Vacation

Summer is here! Last week, we went to Atlanta to spend a few much-needed vacation days. It worked out perfectly for a myriad of reasons, but one of them was that my mom and Larry were going to be in Mississippi for the first part of the weekend attending my stepbrother's high school graduation, so we were able to house/dog sit for them and have the entire house (and pool) to ourselves for three days!

We left Jackson after work last Thursday. As always, it seems like there was a rush out the door, hurriedly throwing things into suitcases. Someday we're going to pack for a trip at least a day in advance :-) We drove into Atlanta that night, with a stop in Murfreesboro where we ate dinner with Arica, Adam, Ailidh and Dylan at Cracker Barrel. It was so good to hang out with them! After fighting through an hour long traffic jam (at midnight!) in Chattanooga, we made it into Atlanta in the early hours of the morning.

Friday and Saturday we had the house completely to ourselves and we just relaxed. We hung out in and by the pool (although Donna Maye kept trying to save us!), watched movies, played pool and ate some awesome food! Saturday night we treated ourselves to a wonderful dinner at One Midtown Kitchen in downtown Atlanta. The restaurant is located on the edge of Piedmont Park (where the Atlanta Jazz Festival was happening!) and is very classy and modern. The menu changes every day and the food is unbelievable! Interestingly, my first time at One was right before my senior prom- haha! So, of course, I wanted to go back with Austin for a romantic dinner, which it was :-) We began our meal with calamari with sweet and sour sauce and artisan bread. For the main course, Austin had the special for the evening, the duck, and I had Monkfish! So delicious! For dessert we ordered a heavenly chocolate dish! Here are some photos (yes, we're nerds and took pictures of our food!):

Austin's delicious duck

Elizabeth's marvelous monkfish

Part of the interior of One

Sunday we went to Six Flags over Georgia! Neither of us had been in years, or even gone to an amusement park together, so it was fun to enjoy that experience! We paid extra to get the Gold Flash Pass (we justified it since we didn't have to pay for lodging) which meant that we would "make a reservation" for a ride, then (at most) 15 minutes later, we could walk up the exit ramp to the rides and get right on! We certainly felt like VIPs. This also enabled us to enjoy more rides. We arrived at the park about 11 a.m. and left about 7:30 p.m. In that time span we rode: the Georgia Scorcher, the Log Jamboree, Goliath (twice), Antique Cars, Monster Mansion, Dahlonega Mine Train, Superman, Great American Scream Machine, Thunder River, Batman, Mindbender (only Austin went on that one), the Sky Buckets,  and the Six Flags Railroad. We also ate Dippin' Dots and split a hamburger and fries. It was such a wonderful day! 

Monday, of course, was Memorial Day, and Mom and Larry had returned from Mississippi on Sunday evening. We just hung out with them and then had an early dinner/cookout by the pool with some friends and family. We finished off the evening with watching "The Bachelorette"! We couldn't miss it just because we were on vacation!

Tuesday, Mom decided she wanted to spoil me and so we had a girl's afternoon. We had a delicious lunch at a family run Italian restaurant called Ippolitos, I got a summer haircut and Mom bought me two new dresses and two pairs of shoes! We hadn't really spent time like that together in a long time. 

Wednesday, Austin and I slept in a little bit, ate lunch with Mom and Larry and then headed home! We had one brief stop in Nashville for Tazikis, but we made it home in the early evening. We enjoyed our Atlanta vacation, but it is so nice to be home!