A Weekend Away in Atlanta

My husband and I had a great weekend away in Atlanta but it definitely didn’t start off that way. Grab a cup of tea or a glass of wine cause this is going to be a long but interesting read.

We arrived to the airport in Dallas at 5 am only to find that our 6 am flight with Southwest Airlines had been cancelled. We kept getting conflicting reasons why the flight had been cancelled from the gate agents which was very frustrating. We were then placed on the standby list for a position on a flight at 8:15 or confirmed on a direct flight to Atlanta at noon. This whole debacle really threw a monkey wrench into our plans. Sometimes as a traveler you just have to relinquish control and go with the flow. We ended up taking the 8:15 flight from Dallas to St. Louis and then from St. Louis to Atlanta and arrived 3.5 hours behind schedule. We were just happy to make it to Atlanta at that point. Note to self: Stick with American, Delta, or JetBlue.

We took an Uber to our hotel in Downtown Atlanta. It was a great way to see the city and get the inside scoop on things to do from a local. We decided not to rent a car because it was more cost-effective and everything we wanted to do was within walking distance of our hotel. *Pro tip: Opt for public transportation in big cities to save money. Parking fees in downtown metropolitan areas are brutal. We stayed at the Home2 Suites in Downtown Atlanta and they charge a whopping $30 bucks a night for parking. Umm no thank you.

After we got settled into our hotel, We walked the neighborhood to find food and stumbled upon a little Korean bistro called The Blossom Tree. I always make it a point to try something new on vacation so I tried Korean food for the first time. The tacos were yummy. Next time, I will pass on the kimchi though. That’s definitely an acquired taste. Afterwards, we headed to a 2-story Walgreens to get toiletries and then back to the hotel for the evening. Did I mention it was freezing in Atlanta? It was in the 30s so I was bundled up 99% of the trip. Before returning to the room, we decided to check out the rooftop of the hotel. It had a great view of the city.

To be honest, night one in Atlanta was a bit of a bust. We had planned to go to the Sun Dial restaurant at the Westin for a nice dinner that evening but it didn’t happen. We were exhausted from working the entire week and waking up early to catch our flight. Hubs fell asleep as soon as the sun set and I stayed up for a bit making a test for my class before falling asleep. Fun times people, fun times.

We woke up early Saturday morning refreshed and ready to hit the streets of Atlanta. First stop, the Georgia Aquarium. The lines were extremely long but luckily I had an Atlanta CityPass so I was able to bypass all the lines like a superstar.

Pro tip: If you haven’t heard of CityPass, let me school you real quick. CityPass is a service in a lot of major cities around the US. You can purchase a booklet that contains tickets to popular attractions around the city you’re visiting. It is way cheaper than paying the retail price for the tickets separately. The CityPass helped us save lots of time we would have spent waiting in line for tickets.

We were able to visit the Georgia Aquarium and the Center for Civil and Human Rights over a 3 hour period. We also attended the Honda Battle of the Bands at the Georgia Dome. We ended our day with a ride on the ferris wheel at Sky Atlanta and deep dish Chicago style pizza from Nancy’s Chicago Pizza in Midtown. We originally wanted some Southern style soul food so we took a Uber to Midtown to the famous Mary Mac’s Tea Room. Unfortunately, they were closed for the evening.

On Sunday, we visited the World of Coca Cola and watched a water show at Centennial Park.

We checked out of our hotel and took a Uber back to Midtown to try Mary Mac’s once more before our flight. The line was wrapped around the building! There was a 2 hr wait so we still didn’t get to try it. The food smelled glorious so it will definitely remain on my list of places to I want visit in Atlanta. We ended the weekend by meeting up with our cousin and dining at Spondivits near the airport. For the record, I do not recommend that restaurant unless you like a side of ignorance served with your seafood. Overall, we had an amazing weekend! I am already planning the next one in beautiful San Antonio, Texas in May!

Special thanks to the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau for providing a complimentary CityPass during my stay. As always, all views and opinions expressed on Sky, Miles, and Style are strictly my own.