Skyview Atlanta's Ferris Wheel

By now most of you know that we spend time with Bob & Peggy every October when we visit Atlanta, while Amy and Dennis are working and Nicholas is in school.  It ends up being a win-win for all of us.

Especially when we get to see and do fun things!

This was the short version on Facebook.

Here's the longer version of our drive to downtown Atlanta, next to the Centennial Olympic Park, to ride the 200-ft-high Skyview Atlanta Ferris wheel. 

Lucky for us, Peggy had already researched it and found discounted tickets through Groupon, 4 for $32, instead of the normal $13.50 pp price.  She then asked us if we wanted to ride in daylight or at nighttime?  When I found out the price, I said BOTH.  So I bought another set of Groupon tickets so that we could ride the wheel twice.  DUH!

We couldn't have picked a better day for overlooking the Atlanta skyline!

And because kids were in school on this Monday, 19 October, it wasn't busy.

So I made the executive decision to ride as couples in separate gondolas for more photo-taking space.

At first, I was mesmerized by the wheel contraption itself.

(Aren't Bob & Peggy cute in that top-right gondola!)

Then, of course, I started paying attention to what was out there to see.

If you're not familiar with Atlanta, it won't mean as much,

but for the rest of us, it was a huge WOW, recognizing the iconic buildings.

It was fun to zoom in on some of the familiar particulars....

especially the Centennial Olympic Park with its Olympic-Rings fountain.

I lived in Atlanta during the 1996 Olympics, and even purchased one of the 

800,000 bricks made to construct the 21-acre park, at $35 each.

After 7 full revolutions (the normal ride is 4), we exited and crossed the street

to spend some time in said Centennial Olympic Park.

Talk about an oasis in the middle of the concrete jungle.

And, yes, it's free.

At first we were quickly distracted by a flying object in the sky

until we tracked down the culprit who was causing all the excitement.

Did you know that toy drones are supposed to be the biggest Christmas seller this year?

But not to get off-subject, of course.

It was most impressive to get the Skyview take from the park's perspective.

By then it was time to eat...and get dark...before our next ride.

Bob had already picked out Glenn's Kitchen, just a hop, skip and a jump away, near Philips Arena.

(And in case you wondered, that's only a fake Chihuly glass chandelier.)

Astrid and I both had a real Guinness Stout, tickling the waiter to bits.

We also had our second of two kale salads this trip.  Delish.

It didn't take long for it to get dark while we were eating dinner.

If we had waited longer, we would have missed the sunset.

My shots weren't good because of the movement, but you get the picture.

This time we had only 3 complete revolutions, but we saw what we went to see.

And then, again, we crossed the street to see everything from the park's point of view, in the dark.

It was breath-taking.  This is Atlanta!

Walking back to the car it all felt like a fairytale.

Totally worth those Groupon tickets, Peggy & Bob.

THANK YOU.