Passing the Georgia state line!
While Alex was in WOCS Alex had mentioned he wanted to have a weekend get away to Atlanta, Georgia before he started flight school because once flight school starts, his schedule will most likely be 4:45am-7:00pm, with studying late into the night Monday-Friday. Alex's first official day was Thursday, May 24th, so since he had Friday and Monday off for Memorial Day, we jumped at the chance to take a little vacation and get to spend some quality time together! We had originally planned to go down Friday-Sunday, but on Thursday Alex's Flight class was asked if he would participate in the Atlanta Brave's Memorial Day game holding their large flag along with other representatives from the different branches of service.
Saturday:
It was about a 4.5 hour drive from Fort Rucker to Atlanta, and on the way we were finally able to eat at "The Cracker Barrel," which we were told by many people that you just have to try. We both agree my home cooking is far superior;-) We arrived at about 3:00, checked into our hotel and walked to Coca Cola World. One perk we're finding out about is the military discounts offered, Alex was able to visit the attractions for free!
The Olympic torches
They had tasting stations where you could try all the different Coca Cola drinks from around the World, my favorite was the red cream soda!
After Coca Cola World, our camera went dead, so from here on out, I only was able to get pictures with my phone:-( For dinner we drove about 15 minutes outside downtown to the 57th Aviation Brigade WW2 bunker that had been restored and turned into a neat little restaurant with award winning beer cheddar soup! It was dusk, and the weather was cooling down, so we sat on the patio and watched the jets take off (it was right beside a small airport) They also had a cute old time plane that was taking people for rides. What made the night extra special was that we both saw fireflies for the first time! It was so neat!
Outside the restaurant
We finished dinner and desert around dusk, and drove back to our hotel, where the city had come alive. We found that people don't eat dinner at 7:00 like where we're used to, they wait till the weather cools down, around 9:00pm so we decided to walk around the city. We were surprised at how many horse drawn carriages there were driving tourists around!
Sunday:
Alex had the idea on Saturday to purchase tickets to the Aquarium the day before, because there was virtually no line, and at coke we had waited around 45 minutes to get in the doors. I convinced Alex we would be just fine getting them in the morning, well, we got there the next day and lines were wrapped around the building! We waited in line to purchase our tickets, knowing that we would have 2.5 more hours wait until we would be allowed inside the doors. So we purchased our tickets and walked around the block to grab a coffee. We had a great time waiting and talking, grabbed a bite of lunch and got in another waiting line at the Aquarium. This time we only waited about 25 minutes and were finally able to get in!
Georgia Aquarium was jam-packed with children and people (I liked seeing so many babies and children just as much, if not more than all the fish!) It is also the largest Aquarium in the world with 6 exhibits and a dolphin show!
The dolphin show was our favorite part, I was particularly impressed with the actor's voice! He sounded just like Gueston in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" This is the whole show recorded by someone I found on Youtube.
After the Aquarium, we got dressed up and walked to dinner downtown. Ironically, we ate at "Ray's in the City" sushi and seafood that night! It was delicious! Alex had scallops and I had salmon. We had red velvet cake for desert!
Monday- Memorial Day:
We got up bright and early and had breakfast at the Motel. Alex had to wear his uniform (which makes him really uncomfortable in public) We drove just a few minutes and were at the stadium. We were ushered to a special section that had for the families and Alex went to go practice for the actual game along with the other service members. When Alex got back, we had a little time to explore and they also had hotdogs waiting for us!
Turner Stadium
Alex is holding the flag near the top of the stars. Can you see him?!
The whole program was great! Very patriotic and exciting to see! Unfortunately, the Braves lost the game:( However, they had such a touching show it didn't really matter so much to us! During the game, on the scoreboard, a Dad in the Airforce had a message sent to his family, and then after the message was through, he surprised them by coming out onto the field! It was so great to get to see their family reunion! I never get tired of seeing these military family reunions!
Here is another video from youtube I found where I do believe I can actually see Alex's backside!
We left the game a little early because Alex had a PT test bright and early in the morning and we had a long drive home. On our way, we got to experience a Southern storm! It was very windy, we passed two trees that had fallen onto the highway and it poured buckets of rain and a bit of thunder and lightning! I was glad to be in the car. I still turn the heat on when the rain comes, even though it's still hot out when it rains in the South, my mind just doesn't comprehend that hot and rain go together here! (And I know Alex is thankful that in our Jeep, I control my side's temperature and he controls his own!)
Now it's back to reality, and Alex is busy in flight school all day. We are so thankful for the time we got to spend together!
