3+1=4

Asheville isn't really Asheville, it's Burnsville, which is also a bit misleading as really this little cottage is in the middle of nowhere on the side of a beautiful, smoky mountain.  We got off to bumpy start in our new place in North Carolina...a 2 hour grocery trip (middle of nowhere means no grocery store down the block), three broken gas grills on the deck with a pile of encased meats ready for the grilling and finicky wireless made us ALL very cranky last night.  After some stove top wieners and everyone's turn on their wireless devices followed by a long slumber we were somewhat back on track this morning.  Mark and I woke up to a note slipped under our door and the sound of two confident chefs whipping up their dream breakfast.  The note was from the Fella asking if we could stay up to watch the fireflies tonight (heck yeah!) and the breakfast consisted of cocoa Lucky Charms, goldfish crackers and string cheese. I didn't think that was too bad considering we had Doritos and candy within arms reach.  The landlord arrived shortly after breakfast to assess the grill situation, quickly determined that they were, in fact, broken and returned with a brand new charcoal grill (which now makes four grills on the deck--it's starting to sound like a story problem from grade school:  How many grills TOTAL do they have on the deck? Answer: 4).  We headed to Roan Mountain in the Pisgah National Forest.  It was a weavey mess of a drive.  The kids spent the better part of the ride pretending they were on a roller coaster...and I split my time between fighting off carsickness and gritting my teeth on the curves.  This mountain has wild rhododendrons that are in bloom RIGHT NOW!  We picnicked and hiked with a whole slew of elderly rhododendron lovers.  Mark and I both felt spry...we were easily the youngest adults by 20 years.   

Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta, GA

Saggy drawers

                                                 Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta, GA

                                                 Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta, GA

Spinning! 

                                                Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta, GA

Three bottles of ketchup on the table...one must build a tower!

Manuel's Tavern

Atlanta, Georgia

We went out for ice cream on our last night in Atlanta.  A woman was working on some art at a table near ours.  Milo asked me what she was doing and I told him that he should go ask her.  He marched over and asked, "what are you doing?"  She told him that she was an artist and she was working on a collage.  She explained how she made her work and then very seriously asked him if he was an artist too.  Milo nodded "yes" and she looked him right in the eye and said, "I could tell."  He turned around, beaming and examined all of his artwork that he stores in my purse and chose his favorite to give to the artist.  He carefully wrote his name on it and confidently walked over and handed it to her.  She, again, looked at him very seriously and said, "I'm going to keep this."  You can't manufacture authenticity.  He'll never forget her, I'm sure of it.

Manuel's Tavern

Atlanta, Georgia

(Odelia wields the camera)

You bet they were able to identify that logo.  You're welcome, Coke.

Manuel's Tavern, Atlanta, Georgia

Krispy Kreme

Midtown

Atlanta, Georgia

As I reflect, I realize that we introduced the kids to "how soda is made" and "how donuts are fried" in the same trip.  Whoa, that might be seen as child abuse in some circles.

Posing with his donut-making hat!

                                               Krispy Kreme, Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia

She did not care that the originals were being pulled directly off the assembly line.  She wanted sprinkles and that was that.

Krispy Kreme, Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia

Picnic in the rain after we discovered ALL the grills were broken.

View from our deck...

Burnsville, NC

View from our deck in the morning...Milo demands a picture.

Burnsville, NC

Here is the breakfast A La Fella and Osie

Coffee sippin in the Smokies

More prettiness from our deck.

Burnsville, NC

Picnicking

For real, a ton of rhododendrons!

The kids thought that this sign was instructing us to get a picture next to the sign...

so much for this visual support.

Osie the magnificent!

Pigsah National Forest

Pigsah National Forest

No kidding, they were beautiful.

Overlook at Pigsah National Forest

The 404

We’ve been chillin’ in the 404, ya’ll.  We’ve spent the week in Atlanta.  Monday started with an early morning drive from Savannah to Atlanta so Mark could present at 2pm with his colleague Jamie.  Had it been me presenting at a national conference I’m certain we would have arrived no less than a full 24 hours in advance and I would have done a pre-presentation check of the room, a technology run-through and several reads of my notes.  Not Dr. Holdhusen.  We arrived at 10, checked in, unloaded and he met Jamie for lunch.  Nary a nerve to be detected!

Once settled, Odelia, Milo and I headed to the Atlanta Children’s Museum for some good, clean fun.  I felt comfortable enough to let Milo explore on his own but not so comfortable that I wasn’t a wreck every time he neglected to check in with me after the allotted 5 minutes that we pre-determined as our time (never-mind the fact that he had no watch nor ability to tell time).  At 4 minutes, 59 seconds I would start scanning the museum for a sliver Milo.  He’d always pop up, sweaty and red-faced after playing hard.  I’m sure child abductions from children’s museums are rare….right?  Both kids liked dressing up and performing on the stage at the museum.  Odelia assumed whatever role Milo assigned her and then quickly added “princess” to it.  So, we had a fire scene (in which I starred as the fire) where Odelia started out as a firefighter and then she quickly turned her role into firefighter-princess.  I was simply along for the ride and had secondary roles as both fire and water.  Milo assigned himself roles as firefighter/rescuer and a floppy fish.  Good times!  Monday night we took Jamie and the kids to visit our old house in Candler Park and eat at the Flying Biscuit.  We took a quick drive-by picture of the old house (so as to not creep out the current renters) and introduced the kids to their very first Flying Biscuit.  Yum! 

Tuesday Mark met us at the World of Coke and we toured the Mother Land like it was our job.  We took full advantage of every 4-D movie, photo opportunity, exhibit and sampled every soda from every continent that they offered.  Needless to say, our children are uncomfortably familiar with the branding and history of Coca-Cola. 

The Georgia Aquarium was our Wednesday excursion.  The kids and I arrived at opening to an almost empty aquarium.  It’s an outstanding aquarium but even cooler when you feel like you have the place to yourself.   The Beluga Whales were a hit, as were the whale sharks.  We also took in the new Dolphin Discovery show where Milo got kicked in the head a half dozen times by a fussy baby on his mom’s lap in the row behind us.  Man, that kid is patient.  He just kept getting whapped… 

Today is our last day in Atlanta.  We are trying desperately to fit in all the fun and hit all of our old haunts.  We took the kids to the Center for Puppetry Arts this morning to take in a show and construct our own puppets, followed by noodles at Doc Chey’s, a drive through Virginia Highlands and a short shopping trip at Georgia State University to replace my wares.  Tonight we intend to stomp around at Centennial Olympic Park and visit Manuel’s Tavern, a local watering hole with a liberal leanings and super greasy vittles.  Tomorrow we head to Asheville where we’re planning to detox from all the southern cooking, hike the Smokies and horseback ride.  

Odelia has been on a ham bender lately.  She will eat it for snacks by the fistful.  She got this flamingo at the Crab Shack and was entertaining herself by putting the ham in his mouth.  Yes, she is laying in a hotel bed eating ham.  Totally disgusting, I know.  By this point in the day I was simply happy she was still.  

In front of the Hyatt Regency, Atlanta, Georgia

Here we go...The first of our multi-day Atlanta tourism  fest!
The Children's Museum, Atlanta, Georgia

Giant Tinker Toys!  Milo was in heaven.

Odelia painted fish and seashells and crabs and more fish....

It's ok to laugh.  Milo squeezed himself into this firefighter's costume without a worry in the world.  He was totally serious about his acting (notice the stoic face) .  The heaps of fabric on the floor were his brainchild for fire.  I was directed to swing them around to make it look like the castle was on fire.  I did as I was told...

She's a firefighter princess.  Then she shed her uniform and was just a princess (ho hum, I tried).

Here they are rehearsing their fishing play.  Rehearsals were rigorous but the final product made it all worth it.

They welcomed us to World of Coke with open arms.  It's as if they knew I was partly responsible for their fortunes.  

Coolest giant puppet ever.  He blinked and his mouth moved and he sat down with us.  I felt special.  That's what Coca-Cola wants me to feel, right?

The secret recipe is in this vault.  World of Coke, Atlanta, Georgia

Hey Nana, look what we found in the museum...
World Of Coke, Atlanta, Georgia

4D Movie
World of Coke, Atlanta, Georgia

The tasting room.  Way too much fun!
World of Coke, Atlanta, Georgia

More pictures of my family drinking soda.  

They gave us these souvenir bottles of Coke that were bottled in the museum.  Yikes, is that cool or what?

Abode 3 of 3 in Atlanta.  This is where our bikes got stolen, our dog ate a dirty condom on the street and Mark  wondered (out loud) why all those women (er...transvestites) congregate on our corner and then get into strangers' cars...HA!  Memories.

We hit all those spots, yes we did!

Goofiness at Mellow Mushroom, Atlanta, Georgia

Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, Georgia

We went on this cool people mover through this tunnel and saw sharks and whale sharks and all kinds of other sea critters.  The kids had a scavenger hunt (which is what she is holding in her hand) and they found almost every animal they were charged with locating.

They had touching areas all over the aquarium where you could feel starfish and slimy sea life.  Milo required a detailed description of the texture of each animal before he would touch it.  Odelia would have gladly stuck her finger in the shark's mouth had she been presented with the option...those kids couldn't be more different.

Visiting the penguins...via tunnel.
Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, Georgia

Center For Puppetry Arts, Atlanta, Georgia
The kids got to make their own Cat In The Hat shadow puppet.  We spent 45 minutes in the puppet-making studio and had to pry both of them out.  They would still be adding to their creations given the choice.

Milo tries out his puppet.
Center For Puppetry Arts, Atlanta, Georgia

The final creations!
Center For Puppetry Arts, Atlanta, Georgia