Dlog: Atlanta

Back in mid-November we chatted with Max's Aunt Sue and Uncle Jeff about visiting on our way through Atlanta. We planned to leave Nashville on December 15th and head South, but we were flexible on our arrival date. We could've driven from Nashville in a day or two, but we were happy to spend a week or two on the road exploring the mountains of North Carolina before heading South (see our Nashville -> Atlanta Dlog for that story). We were quite happy to learn they'd be home for Christmas and we planned to visit from 12/23-1/2. Christmas is much better with family :D

Here's the story of our time together in Roswell, GA. We had an awesome time sharing stories with Aunt Sue and Uncle Jeff and we're very grateful to have spent the holiday season with them. 

Thanks for everything Jeff and Sue!!

January 2nd:

Today was our day to leave Roswell. We had packed most of our belongings into the van yesterday, so there wasn't a ton to do, but there's always that weight of wondering what you'll forget and trying to reduce the size of the inevitable shipment of forgotten items. 

Despite our planned departure of 2PM, today was our longest driving day since leaving Williamsport a few months back. Google Maps said 3:45 to our campground in South-Central Georgia, which means about 6 hours in the Vanagon. 

Max went for a local group bike ride with a neighbor friend (thanks for the ride, Nick!) and planned to be back around 1PM. Jess had to run some shopping errands and returned around the same time. On the ride to the ride, my right shifter wasn't working, so I shot up to a Dollar General a mile from the start and grabbed some batteries. I swapped the shifter battery, it shifted smoothly and I rolled to the start with a few minutes to spare; nice. 

All packed up, we said our goodbyes to Jeff and Sue. 

Leaving is always sad, but we're getting good at goodbyes. Having a scheduled departure date certainly helps, and so does not letting yourself get too comfortable with your current situation. When you settle in somewhere, the thought of leaving becomes daunting and change becomes scary. You forget what unknown feels like and unknown is unsettling. 

Somewhere around two or three weeks in a place, everything becomes comfortable (see "It Takes Two Weeks" for more thoughts there) but we hadn't stayed quite long enough to mentally settle. 

After leaving Williamsport and Nashville (each a 6-week stay) the unknown-ness of being on the road had really gotten to us. We felt a huge barrier to leaving and pushed back each departure a few days. This time, despite Jeff and Sue's gracious offer to let us stay a few days, we set off. Call it ripping off the band-aid...

As we practice leaving (read: "entering the unknown") more and more, we're realizing it doesn't have to be so scary. Now 12 months ago, we solidified our plans to leave our jobs and our apartment, each enormous sources of stability; familiarity; known-ness. Now 9 months ago, we actually left home, which felt like an insurmountable barrier. 

But every end is a new beginning. And here we go again...

We stopped at Buc-ees at the midpoint to our campground, a first time (and maybe last) time for both of us. This funny RV was modern with a rusty paint-job. Must be from a movie or something. 

The sun set as we walked the dog, filled up our gas tank, emptied our bladders and filled up our stomachs with Beef Jerky. So Buc-ees was a transition from daytime to night-time and we set off again, about 2 hours to camp.

Find that journey here.

January 1st:

Pretty Sunrise here in Roswell

Laundry: Check ✅✅

Here's my full wardrobe these days...

Lola hadn't been out for exercise yet today, so we went outside to throw the ball and do some obedience training. She needs exercise almost daily, but it seems she can be tired out in a number of ways. The mental stimulation of obedience certainly does a number on her energy. And lately she's had a good amount of human social stimulation from being in the house with new and exciting people. So while we'd usually have her out for a 3-5mi run/hike and/ or a dog park each day, she seems content with a lower lower level of physical activity recently. We'll be back in the woods soon and she'll be back to running and chasing balls often.

December 31th:

Unfortunately the D'Ags' short visit was over and they headed back down South. We were sad to say goodbye, but happy to say "See you in the Adirondacks" where we know we'll see each other this summer.

Jeff and Sue took us out to a Greek restaurant that was fantastic. We had fried octopus, flaming cheese and a Baklava cheesecake for dessert. Certainly a meal we'll remember for years to come. 

Jesse and I then went out for some New Year's Eve cocktails. We laughed, we cried, and we decided to go home early to watch the ball drop from the hot tub 😁

December 30th:

Family Walk on the Chattahoochee boardwalk. 

Tristan, Caden, Jesse and Max burnt our energy playing pickleball together at a local court. We struck a pleasant blend of fun and competition and rotated teams for over 2 hours. Always great to be reminded of the fun of team sports.

December 29th:

We went to the Georgia Aquarium with Tristan and Caden. The dolphin show was awesome and we marveled at their large tank, which had 2 whale sharks and 2 manta rays. 

Experiences like the aquarium often rekindle our love for biology, animal behavior and animal training. 

December 28th:

Jesse and I ventured out to a local Korean restaurant for brunch!

As many of you know, she loves authentic Matcha tea. Many coffee shops will serve a "matcha latte" that's made from a powder with added sugar; not authentic and not our taste. To weed out the fakes, Jesse often asks "is your matcha from a pre-mix/powder?" and the barista's response will usually give enough info. Here we were pleasantly surprised by a barista who understood the question and the preferred answer.

Anyway... the matcha latte was delicious: foamy and creamy with a touch of sweetness and true matcha flavor. 

The D'Agostino's arrived!

Aunt Cheryl (Max's Dad's Sister), Uncle Tony and cousins Tristan and Caden drove up from Central West Coast Florida to visit at Jeff and Sue's for a few days. 

Jesse and I had seen Tristan in Maine a few months back (he works in NJ), but it had been a while since Max had seen the rest of the D'Ags and Jesse's first time meeting them. 

We had a great time catching up, eating, playing board games and hot-tubbing together :D

December 27th:

Toady we met up with our friend Brett in Roswell Georgia. We showed him the van and took both our dogs for a lovely walk along the Chattahoochee river. Afterwards, we all grabbed dirty Chai lattes from a local cafe and talked for awhile. It was super nice to be able to spend some time with Brett and Caia. 

After that, Max had some online work to do, so I walked to the little downtown to check out a couple boutiques that had been recommended to me. One of which was owned by a friend of Aunt Sue. While I was checking the place out, Sue called and asked to join me there. As soon as she arrived, her and the owner started picking out clothing items and styling me. We found these absolutely bodacious bell-bottom corduroy pants, and cozy turtleneck sweater (a clothing item I didn't have in my van capsule wardrobe) and a beautiful cropped jean jacket. Aunt Sue wouldn't let me leave without the full outfit. The clothing and the experience mean a lot to me. Thank you Aunt Sue and Monica :) 

Aunt Sue treated me to a delicious lunch!

December 26th:

Today, Max, Sue and Jesse went to check out the new Volkswagen IDBuzz van. We were aiming to get a test drive, but they claimed to only have one van which was already sold to another person. We at least got to look inside and play around with some of the buttons. 

Cute photo of Max in the old Volkswagen

Jeff and Sue took us out to a local asian restaurant for Sushi. we stuffed ourselves on spicy sushi rolls and sake. A wonderful meal and delightful company!

December 25th:

Merry Christmas! Some of Max's family who were supposed to join us for Christmas got sick and were unable to join. This made Christmas a bit quieter than we expected, but it was still very fun. We casually ate breakfast and opened some presents. Spent most of the day relaxing, cooking, and eating. Just as Christmas should be! 

Jesse got a new purse for Christmas from Max's parents. Thanks!

Max got underwear and a gold chain necklace

Lola had a lot of fun ripping up the wrapping of her new toys (she also enjoyed playing with the toys)

Christmas Dinner!

December 24th:

Max and I spent most of the day resetting the van, cleaning things out, doing laundry, etc. Max's Aunt Sue and Uncle made and insane seafood meal for Christmas eve dinner. We had Lobster tails, bacon wrapped scallops, and shrimp cocktail among other things.