In The ATL

Last weekend, I went to Atlanta with my friends Alanna, Elizabeth, and MinShien! The main purpose of our trip was the Hot Chocolate 15K, in which Alanna and Elizabeth were running. I've been through Atlanta many times and love the aquarium and the Coke museum, but I'd never spent much time IN the city. As it turns out, between the race and the NFL playoff game, this wasn't the best weekend to start. While A & E were running, MinShien and I tried to explore downtown, only to get caught in a massive gridlock of Falcons fans. That was okay because it was cool to be a part of playoff excitement. But later, we all wanted to go to Centennial Park and couldn't find parking anywhere nearby, even for $20 or $30. We literally spent hours driving in circles, getting lost and searching in vain for a safe place to park and/or a good restaurant or activity that was actually open. 

Drive-by of the Margaret Mitchell house, on one of the five different Peachtree Streets
 

Historic-looking country club on one of the other Peachtree Streets

 

Four single ladies in the city - for the record, we're all "the Charlotte"
(although I'm more of a Carrie/Charlotte hybrid) 

And so it was that we spent most of our Atlanta weekend at Atlantic Station. We did a lot of shopping, and ate at Strip (recommended by a local we met in the parking garage) and Rosa Mexicana. Both were great! In the evenings we went back to the hotel and ate desserts while watching girly TV (the Miss America pageant and the Golden Globes). I'd call that a successful girls' weekend.

  

Atlanta is full of cool statues and monuments. I noticed sculpture everywhere! (And I could enjoy a lot of it from the car!)

 

On our way out of town Monday morning, we stopped at Trader Joe's! The closest TJ's to Memphis is in Nashville. I'd never been. I did some research beforehand to determine the must-gets, and shopped selectively (although I still left with a haul, including half a case of $3 wine). The first item I tried was their Cookie Butter. It looks like peanut butter but tastes like gingersnaps. SO DELICIOUS. I'll have updates later as to how I liked the rest of my purchases! Anyway, I don't know how we fit our four cartfuls of TJ goods into the car, but we managed!

  

On the long, cold, slightly hazardous drive home, we stopped at a Cracker Barrel for warmth and sustenance. There's nothing like Cracker Barrel when you're on the road.

The end!