Yes, the Sun is Alive and Well

For those of you here in the Northwest wondering if the sun has retired from its job or if it was shot down by a mad scientist don't worry anymore. I personally saw the elusive sun this weekend and screamed obscenities at it at the top of my lungs(to the delight of those around me) for not visiting us more often. Thank you to all you Atlanta-types for the recommendations and it was great to finally meet those of you stuck down there for the weekend. Rachel and I tried to visit the Georgia aquarium but it just recently opened and is still so popular that they were completely sold out. I am not particularly fond of Atlanta(bonus points for the abundance of Waffle Houses though) but would make another trip down there just to see this aquarium, it is supposed to be pretty cool. From what I hear, they have the only Whale Shark in captivity in North America, gotta see it.

So, Rach and I decided to head out to Stone Mountain, Georgia's #1 attraction(so they claim). It is basically a big ass rock that sits just outside the city of Atlanta. A little bit shameful because they turned this chunk o' nature into a cheesy, overpriced tourist trap but still a marvel nonetheless. Looking on the map for a nice place to get away from the touristy junk I spotted a "picnic area" that looked like it would have a great view over the lake of the mountain. Little did I know that "picnic area" means Starbucks. Heyyyy.......that sounds like something we might do in Seattle........copiers....... We headed over to the visitor center and decided to take on the 1.3 mile hike to the top instead of taking the cable car. It was absolutely beautiful outside, 65 degrees, sunny, not a cloud in the sky. I couldn't tell which was more blinding, the sun itself or the reflection off my zombie-colored white Seattle skin. Rach enjoyed walking beside me and never got tired of me jumping full-force into every puddle I saw, no matter how much mud got on her, what a trooper(HAHA)! The hike was pretty steep but the top was worth it, a great view of the surrounding area, Atlanta skyline on the horizon and, like every good nature hike should have, a snack bar!!

After a brief stop to not get a haircut in the hood(the guys in the shop were giving us the crazy eyes) we ended up meeting up with the team at Fat Matt's BBQ. Awesome food and lit only by the neon signs, a true BBQ shack if I've ever seen one! (Thanks for dinner Joe!) Then we headed to a sports bar where the team discussed some of their work stuff and I immersed myself in a hundred TV screens playing hockey(The thrashers are horrible!), basketball, boxing, pool, everything. That place was awesome, I want a basement "man-room" like that!

Sunday was relatively uneventful, Rach had to work and I lounged around her hotel watching the Seahawks Rally Live on TV. Six days 'til XL....... Then we went to see that movie "The Matador" with Pierce Brosnan. I tried to find a cool little shack to eat dinner at on the Chatahoochee River but wound up at Ray's on the River which is a shack by no means, fancy, very expensive, bad food. The waiter was nice though and showed Rach and I how much he enjoyed serving us by saying "Have a safe trip......freaks." This is not an uncommon reaction to being exposed to the two of us for longer than a few seconds, we can be pretty unnerving.

Here are some pics from the hike to the top of Stone Mountain: