Atlanta!

We decided to do a quick trip to Atlanta. It's only been two months since we moved to one of the most popular vacation destinations in the world. So, it felt odd to be leaving so soon. In fact, Thomas and I had some regrets and tried to talk the kids into a "staycation" instead, but they were excited to see someplace new. Anna especially loves staying in hotels and was really looking forward to our trip. We took a vote and all 3 older kids wanted to go to Atlanta. It didn't seem fair to change it up at the last minute, so we moved forward.

We left on Wednesday around 2 and got arrived at our hotel around 8. It was an easy drive, but longer than we are used to for our weekend trips. In Maryland, we frequently went to Williamsburg and Philadelphia. Both were about 3 hours away. We could be in New York in 5 and all the places in between. Fortunately, it was a pleasant drive.

On Thursday, we went to Six Flags over Georgia. We had a great time. School here started on August 1, the same day we visited, so crowds were light. The rides were fun and the park was big. However, the employees were the most apathetic of any park we have ever been too. It was almost comical. We were on the log flume and the employee tasked with monitoring the ride at the top of the hill was watching his phone and didn't even look up at us. We got bumped from a ride for "weather" and the employees had no idea if or when it would reopen. They also stated they had no idea what the weather policy is (specifically, I asked if they had to wait a certain amount of time after lightening is spotted). The sky was blue and I hadn't seen rain or lightening, but the whole park basically shut down twice that day for "weather."  Finally, as one employee checked Luke's seatbelt on a kids' coaster he asked her if it went upside down and she completely ignored him. Obviously, most employees were fine, but I don't think any were actually friendly. Six Flags must not treat their employees very well, because seriously--they were an unhappy bunch!

I screenshot this from a video I took of Jack and Thomas on this crazy ride. They loved it! In fact, Thomas liked it so much he convinced me to ride, but it is the one that closed right as we sat down.

But, we still had a good time and it was a very nice park. We rode a couple of really fun big roller coasters and spent a lot of time on more family-friendly rides. We got there at opening and left right around closing (1030-7). Because of the weather shut-downs (one of which was totally legit) we didn't get to do everything, but we came pretty close. I would rank it as my second-favorite Six Flags in terms of ride selection and overall "fun". First is definitely New Jersey. We have really enjoyed our Six Flags passes and I will be sad when they expire at the end of the year. I suppose I will have to console myself with a trip to Disney World.

From there, we drove to Suntrust Park and dropped Thomas and Jack off. Originally, we were all going to go to a game on Friday or Saturday night, but the forecast didn't look promising, and we wanted to make sure they got to go. Luke and the girls were tired. I was tired too, so I didn't mind going back to the hotel, although I had been looking forward to seeing the Braves' new stadium. We got back around 7:30 and relaxed before bed. Thomas and Jack made it through 5 innings before Jack said he was too exhausted to stay any longer. They headed out right as it started to rain, then it began pouring. They had to wait about 15 minutes before they could get a Lyft driver and were completely soaked. But, they still had fun and enjoyed the game, so they said it was worth it. Thomas said the crowd was fantastic and it was a really great baseball experience. His only regret is that he did not buy a Braves jersey.

Thomas sent me this one to show where their seats were.

Our first day was a great success! As is typical, we didn't really take pictures. But, I made up for it on Day 2 when we visited Stone Mountain.