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.

Bob and Peggy 2012 and Downtown Atlanta

Finally it's time to finish our 2012 American trip.  In between the time with the kids in Atlanta (last post), we spent Monday-Friday with Bob and Peggy south of the city.  This is becoming a tradition, as most of you know by now.  One we really look forward to!

Right off the bat we met Roscoe, their new child!

They basically rescued him from a previous neighbor who abandoned him 

and have now breathed life into him!

And speaking of additions, while we were there, Bob became a first-time g'pa.

G'daughter Harper was born on his and Peggy's 8th wedding anniversary.

What a nice way to remember important milestones by having them on the same day!

By now Peggy has finished the cross-stitched baby afghan she was making.

And speaking of anniversaries, we treated them to a celebratory meal at the nearby French Market.

Who would have guessed you'd find a French connection in the Deep South!

The food was fabulous...very New-Orleans style.

 And after our tummies were full, we were "short of eyes," looking at all of the wares for sale.

True story:  we met the lady owner who had just returned from a trip to Amsterdam!

It's a small world after all.

Each time we visit B&P out where they live in the boonies,

Astrid loves going off on her own to take pictures of everything she sees...

like this one-truck fire station not far from the house!

(her images, my collage)

This was her first time to see a real hummingbird ever.

She waited 45 minutes to get these shots!

(her images, my collage)

 And just to drive home the point of our American way of life, with all our over-the-top choices,

here's Astrid's impressions of some shopping times with Peggy.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

We could hang around the house the entire time, inside or out, and be happy campers.  But no, Bob and Peggy always want us to go somewhere...especially where Astrid hasn't yet been.  HER choice was to see downtown Atlanta.  And that's what the rest of this post is about!

To be honest, this was good for me, too, because even though I lived in the Atlanta area for 25 years, I had no real sense for what the downtown was like.  It's not a place you visit unless you have a conference there.

And the fun thing is you can park and then go everywhere on foot.  Which we did.

Look how much fun Astrid had!  Me, too, watching her.

What downtown Atlanta is known for to me is it's architecture...like most cig bities!

You see much of it when you pass through the city on the freeway, but THIS is up close and personal.

The one SURPRISE I discovered is that Atlanta has it's own flatiron building (left bottom pic above).

Yes, just like NYC.  I had no idea.

I stopped in my tracks when we passed through the Chick-fil-A arch at one point.

For one, I looked for and found Moody Bible Institute on its list of Institution Recipients.

I was a student there one year and brother Nelson taught at Monmouth College.

S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A, was recently in the news, as you may know....

because of his same-sex comments.  Talk about a controversy!

And as if that weren't enough, Bob got roped into an interview with an Associated Press man,

since we were in the middle of the Republican National Convention.

Bob and I don't see eye to eye on almost anything political, BUT we're still friends.

After all is said and done, that's what's most important!

And besides, by then it was time to eat!

 We hadn't planned on it but because we were at the CNN center, it was a no-brainer to eat there.

I had wanted Astrid to see that place because of all the times I had been there for concerts.

The Philips Arena (concerts, sports) is attached to this huge complex 

where the world feels at your doorstep.  Today I get most of my news from CNN!

After lunch, the biggest surprise of the day for me was finding out how close we were to the

 Centennial Olympic Park ...within easy walking distance...and how beautiful it is! 

 It was my first time to walk through it.

I remember the 1996 Summer Olympics as though it were yesterday.

I had purchased my own $35 brick back then and found it now in the walkway, thanks to the locator kiosk.

There was a bombing, remember?  And thus the Quilt of Remembrance was added later.

So many wonderful remembrances were added after the fact.  I had no clue.

I'd be proud to take anyone there to see the site.

And oh, that smiling fella?  He loved my camera and was such a gentleman.

I had to take his picture:  the man without a name but with a great smile.

From the park we were able to see the World of Coca Cola, the American Cancer Society headquarters,
 the GA Aquarium, buildings from Midtown...all for another day/year.

But that's how close everything was.  It really did surprise me.

And as we walked back to the car...

...we had a lovely serenade to end our day.

On that note, I'll also end our 2012 American trip.

Here's to next year and all the memories to come!