Atlanta Part 2

In an effort to log the remainder of our time in Atlanta together without crashing the internet, I am going to try bullet points for the remainder of the visit (with one exception).

Thursday: 
*Mexican Lunch with Jay, his sim partner & their teacher. Jay and I were worried since we love our AZ Mexican food, but it wasn't too bad.
*Ground School with Jay - they let me go to Flight Safety sit in & it was great! Made me really miss flying & learning.
*Pool - the perfect time of day for sunshine at our hotel pool was about 1:30-3:00.
*Shopping - I had a coupon I wanted to use! Jay bought $8 chapstick.
*Dinner at Pura Vida. Jay had picked this place out (main reason - so he could try chimichurri sauce) and guess what? It is owned/operated by another Top Chef Season 6-er - Hector Santiago. It's a tapas restaurant & overall the food was very very good. My favorite was the Steamed Coconut Buns (smoked pork belly, tamarind sauce, shaved cabbage, cilantro & pickled chiles). It might have been Jay's favorite too (the bun itself was incredible) though we also got some chorizo & cheese empanadas which were so. good. (again, it was the dough on the outside we loved - so flaky). Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of our favorite dishes, but did get this one of the Mofongo con Carne Frita (green banana mash with pork cracklings, berkshire pork carnitas and pork jus espuma) because it looks so cool with all the foam on top. I picked this dish totally based on the term "pork cracklings". Though it was good, we didn't love the banana mash and I didn't find any cracklings (expecting them to be crunchy?), so the coconut buns totally won.

Friday:
*Pool - I did laps!
*Ordered pizza for dinner. Yum.
*We got news from our mortgage broker that we are getting the house we put an offer on in March (gotta love short sales!)!
*I couldn't sleep due to thinking about house stuff

Saturday:
*Smoothies for breakfast
*Lowes - picked out appliances for the kitchen
*Jason's Deli for lunch - we were happy to have some fresh, healthy food
*Groceries

**back to regular blogging for a bit**

Sunday morning we got up early & were out the door by 6:30 to head to Savannah. It was only about a three and a half hour drive & totally worth it! What a cute city!

We started our visit by having lunch at Vics on the River. This place had a great view of the river and that's why we picked it. The actual restaurant is on the 4th floor, so these are pics from the balcony up there.

The food was ok. Jay had a Fried Shrimp Po Boy and I had a Fried Green Tomato BLT.

Next up was Tybee Island. I wanted to see the ocean & put my feet in the water! It was only about a 20 minute drive & again, totally worth it.

After a little driving around looking for a place to park (we didn't have any change with us for the meters), Jay found this spot with nearly 2 hours left on the meter!! Score!

Who's da Man? 

The first thing we did was go Tybee Time which was recommended by our server at lunch. Lots of daiquiris to choose from & are supposedly a staple along the strip. They already had alcohol in them with the exception of a virgin Strawberry so that's what I got. Jay got the grown-up Strawberry & we were on our way to the pier. 

I love the ocean!

Did I mention how HOT it was this day? The humidity, though not as bad, reminded us of our honeymoon in Mexico. Sticky hot. 

Next up was the beach. I can't believe I tried to take a picture of my feet in the water:

Not so successful. Haha. 

These turned out better :) 

My dress got pretty wet in the water so we took a walk along the beach to let it dry out. Let's just say there was great people watching on this beach! And on the way back to the car, I got the best compliment ever! This lady approached us & told me that I looked classy. How nice is that to hear from a total stranger? Made my day...

...and so did what we found upon returning to our car:

I love spotting VT plates and am always tempted to leave a little "Hello! Small world! I'm from VT too!" note on their cars, but never do. Made me smile though. 

Our final stop on Tybee Island was the Lighthouse. 

A sweet couple offered to take our picture:

 And I just had to get this one!

It was way too hot & I'm way too pregnant to take the stairs to the top of the lighthouse, so we headed back to Savannah. 

Jay wanted iced coffee, so I referenced a bookmarked site on my iPad that recommended a few good places. Guess what?

Yeah, the two cute, locally owned coffee shops I wanted to check out were both closed. Gotta love the South. So Starbucks it was. We took a nice little rest there & made our plan for the rest of the afternoon.

One thing I wanted to do while in Georgia was to tour an old estate. The Owens-Thomas House sounded like the perfect choice & it's located right in the heart of Savannah.

The house was designed by an English architect (very unusual & prestigious at this time) and built between 1816 and 1819.

The tour started in the Slave Quarters. We couldn't take pictures inside any of the buildings, but the slave quarters had a very cool (original) blue ceiling which was painted by the slaves that lived there. It was common for ceilings & doors to be painted with this indigo-based paint (called "haint") in order to repel evil spirits and keep the building's occupants safe. Apparently it's the only building known to have original "haint" left in the area.

The view from the house looking across the gardens at the slave quarters.

On our way out:

I had to snap a picture of the famous porch where the Marquis de Lafayette (a general in the American Revolutionary War) addressed the residents of Savannah against slavery (which was funny because he stayed as a guest in the house during his visit. During his stay, the owner hid his slaves & had his children help out knowing that the Lafayette was against slavery - he didn't want the general to know he was a slave owner himself).

Jay and I both enjoyed the tour and were very impressed by the architecture - particularly the fake doors and windows (symmetry was very important back then) and the bridge on the second floor.

After the tour, we headed to the Olde Pink House for an early dinner. We had called earlier in the day for a reservation & the only time they had open was 9:30pm (on a Sunday!), so we decided to wing it & get there upon opening at 5pm in hopes of at least a spot at the bar.

They were very accommodating & we were seated at a nice intimate table on the lower level in what used to be the home's kitchen & laundry area. One thing that really impressed me was that the whole room was lit by candlelight - candle sticks - instead of little votives that I'm used to. It was quite romantic!

This historic house was built in 1789 and was one of the few buildings in the city to survive the big fire of 1796. In the 1800s it was a bank (the vault is now the wine cellar) and now it's a restaurant! One of the coolest things about the property is that it is supposedly haunted. Our server took the time to tell us some great stories.

Jay ordered the Crispy Half Duck with black vinegar BBQ glaze, crispy onions, seasonal fruit and vegetable crepes.

And me? I was going to get the Deep Dish Chicken Pot Pie or the Braised Pork Shank, but after being highly recommended by our server, I decided on the Crispy Scored Flounder with Apricot Shallot Sauce instead. Yes! I ordered seafood & am sooooo glad I did!

It came with two sides I wasn't crazy about (grits & collards), so I substituted asparagus and macaroni & cheese instead. Everything was DELICIOUS. The coolest part? The way they prepare the fish is so it's easy to eat. Each of the little squares on top "popped" off the bones & was the perfect sized bite.

And then when you're done with one side, you flip it over & there are new squares on the other side. AND! AND! When you're done you get this!

(Tricia, are you proud or what?)

Now for dessert, we had to try Leopold's Ice Cream - a local landmark & old-fashioned ice cream parlor.

Everyone that worked there was very friendly & helped me decide on a safe, nut-free selection of their all-homemade ice cream. I ended up with coconut ice cream with, yes, house-made chocolate fudge sauce to top it off. Delish.

After such a fun-filled day, we decided to head back to Atlanta rather than spending money on a hotel. That is, not before a quick detour to the South Carolina border so Jay could check a state off his list:

We drove past the sign, turned around & came right back to Georgia. Fun times.

"Home" by 11ish, it was a fun-packed day that I will say was probably my favorite of the whole two weeks! Thanks honey :)

**Back to our bullets to wrap things up**

Monday:
*Thumbs Up Diner for some chicken & waffles (they sold Vermont Maple Syrup if you wanted to upgrade as I did)
*Sent off our mortgage docs!

Tuesday:
*Waffle House for brunch. Duh. WH in the south is like Dunkin Donuts in Boston, or Starbucks in Seattle. There were 3 of them within a mile stretch of the road our hotel was on. So we made a point to stop in for our "scattered, smothered, covered & diced" (hash browns for you WH virgins), a chocolate chip waffle (and eggs, and toast, and bacon, and OJ) for me, and cheesy eggs (and bacon & a egg sandwich) for Jay. We ate our hearts out.

Wednesday:
*Headed home. Jay is not far behind!

Weekend Update: WY Wyoming!

This past weekend took us to Wyoming. The company I work for sells ranch land up there and I was in charge of planning a BBQ/Sales Event in Laramie. I was so happy that Jay was able to come with me on another business trip!

Wyoming is a beautiful place. It's hard to even put in words how much I loved it! Pictures barely do it justice, but until you have a chance to explore yourself, pictures will have to do! All I can say is that standing out there in the middle of this 23,000 acre ranch made me speechless! So, in an effort to not take away from it's beauty, here is our weekend in *mostly* pictures (lots and lots of pictures):

Our transportation from Phoenix to Laramie. My boss has a share in this beautiful King Air 300.

My view for the flight

Jay acted as co-pilot for the flight. That's Captain Bill in the left seat. I knew we were in good hands!

Bill was awesome and let me "fly" with Jay for over 30 minutes. I must admit that I got a little weepy up there. I miss flying so much!

Laramie welcomed us with this awesome storm! We landed right before it came through. The wind was whistling and it poured!

Driving to the ranch (following my boss in the truck ahead). It's ahead on the left.

Ranch entrance

Now we're on the ranch. You can see the Snowy Range in the distance (you can see it better if you click on the photo to enlarge).

Little Laramie River

Antelope checking us out

Aspen Cottage - where Jay and I stayed

The sales office is 6.2 miles in from the entrance. On the left is the tent for the BBQ, then the bunkhouse, then the sales office (red roof), and the barn on the far right.

Sales office

There are over 300 wild horses that roam the ranch.

Baby horse - Jay insists I call it a colt. Regardless, very cute!

Beautiful Wyoming

Lake Hattie

The sun setting over the ranch. It was so nice to have it light so late up there! Us Arizonans are used to it being dark by 7:30ish and it was light here until well after 9!

Saturday morning this is what I woke up to. Jay found a gun and was hunting prairie dogs from the front porch.

Jay was so helpful! We drove along the road and tied balloons on the signs to direct people to the BBQ. It was quite a challenge due to some serious winds that day!

I had arranged ponies and goats to be there for the kids to enjoy. I enjoyed them too :)

Baby goat JuJu

Another thing I arranged was old time photos for guests to take home with them as souvenirs. This is one of my favorites.

While I was working at the BBQ, Jay hung out at the welcome center (off the main road) to direct guests to the right place. Doesn't he look so stressed out?

More horses

Sunday morning, Jay was back outside hunting for critters.

Look what I had for breakfast on Sunday - S'mores and coffee. Can't beat that!

THIS is the life. It was a beautiful morning. When we grow up, I want a porch so I can enjoy my coffee like this. Pure heaven.

I grabbed a picture on Sunday of the BBQ setup before people arrived.

Before we headed to the airport, we took a quick drive to Centennial, WY. Notice the population is 100, hence the name. It was a very cute little town.

Back to Arizona

We both just loved Wyoming and look forward to more adventures there in the future. My company has ranches in Casper and Cheyenne, so perhaps we'll go there next!