Atlanta!

At last, my long overdue post about my recent trip to Atlanta to see J&T!

I was met Friday at the airport by T, who made the long trip on the MARTA to pick me up.  She and I wasted no time upon our return to their house and immediately jumped in the hot tub, because we had what appeared to be the only rain-free window of the weekend hovering over us right at that moment.  In fact, it didn't last long, as it started drizzling in our drinks not too long after we got in.  Never to be put off a relaxing afternoon in the hot tub by some silly rain, we stuck it out until we were sufficiently dehydrated.

T had dinner going in the crock pot, so we had some delicious pork steaks before heading off to a late performance at the Velvet Note, a local jazz spot.  The musician that evening was Trevor Wolford, a local boy.  He played a few famous pieces, but a lot of his own compositions.  I especially liked his Cuban-themed pieces.

This is a not-great clip (but the only one I can find) from another show of his trio playing "Cuban Lullaby," a piece he composed.  At our show, he played some songs with a couple other musicians, and a fair number of them on his own.

Saturday we were greeted by pouring rain, which facilitated my sleeping until 9:00, a luxury I am rarely afforded.  I munched on a bagel that J picked up at the store and did a little bit of work before we headed off to tour Barrington Hall up in Roswell.

I LOVE tours like the one we took of Barrington Hall.  You get to see the old buildings, the old furnishings, the architecture, and get the story, all led by a knowledgeable guide full of fun facts and answers to your questions. 

The front door of Barrington Hall, in the damp, drizzly suburbs of Atlanta

The lush gardens

When we finished with the Barrington home, we headed into Roswell proper for lunch at Roux.  With the full understanding that I was in the south and should behave as such, I started with a bowl of gumbo, and followed it up with a plate of fried green tomatoes, and an Old Roswell to wash it all down.

After we were properly sated, we headed down to the river to see the remains of the Roswell Manufacturing Company Mills, which are expansive in area and impressive in size.

Remains of the mill

One way to cross the river: shimmy across this sewer pipe

 

The City of Roswell apparently tired of people shimmying across the pipe, and decided to build a covered bridge

After this day out, we headed back to J&T's to let the dogs out, and T&I headed out again for a traffic-slowed trip into Buckhead to visit the Atlanta Botanical Garden -- another break in the rain!.  The "Imaginary Worlds" exhibit has been going on all year, and the garden is studded with enormous plant sculptures.

Our dinner that night was at Wisteria, a favorite of J&T.  One of the specials that night was a first for the chef: fried green tomatoes!  Of course I had to try these too (the breading was better).  And for my main I had the vegetable platter, which was a delight.

We finished off the lovely day with a stop at Crema for coffee.

I slept in again on Sunday, then got on the treadmill long enough to watch an episode of House of Cards, then joined J&T in the kitchen for a breakfast of bacon and eggs.

We set off for Turner Field despite the threat of rain to see the Braves take on the Phillies.

We had enough time to enjoy some pulled pork nachos, a drink or two, and a few innings of the game before the Biblical downpour began.  We left at a (slight) break in the rain, and eventually the game did wrap up, several hours past the scheduled time.

I watched some more House of Cards that afternoon (I was in the middle of a tense few episodes), before we decided it was time for more food, this time from Eclipse di Luna, a tapas restaurant.  I sampled the fried goat cheese, hummus, chorizo-stuffed dates, avocado salad, and some of T's paella.

We finished up the trip by listening to the Cardinal's game.  Then I packed and set off for the MARTA station early the next morning.

Thanks to J&T for a great trip!