Elizabeth & Brendan

Finally updating the blog. Please note that this entry is being written while under the influence of percocet.

So B and I took a trip to Atlanta and Athens for some good food, family and football. The usual stuff. We had to leave Eli which was tough but this way he was less likely to jump out a window. Laura stayed with him Thursday through Sunday and then he went to Day Care Sunday – Monday.

So Thursday we flew around a tropical storm and made it safely to Atlanta. But there was some panic since I didn’t do my due diligence in planning and wasn’t sure if the plan was for Kristen to pick us up at the airport. Luckily she was on the ball. So we ended up at her apartment (so cute!) and then headed out for a night cap and buffalo wings (which I have been craving ever since). I was excited to try out some local beers since the last time I was in Atlanta and tried to order one, I was sitting on the wrong floor. I guess the floor I was on only served Belgium beer. Don’t get me wrong, I love what the Belgiums do with their beer but I do like to try local flavors. So anyway I had the Sweet Water beer and liked it.

Friday we were lazy and took our time getting up. But we went to eat at “The Flying Biscuit“. On the way over we saw this interesting street light that made us feel like Big Brother was watching us.

I wanted to try to the Flying Biscuit because they were voted best biscuit in Georgia – Kristen disagreed. As did I. It was not as fluffy and buttery as an award winning biscuit should be. It just wasn’t. Also, I didn’t see it fly. But my eggs were good, enjoyed the grits and I think B enjoyed his food. Flying Biscuit: Good Food, Ok Biscuit.

We then decided to take in some sights. So we drove to the King Center. But then after several attempts to park, we kept driving by. Next time. Next time.

That night we drove over to the Sweetwater Brewery. They open the brewery for a few hours and for $8 you get a bunch of drink tickets and a PINT GLASS! (Anyone who has been to my home knows of my penchant for pint glasses).

While inside, they also give free tours of the brewery which was fun.  It made me feel like we were in the opening to “Laverne and Shirley”.  Below you can see Brendan and Kristen on the tour.  Brendan listens intensely and Kristen drinks.

It was fun to get to try all the beers and it is a great place to people watch.  And dog watch – another reason to love Sweetwater, they are dog-friendly.  We saw one dog leap straight up into the arms of its owner and another that may have been a small horse.

After this we headed into downtown to go to the famous “Taco Mac“.  Famous because Kristen wore a cool shirt from them when in Boston.  But the one we went to this night, has an AMAZINGLY selection of beers on tap.  They also have basically a wall of taps.  It was beautiful.  I especially like taps of microbrews because they get creative.  Plus, it is hard to find bars in Boston with broad selections of beers.  We believe it is because Boston is not the friendliest towards outsiders (non-New Englanders) and this especially pertains to goods (not just people).  It is hard for small breweries to enter the Boston market (maybe at the Sunset Cantina).  So this was a big change for us.  I stuck to Sweetwater beer this night.

(For those not in the know, the picture above is Eli’s favorite cousin Kristen and her boy of the hour Jonathan)

So after that we retired so we could rest up for game day!!!!!!  Saturday morning we got up, got ready, got the BBQ from J.R.’s, and also some good breakfast.  While J.R.s was a runner up in the biscuit contest, I found them to be better than the Flying Biscuit.  So with food, booze, tickets, and the gang, we headed out to Athens, Georgia aka the Classic City.  Once we got close to the school, you could feel the energy and see the mobs of people tailgating or just walking around.  The most interesting fact is that a good portion of people tailgating will not be going to the game – they are just there to tailgate.

We drop B and JB off with the food while we go park.  Kristen and I walk through the campus and it is a beautiful campus with some great architecture.  It is also HUGE.  We walked by the stadium and that is huge.  It seats 92,746 and is the seventh-largest stadium in the NCAA.  It is also the largest stadium I have ever been to.  And then we walk towards a main tailgating area and all I can say is “Holy Black and Red, Batman!”  No spot is not filled with something black and red, and the set ups are just amazing.  We are talking generators, TVs, direct TV dishes, and tons of food and beer. We bought Terrapin Beer which is brewed in Athens and I declared Terrapin to be better than Sweetwater.

So we got ourselves a beer and watched the Tech game until it was decided they won.  JB and Cabe smoked celebratory cigars (a cigar girl came around selling Nat Sherman cigars with commemorative UGA vs Auburn labels – awesome) and I think JB started making his travel plans to the ACC Championship game.  B and I walked around a bit.  We tried to ring the chapel bell but stopped when we saw the handmade sign that read “This is our VICTORY bell.  If you ring it before the game I will kill you.”  I don’t take death threats lightly so we just walked on.

Let’s pause to discuss the game.  Apparently UGA/Auburn is the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.  All I can say is that the game and atmosphere is crazy.  While the tailgating is huge and overwhelming at times, I was really taken back by the game itself.

1. Basically, the crowd is huge.
2. Unlike BC, everyone is in their seats well before kick-off
3. Everyone sits in their actual seats
4. People sing the national anthem
5. No one leaves their seats
6. The crowd gets loud and crazy when UGA is losing
7. They do ring the bell when they win.

It was a great game and UGA won.  We also got to see Uga VII in his little air-conditioned dog house.  And sadly, this was to be his last home game as he passed away a few days later.

After the game we went out a bit in Athens and that was very overwhelming.  We overheard some Auburn fans who were taking the loss hard, very hard.  Basically this is the worst thing that has ever happened to him and nothing can compare to it.

Sunday morning came around which was Anniversary Day!!!  We went out to breakfast and I had amazing Eggs Benedict and coffee.  I love getting breakfast out.  We took a nice drive back Atlanta said our good byes to JB and then napped.  That night we headed over to Tim and Wendy’s to see them and the boys.  We had some coffee and Wendy bought us CUPCAKES!  How did she know?  I had a carrot cupcake that was almost too pretty to eat.  But I ate it anyway.  Seriously, I didn’t know that Whole Foods had such tasty and pretty cupcakes. It was great to see them.

After that we just headed back to downtown and went to bed only to leave early the next morning.

And that was our trip to Georgia.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 9:59 am and is filed under Family, vacation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.