Misadventures in Atlanta.
The weekend started at 3 am Saturday morning. I didn't get much sleep so that's when I turned on the coffee pot. It wasn't long after that I heard Micheal stirring in his room. We took a few minutes to sip quietly on our fresh brew before getting ready. We drove to Atlanta, got through security, and found our gate with just a few minutes to spare before boarding. The flight was easy enough. I watched Doctor Sleep and listened to one of my favorite podcasts.
Upon landing at LAX, when rented a car at drove towards the coast. Micheal had asked me a few weeks ago what I wanted to do while in California. I said I wanted to see the ocean and eat Mexican food. He made both happen. We drove along Pacific Hwy from Santa Monica up to Ventura. It was beautiful. I was amazed at how the mountains met the shoreline. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, all the beaches were closed so we weren't able to explore. Though it was such a pleasant drive.
On the way to Bakersfield, we grabbed a bite from In-N-Out. We were stuck in traffic for about an hour due to a small brush fire. I'm told this is a pretty typical California experience. Luckily, the firefighters were able to put it out quickly and no serious damage was done. By the time we actually got to his parent's house, I was exhausted. His parents had picked up dinner from their favorite local Mexican place. His mom and sister-and-law were preparing dinner when we walked in. It was fun to see the family dynamic. We had a nice casual dinner and played video games with his nephews. We got up early the next morning for the flight home.
The flight to Atlanta was packed out every seat except for the middle in each row was taken. I watched Little Women and Spider-Man: Far From Home. The turbulence was terrible and I couldn't wait to get off the plane! For some reason, we always have a hard time finding our way out of the Atlanta airport. It's so damn big and the parking lots aren't clearly marked on the maps. Anyway, when we did finally find the right direction out and to the correct parking area our luck changed really fast: My Jeep wouldn't start!
I just want to go on record to say that if it wasn't for Micheal's quick thinking and problem-solving, I don't know where I would have ended up. Despite it being Mother's Day, we were able to hire a tow truck to take the poor gal home. That just left us in Atlanta with no car and no one to rely on except each other. Micheal ordered us an Uber to take us to the Amtrak station and
bought train tickets home. I'll never forget standing in the courtyard of the Amtrak station arranging for someone to pick us up in Clemson. I was stressed, tired, and a bit grumpy tbh. After I hung up the phone, I collapsed into Micheal's arms and thanked him for being a hero.
"I got another surprise," he said "I got us a room."
Micheal says it's the train that saved the day, but I disagree. It was him.
After hours of travel and stress, dinner on the train, and spending a few hours watching the silhouette of trees roll by were, without a doubt, the best part of the day. It was the first time all day we were not surrounded by strangers.
There were a lot of unexpected events that happened that day, but not all of them were bad.
