should be accounted for.
(Side note: I knew I married the right guy when Zach couldn't help but mention Baby Beluga every time we talked about the whales - yay for Raffi fans!)
Finally: dinner at the Varsity
Celebrating 80 years of heart-clogging drive through dining this year! The first Varsity was founded in 1928. The reason I wanted to go, though, was that Mom and Dad dated there (Agnes Scott-GA Tech students), so I've heard stories about it. Dad always used to joke about how the physics students could study perpetual motion there at the Varsity, since the counters in the back were so greasy, you could slide something along it and it wouldn't ever stop! It's crazy busy. I think half of why you should visit there is the experience. Certainly one of a kind! :)
The last thought today is about being in a big city again. The last time I was home visiting Mom and my sister, it was for the wedding in December. Really didn't get a chance to do much that wasn't wedding-related. It was really nice being in a diverse area again. Greenville is nice enough, but it's rather.... homogenized for lack of a better word. Atlanta, being MUCH bigger, just had an interesting diversity of people to see, to watch, to be around. Was refreshing. I know that where I'm headed it'll be VERY homogenized (Army or Army spouse/kid - probably not many retirees out there either) so it was refreshing to be around people again. Used to get the same feeling in college, too, since W&M is rather on the preppy, white-bread end of the spectrum. :)
I know this was a picture-heavy post, but it was a very good, very busy day today. I'm really glad we got to get over there before we moved!
