Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Weekend In Atlanta

Sorry that I didn't post yesterday. It was really hectic trying to get everything caught back up.

First: I just want to say that my thoughts and prayers are with those that were affected by the tornadoes in Tennessee this past Friday. We had 12 fatalities (which makes 35 total in less than a week) and many more whose lives are completely devasted.

Our weekend in Atlanta just flew. We were at home on Friday getting everything ready to go. I finally managed to get all of the laundry done, in between bad storms, and Casey got everything ready on his end. We left out early on Saturday for Atlanta. We took our time getting there; stopping where we wanted. When we got into Atlanta that afternoon, we did a little shopping. I happened to see a PetSmart adoption event, so we stopped there (I'll post the pictures from that tomorrow). We had a fantastic steak dinner, and finally headed to our room to check in and get some rest.

Sunday morning we were up very early. Our reservation time for the Georgia Aquarium was 9:00 a.m. Since our printable 4D theatre tickets never arrived, we had to be there 30-45 minutes early to pick those up. When we got there at 8:15, there was already a HUGE crowd waiting to go inside. The line moved pretty fast and was well organized. If you plan on going, be prepared to go through STRICT security. They have a gate, just like the airport, complete with guards and hand scanners. There is also a frisking procedure they use. We got in, got our coats checked, picked up our 4D tickets, and were on our way.

I'll just say this now and get it out of the way. My take on the Georgia Aquarium is this: It's a really nice place. Since it's the largest in the world, I really thought there would be a few more breathtaking sights. Since I've been to several aquariums, I really expected more. I also think they let WAY too many guests in at a time. To see anything turned into a fight. By the end of the day, I was so frustrated and angry that my whole experience was ruined. When we left at 2:45 p.m., I was exhausted. I will say that the 4D theatre experience was fantastic!! I won't give out all the details here, but you do feel quite a bit, as well as see everything in 3D. It was too bad that it only lasted 30 minutes. All in all, the aquarium was nice. It didn't exactly blow my mind. I know that they are still working things out, because they have only been open since November. Would I go back? Maybe in 5 years, when the crowds thin out. Here's some of our pictures. Our camera battery, for some reason, won't hold its charge very long, so we didn't get as many pictures as we wanted. I'll post more pictures through the week.

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In the tunnel.

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A Clown Fish in the tropical reef tanks.

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Discus Fish

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Sting Rays

After we left the aquarium, we headed up to Atlanta's IKEA. That alone was worth the trip to Atlanta. We stayed in there for nearly 4 hours!! Casey picked up some kitchen racks, and I got some really cool dog pictures. There's lots of stuff we wished we could get. We've decided we want to get one of their beds, so now we just have to figure out which one. Did I mention that I love IKEA?

We finally dragged back to our hotel room a little before 7 p.m. We decided to take a quick nap, before heading out late for our anniversary dinner at Carrabba's. Dinner was fantastic as usual and afterwards we went back to the hotel and collapsed into a coma.

We took our time getting back home on Monday. We stopped at all of the outlet malls on the way back, which was a lot of fun. We didn't find a whole lot to buy, but a lot that we want to go back and get eventually. All in all, it was a really nice annivesary weekend. Now, if I can just get caught up on my rest!! I'll have more pictures tommorrow. Everyone have a great day.

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