Last weekend, I went to Atlanta with my friends Alanna, Elizabeth, and MinShien! The main purpose of our trip was the Hot Chocolate 15K, in which Alanna and Elizabeth were running. I’ve been through Atlanta many times and love the aquarium and the Coke museum, but I’d never spent much time IN the city. As it turns out, between the race and the NFL playoff game, this wasn’t the best weekend to start. While A & E were running, MinShien and I tried to explore downtown, only to get caught in a massive gridlock of Falcons fans. That was okay because it was cool to be a part of playoff excitement. But later, we all wanted to go to Centennial Park and couldn’t find parking anywhere nearby, even for $20 or $30. We literally spent hours driving in circles, getting lost and searching in vain for a safe place to park and/or a good restaurant or activity that was actually open.
Drive-by of the Margaret Mitchell house, on one of the five different Peachtree Streets
Historic-looking country club on one of the other Peachtree Streets
Four single ladies in the city!
And so it was that we spent most of our Atlanta weekend at Atlantic Station. We did a lot of shopping, and ate at Strip (recommended by a local we met in the parking garage) and Rosa Mexicana. Both were great! In the evenings we went back to the hotel and ate desserts while watching girly TV (the Miss America pageant and the Golden Globes). I’d call that a successful girls’ weekend.
Atlanta is full of cool statues and monuments. I noticed sculpture everywhere! (And I could enjoy a lot of it from the car!)
On our way out of town Monday morning, we stopped at Trader Joe’s! The closest TJ’s to Memphis is in Nashville. I’d never been. I did some research beforehand to determine the must-gets, and shopped selectively (although I still left with a haul, including half a case of $3 wine). The first item I tried was their Cookie Butter. It looks like peanut butter but tastes like gingersnaps. SO DELICIOUS. I’ll have updates later as to how I liked the rest of my purchases! Anyway, I don’t know how we fit our four cartfuls of TJ goods into the car, but we managed!
On the long, cold, slightly hazardous drive home, we stopped at a Cracker Barrel for warmth and sustenance. There’s nothing like Cracker Barrel when you’re on the road.
The end!
Next time you’re heading to Atlanta, let me know since I can give you tips, especially if there are crazy things going on. I will let you know you can park in the aquarium without actually going to the aquarium. I haven’t noticed if they change prices on gamedays or not. The edge of Centennial Park is just across the street from the front of the aquarium.
And you have to go to the Flying Biscuit for breakfast (and it’s served all day). They have started franchising, but to me, it’s still an ATL thing.
I should have gotten in touch with you before! I didn’t think I’d get much input on what we did, and it was such a short trip, so I didn’t make any plans. But then we had no Plan B when downtown was too crowded. I’ll check in with you next time!
Even though your trip wasn’t quite what you hoped, it still looks like it was a fun one!