Sweet Georgia (NOT!)

Okay, so I know some of you are wondering what in the world happened to me. Well, I've been sick and then Nevaeh got what I had. So I've been taking care of her too. Actually, we are both still recovering. It's kind of lingering. Then our trip snuck up on me and I've been scrambling to get the laundry done and pack and get ready to go. So, blogging fell to the back burner.

In my last post, I talked about feeling down. Well, in perfect Marietta style, it only lasted a day and then I felt good. I always tease with my family and call myself "roller coaster Rita" because my hormones just go up and down and all over the place! Oh the joys of femalehood!

Anyway, we flew out of KC on Thursday at 3:30pm. Of course the airport in KC was quiet and slow and it was a nice boarding-until we got on the plane. It was crowded and hot and Nevaeh was not cooperating. She crawled all over Corey and me in between crying and fighting to get down and escape. We tried to get her to suck on her sippy cup so her ears would pop, but of course, she didn’t want a drink right then.

We did meet the nicest man on the plane-lucky guy got stuck next to the squirming, screaming baby! He was actually from the Atlanta area but will be moving to Kansas City. Isn’t that neat how God puts us in certain places at certain times! He gave us lots of ideas of things to do when we got here. Talking to him made the trip easier! He even gave us his contact info in case we had more questions or needed directions and then helped us find our way through the Atlanta airport.

We got off of the plane into one of the nations busiest (maybe largest other than Chicago) airports. We had to take a tram to get to the luggage, then a bus to get to the car rental in another location. All was going well until we realized we had forgotten the car seat at the baggage area. So Nevaeh and I had to wait in this filthy car rental lobby while Corey took a bus back to the baggage claim and back to us again. While we waited, my extremely tired toddler (who had already missed her nap), pretended to be a vacuum cleaner by crawling in the filthy floor and running her forehead along the dirty rug and tile. She was also enjoying sprawling out on her back and trying to make "dirt angles" in the floor. When I would say “get off the floor” and try to pick her up and make her stand, she would either lift her legs up and out into a "v" or she would turn into jello. I'm sure all the customers were enjoying watching me in my distress.

By the time Corey got back, it was almost 8pm Georgia time. As you know, he is a type 1 diabetic and that is way too late for him to be eating supper, so stress levels were rising. We drove on crowded highways 6 to 7 lanes across, with hurried and rude drivers, to the Comfort Inn where we were staying. We walked in to find a small unclean room that looked nothing like the pictures on the website. There were furry animals growing out of the vents and the bathtub was clogged, to name a couple of the problems.

Corey went to get dinner and we ate at 9:15 pm. For those of you who know us, we always eat early by 6:15 or 7:15 depending on when Corey gets off of work. So none of us could go to sleep with full stomachs, which was good because Corey and I spent the next part of the night looking online for a different hotel. There were conferences is town so we kept getting “we are all full-sorry”. Ahhhhh-I was freaking out. But God was taking care of us and the Hampton Inn was able to get us a room on the interior with a king size bed. They also gave us a reduced rate all week because I think they felt sorry for us-well, and because God was in control! They serve hot, yummy breakfast everyday and the hotel staff and lots of guests have fallen in love with Nevaeh. She calls every older man that walks by “Grandpa” and some of the older ladies have been scooping her up and kissing her on the head.

So far, everything else has been okay. Corey is a little stressed and brain fried, understandably. Nevaeh and I have been hanging out in the hotel and exploring Marietta, GA. It’s pretty cool-everywhere I look, they’ve named something else after me. Sad though, they all pronounce it wrong. I haven’t been able to find a place to take Nevaeh to play. None of the malls have any play areas and I haven’t been able to find any parks. Poor baby girl-I’ll owe her a week of fun when we get back.

Last night, Corey and I decided to drive downtown to the heart of Atlanta so that I could get familiar with the area to go back the next day. I wanted to take Nevaeh to the Children’s Museum downtown. Anyway, we got lost, then eventually found “Underground Atlanta” only to discover that everything was closed for the day. Then we ate at “The Varsity” restaurant which was pretty cool. Anyway, on our way home we got lost and spent almost an hour and a half trying to get back to our hotel. We were told that this area grew so fast that the city developers weren’t able to keep up and so none of the streets or highways and their signs makes any sense. Needless to say, I won’t be venturing to downtown by myself now.

We’ve been approached for money twice already (and we have almost a week left). One guy was nice but one guy scared us and almost pounced on Corey. Corey had to take a step back-once again-God was in control.

So, I guess you can tell from all this that I wouldn’t recommend visiting Atlanta. Southern hospitality must be in the suburbs because we haven’t experienced it in the city. I can’t wait to get back to my sheltered little town. I am suuuch a small town girl! This place reminds me of my childhood (a little) but I guess I've lived in Johnson County too long:-)

Over all, we are making light of our experiences and joking about it. What else can you do right? I’ll try to keep you posted on the rest of our trip as we go along!

Can’t wait to get home and meet Gunner/Gunnar! Miss you all!