Atlanta 'n' Auburn

Needless to say, our trip to Atlanta 'n' Auburn was just what I needed to boost my spirits for the rest of the spring.  It is so fun to see where Grace and Jack are hanging out...the campus, the roommates, and college life in general.  Aside from a very crowded Houston airport with substandard air conditioning, the weekend was just about perfect.  Here's a look at some highlights.

If I could summarize the weekend in two words, it would be thrifting and dining.  We arrived late Thursday night and headed straight to the Atlanta hotel.  Grace only has one class on Fridays, so we picked her up in the morning and headed out for some shopping.  We hit Sam's Club, the grocery store, and a few thrift shops.  Michael and the kids all have patience for secondhand shopping...I do not!  Grace found several cute things in the giant store in the photo above.  

We checked out the local public library where Grace has been studying occasionally.  It was so nice...let's just say the library where I volunteer does not look like this!

Here is the view from the public library.

After that, Grace went to class and then we picked her up later for dinner.  We went to Chai Pani, an Indian restaurant.  It was lots of fun and delicious too.

Her roommates came with us to dinner.

On Saturday morning, we picked Grace up and drove down to Auburn.  I was really excited for her to visit Auburn and Jack's dorm for the first time.  We picked Jack up and went to Sam's Club...again!  And to a thrift store...again.  Look at the shirt Jack picked up to wear to the gym.

We went to Jack's room...I think he had been cleaning!  It looks really neat and clean, and I love all the lights he put up.  He also has lights in his room.  We saw a few of his roommates coming and going.

Next up...a campus tour.  Even though I have been on at least two official campus tours, Michael and Grace had not.  So Jack gave us a tour and we did tons of walking.

Representing both schools that are getting our tuition $$$.

After all that walking, we needed some refreshments.  A stop at Toomers was a must.

After this, we went back to the hotel to refresh.  Then we picked Jack up and went out for dinner.

We enjoyed a really nice dinner at Hamilton's.

And then some live music at the jazz bar inside the Auburn Hotel.

On Sunday, we met Jack at church.

We took a few pictures in the parking lot afterward before saying our goodbyes.  Grace had a school meeting Sunday afternoon.  The time change makes it easy to get to Auburn on time, but a hassle to get back to Atlanta on time.  

We dropped Grace off for her meeting and then went back to the hotel.  We walked over to the Iberian Pig, a tapas restaurant.  I have heard rave reviews, and it did not disappoint!

We had so many small plates - cheese board, pork tacos, bacon wrapped dates, pork tenderloin, and churros.  It was outstanding!

Monday morning, we met Grace for coffee and breakfast.

Then we killed a few hours at the Ponce City Market before heading to the airport for our late afternoon flight home.  It was just wonderful to visit the kids.  And as always, it was so nice to come back home to our own beds. 

Now we have a stretch of about two months until we drive over to Atl 'n' Aub for move out.  The kids have a lot going on between now and then.  Grace is going to her roommate's home in Florida with some friends for Spring Break. Jack is going to the Florida Panhandle for a church trip for some beach fun and volunteer work.  I hope they have a blast and come back ready to tackle all those exams and projects!