Hotlanta, 8/17/07

Today, Lauren had orientation at Georgia Tech. While it was not the most informative thing ever, it was very good for her--as she met other fellow doctoral students that she will be studying and working with. I think it was a good day for her.
Meanwhile, I trucked around Atlanta and checked some stuff out. My first stop was the Georgia Dome (Falcons). I was going to tour it--but when I found it it was $10 to park plus the tour cost for a short little tour, I said forget about it. I then found out the Hawks do not give tours of their arena--I guess they figure no one comes to their games, so why would anyone want to tour their stadium.
So, then I went to Turner Field (Braves). They were having some type of ceremony, so there were no tours today. But it was really cool to go up and see the stadium. We hope to see a game soon.
The above picture shows a deal they have. They have tickets with all you-can-eat-food. Are you kidding me? That's so awesome--two great things of the south--baseball food and the Braves. Texas Rangers--you could so learn from them--I love you; but they are light years ahead of you.

This is the site of Hank Aaron's 715 homerun. They tore the old Fulton County Stadium down (where they played before 1996)--but they still have a little monument up for the stadium and this thing where his homerun landed. Pretty cool.

Atlanta is home of the very first Chick-Fil-A. But it is unlike any other Chick-Fil-A. One side has a place where you can order and sit like normal. The other side has places to sit down and order from a waiter/waitress and a bar to sit at (you can see part of the menu at the bottom of the picture--it is a gigantic menu). And they have tons more food--full menu breakfast, steaks, hamburgers, etc. It is really cool. I went in and thought I would just get a little biscuit and say I went there. Well, I sat down and it looks like a Waffle House behind the bar--griddles, all that stuff. So, I thought, I gots to try me a waffle and compare it. Big mistake. Right after I ordered, I saw their biscuits come out--oh yeah, definitely going back and trying that. Plus, the sweetness of the waffle gave me a headache until dinner.

The first Chick-Fil-A is what they call a "Dwarf House." There are some others in Atlanta--means your regular Chick-Fil-A, but on steroids--like a regular restaurant (waiters, full menu, etc.).

In my travels around Atlanta, I came upon Oglethorpe University. Really cool old-looking buildings--but built modern. Their baseball field has the most strange stands I have ever seen. It is like ampitheatre-seats. Not sure if you can really tell how weird these are from the picture.

We ate at Fat Matt's Rib Shack for dinner tonight. Lauren had heard about it. Man, I am glad we went there. I made the mistake of ordering the pulled pork sandwich. Lauren got a rib sandwich--these ribs are incredible. Really good. Cool atmosphere--live blues music every night. You can probably only fit like 50 people inside the restaurant.

--be