{derek’s b-day, atlanta style}

January has been an eventful month for us, especially on the birthday front. Not only do my dad and I celebrate our birthday this month, but Jesse’s brother Derek does as well. We January babies are a special kind as we are the first of each New Year. This year, Derek decided to spend his birthday down in Atlanta with us so we made sure it was extra special. Mom Ellis and her beau Jim came down as well and we had an incredibly great time! Almost every place we visited had long lines and tons of people, however, it must’ve been Derek’s birthday boy luck, because we always arrived right on time and we never had to wait very long.

{a special robotics demo @ jesse’s work}

On Saturday we started out our day with a visit to Jesse’s workplace where he demoed his welding robot for us. It was very cool to see him in action! He explained a lot of the logistics behind the technology and how the robot works---however I’m pretty sure I only understood a quarter of it all because it was very technical and well, I’m more of a right brained lady anyway.

{lunch @ the varsity}

                                         

After the demo we headed over to The Varsity (this very historic landmark in downtown Atlanta) for a delicious and greasy lunch. I have never seen a restaurant so packed in my life! Atlanta apparently had a lot going on that weekend because the lines and parking were ridiculous. The entire place was humongous and practically every table was full. The menu is very straightforward---burgers, fries, and dogs (not the furry kind…hehe), and almost immediately after you place your order, your food shows up, and they’re shooing you along so they can get to the next customer. I had chili dogs with onion rings which kept me pretty full for most of the day.

{sweetwater brewery}

From lunch we headed over to the Sweetwater Brewing Company for a fun tour around their facility and of course some sampling! The tour was free, but for $10 they give you a pint glass and six drink tickets to sample any of their brews. When we went, the place was packed to the brim with people—-which they mentioned was unusual for them—-and almost felt like a giant frat party. We hung out in the main lobby and sampled some brews while we waited for the tour to start. When they gave us the signal we filled up one last time and headed into the warehouse. Our tour guide Andy was fantastic and made our experience, climbing up and over kegs and pallets in order to get access to the whole group. The history of Sweetwater was pretty interesting and overall it seemed to be a pretty down to earth company on the brink of huge growth. We definitely will be returning for another tour and more samples!

{pre-show fun}

{our show in a nutshell}

That night we went back in time to Medieval Times in Northern Atlanta. Jesse, Derek, Mom Ellis, and Jim had never been to one of these and it had been years since my last visit to one. The tickets are usually a little pricey but, we got very lucky because it was our birthday month, (Derek and I both got in for free with two paid adult admissions)—-super birthday luck! The show was about 2 hours long and filled with action from start to finish. When you arrive they give you a crown with your knight’s colors (ours was the Red & Yellow knight) and you have to make sure to cheer for him throughout the entire show. You also had to “boo” the other knights in order to drown out their section’s cheers.

Our meal was incredible; it arrived quickly and was cooked perfectly. If you think they might jip you on portions (I mean there were about 900 people there), you would be terribly wrong! There was so much I had to take home a doggie bag---which they graciously offered to me before I could even think to ask.

Our knight didn’t end up winning, but it was still fun to watch him compete. We think he was new because he struggled on every challenge. I originally thought he was the underdog who would rise to the top in the last second of the show---I was wrong.

{sunday funday @ stone mountain}

On Sunday I made a lovely brunch for everyone then we decided to head over to Stone Mountain to ride the sky-lift up to the top and take in the fresh air. It was a nice ride up---even though they packed us like sardines in the car. Our sky-lift operator said he could pack about 40+ people in that car, which I felt would be stretching it and might be a little too close for comfort. Regardless, we enjoyed our short ride to the top and took in all the sights from up there. We could even see downtown Atlanta and Buckhead from where we were. Luckily Mom Ellis & Jim had their fancy cameras with them (they are excellent photographers) and were able to get some really nice shots. I’m sure it helped that it was such a beautiful day.

Next time we will take the trail up and down the mountain as we heard it is a pretty nice hike.

Before leaving for home, we stopped at The Village Corner (this cute German Bakery/Restaurant/Pub) for a late lunch. The food was very good—-I don’t think anyone got anything they didn’t like and of course we all shared. One of the most notable things we tried was the Frickadellen sausage---a first for all of us. It had an interesting taste and texture; hamburger consistency with hints of sage. We were on the pub side (as the restaurant was not yet open) and it had a very homey feel to it. It was decorated from inch to inch with trinkets, flags, and Oktoberfest memorabilia. We may have to head over there next October to see what their fest is like. After lunch we made sure to get some goods from their bakery before heading out. The cream horn was my favorite!

It was a wonderful weekend---probably our best yet in Atlanta! Thank you Derek, Mom Ellis, and Jim for spending some time with us in our new city.

Love,

The Mrs.



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