Georgia on My Mind

The big day finally arrived!  We headed to Atlanta to begin our big summer trip.  None of us has ever been to the south, so we were all excited to finally leave!  Well, three of us, anyway.  Ethan couldn't get off work, so he will be joining us in a few days.

We had a really smooth flight.  This is Atlanta from our first view.

She didn't want me to take this, but Atlanta airport is long, so you have to take a train from your gate to the baggage claim.  It's not too difficult to navigate, but it is CROWDED!

After waiting for what seemed like 1 luggage carousel for the entire airport, we found our shuttle and went to a hotel near the airport.  It was about 11 p.m. by that point and we really didn't want to be driving around in a strange city at that time. 

The time difference between Phoenix and Atlanta is 3 hours.  Nikki and Stan had no problems falling asleep around midnight, Atlanta time.  I, on the other hand struggled and finally went to sleep around 2 a.m.  Stan, who had a good night's sleep and didn't seemed to be bothered by the time difference, woke up at 6 a.m. Atlanta time.  He tried to be quiet, but Nikki and I were both up and moving by 7.  

Our car was reserved to pick up at noon, so we waited until about 10 and went to pick it up.  When we arrived at the car rental place, they told us that we could pick it up early, but it would be an extra $200.  We decided that two hours wasn't worth that, so we found a seat and waited 2 hours.  

I went to the car rental counter at our scheduled time, and this lady was much nicer.  She looked at my paperwork and said I was a "preferred customer."  I guess signing up for the special "frequent flier" type programs paid off because she sent me out to the preferred customer line in the garage, gave them my info, and they said that they would pull my car around.  This is what they pulled up:

So, we had our car, and went to find our house.  We rented a house through Airbnb in Marietta.  I'm so glad I did.  I usually try to rent a house instead of a hotel room when we go on vacation and I have not been disappointed yet.  This one is a three bedroom, three bath house and is just perfect.  

The front of the house

Backyard

Backyard

Living/Dining

Living Room

View from the front balcony.

After we got settled in, we were all hungry, so we headed to the Marietta Square, which is a more historical part of town and is a lot like the square in Prescott, AZ, if you've ever been there.   We ate at a cute restaurant called Hemingway's.  I told the waiter that we were from Arizona and wanted to try something southern.  Stan and Nikki both rolled their eyes at me, but I'm glad I asked because he suggested we try the fried pickles and sweet tea.  They were both so good!  

We then waked around the square and enjoyed the little boutique shops.

At the fountain in the center of the square.

A cute old fashioned movie theater

I love all of the greenery and flowers.  I took this photo to show all of the moss growing on the trunks.  

Square center

Then we just went for a drive.  Stan really loves the tree-lined streets.

I also love the flowers.  Very different from Arizona.

Georgia has been so beautiful so far and the people have been so friendly.  We will be exploring downtown Atlanta tomorrow and Ethan will arrive tomorrow night.