Atlanta!!

So as part of Justin's job he is required to attend 2 national conferences per year. And I told him no way was I not going! His first conference was located in Atlanta, Georgia and we decided to bring the kids with us. Justin attended meetings while we swam in the hotel pool and any free second we had we crammed full of as much sight seeing as possible. We had so much fun!

Our first cross country flight (with a baby!) had some rough patches but ended up being not nearly as terrible as I was anticipating.

The Atlanta airport itself was impressive- its the largest in the world! (I didn't believe it either- but it is, Google it!) It was a long day of travel and we were so thankful to finally make it to our hotel.

 In the morning we woke up to this view of downtown Atlanta!

Our first stop was the Aquarium which is the second largest in the world and the largest in the Western Hemisphere.

The hotel's roof top pool was beautiful:

Judy's hair got a few extra curls in it from the humidity:

At one point Justin took the kids out while I put Judy down for a nap. While they were out a BIG thunderstorm rolled it. The rain fell down in sheets with huge cracks of thunder every few minutes and I watched from our hotel window as our view of downtown slowly disappeared covered by rain and mist. Justin and the kids had to duck into a little bodega when it started and then managed to get to a small bakery to wait the rest of it out.

We loved exploring downtown:

We enjoyed the charm- beautiful porches everywhere, including where we ate. This is st Pitty Pat's Porch. We tried a mint julip, and sat in their rocking chair lounge.

Our FAVORITE meal of the trip, hands down, was Mary Mac's Tea Room. They've been open for over 75 years and are really historic. Their walks are filled with signed photos of famous people who have eaten there.

We had fried chicken and meatloaf, collard greens and black eyed peas, macaroni and cheese, biscuits and peanut butter pie. We all licked our plates clean and the kids still talk about their chicken.

After dinner we walked around a bit more and I remembered how much I love big cities. This one was beautiful.

While we were walking I looked at my map and realized we were t very far away from a church I'd wanted to see- the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. We figured it was late and we wouldn't be able to see inside but thought we'd go see the outside of it.

While we were looking around a man opened the door- he'd heard David try the door handle. He was the caretaker who was just finishing up for the night but invited us in for 5 minutes. I was thrilled. He was obviously very proud of his church because when he saw me start to take pictures he said, "Wait, let me turn on the lights." It was such a fun experience.