I feel like I should follow everyone else and write a year in review blog post, but I just reread all the blog posts from this year, and between school and work our lives really just weren't that exciting. Here's to hoping 2014 will be a more eventful year.
In January Brandon and I officially started our last year of college. We were both super busy and taking a lot of classes, which really is the story of our lives. At this point in time we were for sure planning to movie to North Carolina for grad school.
February. The most exciting thing this month was Valentines Day when I was spoiled rotten. Safe Haven, Costa, and treats galore!!
March was a fairly great month. I turned 22 (bleh) and we went to Disneyland! I was kind of sick the entire trip, so my blog posts from then made it sound like I didn't enjoy the trip, but looking back on it I sure did!
Nothing exciting happened in April. It came, and it went. We made our own Easter dinner for the first time ever, but that's about it!
In May Brandon turned a quarter of a century old, and received a scholarship all in the same day! We spent our afternoons eating sno cones and laying out in the sun, and started a weekly tradition of going to the Farmer's Market every Saturday. We also planned our vacation to the southeast!
June and July were filled mostly with work, but also a ton of fun. We worked from 7-3 every day, spent the afternoons outside, and spent our nights going on runs. Running with Brandon is one of my favorite things, because we just talk the entire time. Over the summer we talked mostly about the future, and it's fun to think that the future is finally here!
August was a very busy month! We went on our vacation to Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, and it was one of the greatest things of my entire life. I fell in love with so many different places we visited, and can't wait to go back or even move there someday. On that trip, we decided that moving across the country may not be the best move for us at this point, and that Boise State was the best decision. It broke my heart, but I know it will be a good choice in the end. We also started our final semester at Utah State. Brandon took on a heavy load with his classes, and I started my internship in the counseling office at Sky View. Seriously, best experience of my life.
September, October, and November were just filled with school, grad school applications, and planning for the future. We spent Thanksgiving here in Logan and had a great time with Brandon's side of the family!
December was a bittersweet month. We both finished out the semester with a 4.0 gpa, and graduated with a major and two minors each. My internship at Sky View ended, something that still makes me sad every single day. I started a full time position at the library. The first weekend in December we went to Boise for Brandon's interview for the MBA program at Boise State, and five days later he got his acceptance email. We will be moving to Boise sometime within the next eight months!
Quite honestly, the future freaks me out. I'm not sure how ready I am for 2014 and all the changes it will bring, but as Brandon's favorite quote from Meet the Robinsons says: "Keep moving forward."
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
4 More Weeks
We are down to less than four full weeks of school!! Next week there are no classes Wednesday through Friday due to Thanksgiving, then we have a full week of classes the week after, and the second week in December is finals week. I can't believe that graduation is actually happening for both of us. I felt like college was never going to end! We still haven't heard back from Boise State yet on whether Brandon has been accepted, but they said we should hear back from them before Thanksgiving, so I'm hoping they call today or tomorrow! I plan on wearing blue or orange every single day this week just in case. I have applied for a few jobs at BSU but have yet to hear back from them. I would like to get a full time position on campus so we can get tuition waivers, so I haven't applied for any jobs off campus. My program, as it turns out, is part time at night and on weekends, so that will allow me to work full time while going to school. Brandon has also applied for a few internships up in Boise, but hasn't heard anything yet. If worst comes to worst and we have to stay here for a few months, I accepted a full time position at the library that I start December 16, so we always have that as a backup plan.
We will be staying in Logan for Thanksgiving, but I'm hoping we go up to Boise sometime soon for an interview. I am really looking forward to getting out of Logan, and I want to start planning for it as soon as possible!! That is all that is new, really. I basically have no more work left to do for school, so I'm just counting down the days until Brandon doesn't have homework anymore so we can hang out!
We will be staying in Logan for Thanksgiving, but I'm hoping we go up to Boise sometime soon for an interview. I am really looking forward to getting out of Logan, and I want to start planning for it as soon as possible!! That is all that is new, really. I basically have no more work left to do for school, so I'm just counting down the days until Brandon doesn't have homework anymore so we can hang out!
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
10 More Weeks!!
When this week ends, we only have 10 more weeks until we are officially graduated. Can you believe it? After four and a half years and buckets of money later, I will finally be able to call myself a college graduate. Here's a cool fact though: Brandon and I will both have three specialties. I'm majoring in Human Development with a minor in Psychology and a minor Spanish, and Brandon is majoring in Business Administration with a minor in Operations Management and a minor in Human Resources. At the beginning of September we discovered that he only needed to take one more class in order to get the second minor, so he decided to add it. Luckily it doesn't start until the middle of this month, but he has another class that will be starting at the same time. He will be going from four classes to six classes. He is going to be a busy busy guy! I know he can handle it though. He has already been super busy this semester, and that has been a huge adjustment for both of us, since we were able to spend so much time together this summer.
I will say this though, our house has never been cleaner. With him doing homework all the time and me not wanting to leave the house after we get home, I mostly just clean, and that's okay. I also have been cooking meals at home (which is another big change from the summer). Last weekend I made a Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole which was delicious, and Monday I made a Sun-Dried Tomato Soup with Tortellini in it. Oh man. It was so good. Whenever I'm hungry I just browse Pinterest and find things that I want to eat right that second, then I just make it for dinner! I'm trying to locate my cooking skills that I'm sure were passed down to me, but it's taking a while to find them.
Brandon is hoping to finish applying to BSU by Fall Break, which is October 18. We should hear back within a month to a month and a half after he applies as to whether or not he gets in. Then he will apply for assistantships. Assistantships and financial aid will be the ultimate determinant of where we end up for grad school. BSU has a pretty sweet assistantship program, so we are hoping that works out. And we aren't sure when we would move if we do end up going to BSU. We talked about moving up there in January and get internships, but we would be able to save a ton of money if we stayed here at our current jobs and in our current apartment. Apartments are more expensive in Boise than they are in Logan, and we are hoping to buy a house before school starts, so we would only be in an apartment for like six months anyways.
We are getting pretty excited to see what the future holds for us. Brandon and I are both big planners, and it's hard to plan anything when nothing concrete is actually happening. So I'll keep you posted.
If anyone has any other questions about grad school or our future, let me know and I'll post the answers on here so everyone can see.
I will say this though, our house has never been cleaner. With him doing homework all the time and me not wanting to leave the house after we get home, I mostly just clean, and that's okay. I also have been cooking meals at home (which is another big change from the summer). Last weekend I made a Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole which was delicious, and Monday I made a Sun-Dried Tomato Soup with Tortellini in it. Oh man. It was so good. Whenever I'm hungry I just browse Pinterest and find things that I want to eat right that second, then I just make it for dinner! I'm trying to locate my cooking skills that I'm sure were passed down to me, but it's taking a while to find them.
Brandon is hoping to finish applying to BSU by Fall Break, which is October 18. We should hear back within a month to a month and a half after he applies as to whether or not he gets in. Then he will apply for assistantships. Assistantships and financial aid will be the ultimate determinant of where we end up for grad school. BSU has a pretty sweet assistantship program, so we are hoping that works out. And we aren't sure when we would move if we do end up going to BSU. We talked about moving up there in January and get internships, but we would be able to save a ton of money if we stayed here at our current jobs and in our current apartment. Apartments are more expensive in Boise than they are in Logan, and we are hoping to buy a house before school starts, so we would only be in an apartment for like six months anyways.
We are getting pretty excited to see what the future holds for us. Brandon and I are both big planners, and it's hard to plan anything when nothing concrete is actually happening. So I'll keep you posted.
If anyone has any other questions about grad school or our future, let me know and I'll post the answers on here so everyone can see.
Friday, September 27, 2013
Charlotte
I guess I should probably finish up posting about our trip so I can post about other things, so here goes!
We stayed in Wilmington for the night then got up early the next morning to make the three hour drive to Charlotte. We had a tour scheduled for around 1:30, and wanted to make sure we didn't get lost/had time to actually get lost like we did in Athens. When we got to the building we were supposed to be in, the people in charge of the tours recognized immediately that we weren't there for freshman orientation. Rather than having us sit through the 45 minute session about dorms, meal plans, and other freshman things, they told us that we could come back in like 30 minutes and they would take us to the starting point of the tour to meet up with the rest of the group. We used this time to talk to people in graduate admissions, and I actually got to talk to some girls that are in the counseling program. The tour was great, and we really really loved the campus. It was huge! It was actually a lot like Utah State (except bigger) in the fact that part of campus was old and historic, and then there was the newer part of campus that was super nice. We really liked all the things they offered to students, service wise and recreation wise.
At UNCC, the MBA program is actually held in downtown Charlotte, so off-campus. Our tour ended at 4:00, so we rushed to downtown so Brandon could talk to someone before 5:00. It was Friday, so no one would be there the next day. The part of Charlotte that the business program was in wasn't the nicest part of town, but I never felt scared. The only reason I felt nervous was because we parked in a lot that you are supposed to have a permit for. I stayed in the car so we wouldn't get a ticket, but the whole time I was nervous that a policeman was going to come and I was going to get in trouble.
After Brandon got done meeting with the MBA people, we drove through downtown Charlotte and made our way to Food Truck Friday. This is exactly what it sounds like. Every Friday night all the food trucks from in and around Charlotte go park in this empty lot and people go there and eat. It was so much fun! We had these deliciously huge burgers, and just sat around and enjoyed the atmosphere. It was warm though, that's for sure. Unlike what everyone assumed, Charlotte really wasn't that humid. We had some days in Logan this summer that I feel were just as humid as it was the few days we were in Charlotte. After Food Truck Friday, we decided to drive around the residential outer areas of Charlotte. One girl at UNCC said that Huntersville is a really nice place for families, so that's the first place we headed. To be honest, I was kind of disappointed with how the suburbs were laid out. Brandon and I were both hoping that Charlotte would be a lot like Boise with the downtown area and then a big residential area, but it wasn't at all like that. In the south, neighborhoods are super far apart. There will be like one or two neighborhoods next to each other, then you have to drive five to ten minutes to get to the next one. And to get to stores you have to drive at least 30 minutes. The closest WalMart we found was pretty far away from the houses, and once we got there we saw that it was literally the only store around for probably a good 10 miles.
I was pretty sad about the way that worked out. I had an idea of what Charlotte was supposed to be like in my head, and that wasn't how it turned out to be. Brandon, being the smart guy that he is, had the brilliant idea to find the nearest movie theater. We found one on the GPS and headed there, hoping we would find greatness, and we did! Along with the movie theater was a cute little shopping mall with stores and restaurants that are all outside. We're pretty sure the entire town was there eating and hanging out. They had a giant fountain in the middle of the shopping center for kids to play in, and they even had a live band the night we were there! That definitely helped to lift my spirits about Charlotte, and after that I was ready to take on another day.
The next morning we headed downtown immediately to pick up some information about tours and stuff for new residents. The nice people there gave us a 5 pound package with all sorts of booklets inside of it with information about Charlotte and the benefits of living there. There was some Japanese culture festival going on just across the street from the visitors center, so we went over there for a little bit to explore. We had a van tour scheduled for that morning, so after spending some time downtown we headed to the hotel where the van was set to pick us up. The tour was 2 hours long, but I'm really glad we did it! We learned some great stuff about the history of Charlotte, but we also got to see more of the areas of Charlotte I had been looking for. There are some huge houses in Charlotte, some super wealthy people. One guy had his own water pumped in from like 30 miles away just for a fountain in the front of his house. So ridiculous.
After the tour we headed to the Carolina Panthers Stadium (NFL team). They were having their first practice that day, and the place was crowded with so many fans. It was fun to go be a part of the local action. We left after a little while and went and walked all over downtown Charlotte. We had seen most of it during our van tour, but it was fun to walk down all the streets. Every single building in downtown Charlotte is connected by a Skywalk, so we took the opportunity to walk through every single building that way. It was kind of fun even though everything was closed, because we got to see the insides of all the buildings. They had a bunch of little shops and restaurants the were along the Skywalk, so that was cool. They built the Skywalks so all the business people could get from building to building more easily than going all the way down to the street and crossing the road then going all the way back up.
After we did that, we made our way to the EpiCenter, which is a little entertainment district in Charlotte. They have a movie theater, bowling, and tons of restaurants. We walked around there for a little bit, then weren't really sure what else to do, so we went back to the hotel and hung out by the pool for a little bit. It started to get too cool for the pool, so we decided to go back out and look at the residential areas again for a little bit. Around 6:00, we were completely beat, so we snagged some pizza and went back to the hotel and watched movies the rest of the night.
The next morning we slept in, and took our time to get ready for the day. We didn't really have much else on our list to do, so we decided to just leave and go drive around some more. We ended up out at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and drove all the way around the outside of the stadium. We even parked the car real quick and went all the way up to the fence so we could get a look of the inside! That was pretty fun, actually. Brandon loved it, and so that made me love it too. Brandon had also read online about this giant head, so we went and found that. It was really just this giant statue of a head just randomly in front of some business center. It was pretty cool though. Weird, but giant and cool. I wanted to go back downtown for a little while, because I wasn't quite ready to leave. Even though the first day was a little rough getting used to how different everything was, I had fallen in love with Charlotte in the short time we were there. We went back to the EpiCenter and had some lunch there, then watched a guy do a magic show in the middle of the EpiC. Then we drove some more. We put 1400 miles on our little car, and I'm pretty sure the majority of it was just in Charlotte.
We also decided to go back out to the University and drive around campus once more. We saw their brand new football stadium, and checked out the campus a little bit more since there was no one there. After that, we headed back to the hotel, but first stopped for an ice cream sundae. Our flight left at 8:00 the next morning, so we had to be up around 5:00 (Charlotte time, which meant 3:00 normal time), so we got back to the hotel and packed and went to bed.
I fell in the love with the Southeast so much more when we were on our trip. I already loved it before we went, but that trip just confirmed everything I already knew. I miss it on a daily basis. Mostly Southport. Brandon and I had the brilliant idea to move to Southport and open a little diner. It's going to be called Sophie's. So if anyone needs us after Deember, now you know where to find us.
Okay not really, but just wait. Someday it's going to happen.
We stayed in Wilmington for the night then got up early the next morning to make the three hour drive to Charlotte. We had a tour scheduled for around 1:30, and wanted to make sure we didn't get lost/had time to actually get lost like we did in Athens. When we got to the building we were supposed to be in, the people in charge of the tours recognized immediately that we weren't there for freshman orientation. Rather than having us sit through the 45 minute session about dorms, meal plans, and other freshman things, they told us that we could come back in like 30 minutes and they would take us to the starting point of the tour to meet up with the rest of the group. We used this time to talk to people in graduate admissions, and I actually got to talk to some girls that are in the counseling program. The tour was great, and we really really loved the campus. It was huge! It was actually a lot like Utah State (except bigger) in the fact that part of campus was old and historic, and then there was the newer part of campus that was super nice. We really liked all the things they offered to students, service wise and recreation wise.
At UNCC, the MBA program is actually held in downtown Charlotte, so off-campus. Our tour ended at 4:00, so we rushed to downtown so Brandon could talk to someone before 5:00. It was Friday, so no one would be there the next day. The part of Charlotte that the business program was in wasn't the nicest part of town, but I never felt scared. The only reason I felt nervous was because we parked in a lot that you are supposed to have a permit for. I stayed in the car so we wouldn't get a ticket, but the whole time I was nervous that a policeman was going to come and I was going to get in trouble.
After Brandon got done meeting with the MBA people, we drove through downtown Charlotte and made our way to Food Truck Friday. This is exactly what it sounds like. Every Friday night all the food trucks from in and around Charlotte go park in this empty lot and people go there and eat. It was so much fun! We had these deliciously huge burgers, and just sat around and enjoyed the atmosphere. It was warm though, that's for sure. Unlike what everyone assumed, Charlotte really wasn't that humid. We had some days in Logan this summer that I feel were just as humid as it was the few days we were in Charlotte. After Food Truck Friday, we decided to drive around the residential outer areas of Charlotte. One girl at UNCC said that Huntersville is a really nice place for families, so that's the first place we headed. To be honest, I was kind of disappointed with how the suburbs were laid out. Brandon and I were both hoping that Charlotte would be a lot like Boise with the downtown area and then a big residential area, but it wasn't at all like that. In the south, neighborhoods are super far apart. There will be like one or two neighborhoods next to each other, then you have to drive five to ten minutes to get to the next one. And to get to stores you have to drive at least 30 minutes. The closest WalMart we found was pretty far away from the houses, and once we got there we saw that it was literally the only store around for probably a good 10 miles.
I was pretty sad about the way that worked out. I had an idea of what Charlotte was supposed to be like in my head, and that wasn't how it turned out to be. Brandon, being the smart guy that he is, had the brilliant idea to find the nearest movie theater. We found one on the GPS and headed there, hoping we would find greatness, and we did! Along with the movie theater was a cute little shopping mall with stores and restaurants that are all outside. We're pretty sure the entire town was there eating and hanging out. They had a giant fountain in the middle of the shopping center for kids to play in, and they even had a live band the night we were there! That definitely helped to lift my spirits about Charlotte, and after that I was ready to take on another day.
The next morning we headed downtown immediately to pick up some information about tours and stuff for new residents. The nice people there gave us a 5 pound package with all sorts of booklets inside of it with information about Charlotte and the benefits of living there. There was some Japanese culture festival going on just across the street from the visitors center, so we went over there for a little bit to explore. We had a van tour scheduled for that morning, so after spending some time downtown we headed to the hotel where the van was set to pick us up. The tour was 2 hours long, but I'm really glad we did it! We learned some great stuff about the history of Charlotte, but we also got to see more of the areas of Charlotte I had been looking for. There are some huge houses in Charlotte, some super wealthy people. One guy had his own water pumped in from like 30 miles away just for a fountain in the front of his house. So ridiculous.
After the tour we headed to the Carolina Panthers Stadium (NFL team). They were having their first practice that day, and the place was crowded with so many fans. It was fun to go be a part of the local action. We left after a little while and went and walked all over downtown Charlotte. We had seen most of it during our van tour, but it was fun to walk down all the streets. Every single building in downtown Charlotte is connected by a Skywalk, so we took the opportunity to walk through every single building that way. It was kind of fun even though everything was closed, because we got to see the insides of all the buildings. They had a bunch of little shops and restaurants the were along the Skywalk, so that was cool. They built the Skywalks so all the business people could get from building to building more easily than going all the way down to the street and crossing the road then going all the way back up.
After we did that, we made our way to the EpiCenter, which is a little entertainment district in Charlotte. They have a movie theater, bowling, and tons of restaurants. We walked around there for a little bit, then weren't really sure what else to do, so we went back to the hotel and hung out by the pool for a little bit. It started to get too cool for the pool, so we decided to go back out and look at the residential areas again for a little bit. Around 6:00, we were completely beat, so we snagged some pizza and went back to the hotel and watched movies the rest of the night.
The next morning we slept in, and took our time to get ready for the day. We didn't really have much else on our list to do, so we decided to just leave and go drive around some more. We ended up out at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and drove all the way around the outside of the stadium. We even parked the car real quick and went all the way up to the fence so we could get a look of the inside! That was pretty fun, actually. Brandon loved it, and so that made me love it too. Brandon had also read online about this giant head, so we went and found that. It was really just this giant statue of a head just randomly in front of some business center. It was pretty cool though. Weird, but giant and cool. I wanted to go back downtown for a little while, because I wasn't quite ready to leave. Even though the first day was a little rough getting used to how different everything was, I had fallen in love with Charlotte in the short time we were there. We went back to the EpiCenter and had some lunch there, then watched a guy do a magic show in the middle of the EpiC. Then we drove some more. We put 1400 miles on our little car, and I'm pretty sure the majority of it was just in Charlotte.
We also decided to go back out to the University and drive around campus once more. We saw their brand new football stadium, and checked out the campus a little bit more since there was no one there. After that, we headed back to the hotel, but first stopped for an ice cream sundae. Our flight left at 8:00 the next morning, so we had to be up around 5:00 (Charlotte time, which meant 3:00 normal time), so we got back to the hotel and packed and went to bed.
I fell in the love with the Southeast so much more when we were on our trip. I already loved it before we went, but that trip just confirmed everything I already knew. I miss it on a daily basis. Mostly Southport. Brandon and I had the brilliant idea to move to Southport and open a little diner. It's going to be called Sophie's. So if anyone needs us after Deember, now you know where to find us.
Okay not really, but just wait. Someday it's going to happen.
Monday, August 26, 2013
More Vacation
Day 6: The Best Day Ever
We woke up early this morning to make our way to Southport, NC. We added Southport and Wilmington on our itinerary a little later in the planning process, and I am so glad we did! Southport is where they filmed the movie Safe Haven, which I love. In the movie, Southport seemed like the perfect little coastal town, and I really wanted to go see it. Let me tell you, it was everything I had hoped it would be and more. It was quaint, quiet, picture perfect, and right on the water. Actually we both fell in love with it so quickly. If we weren't so set on going to grad school we seriously would move there in a heartbeat. The people were friendly, the food was great, and the location is prime. We drove around and looked at houses though, and they are expensive. That doesn't mean we haven't kept looking though. I found the cutest old house with the best porch that was actually in our price range, so now I'm just trying to talk Brandon into it.
We walked around and saw all the sights from Safe Haven, ate at a restaurant that plays a key role in one of our favorite tv shows, and also saw the house from that same show. We only spent a few hours there, because I'm pretty sure if we would have stayed any longer we never would have left. We then had a half hour drive to Wilmington.
When we got there, we checked into our hotel and grabbed some brochures to find stuff to do. We decided to do a carriage tour and tour a mansion there, so we grabbed our stuff and rushed to get to the carriage tour. Well, we got lost. We ended up at their headquarters, not where the carriage actually leaves from. On our way to the right spot, we came across the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. We decided to stop and check out the campus, and we actually really really liked it. They don't have my program, but they have a part-time MBA program, so we grabbed some info, toured the campus for a bit, then went to do our carriage tour. The tour was an hour long and took us all around historic Wilmington. Wilmington is a beautiful area. Brandon and I decided that we could actually see ourselves living there as well. Basically I think any coastal town in North Carolina would suit us well. We didn't have time to tour the mansion after the carriage tour, so we went to Wrightsville Beach, got some pizza, and hung out on the beach for a while. When we were getting ready to leave, I said that I just wished we could see more wildlife than we had seen while parasailing. We then stood there for like thirty more seconds, not wanting to leave, and right before we turned around we saw dolphins! It was the greatest thing ever!
We left Wrightsville Beach to go to Carolina Beach, where they were supposed to have fireworks and live music. They had carnival rides and tons of tourists, but we couldn't find the live music anywhere. We were reading a banner about their summer events and some guy told us the band and the fireworks were cancelled because it had rained at 2:00 that afternoon. It was pretty lame. So we left and went back to the hotel since we were leaving early the next morning. I had a really hard time parting with that area of North Carolina. I still miss it every day, and I would move there in a heartbeat.
We woke up early this morning to make our way to Southport, NC. We added Southport and Wilmington on our itinerary a little later in the planning process, and I am so glad we did! Southport is where they filmed the movie Safe Haven, which I love. In the movie, Southport seemed like the perfect little coastal town, and I really wanted to go see it. Let me tell you, it was everything I had hoped it would be and more. It was quaint, quiet, picture perfect, and right on the water. Actually we both fell in love with it so quickly. If we weren't so set on going to grad school we seriously would move there in a heartbeat. The people were friendly, the food was great, and the location is prime. We drove around and looked at houses though, and they are expensive. That doesn't mean we haven't kept looking though. I found the cutest old house with the best porch that was actually in our price range, so now I'm just trying to talk Brandon into it.
We walked around and saw all the sights from Safe Haven, ate at a restaurant that plays a key role in one of our favorite tv shows, and also saw the house from that same show. We only spent a few hours there, because I'm pretty sure if we would have stayed any longer we never would have left. We then had a half hour drive to Wilmington.
When we got there, we checked into our hotel and grabbed some brochures to find stuff to do. We decided to do a carriage tour and tour a mansion there, so we grabbed our stuff and rushed to get to the carriage tour. Well, we got lost. We ended up at their headquarters, not where the carriage actually leaves from. On our way to the right spot, we came across the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. We decided to stop and check out the campus, and we actually really really liked it. They don't have my program, but they have a part-time MBA program, so we grabbed some info, toured the campus for a bit, then went to do our carriage tour. The tour was an hour long and took us all around historic Wilmington. Wilmington is a beautiful area. Brandon and I decided that we could actually see ourselves living there as well. Basically I think any coastal town in North Carolina would suit us well. We didn't have time to tour the mansion after the carriage tour, so we went to Wrightsville Beach, got some pizza, and hung out on the beach for a while. When we were getting ready to leave, I said that I just wished we could see more wildlife than we had seen while parasailing. We then stood there for like thirty more seconds, not wanting to leave, and right before we turned around we saw dolphins! It was the greatest thing ever!
We left Wrightsville Beach to go to Carolina Beach, where they were supposed to have fireworks and live music. They had carnival rides and tons of tourists, but we couldn't find the live music anywhere. We were reading a banner about their summer events and some guy told us the band and the fireworks were cancelled because it had rained at 2:00 that afternoon. It was pretty lame. So we left and went back to the hotel since we were leaving early the next morning. I had a really hard time parting with that area of North Carolina. I still miss it every day, and I would move there in a heartbeat.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
More trip stuff
Day 3: To Athens and Charleston
Our third morning we woke up early and made the drive to Athens, GA to check out the first school. It was only an hour and a half to Athens, so the drive wasn't terrible. We pulled into Athens and were pretty surprised by the town, and not in a good way. It was really small, and honestly kind of dumpy, and we were debating whether or not to take the tour of University of Georgia still. In the end, we were there, so we decided to take the tour, and I'm glad we did! Their campus is beautiful, and huge. Half of our tour was by bus so that we could see more of campus than if we were just walking. After the tour we stopped and ate some lunch, and decided quickly that Athens isn't the place for us. It would be great for undergraduate students living on or near campus, but we are looking to grow away from college life, and expand our careers, and Athens just didn't seem to offer that.
We left Athens for the four hour drive to Charleston. We made it to Charleston around 7:00, checked into our hotel, and headed downtown for a few hours. Once we parked, we walked down King Street, which is the main street through downtown Charleston. We walked through Battery Park and went to the ocean for a little bit. It was starting to get dark, and we were pretty far away from where we had parked, plus we were both starving, so we turned around and walked back down King Street to find somewhere to eat. We ate at this place called Joe Pasta and it was (surprise) delicious. But the best part of that meal was how nice people were. Brandon asked our waiter what things we should do when we were in Charleston, since we were only there for a day, and after he told us a few things he went and asked his manager what other things there were to do (because he wasn't originally from Charleston). Then later, the manager came out and talked to us for a little bit and told us how he had recently been up to Utah. The night ended on a good note!
Day 4: Charleston
The next morning we got up bright and early to make our way back to Charleston (we stayed in North Charleston) to take a carriage tour. My grandma suggested that we take one and I am so glad we did! The tour was an hour long, but we got to see so many sites and learn so much about the history of Charleston. The houses there are beautiful, and I seriously cannot stress that enough. I have a serious weakness for houses with big porches, so basically all of Charleston was like Kryptonite to me (we have been watching too much Big Bang Theory, sorry for the nerd reference). But seriously the tour was so great. After the tour we hung out at the city market for a while and walked through a bunch of little shops on the same street. A few hours later we went to the Maritime Center and boarded a ship for a harbor cruise. The cruise took us out past Fort Sumter and out near Mount Pleasant, a little island off of Charleston. Mount Pleasant looked really nice from the boat, so we went over there after our tour and ate some lunch, then went down to the beach for a few hours. The beach was nowhere near as full of tourists as Charleston, so we stayed over there for a few hours, then went to Fort Moultrie and drove around looking at all the pretty beach houses.
That evening we went back into Charleston to meet Jennica and Rusty for dessert. Rusty had an internship with Boeing there, so they were in Charleston for the summer We hadn't seen them for quite a few months, and it was so much fun to not only see them again, but see them in a completely new place. It's so funny when we get together, because we pretty much just pair off and talk the entire time. Jennica and I talk while Rusty and Brandon talk, and our conversations rarely cross, which I think is a good thing. It's funny how similar Rusty and Brandon are, and Jennica and I will always just be us, and I love that. We hung out with them for a few hours, and after seeing a few palmetto bugs (ew) and basically running from the pineapple fountain to the market to get away from the bugs, we called it a night because Rusty had to work early in the morning, and we wanted to leave early in the morning. Our hotel was right down the street from their apartment though, so we still go to see them on the freeway until we had to go separate ways at the light.
Day 5: Myrtle Beach
The next morning we got up and drove to Myrtle Beach. We took the highway that goes right up the coast, but with all the trees we hardly got to see the water. The country we got to see on the drive was beautiful though. We really got down to our roots with the countryside and our country music on the radio. We took our time with the drive, stopping to look at the beach houses and pulling over to take pictures of all the crazy things we saw. Rather than heading right to the beach though, we were making our way to my Aunt Dar's houseboat in North Myrtle beach. We got to go to lunch with her and her long-time boyfriend, and ate at a little place they love right on the water. Dar has been living in South Carolina for quite a few years, so I haven't been able to see her all that often. Luckily she was able to make it to our wedding, and had already met Brandon. It was a fun little reunion, but we only got to see them for about two hours because we had reservations for parasailing that afternoon.
I called the parasailing company when we were leaving lunch and asked if we could push the reservation back an hour and they said that was no problem, but that it was supposed to storm that afternoon so we needed to get there as soon as possible. We finally got to the beach, but then couldn't find a place to park. Parking is way difficult in big, touristy areas; we learned that really quick on this trip. After we found a place to park, then we got lost. Once we finally got to the right spot, they got us out on the water really quick. They used a jet ski to pull us out on a big banana boat raft to the boat. The water was pretty choppy because of the storm that was coming in, and the driver of the jet ski was going really fast, and I thought I was going to have to let Brandon go up and parasail by himself. I am terrified of open water like that, but it was my decision to have us go parasailing, so I couldn't back out. We went out to the boat with two other girls and let them go up first. Halfway through the sail, the driver of the boat let them drop in the water for a second, then pulled them back up. When it was our turn, I asked if we could skip the part in the water, and he said that was fine. So we got up in the air, and it was pretty cool! We couldn't see much because the water was so murky from the storm, but it was neat to just be that high up over the water. We even saw a small shark! They started to slow down so I thought they were going to pull us back onto the boat, but we just kept going lower and lower and weren't getting any closer to the boat. Well, they forgot my request and dropped us in the water anyways. Luckily it wasn't for too long, but I was panicking. Once we got back up in the air, I got over it pretty quick (ya know, since I didn't die and all) and then we saw a sea turtle!! I am definitely glad we ended up going parasailing.
After parasailing we went and laid on the beach for a little bit, but it was kind of raining and it was windy and the sun wasn't out, so we only stayed there for like 45 minutes. At this point though, it was already almost 5:00, so we went to our hotel and got kind of dressed up, then went back down to the beach to hang out on the boardwalk and get some dinner. We ate at Moe Moon's, and each had a tasty burger/sandwich and a pina colada IN A PINEAPPLE. Holy moly it was the most delicious drink I have ever had in my entire life. Brandon promised me endless umbrella drinks on the beach during vacation, and this was my only one and it was amazing. I still can't stop thinking about it. I even bought some V8 juice that is pineapple coconut because that's how much I loved it.
After dinner we walked around the boardwalk for a while, then went and rode the Skywheel. It's a giant Ferris wheel right on the water. When you went over the top and started going toward the ocean it looked like we were going to roll right into it! After that we went in some shops and people-watched. Brandon was going to take me dancing, but we couldn't find a place to go, and by the time we had somewhat figured it out we were both too tired to even worry about it.
I will blog about the next few days tomorrow. Again, you can look at all our pictures here even if you do not have Facebook!
Our third morning we woke up early and made the drive to Athens, GA to check out the first school. It was only an hour and a half to Athens, so the drive wasn't terrible. We pulled into Athens and were pretty surprised by the town, and not in a good way. It was really small, and honestly kind of dumpy, and we were debating whether or not to take the tour of University of Georgia still. In the end, we were there, so we decided to take the tour, and I'm glad we did! Their campus is beautiful, and huge. Half of our tour was by bus so that we could see more of campus than if we were just walking. After the tour we stopped and ate some lunch, and decided quickly that Athens isn't the place for us. It would be great for undergraduate students living on or near campus, but we are looking to grow away from college life, and expand our careers, and Athens just didn't seem to offer that.
We left Athens for the four hour drive to Charleston. We made it to Charleston around 7:00, checked into our hotel, and headed downtown for a few hours. Once we parked, we walked down King Street, which is the main street through downtown Charleston. We walked through Battery Park and went to the ocean for a little bit. It was starting to get dark, and we were pretty far away from where we had parked, plus we were both starving, so we turned around and walked back down King Street to find somewhere to eat. We ate at this place called Joe Pasta and it was (surprise) delicious. But the best part of that meal was how nice people were. Brandon asked our waiter what things we should do when we were in Charleston, since we were only there for a day, and after he told us a few things he went and asked his manager what other things there were to do (because he wasn't originally from Charleston). Then later, the manager came out and talked to us for a little bit and told us how he had recently been up to Utah. The night ended on a good note!
Day 4: Charleston
The next morning we got up bright and early to make our way back to Charleston (we stayed in North Charleston) to take a carriage tour. My grandma suggested that we take one and I am so glad we did! The tour was an hour long, but we got to see so many sites and learn so much about the history of Charleston. The houses there are beautiful, and I seriously cannot stress that enough. I have a serious weakness for houses with big porches, so basically all of Charleston was like Kryptonite to me (we have been watching too much Big Bang Theory, sorry for the nerd reference). But seriously the tour was so great. After the tour we hung out at the city market for a while and walked through a bunch of little shops on the same street. A few hours later we went to the Maritime Center and boarded a ship for a harbor cruise. The cruise took us out past Fort Sumter and out near Mount Pleasant, a little island off of Charleston. Mount Pleasant looked really nice from the boat, so we went over there after our tour and ate some lunch, then went down to the beach for a few hours. The beach was nowhere near as full of tourists as Charleston, so we stayed over there for a few hours, then went to Fort Moultrie and drove around looking at all the pretty beach houses.
That evening we went back into Charleston to meet Jennica and Rusty for dessert. Rusty had an internship with Boeing there, so they were in Charleston for the summer We hadn't seen them for quite a few months, and it was so much fun to not only see them again, but see them in a completely new place. It's so funny when we get together, because we pretty much just pair off and talk the entire time. Jennica and I talk while Rusty and Brandon talk, and our conversations rarely cross, which I think is a good thing. It's funny how similar Rusty and Brandon are, and Jennica and I will always just be us, and I love that. We hung out with them for a few hours, and after seeing a few palmetto bugs (ew) and basically running from the pineapple fountain to the market to get away from the bugs, we called it a night because Rusty had to work early in the morning, and we wanted to leave early in the morning. Our hotel was right down the street from their apartment though, so we still go to see them on the freeway until we had to go separate ways at the light.
Day 5: Myrtle Beach
The next morning we got up and drove to Myrtle Beach. We took the highway that goes right up the coast, but with all the trees we hardly got to see the water. The country we got to see on the drive was beautiful though. We really got down to our roots with the countryside and our country music on the radio. We took our time with the drive, stopping to look at the beach houses and pulling over to take pictures of all the crazy things we saw. Rather than heading right to the beach though, we were making our way to my Aunt Dar's houseboat in North Myrtle beach. We got to go to lunch with her and her long-time boyfriend, and ate at a little place they love right on the water. Dar has been living in South Carolina for quite a few years, so I haven't been able to see her all that often. Luckily she was able to make it to our wedding, and had already met Brandon. It was a fun little reunion, but we only got to see them for about two hours because we had reservations for parasailing that afternoon.
I called the parasailing company when we were leaving lunch and asked if we could push the reservation back an hour and they said that was no problem, but that it was supposed to storm that afternoon so we needed to get there as soon as possible. We finally got to the beach, but then couldn't find a place to park. Parking is way difficult in big, touristy areas; we learned that really quick on this trip. After we found a place to park, then we got lost. Once we finally got to the right spot, they got us out on the water really quick. They used a jet ski to pull us out on a big banana boat raft to the boat. The water was pretty choppy because of the storm that was coming in, and the driver of the jet ski was going really fast, and I thought I was going to have to let Brandon go up and parasail by himself. I am terrified of open water like that, but it was my decision to have us go parasailing, so I couldn't back out. We went out to the boat with two other girls and let them go up first. Halfway through the sail, the driver of the boat let them drop in the water for a second, then pulled them back up. When it was our turn, I asked if we could skip the part in the water, and he said that was fine. So we got up in the air, and it was pretty cool! We couldn't see much because the water was so murky from the storm, but it was neat to just be that high up over the water. We even saw a small shark! They started to slow down so I thought they were going to pull us back onto the boat, but we just kept going lower and lower and weren't getting any closer to the boat. Well, they forgot my request and dropped us in the water anyways. Luckily it wasn't for too long, but I was panicking. Once we got back up in the air, I got over it pretty quick (ya know, since I didn't die and all) and then we saw a sea turtle!! I am definitely glad we ended up going parasailing.
After parasailing we went and laid on the beach for a little bit, but it was kind of raining and it was windy and the sun wasn't out, so we only stayed there for like 45 minutes. At this point though, it was already almost 5:00, so we went to our hotel and got kind of dressed up, then went back down to the beach to hang out on the boardwalk and get some dinner. We ate at Moe Moon's, and each had a tasty burger/sandwich and a pina colada IN A PINEAPPLE. Holy moly it was the most delicious drink I have ever had in my entire life. Brandon promised me endless umbrella drinks on the beach during vacation, and this was my only one and it was amazing. I still can't stop thinking about it. I even bought some V8 juice that is pineapple coconut because that's how much I loved it.
After dinner we walked around the boardwalk for a while, then went and rode the Skywheel. It's a giant Ferris wheel right on the water. When you went over the top and started going toward the ocean it looked like we were going to roll right into it! After that we went in some shops and people-watched. Brandon was going to take me dancing, but we couldn't find a place to go, and by the time we had somewhat figured it out we were both too tired to even worry about it.
I will blog about the next few days tomorrow. Again, you can look at all our pictures here even if you do not have Facebook!
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
I guess it's about time.
We have been back from vacation for two weeks now, and I guess it's finally time that I come to terms with it. I don't want to though. I'm longing for the warm days on the beach, eating seafood on the water in Southport, and endless days of dreaming what life will be like when we (someday) move over to that side of the country. We're quickly sliding back to school though, and before we know it our days will be filled with the monotony of work, school, and homework. Throw in grad school applications and it sounds like a winning semester to me! We are more than thrilled to be about done with school. In 16.5 weeks we will be officially done with our bachelor's degrees and done with Utah State. Praise all that is holy!
This semester is actually going to be pretty easy for me. I am doing an internship this semester at the high school Brandon went to, and that requires 20 hours a week. I will be in the counseling office! Besides that and working 25 hours a week, I have one class for 2.5 hours once a week, and another class that is all online, but only requires me to attend "artsy" events such as plays, concerts, the ballet, etc., and write an essay on each event. So this semester is going to be pretty easy for me. Brandon is taking five classes, but one of them doesn't start until October. The first 8 weeks of the semester will be pretty kind to him, and then the class that starts later is taught by the professor he is working for and has taken a class from before, and shouldn't be too challenging. We are just ready to be done!
Alright onto the trip. I will try and keep this concise, because I know my posts can get a little wordy (for example, see the two paragraphs above).
Flight to Atlanta:
Our flight departed at 3:05, and we got to Atlanta at about 8:00 their time. We had no layovers, and our flight ended up arriving early, so that was nice! And we just took carry-ons, so we didn't even have to wait for our luggage! We picked up our rental car, a cute little Chevy Spark that is similar in size to a golf cart. It was perfect though! Quite roomy for the two of us, and plenty of room for our luggage.
The hotel we stayed at in Georgia was actually about thirty minutes north of Atlanta in a town called Alpharetta. We drove from the airport, past Atlanta, towards Alpharetta without stopping in the city. I think Brandon and I decided not to tell anyone this, but I am going to tell you anyways. We did not even think about the fact that toll roads exist. Not even once. So there we are, driving along the freeway, and we reach a toll booth. And guess what? We didn't have any change. I think I had like two pennies. The nice lady said she would have paid for us, but she didn't have any change either. Not sure why they don't just catch up with the times and take cards, but whatever. They said they were going to send a bill for $25, but we have yet to receive that bill, and mostly I just think it's funny that they charge so much for not having two quarters.
Anyway, we got to hotel and checked in, and it was super nice. I am still very proud of myself for finding a nice hotel at a good price. Then we left the hotel and went to find some dinner. We ate at a place called Burger-Fi and it was delicious! We actually ate a ton of good food on our trip, but this was a great start.
Day 1 in Atlanta:
We made it a point to sleep in at least some mornings on our trip, and Atlanta was the place we slept in the most. We finally left the hotel at like 10:30 or 11:00, and first things first, went to a bank and got some change for the toll roads. Then we made our way downtown, found a parking garage near all the things we wanted to do, and guess what, they didn't take cards either, and the only cash we had on us was the $5 in quarters we got for the toll roads. The nice man let us in still, and told us just to come back with some cash at some point in the day. We decided that, since we had a lot of time in Atlanta, we would just walk to the nearest Wells Fargo and pull out cash for parking and such. The nearest Wells was about half a mile away, which isn't a terrible distance, but the GPS put us through some sketchy backroad to get there. When we left the bank though, we realized that there was a not-so-sketchy main road right in front of the bank. So we took that road back to the parking garage, and were so close to getting there when we witnessed a minor car accident. The driver of the car that got hit got out of her car so fast and started throwing swear words at the old lady that hit her, and I was scared. Old ladies aren't scary, but they are scary in Atlanta when they are swearing and the hooligans from the sketchy road you walked down previously come out to see what is going on. Luckily, everyone that was there (with the exception of the crazy swearing lady) was really kind and made sure everyone was okay. Brandon was the first person to call 911 so we waited around to make sure they didn't need us for anything.
After all the fiascoes that morning, we finally got to Coke World, our first real destination. We bought a CityPass for Atlanta, which cost about $80 a person, but got us into Coke World, the Aquarium, the Zoo, the CNN Studios, and a few museums. Coke World was neat! We got to learn the history of Coca Cola, see the bottling process, and try different sodas from all over the world. FYI: all the other sodas are gross. After Coke World we got some lunch then went next door to the aquarium. It was Saturday afternoon, and it was so dang busy. Our CityPasses came with a free ticket to the dolphin show, but by the time we got there all the tickets were sold out, so we couldn't redeem ours. The aquarium took about 3 hours to go through, and it was cool too, but there were so many people that it was almost hard to enjoy ourselves. We then walked through Centennial Olympic Park, which was big, but not as cool as I was hoping.
When we got back to our parking garage, a guy in a nice truck three spots down from us had had his truck broken into. Someone broke the window and stole something out of his car. Needless to say, this on top of all the other things so far in Atlanta had put kind of a bad taste in our mouths, so we decided to get out of downtown and go to a park. We found a really nice park about 15 minutes away with some botanical gardens and a lake, so we hung out there for about an hour, then decided we were hungry. We didn't want to drive back into downtown Atlanta for dinner, so we started to make our way back towards Alpharetta when Brandon realized that he didn't pack any swim trunks. So while we were hunting for a place to eat, we also stopped at every Ross, Marshall's, and T.J. Maxx's we could find. We didn't find any that night, but we did find a delicious Mexican restaurant with live (good) music!
Day 2 in Atlanta:
We both woke up feeling a little unsure about Atlanta because of our experience the day before. Because of this, we decided to take our time getting to our destinations. We stopped at a few places to look for trunks for Brandon, and finally found some at Target. Then we went to the zoo! The zoo was just a normal zoo, but it was still fun! It was in historic downtown Atlanta, so it was neat to see all the old houses and such. After the zoo we headed back downtown to take a tour of the CNN studios. The CNN building is huge. Our tour didn't start for a while after we got there, so we had fun just walking on the ground floor and going into the touristy shops. The tour was pretty cool. We took the world's largest free standing escalator up into a huge globe where our tour began. We go to see the different studios they broadcast from, and also the newsrooms where they piece the stories together.
After our tour we walked around the outside of the CNN building, and just behind the building is the Georgia Dome where the NFL Falcons play! Adrian loves the Falcons, so it was fun for me to have a little part of him there with us. There was a drumline competition going on inside, but it was a little pricey, so we just spent a few hours walking around outside, and also seeing the outside of the basketball arena where the Hawks (I think) play.
We had tickets for a Braves baseball game that night, but still had a few hours until the game started. Brandon wanted to go eat at a place called The Varsity, which is apparently super popular, but I was surprised at just how popular it was. We showed up, and I'm pretty sure every other person that was going to the Braves game that night was there too. We waited in line for 45 minutes, and they had probably about 20 registers open, I'm not even kidding. The food was good, but by the time we actually got our food, we had to hurry to make it to the game, so we basically just inhaled it. The roads to the game were busy, but luckily we had prepaid for parking, and had a perfect spot. We only paid $12 dollars a piece for our tickets, and were pretty sure that our seats weren't going to be very good, but they were perfect for the price! And no one even sat on either side of us. It was so much fun! We have grown to love baseball lately, and it was way fun to get to watch a professional team. We stayed up through the seventh inning, then decided to leave so we wouldn't have to deal with traffic getting out of there.
I'm about off work, so I will blog about the next few days tomorrow. You can look at all our pictures here even if you do not have Facebook!
This semester is actually going to be pretty easy for me. I am doing an internship this semester at the high school Brandon went to, and that requires 20 hours a week. I will be in the counseling office! Besides that and working 25 hours a week, I have one class for 2.5 hours once a week, and another class that is all online, but only requires me to attend "artsy" events such as plays, concerts, the ballet, etc., and write an essay on each event. So this semester is going to be pretty easy for me. Brandon is taking five classes, but one of them doesn't start until October. The first 8 weeks of the semester will be pretty kind to him, and then the class that starts later is taught by the professor he is working for and has taken a class from before, and shouldn't be too challenging. We are just ready to be done!
Alright onto the trip. I will try and keep this concise, because I know my posts can get a little wordy (for example, see the two paragraphs above).
Flight to Atlanta:
Our flight departed at 3:05, and we got to Atlanta at about 8:00 their time. We had no layovers, and our flight ended up arriving early, so that was nice! And we just took carry-ons, so we didn't even have to wait for our luggage! We picked up our rental car, a cute little Chevy Spark that is similar in size to a golf cart. It was perfect though! Quite roomy for the two of us, and plenty of room for our luggage.
The hotel we stayed at in Georgia was actually about thirty minutes north of Atlanta in a town called Alpharetta. We drove from the airport, past Atlanta, towards Alpharetta without stopping in the city. I think Brandon and I decided not to tell anyone this, but I am going to tell you anyways. We did not even think about the fact that toll roads exist. Not even once. So there we are, driving along the freeway, and we reach a toll booth. And guess what? We didn't have any change. I think I had like two pennies. The nice lady said she would have paid for us, but she didn't have any change either. Not sure why they don't just catch up with the times and take cards, but whatever. They said they were going to send a bill for $25, but we have yet to receive that bill, and mostly I just think it's funny that they charge so much for not having two quarters.
Anyway, we got to hotel and checked in, and it was super nice. I am still very proud of myself for finding a nice hotel at a good price. Then we left the hotel and went to find some dinner. We ate at a place called Burger-Fi and it was delicious! We actually ate a ton of good food on our trip, but this was a great start.
Day 1 in Atlanta:
We made it a point to sleep in at least some mornings on our trip, and Atlanta was the place we slept in the most. We finally left the hotel at like 10:30 or 11:00, and first things first, went to a bank and got some change for the toll roads. Then we made our way downtown, found a parking garage near all the things we wanted to do, and guess what, they didn't take cards either, and the only cash we had on us was the $5 in quarters we got for the toll roads. The nice man let us in still, and told us just to come back with some cash at some point in the day. We decided that, since we had a lot of time in Atlanta, we would just walk to the nearest Wells Fargo and pull out cash for parking and such. The nearest Wells was about half a mile away, which isn't a terrible distance, but the GPS put us through some sketchy backroad to get there. When we left the bank though, we realized that there was a not-so-sketchy main road right in front of the bank. So we took that road back to the parking garage, and were so close to getting there when we witnessed a minor car accident. The driver of the car that got hit got out of her car so fast and started throwing swear words at the old lady that hit her, and I was scared. Old ladies aren't scary, but they are scary in Atlanta when they are swearing and the hooligans from the sketchy road you walked down previously come out to see what is going on. Luckily, everyone that was there (with the exception of the crazy swearing lady) was really kind and made sure everyone was okay. Brandon was the first person to call 911 so we waited around to make sure they didn't need us for anything.
After all the fiascoes that morning, we finally got to Coke World, our first real destination. We bought a CityPass for Atlanta, which cost about $80 a person, but got us into Coke World, the Aquarium, the Zoo, the CNN Studios, and a few museums. Coke World was neat! We got to learn the history of Coca Cola, see the bottling process, and try different sodas from all over the world. FYI: all the other sodas are gross. After Coke World we got some lunch then went next door to the aquarium. It was Saturday afternoon, and it was so dang busy. Our CityPasses came with a free ticket to the dolphin show, but by the time we got there all the tickets were sold out, so we couldn't redeem ours. The aquarium took about 3 hours to go through, and it was cool too, but there were so many people that it was almost hard to enjoy ourselves. We then walked through Centennial Olympic Park, which was big, but not as cool as I was hoping.
When we got back to our parking garage, a guy in a nice truck three spots down from us had had his truck broken into. Someone broke the window and stole something out of his car. Needless to say, this on top of all the other things so far in Atlanta had put kind of a bad taste in our mouths, so we decided to get out of downtown and go to a park. We found a really nice park about 15 minutes away with some botanical gardens and a lake, so we hung out there for about an hour, then decided we were hungry. We didn't want to drive back into downtown Atlanta for dinner, so we started to make our way back towards Alpharetta when Brandon realized that he didn't pack any swim trunks. So while we were hunting for a place to eat, we also stopped at every Ross, Marshall's, and T.J. Maxx's we could find. We didn't find any that night, but we did find a delicious Mexican restaurant with live (good) music!
Day 2 in Atlanta:
We both woke up feeling a little unsure about Atlanta because of our experience the day before. Because of this, we decided to take our time getting to our destinations. We stopped at a few places to look for trunks for Brandon, and finally found some at Target. Then we went to the zoo! The zoo was just a normal zoo, but it was still fun! It was in historic downtown Atlanta, so it was neat to see all the old houses and such. After the zoo we headed back downtown to take a tour of the CNN studios. The CNN building is huge. Our tour didn't start for a while after we got there, so we had fun just walking on the ground floor and going into the touristy shops. The tour was pretty cool. We took the world's largest free standing escalator up into a huge globe where our tour began. We go to see the different studios they broadcast from, and also the newsrooms where they piece the stories together.
After our tour we walked around the outside of the CNN building, and just behind the building is the Georgia Dome where the NFL Falcons play! Adrian loves the Falcons, so it was fun for me to have a little part of him there with us. There was a drumline competition going on inside, but it was a little pricey, so we just spent a few hours walking around outside, and also seeing the outside of the basketball arena where the Hawks (I think) play.
We had tickets for a Braves baseball game that night, but still had a few hours until the game started. Brandon wanted to go eat at a place called The Varsity, which is apparently super popular, but I was surprised at just how popular it was. We showed up, and I'm pretty sure every other person that was going to the Braves game that night was there too. We waited in line for 45 minutes, and they had probably about 20 registers open, I'm not even kidding. The food was good, but by the time we actually got our food, we had to hurry to make it to the game, so we basically just inhaled it. The roads to the game were busy, but luckily we had prepaid for parking, and had a perfect spot. We only paid $12 dollars a piece for our tickets, and were pretty sure that our seats weren't going to be very good, but they were perfect for the price! And no one even sat on either side of us. It was so much fun! We have grown to love baseball lately, and it was way fun to get to watch a professional team. We stayed up through the seventh inning, then decided to leave so we wouldn't have to deal with traffic getting out of there.
I'm about off work, so I will blog about the next few days tomorrow. You can look at all our pictures here even if you do not have Facebook!
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