Saturday April 1, 2023
The five days in Atlanta have been problem free and we have enjoyed exploring the city, its restaurants, culture and music but, unfortunately, the end had to come and things definitely went awry today. Before I tell that story, however, I will mention what a great day Friday was.
We decided to walk to Centennial Olympic Park, as the weather was beautiful, to discover that the city was humming with life as there is a regional girls’ volleyball tournament this Friday to Sunday that attracts over 1,200 teams and 50,000 people to town. Having braved the crowds to get lunch we decided to visit the Atlanta Botanical Gardens which were exploding with color as so many flowers were blooming in the delightful spring weather. As at most botanical gardens, the exhibits were plentiful and varied but the presentation of the displays here were excellent. We spent a while in the orchid garden, the edible garden and several others before finding a snack bar that offered real cocktails made by an expert. This was a first for me in a botanical garden and, while I did not indulge, at least one member of our group took advantage and we enjoyed drinks in beautiful surroundings.
In the evening we returned to Blind Willies for more live music but not before having a great dinner next door at Truva Turkish Kitchen. The restaurants in Atlanta have been a pleasant surprise, both in quality and value.
At Blind Willies we, again, experienced a musical treat, The Chris O’Leary Band. They performed mainly original numbers and, although they did not have the character of George Hughley, were excellent musicians and thoroughly entertaining. Video below courtesy of Christian.
Today we planned to check out of our condo, have a final walk in town and a relaxed lunch, before heading to the airport around 2 o’clock. However things did not go as planned.
When I went to take a bag to the car I found that the parking lot had become a shallow lake and I had to wade through four inches of water to get to it. My shoes, socks and the bottom of my jeans were absolutely soaked but we had an hour before checkout so I used the dryer to fix all that. When we finally checked out I had to wear white trash bags over my shoes and legs to avoid the same fate and bring the car to Rita and Christian. Rita offered to take a picture of my ridiculous getup for the blog but I refused – sorry!
In the meantime American Airlines had informed Rita and Christian that their flight to Washington had been canceled and they were now scheduled to fly Sunday at 2 PM. That was not satisfactory and so we abandoned our relaxing plans and headed straight to the airport so that they could get to work arranging an alternative. There were no open flights to DC today and so, as I write, Rita and Christian have flown to Philadelphia and are transferring from the airport to the rail station to take a train to Washington. They will then Uber home, hopefully before midnight. A true case of Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
I have driven to Dahlonega, GA for the night and am hoping for a smooth journey back to DC.
What an adventure! But also lovely memories.
Mishaps and obstacles that are not serious always offer a memory to savor.
Another very interesting trip. Have you sorted your plans for visiting the uk this summer. Our calendar is filling up. We are currently in Botswana looking at lions and elephants. Best wishes Simon
Wow, it’s you who should be blogging your trip. Sounds amazing. I’ll let you know my dates for the UK by email.
Cheers, Steve.
Happy to see you three having fun!
Cristian is worried about Rita’s LBW for the wrong sport!!!
The girl who posed just before Rita did a little dance so Christian made Rita do the same. Unfair, I know – it’s not cricket.