Hotlanta Part 2

Onto the main event. There is one reason I wanted to come to Atlanta. It wasn't the food, or the history or the architecture. It was the aquarium. The Georgia Aquarium is the largest in the world. I've been to a few aquariums in my day, but this one transported me back to childhood. Waves of excitement and awe washed over me like I was a six year old all over again. Things I never thought I would see in person were only a few feet from me. Magical. 

In the tube

Manta ray

Stay in school

Longnose sawshark

Whale shark

Divers with manta

Pardon our bubbles

This was by far the most hypnotizing part of the aquarium. The tube was amazing, seeing the gentle giants flying over you. But you really get the full scale of everything from the viewing window. Four whale sharks, four manta rays, different types of fish and sharks and other beautiful sea creatures. I could have stayed there for hours, and I think I did.

There were other exhibits that were more traditional for aquariums. Jellyfish, tropical fish, river fish, etc. I was pleased to take Bryan to his first dolphin show. No pictures of course, didn't want to spoil the magic, but Bryan's level of excitement was adorable. The child-like excitement that he expressed when we saw the trainers ride the dolphins, was priceless.

Belugas

I thought they were mushrooms

Penguin habitat

Penguin observation tube

Penguin selfie

That underbite tho

Three hours later... We got back to the hotel. A few blocks down, we found Fandangles. Elevated southern cooking is the way I would describe their food, and boy did it deliver.

Chive biscuits

Atlanta beer sampler

Fried green tomatoes 

Chicken pot pie

Braised beef short ribs

Sweet potato cheesecake

After dinner we called it quits. We had been up for about 16 hours on 4 hours of sleep, and we had a 5 am flight to catch. So our approximate 24 hours in Atlanta was a success. Many things done, many things seen and many things eaten. My work here is done. 

Home sweet Chicago 

This was possibly my last non rev trip in a while. I got some news that I was accepted at a new job. So for now I will be balancing two jobs in Illinois and will not have enough time for casual traveling.

It's been one crazy, wonderful, life-changing adventure and I would not trade it for the world. But it's time to buckle down and get to work. I will deeply miss the non rev life, but for now my relationship with air travel will be put on hold. It's been quite the ride and pleasure has been all mine.

-Akemi-chan