Things I learned in Georgia

This was my first experience in the south. Having now spent four full days here, I have learned a bit.

1) For starters, every stereotype I had seemed to be true before I even left Phoenix. The flight attendants, with their sugar sweet accents and lighthearted jokes, apologized for our flight's delays and made everyone feel very much at home.

2) Atlanta is cool! With local restaurants, ice cream shops, and street art, my time spent in the fourth ward area made me feel like I was at home on Roosevelt Row. However, Atlanta is flanked by suburbs and they are historic, but not necessarily "cool."

3) F I N A L L Y, I met my pen pal in real life. Her name is Hannah, and I met her on tumblr a few years back when I searched the "CIY Move" hash tag (MOVE is a youth conference) and began following one of her friends and then her. We started writing letters this past summer. She is a lovely lady, and we were both too shocked to really speak when we met each other. Like, really, we were too amazed that we were standing in one another's presence to say much of anything. B U T now we know one another is not some sort of internet psychopath, and I'm hoping to see her come to AZ sometime.

4) Food. Food is good. Really, all my dad and I did was eat good food this trip. Eat good food and drink coffee and read books. Which is exactly what I really don't like doing on vacation, but Roswell, Alpharetta and Cummings don't offer much in the way of interesting attractions, and the "ghetto" of Atlanta (what I would call the artists' district) wasn't necessarily appealing to my dad. I digress. The food was great. Coffee, pie, shrimp 'n grits, waffles (yes, Waffle House is better in the south), pulled pork, collared greens, Cuban sandwiches, the list goes on. Food is good, and I am going on a run ASAP.

5) My hair likes humidity.

6) A true rest-vacation means you don't adjust your sleep schedule to the local time. Hello, waking up at 11am and going to bed at 2am.

All in all, Georgia was nice. The wedding we came for was nice. Daddy-daughter time was nice. But it's good to be back in Phoenix, and I'm über ready to do my PNW trip my way.