Atlanta Post-Op

View from my hotel room

I got back from Atlanta late Tuesday night.

Yesterday I played catch-up at work. Today, I'm playing catch-up at work. Tomorrow, I'll be playing catch-up at work.

I love traveling.

No, seriously. It was actually a great trip! I really enjoyed visiting a new city and enjoyed Atlanta more than I thought I would. The conference went well and I was able to have a lot of good conversations with our authors.

Funny stories:

1. I could understand my Ethiopian cab driver just fine. But the guy at the hotel front desk with a Southern accent? Clueless.

2. When it's cloudy and rainy in Colorado, it usually means that it's chilly and you'll want a jacket. In Atlanta, it means that it is, in fact, hotter. One night when I was able to escape the conference hotel for dinner, it looked a little dreary so I changed out of my suit and put on a light jacket. And then I almost died of heatstroke. Some young college kids were catcalling and then, soon after, yelled something like, "Why are you wearing a jacket? Aren't you sweltering? It's hot as hell out here!" I quickly scurried off in embarrasement because, well, they're right. Lesson learned---no jackets.

3. Andrew, our acquisitions editor, and I went nuts at the book exhibit with our own money. $3 books, how can you resist? We bought so many books, we had to ship them back with the rest of our company materials.

As far as food and exploring the city, the hotel was in a pretty bad location. There wasn't much around except the CNN offices, the Coca-Cola exhibit (which unfortunately I didn't get to see) and the Hard Rock Cafe (blugh). You had to walk at least 20-minutes to get to some of the unique and fun parts of the city. Luckily I ventured out Saturday morning and found Babs in a neighborhood they call Midtown (the area reminds me of the Highlands in Denver).

Relaxing outside of Babs.

Baked hashbrowns with turnips, green onions, and lots of cheese, topped with a fried egg. Heaven!

Overall, a good time. I wan't very excited to get back to my own bed. Weird. Next up:

This weekend is the Warrior Dash on Saturday and the Outdoor Diva's Sprint Triathlon on Sunday. I am horribly beat-up and out of shape. This is going to be terrible.

Lake Powell in September. Woo hoo!!!!!!!! Now I just need to start planning my menu and dishes (aka, anxiety attack).

Vistiting my best friend Christy in Houston in October. Dates have yet to be set, but I'm going, damnit. And I can't wait.

First, though, I need to get through this weekend without drowning.