Atlanta Arrival

Greetings. I am finally, after 20 years of being a Braves fan, ready to see a home game. I'll keep this post short, since the next one will probably be long. 

We left the Brick Pit in Mobile, Alabama and drove through Montgomery on our way into Atlanta. We experienced the strangest weather patterns we'd ever seen. It would rain for 300 feet and then stop. Literally 10 seconds of downpour, and then nothing. Odd.

(Montgomery, Alabama. Where traffic happens.)

(Korean cars are made in rural Alabama. Intuitive, right?)

We arrived at Christian's place at 7:30pm, and found that he had the entire guesthouse of a lovely home to himself, so we knew we were in for a good night's sleep (a much needed 10 hours, as it turned out). 

(First glimpse of the Atlanta skyline.)

(Reunited and it feels so good.)

(Our lovely digs in the Virginia Highlands area of Atlanta.)

We threw our stuff down and I immediately threw all my clothes into Christian's industrial sized washing machine. Then we went to Hand in Hand, a great indoor/outdoor restaurant/pub that served Sweetwater 420, a local pale ale (we are going to the Sweetwater Brewery this afternoon if Christian can leave work early) that went great with our pub fare.

(Grilled Chicken with Panchetta, Basil and Sun-dried Tomatoes. Jeff's burger in the the background was much more impressive.)

(Hey look, the Braves game is on TV. Why? Because I'M IN ATLANTA.)

After Hand in Hand, we went down the street to Atkins Park, a local pub, at which point my camera ran out of batteries. Ryan Kenyon and Kirk Kirkland, my travel buddies from Atlanta through Virginia Beach, came and met up with us at the bar and we finished a few pitchers of Peroni and Stella. Bonus: They had bottles of Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, one of my top 5 favorite beers, available at the bar, so I indulged a bit because guess what: I don't have to drive anywhere for 48 hours.

Oh, and this happened: We're all sitting at the table and Christian looks at his phone and then looks at me and says, "Will, bad news. Lauren (the women whose house Christian lives behind) just found your iPod at the bottom of the washing machine." Argh! I had literally stopped at an Alabaman Radio Shack that afternoon to pick up a cord, and Jeff and I had been rocking out all afternoon to my nano. Rest in Peace, little guy. You will be missed (but you will also be replaced this afternoon.)

Well, see ya.