A day in the ATL

Today we drove into the city from Hooter County and enjoyed some uniquely Atlanta experiences.

We started the day at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, which has been our favorite place to visit in the city. We haven't been there in quite some time and wow, have they made changes in our absence...and, in our opinion, not necessarily changes to the good. There is a fancy schmancy new parking deck, Visitors Center and entrance plaza, and fancy schmancy new prices. It was a bit of a shock to have to pay to park when we have always parked for free.

But we still enjoyed the frog sculptures, the beautiful plants and the artwork that is, well, artfully placed throughout the grounds.





It was time for lunch, so we drove over to The Varsity, for our monthly allotment of greasy food. The food was okay, but the atmosphere and people watching were out of this world. If you ever visit Atlanta, you really ought to get yourself on over there - it is unique and a unique experience.



We then drove west on Ponce de Leon Avenue to the Virginia Highland neighborhood - a very, very cool area. Our first destination was Knitch, a lovely yarn store that was everything I thought it would be and more. Aidan was thrilled to help one of the marvelous sales people wind a ball of yarn using a swift. My knitting friends will be shocked to hear that I bought no yarn (gasp); it is still difficult to buy yarn when I do not have a specific project in mind. But I did buy a Knit, Drink, Tink t-shirt and petted lots and lots of luscious yarns.

Next stop was Highland Woodworking, where James happily browsed tools, tools and more tools. I really can't tell you anything more than that, although he did make some kind of purchase (not nearly as cute as my t-shirt).

Our last stop was Centennial Olympic Park, a 21 acre park that was built for the 1996 Olympic games. James and Aidan enjoyed the Olympic rings fountain, and then we rambled through the park, enjoying the downtown views and, again, the awesome people watching.


And a good time was had by all!

Enjoy a few more photos of the Atlanta Botanical Garden:

Things that scare me

Like most people, there are things - rational and irrational - that frighten me. Something bad happening to those I love scares me...wildfires scare me...tornadoes scare me something fierce. Dick Cheney still scares me beyond reason (but with good reason, of course). Clowns scare the bejeebers out of me and seeing the movie It years ago did nothing to help; in fact, it strengthened my fear of clowns. Silly me, I thought I could handle a movie based on a Stephen King novel because it was on television - still scared me senseless. It scared me so badly that it was a long time before I could think of Tim Curry without shuddering.

Something else that scares me is being in a store during Georgia’s sales tax free weekend just before the start of school. The sales tax free weekend is tomorrow, Thursday 30 July through Sunday, 2 August, and school starts in Hooter County on Monday, 10 August. Parents probably have their child's school supply list from the school and are looking for a break. But there is no way I will be caught in an office supply or discount store this weekend! I went to one such store last year the day after the sales tax free weekend and it looked like a full-scale assault had been launched on the store...displays were a mess and the employees looked shell-shocked. I asked one sales associate if he had worked all weekend and he said yes, and that it had been really chaotic and, well, scary.

It is not that I don't like a bargain or to save money, but I look at it this way: Aidan's school supplies will likely run about $60, so getting those supplies on a sales tax free weekend would save me $4.20. That is all. It is well worth an extra $4.20 to NOT go out with hordes of parents and children all shopping in the same stores at the same time for the same items.

Besides, I may have found an excellent solution. I found everything on Aidan's list at OfficeDepot.com and since it totals over $50, I get free shipping. And I am guessing that if I place the order tomorrow, I will still get the break on sales tax. It may be another office supply store's slogan, but I am thinking that on Friday I will saying to myself, "That was easy!"