Well, you’ve of course already heard about the most, um, “interesting” part of our trip, but in addition to our Dragon*Con adventures, we had a completely packed-with-activity Atlanta weekend.

We stayed at Twelve Hotel this year, and in spite of their apparent naming chosen by a Twelve Year Old Boy (besides the name of the hotel, the restaurant was called “Room” and the bar was called “Lobby”), it was a great hotel.

Chris doesn’t feel like he gets his money’s worth out of a hotel unless we use the pool. I’m not so much of a hotel pool kind of girl (I don’t know why – just a random quirk), but being the good wife that I am, I joined him.

The pool was rooftop, so we could watch all of the Atlantians in rush hour stress:

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While we got to enjoy this serene view:

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As it WAS afternoon rush hour, the sun wasn’t exactly still high in the sky, and it was an overcast day as well. So, in his quest to get his money’s worth, it took Chris about 20 minutes to get this deep into the frigid pool, one centimeter at a time:

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Yes, that smile was frozen on.

I, however, was perfectly satisfied getting our money’s worth on the lounge chairs. At which it didn’t take Chris too long to join me.

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Friday night, we took our traditional trip to Taverna Plaka. Our waiter was especially enthusiastic and convinced us to get up and dance, arm in arm, with most of the other patrons around the entire restaurant.

I would have a picture, but my arms were tied up with Chris on one side and a very bouncy lady on the other.

And Greek dancing can really take it out of you. It was the first of many times during the weekend that I was thankful for Jillian and her Shred for getting me in shape.

At any rate, all of us patrons either wore out or wanted to get back to our dinner (they were just delivering ours as our waiter was dragging us to the other side of the restaurant), and so ALL of the waitstaff joined in and did their own very fast, very impressive crazed dance around the restaurant:

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It was NOT a good time for anyone

to need a drink refill.

We enjoyed our Greek feast:

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And eventually, the lone bellydancer came out to see us:IMG_2751
Don’t get a neck cramp, honey.

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We were sitting outside at plastic deck furniture, so she (fortunately) couldn’t get up and dance on OUR table.

The next day, after the Parade of all Parades, We headed to Gameday and all of the fanfare at CNN Center and Centennial Park:

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Yes, we were very shiny. It was a long walk. Note: second time of the weekend that I was grateful for Jillian and her Shred.

And, of course, I had to check out a bit of the latest Atlanta fashion (things always hit there a bit earlier than they make it to Birmingham, thereby giving me much fodder to be amazed at).

Obviously, leggings are in style with the force of a spandex brigade, and are still as bizarre as they were last year when I tried on the Gold Lamé Leggings of Shame.

Except this year, the styles are apparently a bit lacier.

You could purchase Lace Peek-a-boo paneled leggings:IMG_3039

But why stop with panels when you can just Completely Commit to Lace Peek-A-Boo?IMG_3041

But if you’re really wanting to add a bit more class to your leggings, definitely go with Victorian Ankle Buttons:IMG_3040

Oh – and football. I suppose you might have thought I had forgotten about it by now. But we had a great time at the game – our seats were higher than I had ever sat in a stadium – LITERALLY the last row.

Note: five hundred and sixty seventh time of the weekend that I was grateful for Jillian and her Shred.

I really love heights, so I enjoyed our seats, but it really did feel like the stadium went straight down from beneath us, so I can imagine that people who don’t like heights so much might not have been able to stomach our vantage point:

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However, another benefit of the back row is that no one is behind you to spill beer in your direction. LOVE it.

AND, there was a shallow space between the back wall and our seats, so had I felt the need to sleep through the game like the olden days, it would have been much more comfortable for me, and MUCH less constricting for Chris:

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I definitely discovered my calling at this football game: real-time tweeting. Admittedly, I often have trouble staying focused on the game, but I had SO much fun tweeting the game from my perspective that I actually paid MORE attention to the game than ever before.

I felt as if I were on the very cusp of social media news reporting…as if I were making history with my many Hokey Jokes. I mean – how cool is it that the NCAA almost banned tweeting at games? I almost wish that they had so that I could have felt like an underground, forbidden, repressed reporter.

But I pretended, anyway. And, if you have any interest in reading these ground-breaking tweets, I preserved them for all of social media history to come at B-Sides.

Oh – and lest you think that Dragon*Con was the only place that Zombies were in abundance, that is not the case. Apparently, zombies are very stylish this year, and the Alabama Flag Core was proud to represent:

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Because, of course, the entire halftime show had to be a tribute to Michael Jackson, which can’t be done properly without “Thriller”, which can’t be done properly without a Zombified Flag Core.

At any rate, the game was quite exciting (which means that it was QUITE stressful for poor Chris and for the guy in front of me that really needed anger management classes), but by the end, Chris had a smile on his face:

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Notice the empty Virginia Tech side of the stadium? Yeah, they were hokey and left early.

16 thoughts on “The "Tamer" Parts of the Trip.

  1. I am glad you had fun at the game too. I would not have been able to handle your seats as I am deathly afraid of heights.

  2. Your Alabama shirt is waaaay cute. Very sparkly.

    Your seats made me dizzy. Besides the cardiac arrest that would've occurred on the way to the seats, the height also would have killed me.

    That food looks GREAT! How soon can we get a recipe for that? ;)

    I was really hoping for a pic of my angry twin. :(

  3. Lianne – In reference to the angry guy sitting in front of us that looked like you – he was WAY too scary to photograph. I had to back up twice – once to be missed in his punishing of his chair fit of anger, and once to be missed as he punched and spanked the air.

    So, no photograph of your scary angry twin.

  4. Looks like such a fun trip! You got some great pictures too. And now I'm starving for greek food after seeing that picture:)

  5. Saddly I cannot focus at large sporting events like that…there is just too much going on, sometimes I forget there is a game going on at all.

  6. Your weekend was fabulous and Jillian, even though she's a workout wench, knows how to make better women out of us. ;)

  7. Ketzer – nice to hear of a male with that problem too – makes me feel not so bad! :)

    Rachel – Awww, thanks!!!

    Rachel & BlueViolet – I just did my first level 2 workout today – I can't believe how quickly it gets so complicated and difficult!

  8. That looks like an…interesting…time. :) I don't know what DragonCon is but I think I would have been afraid to be around all those scary people!

    I'll have to remember the tip about the last row seats = no beer spilling. Someone spilled theirs on me at an arena football game and I HATE the smell of beer. Never tasted it b/c the smell alone makes me gag…I can't imagine trying to swallow it!

    You and Chris got some great pics together!

  9. What a fun weekend, you guys look like you've been soakin' up the rays!
    I'm not very fond of hotel pools either, especially the indoor ones, it's always humid & musty in the pool area.
    I need to try out The Shred…I have some baby flab to loose ;)

  10. Regarding your comments about the belly dancer – may I suggest you take lessons sometime? It is a true talent, and an acknowledged dance form, and takes many years of training just as any other dance form. So she wouldn't be getting a "neck cramp" – from your picture, she is in perfect form for belly dancing. And no, belly dancers do *not* dance on tables – I think you are confusing them with "exotic dancers", which belly dancers are most decidedly *not*. Another suggestion – why don't you research the history of belly dance – you might be surprised and learn something.

  11. Actually, I was referring to my husband not getting a neck cramp watching her.

    And actually, they DO dance on tables at that restaurant. We've been there many times when they do.

    And we really love watching them – the main reason we go back to that restaurant every time we're in Atlanta – it was not derogatory.

  12. Ah, my misinterpretation of the neck cramp comment, my apologies.

    And the fact that the dancers do get up on the tables – that just bothers me to no end, but perhaps Greek belly dance is very different from most of the styles I've studied (Egyptian, Turkish, American Tribal Style, etc.) It just smacks too closely of "exotic dancers" in my mind.

    Glad to hear that you do enjoy the dancing, however. There are some other restaurants nearby that have dancers as well – two that come to mind are Nicola's Restaurant, and Cafe Istanbul. Perhaps you might check one of these out on your next trip to Atlanta. :)

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