We ended up booking our hotel on Hotwire (or Priceline...I can't recall) and I got a Holiday Inn and Suites near the airport (which was near my mom). BUT, when I called to request 2 doubles, they were quite rude about it...so, I mentioned it when I checked in and they upgraded us to a suite (thankfully, because apparently regular rooms do not have a fridge and microwave...we didn't eat out a lot AND had groceries...so this was a major blessing). There were other problems at the hotel (I am thinking maybe they were newer?) which led to them forgiving my parking fees and my extra night's stay. The worst one was that they came into our room while I was changing and my children were in plain sight; and THAT is NOT OK. The housekeeper left before I could get dressed and I called about that one immediately! The staff was always bending over backwards to make sure I was happy, after the fact. But, all in all, everything ended up to be a blessing.
We are always in search of great organic grocers (even better when it's a co-op!). We found Sevenanda Foods in this kitschy little neighborhood in Atlanta and got some groceries (and then headed to Whole Foods for some meat...not realizing it was a vegetarian store...oops!). We spent the afternoon cooking (me) and playing (the boys) at my mom's house.
The next day, we went to the Georgia Aquarium. It is famed to be "the best in the country". It was REALLY neat...but, this is the most expensive attraction we visited on our entire trip (average $40/person with no extras). Special mention goes to the beluga whales and the tiger sharks! Really large, really cool viewing tanks throughout. Very nice...but, hard to swallow the price of admission.
This turned out to be a perfect day. Mom met us and we took the Marta Train to downtown. When we were calculating the fees and how many cards we would need (at the airport depot), THREE people stopped, giving us cards they would no longer use (they are $1/card without fare), with one of them giving us one with $5 still on it! Southern hospitality = sweet! Then, we headed downtown, where we walked to the aquarium. We ate the lunch we had brought on the way, in Centennial Park (really nice), and listened to some live music we happened upon; and, then we continued to the aquarium. We enjoyed 3 hours there and (almost) saw everything. Then, we had to find a place for dinner and found a highly rated gluten free pizza place right near a Marta stop on our way back to where we were staying (perfect!) AND my mom had been there and really liked it (except I can't remember the name now).
The next day, after deciding not to continue to Pensacola (instead heading straight to Charleston), we decided to stay one extra night in Atlanta, went shopping for some essentials, mailed a postcard to my husband (thanks for the idea, Aunt Brenda!) and met my brother (who lives in Athens) and his family for dinner. Thanks for the memories...on to Charleston, SC!
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