Weekend in atlanta

M'Lady and I took a visit to son Isaac and his bride (Ricci) in Atlanta, Georgia this past weekend. We had a splendid time. Everything from the scenic drive, to the activities there, were fantastic. We arrived Friday evening and went out to eat in Decatur (near our hotel). Saturday we toured the Emory/Candler campus, and then went to the Martin Luther King Jr. national historic site. We went out in Decatur Saturday night. Sunday we visited some unique shops in Atlanta and kind of just hung around, then had supper at Isaac and Ricci's on their screened in porch. Monday we drove home. Below are just a few random pics I took on my phone.

As for the drive... It took us about 11 hours both ways. Google said it would be 9 hrs 40 min. That obviously didn't account for road construction and traffic. Ugh.

On the way down, we left around 8:30 am and took I-69 to Indianapolis and picked up I-465 and then I-65 South. We stayed on that all the way to Nashville, TN, where we picked up I-24 East, and stayed on that until Chattanooga, TN where we picked up I-75 South. That goes straight into Atlanta. The worst parts of the trip down were the stretch between Indianapolis and Louisville. There was SO MUCH construction, and traffic moved so slow, that whole stretch. Then we hit Chattanooga right during rush hour, and it was really slow going there. Other than that it wasn't too bad. I believe we stopped 3 times for gas on the way down.

On the way home we left around 8:15, but we got kind of turned around. The GPS on Jane's phone was being stupid, so we went back and forth, and it was probably 8:30 when I finally remembered that I had printed off actual directions. So we grabbed those and then stood still in traffic on I-285 in Atlanta. It literally took us almost an hour just to get out of Atlanta. Then, once we finally got to I-75 North, we were right behind a car that lost control. They crossed all 6 (or 8) lanes of traffic going in both directions sideways before finally coming to a stop in front of us. Then they just took off again. When we passed the lady she was just chatting away on her headset. I can't believe no one hit her.

Anyway, the rest of the way home was pretty clear all the way through Nashville. There was some construction in Nashville, and then about half way home I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore so I asked Jane to drive. It wasn't bad until getting into the construction going through Louisville, and then it was just insane again from Louisville to Indianapolis. Jane did a good job of driving though, and we made it home around 7:30 pm.

Isaac and Ricci are doing well. She seems to like her teaching job (4th-6th graders), and I think Isaac is enjoying being in school again. They seem to be making friends - even though they haven't found a church yet. Their house is set up really cute, and Crosby seemed excited to have visitors. He's a pretty cool dog. We didn't hang out at their house too much - didn't want to cramp their style - and fortunately we had a pretty decent hotel this time. We stayed at the Emory Holiday Inn Express. It was really nice for a small, non-fancy hotel. We ate the free breakfast there every day. There was also a nice little grocery store within walking distance.

Atlanta is a really nice city. It doesn't seem to be as "urban" as a lot of cities. There are trees and grass and stuff everywhere. And everywhere we went it seemed that people were nice. I guess that's what they call "southern hospitality." The roads are a bit strange though... I guess as a result of segregation and racial issues from years ago.

We ate at a 'slice & pint' on the first night. Saturday we had lunch at a little place by campus, then supper at a Spanish place off the Decatur square. Sunday we had lunch at 'Yeah! Burger' (it was fantastic), and had supper at Isaac and Ricci's. They took us to their "world" grocery store (or whatever it's called), and that was a cultural experience in itself. It was crazy, but fun.

I'm sure there is a bunch I am forgetting. The MLK Jr. museum and things were very cool. I really enjoyed that. We also went to a really nice (and big) antique store. I saw a bunch of religious pictures that I wanted, but they were all kind of expensive. I did pick up some Yuengling beer while I was there though. Priorities. All in all it was a great time and I'm glad we got to go.

The Candler School of Theology where Isaac is a student.

Banner inside the door at Candler.

The Emory ethics department is housed in the Candler building.

Jane, Isaac & Ricci outside the Emory University Hospital.

The entrance to the church MLK Jr. attended & led.

This is where MKL Jr. grew up, and later preached.

A plaque in the basement of Ebeneezer Baptist Church.