Sibs in the South



For my big 3-0 birthday weekend, my brother and sister flew to Atlanta to celebrate the weekend with me.  I was so happy to be able to celebrate the end of my 20s with my sibs.  I hadn't seen Chris since my graduation over a year ago, and we enjoyed a brief but fun weekend in Georgia...

Road Trip to Savannah

After having a lovely birthday dinner at Parish with my coworkers in Atlanta, my sibs and I headed to Savannah the next morning to spend my birthday in the beautiful Georgia coastal city.  Savannah's such a lovely city - the only city spared when General Sherman went through burning down towns across the South.  He found Savannah to be so beautiful that he spared the city and presented the city to Abraham Lincoln for Christmas.  Savannah is wonderfully preserved in its historic pre-civil war architecture.  Unfortunately, a massive storm hit the city so we couldn't walk around as we had wanted, but it is still so pretty nevertheless.



On our drive to Savannah, we noticed the "Who's Your Daddy?" sign.  It happily advertised instant DNA testing.  Phew, thank goodness we have this, just in case.  We also drove out early in the morning with the hope of making a reservation at Lady and Sons, truly Southern Paula Deen's restaurant.  Sadly, because of its fame, we could not get a reservation for lunch and the first available dinner reservation available was at 9:45 pm.  Uh... nah.  We didn't think that the deep fried goodness was worth it, and I knew it was more hype than cuisine that attracted us to try to eat at the place. 




We attempted to stroll around the downtown area of Savannah, but it would go from zero to buckets of rain in seconds, so we ended up just ducking into various shops to stay dry.  We finally decided that we wanted to somehow tour the historic district of Savannah, so my sibs and I took a trolley tour of the region.  The preserved district is gorgeous, even in the rain.  Along the tour were various famous homes, historic courtyards, and here, the First African Baptist Church in Savannah.




I loved the old and pretty courtyards that scattered the historic district and I felt like I was transported back in time as I walked under some of the Live Oak trees and Spanish Moss covering the trees. 






It was amazing to stand in courtyards that have remained in Savannah since the 1800s. 




At the suggestion of one of the attorneys in my office, we celebrated my birthday dining at Bistro Savannah, a delicious and quaint eatery.  My brother, sister, and I gorged ourselves on ahi, fried green tomatoes, fried oysters, and duck.  Sadly, as we sat for dinner, it finally stopped raining and the sun came out briefly.  Ah well... after our yummy dinner we drove back to Atlanta.  A lovely birthday, indeed.


Georgia Aquarium



At a popular brunch spot in my neighborhood, Highland Bakery, we brunched and I had my first Southern red velvet!  I can't believe I've lived in Atlanta for over two months and hadn't had any red velvet until now.  And this red velvet did not disappoint.  The cake was good, but the cream cheese frosting... oooh, excellent frosting.  And really?  Red velvet is merely a vehicle to put cream cheese frosting into my mouth.  Yum.  Stuffed full, we headed to the Georgia Aquarium, the world's largest aquarium to play with the fish.




When I saw Deepo the fish, I demanded that my sister take a picture with me.




I loved the little sea otter guys!  And my sister, a true hater of the ocean, decided that this was the closest to touching a ray that she'll ever get.




I do adore sea turtles.  Visiting the various fish tanks made me really miss scuba diving... sigh.


World of Coca-Cola



Next door to the aquarium is the World of Coca-Cola, the official headquarters of Coke and where the magic of all things Coca-Cola began.  Here, my sibs and I are sitting with Centennial Olympic Park in the background, home of the 1996 Olympics.  The park is situated between the aquarium and World of Coca-Cola.  It was a beautiful and warm day to be out and about in downtown Atlanta.




We thought the World of Coca-Cola might be cheesy and kitschy, but we surprisingly had a great time at the museum.



. . . including sampling over 60 different kinds of sodas that Coca-Cola owns.  We sampled sodas from Asia, Africa, Europe, South America and North America.  After we sampled everything, we all felt a little ill from all the sugary soda.  After suffering a sugar rush, then low, we went to dinner at Mary Mac's Tea Room so that my brother could have some down home southern food.




We had one last dinner together at Wisteria, another great restaurant in my neighborhood, and I said goodbye to my family after enjoying our brief visit together. 
Yay for siblings! 

A couple weeks ago there was an outdoor festival in my neighborhood, Inman Park.  Of course there was your delicious standard festival fare.  I just happened to like the dichotomy of this stand that sold healthy fruit smoothies alongside fried candy bars.  I did not try either, I'm sad to report.

I did, however, try this heart attack platter.  This plate contains thinly shaved potato, deep fried and topped with cheese sauce and bacon bits, served with a side of jalapenos.  Yum?  Jose, from my office, and Andrea, an attorney from Georgia Legal Services, are enjoying the fatty goodness much more than I did.

Cinco de Mayo!  We celebrated at Jose and Naomi's house with homemade tostadas, and we drank jalapeno margaritas (delicious) and palomas - a delightful tequila+squirt Mexican concoction.  Here, Meredith, an outreach paralegal, dressed for the occasion, and Naomi, an attorney in my office, is enjoying a jalapeno.  We had bets as to who knew what Cinco de Mayo celebrated.  No one apparently really knew.  Except for Meredith.

Right after this Cinco de Mayo gathering, I met up with Justin and his coworker Jason who were in town for business!  We feasted at Fritti and I benefited from leftovers.  Oh, thank you for meal per diems...

T-Minus 6 days and I'll be in Vegas!  I'm so excited to see some of you friendly faces soon. 

El Careyes
Costa Careyes, Jalisco, Mexico



It's been well over a week since I returned from Costa Careyes, Mexico - just mere days before the crazy Swine Flu mania.  Funny too, because when I flew home from Mexico to my LA layover, I still had this lingering dry hack from my earlier bout with bronchitis.  Imagine the looks I would've gotten on that flight.  I likely would've been quarantined, poked and prodded.  Just missed the madness.  And to date, there has only been one reported case of the flu in Georgia.  I sure as hell was not going to be the first case.  Phew.  And onto happier thoughts.... I spent four days at the El Careyes Resort, a beautiful, secluded getaway nestled along Costa Careyes, Mexico, a west coastal region.  As a freelance writer writing about my stay at the resort, I was very spoiled.  For the press trip, we were hosted by the resort's general manager who educated us on the property, traditions, and various local dishes of Costa Careyes.  Gorgeous climate, delicious and fresh traditional fare, relaxation, sunbathing, and a massage -- I forgot that I have a day job.  In humid and thunderstormy Atlanta.  I digress, let's just have a look around instead...



The gorgeous property has influences of Mediterranean and European architecture, but preserves Mexican touches.





My suite overlooking the courtyard and ocean.  I kept the wooden shutters open every night.



The view from my balcony.  Every morning was serene and I could hear the ocean waves and the tropical birds calling.






We had amazing cuisine.  Fresh seafood of shrimp and fish ceviche, prawns, lobster, grilled octopus, mussels, scallops.  We also had an education about the cuisine from the general manager so we tried fresh ground molcajete salsa (consisting of grilled tomato, grilled onion, chili, avocado) in a Mexican mortar and pestle, we dined on grilled cactus, and menudo (spicy tripe soup, which grossed out the other writers, but I eat and enjoy tripe).  Whatever, there isn't a whole lot that I don't enjoy.



I relaxed as the sun was beginning to set ... We then took a sunset boat tour cruising around the coast of Costa Careyes ...


... Along the coast were opulent homes tucked away into the cliffs.  Heidi Klum and Seal were married at the resort, and they now keep a house here.



Our last dinner at the resort was set up so that we could dine and watch the sun set before us.  I had been perpetually full for 4 days with delicious Mexican food.





El Tamarindo Golf Resort



Our last day in Mexico, we spent the morning touring the El Tamarindo Golf Resort about an hour south of the El Careyes resort, and then lunched at the club's restaurant overlooking the water.



We toured around the course in golf carts and stopped at some of the holes that overlooked the ocean, and some that were tucked behind hidden openings to the shore.



My first attempt at golf was embarrassing, but fun.  I'm posing as if I'm good at the sport.  Pshyeah right.

I hopped onto my flight and said goodbye to my brief paradise stay.



Hasta luego, Mexico.  Me encanta El Careyes. 

Happy 100th Day, Graysen Lee!



It's such a blessing for my Godson's 100 days in this world.  I wish I could be there to hold my little Gray and celebrate.