This was the first year that John took off the week between Christmas and New Years. We were all so excited to have a few days of family time with nothing to do and no where to go! After we laid around the house in our pj's for a couple of days and played with all of our new toys, we decided to get out and take advantage of the beautiful weather. One thing that I have been wanting to do and just haven't gotten around to is to take the kids downtown and tour some of Atlanta's sights. So on Thursday we hit the road and headed ITP (inside the perimeter)! For those not familiar with Atlanta, there are two places to live: ITP and OTP (outside the perimeter). ITP is for the "hip" crowd, OTP is for the "we were hip at one time, but have decided to live further out to save money and put our kids in awesome public schools; but we really are still hip...really, we are" crowd!
Our first stop was the Georgia Capital!
Can you see those two specks on the beautiful marble staircase?!?!
What? Huh? Are they really?!? Yes, those are my kiddos standing behind Gov. Deal's desk!!! He was not in for the day, but we talked with his administrative assistant and she gave us a private tour of his office!
Well, I waited and waited for a boot shine, but no one ever showed up!
We finished our tour and look at the wonderful, southern inspired treats Mr. Deal gave us!! Perfect!
Our next stop was the Historic Oakland Cemetery!
We did get a few odd looks when we told people that we had gone to a cemetery, but seriously this place is incredible! It is so full of Southern history, the monuments are beautiful and some pretty famous people are buried here.
Case in point....Margaret Mitchell!
This is the "Lion of the Confederacy" statue. Carved from marble from North Georgia and by someone from Canton, GA. It represents the Confederate soldiers who died fighting for their beliefs. Such a beautiful work!
It was so odd to be standing in this cemetery and look over and see the skyline of Atlanta. I guess us "OTP-er's" aren't used to stuff like that!
Another famous person buried here - Bobby Jones, the golfer. As you can tell, several people come to pay him respects.
Complete with a putting hole next to his headstone!
Next, our journey took us to Peachtree Center. Well, actually, we were headed to Peachtree Plaza, but the restaurant wasn't open yet, so we toured around for a bit to waste some time.
Cue the violins, please.......
Back in 1987, John and I , freshmen in college, had gone downtown to meet some friends for some dinner and fun. Well, to spare the details, John and I had our first kiss in this spot! It's amazing that the picture turned out so clear since the kids were laughing and saying "Ewwwww" with such emotion!
Finally it was 4:00 and the Westin Peachtree Plaza restaurant - The Sun Dial - opened and we were able to ride the 73 floor elevator to the top and spend some time in the rotating room!
What a spectacular day! Atlanta is such a great city and there is so much that we haven't seen or done, but was a great start! And to spend this day with the three loves of my life...priceless!
Proud to be a Southern Belle~
Laurie
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