Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Seein' the sights



For our last day in Atlanta, we decided we'd get some culture and head down to the High Museum of Atlanta. As you know, I love me some art....well, I love to find me some scary dolls in art museums.

So, it's kinda the same thing.





The museum has a Space 1999-esque look to it from the outside, so I was looking forward to seeing if they'd have a Martin Landau and Barbara Bain wing. Unfortunately, as luck would have it, we only got to see the museum...not actually go inside it.

Turns out they are closed on Mondays.



That's kinda what our physical response was when we got to the closed sign at the museum entrance.

But, rather than waste the trip, we decided to just wander about the city and check out some of the interesting building architecture that was all around us. There are a lot of uniquely designed structures in Atlanta.












The Vortex Bar and Grill certainly has a relaxing/welcoming entrance. I bet they serve a lot of herbal teas and play hours of Enya.

There were some interesting art creations along the way....there was this stucture made up of several metallic people figurines.



And these small children playing (They were real kids once, but accidently made direct eye contact with the entrance to the Vortex Bar and Grill and they were forever changed)



And of course, the "playing kids" father made the unfortunate mistake of going to the Vortex to personally thank the manager for finally figuring out a way to get his three kids to play quietly out in the front yard.



Tragic.



Our evening was wrapped up with dinner with my friend David at the Mellow Mushroom, then Oscar and I went to one of the local bars, Burkhart's Pub, to hang out and play a couple of games of pool. Since I am the one writing this blog, I obviously won every game of pool.

Of course, if you've ever seen me play pool and feel like you need to proclaim that me winning is very unlikely....well....

LOOK DOWN HERE at this weird RESTAURANT with a GIANT 50 FOOT FISH!!!!!



Never under estimate the power of a good distraction.

Speaking of which, we need to get packed up and head out to our next destination....Asheville, North Carolina, ya'll.

Holla'.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Dropping the kids off at the lake



Atlanta certainly has an array of "small cottages" in the area...



I love homes with lots of character and wrap around porches. Being such an old city, there are quite a variety of home styles on display as you drive around. From large victorians, craftsman bungalows and then several hundred McMansions that have popped up over the years.

When I look at some of the ginormous dwellings, all I can think about is how much "fun" it would be to dust them.

However, once you get inside one (David's friend, Mike, owns one for a wedding/catering business), you forget all of that and spend the next half hour saying "Wow".











There were 9 fireplaces in the home. NINE. Of course, back when the homes were built, they were the main heat source. But, between that and the stained glass, crown molding, wood floors and high ceilings...you half expect to see Suzanne Sugarbaker lounging about on the veranda with a mint julep.



After completing our tour of the house, we all went to Mike's lakehouse to hang with nature. That is a view from the dock to the refurbished double-wide, which is surprisingly large and comfortable inside. Then, you get the view from the house to the dock...



Then, from the dock to the beautiful lake.



It was the perfect way to end the day. So quiet and relaxing. We just sat on the dock admiring the spectacular nature all around us, chatting and feeding the fish....











After David cooked up some delicious turkey burgers (thank you "Oprah's Favorite Burger" recipe), we rolled ourselves into the car and headed back to the city.

Needless to say, we all slept very well.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Tina returns

Tina Fey is hilarious again as Sarah Palin....I hope she makes another appearance soon.

McDrinkers



Oscar now has a personal connection with Atlanta.

We may have to move here to watch over "his" business.

Yesterday was a chill day. We woke up around noon-thirty, then my friend David made appointments for all three of us to get massages.

Shear Heaven.

Well, the place was called "Massage Envy", but it really was more like heaven.



Later in the afternoon, our friend Christine joined us and we all went out to a place called Roxx Tavern for dinner and drinks. It used to be a McDonalds, but was converted into a bar/restaurant. There were no McRemnants of the old McRestaurant, but their fries did have a hint of McGrease in them...so it all came together nicely.

Then, we went to a bar called "Swinging Richards" where, how should I put this, the strippers have a casual clothing-optional clause in their contracts.

So truth in advertising is alive and well in Atlanta.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Atlanta



We took it as a good sign for our trip that we ran into the "Sweatin' to the Oldies" guru himself, Richard Simmons, at the airport on our way to Atlanta.

He was as nice and friendly as could be and, when he saw Oscar's bald head said "Oh, look at little Oscar's head" and proceeded to grab it and plant a kiss right on the top.

Hilarious.

We got to the Atlanta airport and picked up our rental car (a new Saturn VUE, the newer sister to my car in LA) and headed to the Georgia Aquarium to meet my friend David. It's one of the largest aquariums in the world, so we were looking forward to visiting the fishes of all sizes and shapes.



When we got out of our car, the first thing we saw was a rainbow over the city....which seemed to go perfectly with our Richard Simmons greeting at the airport a few hours earlier. It didn't have a pair of spandex shorts on, but it certainly had his flair for welcoming us to our new destination.





The aquarium is amazing and was filled with people bustling around for the last Jazz night of the season. After making our way over to the adult beverages section and partaking, we headed through the enormous see-through walkway under the "sea".



The variety of sealife was almost overwhelming as it flowed all around you and above. From there, we headed into the gigantor viewing room where, when you walked up to the glass, you felt just like you were standing on the bottom of the ocean as it flourished all around you.



I could have spent all night just sitting there...it's so relaxing. Plus, you get to see such a variety of creatures swirling around together....hammerhead sharks, shark whales, and the like. Rather than just write about them....take a look...











From there, we wandered around to other sections to view more chickens of the sea...



This crabbie-thing reminded me of those horrific creatures from "Cloverfield"...



After quickly moving away from there, we visited the Jellyfish region...







Pretty to see through glass, not something I'd ever like to encounter first-hand.

Then a quick hello to the Beluga Whales...



and a few more critters...









David getting a fish-eyed view from the side...



Then a quick stop by the petting zoo, where Oscar braved the stinky water...



While I took pictures and kept my hands stank-free off to the side.

I grabbed a quick night picture of the Coco-Cola museum (which I think we'll visit while we're here)



Then, David took us to a cool restaurant with a nice view of the city...



Then to his condo for a MUCH needed night's sleep.

Snore......SNORE.....snore.....zzzzzzz