Atlanta in August

One of D’s friends from B-school asked D to be in his wedding party, so we flew out to Atlanta a couple of weeks ago.  The kids happily stayed with my parents from Wednesday night to Monday afternoon.

Our flight, which had a transfer at St. Louis, was thankfully uneventful.  We then took MARTA to Dunwoody, just north of Atlanta.  MARTA was easy to navigate and convenient.  I believe MARTA and BART are cousins!

I didn’t realize until now that I took a picture of my Hello Kitty luggage tag.  I find it hilarious that D leaves it on when he travels for business.

The groom graciously picked us from the MARTA station and drove us to our hotel.  Almost as soon as we got in the car, we were stopped by a duck goose crossing.

I had to take a picture, because that is not something you see in Southern California!  They really took  their time, too!

I stopped by the lounge and grabbed what ended up being my dinner.  They served fried catfish, coleslaw and pasta salad, which was pretty decent.  There was also mushroom bisque, which was too salty.  I should not complain, since it was free, however!

Meanwhile, D met up with the guys for the bachelor party at a Braves game.  There was a rain delay, so D was out quite late.  I, on the other hand, supremely enjoyed my time watching HGTV, taking a long shower, doing my nails, reading and chilling in the hotel room.  What is really luxurious is not having the nagging feeling that you should be doing something productive, like when I am at home.

Small, but nice room.

The next morning we enjoyed our complimentary breakfast.

There was also eggs and bacon, not pictured.  Later that morning, D picked up his tux.  Then we hung out at Perimeter Mall and waited for the groom to finish up some last minute errands.  I felt bad that we had to rely on him for a ride, but it’s tricky for us to rent cars since our car insurance only covers company cars.

We arrived in Dahlonega, the wedding destination, in the late afternoon.  Our room at the Dahlonega Square Hotel was quite spacious and nicely renovated.

I was pleasantly surprised by this cute welcome gift from the bride and groom.

What a treat!  And it did provide some much need sustenance during the rest of our trip.

The rehearsal dinner had a country western theme, so we changed into our clothes.   I bought our shirts at Goodwill and D was able to borrow a belt buckle and bolo tie from a co-worker.

That belt buckle was just ridiculous.  And it is from Nissan-ha!

We then went to the rehearsal, which was up a small mountain, at a winery.

Afterward we went back to the hotel for the rehearsal dinner.

The food was Texas BBQ, and catered by a friend of the bride and groom.  The groom went to Texas A&M, hence the theme.

Pardon this picture of the remnants of my peach cobbler, but I wanted to take a picture of the bowl!

They even had themed wine!

However, what made the night really special was the heartfelt sharing that occurred during the toasts.  The couple’s deep commitment to God was also demonstrated when they had a time of worship at the end.