A trip to Georgia

Abram had a workshop in Alpharetta, Georgia. Alpharetta is located outside Atlanta Georgia. We flew down upon recommendation of the doctor. We left early afternoon to make a flight from Philly to Alanta. We got tickets through Airtran and we were suppose to leave at 6:45. The flight got pushed back at first an hour. Then after being boarded, we were told that it would be another hour before leaving due to weather in Atlanta. We were allowed to get out of the plane, but needed to stay near incase they got the go ahead to depart.

An hour later the door opened and made us think we would be heading off. We got into the ramp area and then stood and waited to realize that no one was allowed to actually board the plane, even though Airtran employees were sending passengers down the ramp. We stood for about 5-10 mnutes. Unfortunately we couldn't hear exactly what the problem was. We realized a new problem had developed when we saw the pilot walking past on the cell saying something like "it won't be leaving for another hour and a half." He wasn't talking to us.

A passenger a minute later deboarded the plane and said the plane wasn't leaving until 9:30. So we tried to exit and enter the airport. There was a group trying to get out and not moving. A passenger informed us that they were telling passengers that if you leaved the ramp area, you were giving up your seat to get to Atlanta. So we can't board the plane(which has seats, some ac, and bathrooms), and you couldn't enter the airport (seats, food and drink, ac,and bathrooms). This was a bit frustrating especially with the heat and pregnancy and the need to use the bathroom quite frequently.

Luckly another 2-3 minutes there was a change and they were allowing people to leave. They informed us they would be taking luggage off (carry ons, if you left it on the plane). So we sat in the waiting area, with no explanation of time of possible departure, but knowledge that there was issues with one of the flight attendents. So we hung around. Suddenly a huge group of passengers entered our area announcing they were there to go to Orlando.

Umm..this flight is suppose to be going to Atlanta right? They got on the announcement to say that they were moving the Airtran plane which wasn't moving anytime soon to allow a southwest flight from Orlando to have passengers get off and load passengers to Orlando. It sounded like we wouldn't be leaving Philly until 10pm. They did get passengers off the flight from Orlando, but all the passengers waiting to go to Orlando whom rushed over to the gate, discovered they were not leaving Philly that night at all.

Our flight switched gates and didn't leave until 12:00am. It turned out that one of the flight attendents wasn't able to fly because of the amount of time she had been working. They managed to bring in another crew, whom graciously came to the rescue. We learned from others trying to rebook flights to Atlanta, that all flights to Atlanta on Tuesday were booked. So it was either we were going or we'd be canceling.

We did a 90 minute flight in about 60 minutes. We picked up our rental car from National. It was weird because they were like, you can go and pick out your car. The doors to cars are unlocked and the keys are in there. We found a nice small car that fit our needs. We then headed to Alpharetta. The hour helped. It can take 2 hours from Atlanta even though it really is only about a 40min drive to Alpharetta due to traffic. At 3 in the morning there was practically noone on the road.

When we got back to the hotel, I had to stay awake with assistance of Abram that there was baby movement. Once things were fine, we managed to go to sleep. We awoke around 10:30 and headed to IHOP for breakfast. The Hilton Garden Inn had a restaurant but it cost a lot of money. After breakfast, we explored Alpharetta and tried to find the welcome center. We never actually found it. I believe they may have moved it into City Hall, but due to heat, exhuaustion, and time, we left without checking the City Hall.

We headed to Atlanta to see the Coca Cola plant and the Aquarium. The coke plant was okay. The aquarium was really neat. It is the largest aquarium in the world and it has whale sharks. It is really worth the visit. We got dinner at a brewery and discovered a place we wish we could relocate to Lancaster PA. The food was excellent.

Abram had workshops on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday he came back and we went for dinner. We found a fish place that came highly recommended. The food was good. After dinner we enjoyed quality time and hung out the pool. I figured with the pregnancy and my new love for AC that the pools temp wouldn't be a problem. I was wrong. Way too cold. I kept eyeing the hot tub, but knew that it was out of the question.

On Thursday, he got finished early. We found a sports bar. Kind of ironic because neither of us is into sports, but where else can you find good burgers. Yes I do crave burgers and pickles and mustard. The pickles and mustard is new for me. We then headed back to the hotel. On Friday, we woke up and packed and headed to the Atlanta Zoo. It was cute, but I prefer the free zoo in Washington. I was amazed that we did the zoo in 2 hours with all the breaks that we took.
The pregnancy has changed my mobility and ability to withstand heat.

After leaving the zoo, we headed to the Atlanta Airport. We dropped off the car. We also upgraded our flight tickets. We then got lunch. The plane didn't leave on time because they were waiting for another passenger. We made a safe flight back. After picking up our car from the Economy lot, we traveled back to the airport, because we discovered a hole in the side.

At first they offered a 50 doller voucher. We were okay until we realized it would only be good for a year. So we managed to get them to say they would pay to have it repaired. I have to drive the suitcase down to the Philadelphia International Airport just to drop off the suitcase.

All in all a good trip with some fun and interesting twists.