Atlanta, ho!

That's what we had written on Rachel's birthday cake that we picked up Friday night before we left for Atlanta on Saturday. We rarely ever say anything as common as 'Happy Birthday' on a cake. Through the years we have opted to 'Welcome to puberty,' 'I love dinosaurs,' and 'Rachel is cool.' The cake decorators mostly don't question it.

This was a momentous occasion. We have never been on a trip alone together. Never. Not in all these years. We've been with the ex and friends and Sam, but never just the three of us. It was important. It was special. It was even better that it was one of our favorite places. Third trip to Atlanta together, first time just the three of us.

So, we left after Rachel finished work on Saturday...in my rental car. She was hungry so we only made it as far as Cookout in Gastonia before our first stop. Yeah, stop number one was thirty minutes into the four hour road trip. Then there was the stop for drinks and Tums an hour after that. Did I mention she had a shake with dinner even though she's lactose intolerant? And we stopped later for a bathroom break at the Atlanta welcome center. And we stopped for more drinks. Yes, we consumed roughly two gallons of liquid between the three of us. Thirsty kids.

We managed to get lost at least once on the way to the hotel. Rachel was navigating. And suddenly I would hear...

Rachel: Oh. Oh. Um...I skipped a step.

We made it there. Thank goodness we recognize enough of the city. And we had a plan. Get sushi. We're practically hobbits what with our first and second dinner.

That's when I learned how to work the GPS. We weren't so comfortable taking directions from the homeless man. Apparently the new phone will help me find my way even walking. Ru Sans in Buckhead was an always stop, part of the tradition. Rachel insisted on paying. I let her.

We went to bed and enjoyed a nice breakfast downstairs. We had a schedule in mind, a plan to return the AVIS vehicle before the mall closed. It was a good plan.

We stayed on track time wise and walked to the MARTA. We love the train. We managed to get on the right one and make it to Five Points, the central hub, before taking it one stop westbound for the aquarium. There were a ton of people and we were a little nervous when it seemed they were all getting off with us. They were, but because there was an autism walk near the aquarium.

We sat and watched the whalesharks for a long time. We pet everything that we could pet. Go gently on the sea urchins. If you never heed another word of advice...take that one at least. We watched the fountain show in Centennial Park.

We headed back to the vehicle with the intention of hitting a gas station, getting on the road and finding something to eat along the way. It mostly worked out. We hit some snafoos. I thought all gas tanks were on the driver's side. Silly me. And the drive was pretty smooth.

It is also a little known fact that there are roughly 46 Zaxby's between Charlotte and Atlanta. We didn't eat there. I'm not ready to do a lot of things that I did with Sam. And we ate at Zaxby's every time we went to Charleston.

So we ate at Sonny's. We've never eaten there before and it was a trip of firsts. The food was great, but the pricing didn't match the decor. In the end, we felt like it was a really pricey barbecue joint.

And then we hit construction in Gaffney. Normally, I wouldn't mind. I could look at the peachbutt water tower all day, but I wanted to return the car before the mall closed. It was a good plan. It didn't happen, but it was a good plan. The construction put us an hour behind.

It was a great trip, punctuated by many funny moments...happy memories...perfect quality time. I'm looking forward to many more. The kids are on board. We're planning our next trip already. Can't wait.