Our Trip to Atlanta

Jace, Tate and I headed to Atlanta for the weekend a couple of weeks ago.  It's about a four hour drive for us and one of Tate's reps at work invited us out to a big annual party he has at his home.  I had never been to Atlanta before so when he invited us out it gave us a reason to take a little road trip.

We left Saturday morning and arrived at the party just after it was getting started.  There was lots of southern cooking going on, including a cat fish fry.  The party was going on in the backyard that was equiped with lots of fun, and non-toddler proof, things.  There were a few decks with open ledges without railings, an outdoor bar, a few hot grills, a swimming pool, and lots of open grass.  Needless to say Jace was loving running around and I was not-quite loving chasing him around for hours in the 100 degree heat. :)

Tate took Jace in the swimming pool to cool down and Jace was in heaven!  They splashed around in the water for a long time.  Jace's favorite thing to do was to climb out of the pool and jump off the edge into Tate's arms.  The first couple of times he waited for Tate to be right there, but after a while he was jumping in whether or not Tate was there to catch him.  It was pretty fun to watch.

Jumping in!

That night after Jace was in bed, both Tate and I got to relax outside and let loose a little.  The majority of the people at this party were double (or even triple) our age, which made for a good time.  Somehow I was talked into trying moonshine and taking a shot of tequila... I would say it was peer pressure, but I guess the word "peer" probably isn't accurate.  Either way it was fun to do something totally different than normal.

The next morning we woke up and headed to breakfast at the Metro Cafe Diner which was just down the road.  It was a very southern style diner with a modern vibe.  We ordered some orange mickey mouse pancakes for Jace with he devoured quickly.  We had grits and home fries and omelets, and lots and lots of coffee. 

Orange pancakes at Metro Cafe Diner

After breakfast we headed to Stone Mountain Park to take a look around.  It was a beautiful place, and I'd love to take Jace back when he's a little older.  There was a fun amusement park that I'm sure he would enjoy in a few years.  We mostly just walked through the scenic parts of the park and learned about the history of stone mountain.  I wish we would have been able to hike up it, but it was over 100 degrees and we hadn't brought our hiking backpack for Jace or any appropriate shoes.  Next time!

Stone Mountain

After Stone Mountain Jace needed a nap so we put him in the car and let him snooze while we drove around and saw the sights.  We drove around downtown Atlanta and saw Olympic Park and CNN and all the fun metropolitan streets.  We even drove through a few neighborhoods to get a feel for what living in Atlanta would be like.  Once Jace was awake we stopped it at a Mexican place downtown and had a nice big meal before heading back to Charleston.

We flipped him to forward facing before the trip.

It was a short trip and we didn't really fit much into it, but I'm so glad we went so I could see what Atlanta was like.  It's one of those places you hear alot of negative things about and I was surprised to see that it was really beautiful and felt home-y and not at all like I had expected.  We're going to plan a less spontaneous trip out there sometime soon so that we can see more of what the city has to offer!