Mom comes to visit

We had a lovely visit with my mother last week here in Georgia.  We saw several tourist sites, played music in church together, and I got to share my home with her.  Comparing this week to the 3 months of torture my parents endured in the 70s while living in GA (no AC, cockroaches, etc. - just ask anyone in our family; its part of Nelson folklore), I dare say my mom had a much better time.  Some of the sites TJ and I went to recently are explained in more detail on my last blog post.

We added a new hanging pot of cheerful red geraniums and some other potted flowers to my balcony.  Mom my knows more about plants than most people nowadays so I always like talking plants with her.

We walked the Oakland Cemetery on a HOT summer day - this is Margaret Mitchell's grave site.

Next was the Martin Luther King Jr. museum

MLK Jr's home growing up

On Saturday when TJ didn't have work we spent the whole day site-seeing.  We went to the Atlanta History Center, which included the Swan House - a mansion which had its heyday in the 1930's.  I've seen my fair share of old mansions in Europe, but I never get tired of them.  I could live pretty comfortably in this one :). 

 
 

Inside the museum itself we spent most of our time at the fantastic Civil War exhibit.

After the museum we took the CNN Tour and got to see behind the scenes of how a news station operates.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Georgia Aquarium.  My favorite part was seeing nature in action when the giant whale shark pooped (seriously, it was like a horse) and all the other fishies scrambled to get their cut of the goods.  Kinda gross, but it was fascinating to watch.

There was a cool exhibit of preserved "sea monsters".  I overheard a 3-year old girl loudly exclaim, "All these fish are suuuure dead".  Indeed.

 

On our last evening we explored Stone Mountain.  We hiked all the way up to the top (which is not an easy hike), took the lift down, and then watched the laser show on the side of the mountain.

 

You could see for miles up there!

It didn't actually rain, but it was so humid that it almost felt like it was raining.

My mom couldn't very well come and NOT leave us with a big batch of her famous chocolate chip cookies.  Right?

I'm so glad that my mom could come and visit.  Now I look forward to going back to Washington this summer for a visit of my own!

Welcome to Atlanta!

AFTER a crazy last month in Texas we moved to the Atlanta area for TJ's new job.  We wanted to see a few sites before he starts, so we got together with our good friends Tim and Charisse to check out the Oakland Cemetery and the Martin Luther King, Jr. historical sites.  It was a lovely, warm morning and it was refreshing to see the beautiful architecture and botany of the cemetery grounds.

There is a civil war confederate section with named and unnamed grave markers.  This monument is the Lion of the Confederacy or Lion of Atlanta.

This is the grave of Margaret Mitchell, the author of Gone with the Wind.  She used to love walking through this part of the city herself.

Huge mausoleums scattered the grounds.  Some of them were notable people, such as Atlanta's first mayor

Some of the mausoleums had interesting interiors with stained glass and other notable features.

Gorgeous shot of the Atlanta skyline and cemetery.

There were original and replica statues intermingled amongst the tombs.

The cemetery is also a botanical preserve that include huge magnolias, that are just starting to bloom, and ancient oaks.

This is one of the oldest gas lamps in the south, as one of the original 50 installed by the Atlanta Gas Light company in 1856.  It has some marks on it from the bombing of Atlanta in 1864.

NEXT we went to the Martin Luther King, Jr historical sites.  They included the museum, his childhood home, Ebenezer church where he preached and his funeral was held, and Dr. and Mrs. King's tomb.

History always seems more real when you are able to see the sites where they actually occurred.  It puts things into perspective.

We finished up our morning with going to The Varsity.  It reminded me of old times eating lunch between classes on campus.  What a fun day!

See you later alligator!

 TJ and I spent the afternoon at Brazos Bend State Park, which is about a 50 minute drive away.  The grand total of gators we saw in the wild was 11 and we had a really enjoyable time observing nature.  It was about 68 degrees and a little overcast so it was a nice day for a 5 mile hike around two of the little lakes there. 

The general mood of the place was rather muted and hushed, despite all the wildlife.  The birds, while very vocal, seemed like all their quacks and squawks were dampened.  They often sounded like they were quietly laughing or harrumphing, which cracked me up.  The trees had a greyish hue, especially with all the hanging moss.  The water was stagnant and the air was a muggy and still.  The turtles and gators always seemed like they were waiting for something.

I love how this one is parked right under the sign.

View from the observation tower.

I just started saying "Let me go over here and take a picture of it from behind...," and it got up and started moving so I finished my sentence with "...NOPE, I think I'll take the picture from far away."  Gators have the right of way around here.

There were lots of cranes, herons, and ducks.

This guy was probably four feet tall and let me get pretty close before it flew away.

After the hike we spent a little time in the nature center.  This guide was telling us all about the snakes in the area and we got to pet this rat snake.

We saw some turtles.  There were the cutest little 2 inchers in the nature center.

We touched this baby alligator!  We saw a mama gator and her baby on the hike, but the baby was really hard to see so I didn't get a picture.  It was only about 6 inches long; they grow a foot a year until about 8 feet, then the growth slows way down.

 If you are in Houston you should definitely go to Brazos if you have the chance.  They have camping there too, and dozens of miles of hiking and biking trails.

Valentine's Weekend

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays.  We get to show our friends and family that we love them!  I have fond memories from over the years of chocolate fountain parties with roommates, school parties, and thoughtful goodies from friends.  At work it was fun to see coworkers and people in the elevator with bouquets of flowers being delivered to them.  I got home and TJ had pizza in the oven and some cupcakes next to a picture of us from our wedding.  He was a sweetheart all evening.  We rented Ender's Game from Red Box, and had a relaxing evening home away from the masses of people out and about.

Saturday was our official Valentine's date.  We went to brunch at Backstreet Cafe, which we had a gift card for from some of our favorite people.  The cafe even had complimentary valet parking.  I kept singing "Backstreet's back, alright!"  Don't judge.  

The food was delicious!  TJ had banana and caramel stuffed french toast, and I had eggs Benedict on chive biscuits with potatoes, asparagus, and cheddar grits.  Side note: I have found an appreciation for grits since moving to the south; I get the instant packets and eat those instead of oatmeal nowadays since I often prefer savory breakfasts over sweet ones.  

The atmosphere at the cafe was really delightful.  It is a 30's-era house made into a cafe and the shutters were open to a cool, morning breeze.  On Sundays they have live Jazz, so all in all my type of venue.  Then we went and saw the matinee of Lego Movie and have had "Everything is Awesome" stuck in my head for two days.  Can you guess which of us picked each activity?

I hope you felt loved on Valentine's Day; I know I did!