Cash Only

Will and I took a trip down to Atlanta over Memorial Day weekend. The main reason for the trip was to see Dave Matthews Band on Saturday night, but we managed to hit up a few other spots during our brief stay. We drove down Saturday morning and grabbed lunch at Henri's {So we are clear, it is not "Henry's", as I made the mistake several times, it is pronounced "ahn-hrees"}. Located in Buckhead, Henri's turns out delicious sandwiches and has a bakery that will make you want to come back for seconds. The almond macaroon I ate was like a piece of angel food-cake with every bite. I followed that with a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie....and another few bites of an oatmeal cookie, then off to the mall we went. A pair of shoes for me and a shirt for him later, we headed to the hotel. In true Buckhead fashion, we passed several Rolls-Royce, a Lamborghini, and few other "rides" parked out front possibly for show. Our stay was very nice. With the amphitheater being a drive away, in a "bad part of town", and Will owning a brand new car, we decided to take a cab. Drinking a few tallboys at the concert wasn't going to help the equation either. The gentleman at valet whistled for a cab and in came Tony. A delightful, opinionated, southern man, set in his ways and very verbose about the way of the cab world and the streets of Atlanta. "Cash only", he would say. After brief discussion we put our faith in Tony that he was going to drive us to the concert (DMB was amazing BTW), we'd pay him up front for our return, and then hope he actually showed up to get us. And he did. Will and Tony quickly became BFF's. We were in good hands. I wouldn't repeat half the conversations we had with him - like I said, very set in his ways and passionate about his community - but here's a little taste:

The next morning we got up and went to the World of Coke. We saw a 4-D show (Disney you're calling my name, I can hear you), sat on the original American Idol couch, tried the taste of products from around the world (Taiwan Sprite being my leading favorite), and saw some pretty neat stuff. I had never been to the Olympic Park before either, so being so close, we walked over to that, too. Will's family has bricks with their names on them located in the park purchased during the ATL Olympics in 96', so went to find those. Pretty cool, and located just feet away from one of the statues where you can still see a nail mark from the bombing. Crazy stuff. I still will never get over the Olympics being so close and never going. Had I been a smarter middle schooler to realize the distance between Atlanta and my hometown of Centreville, MD, I assure  you I would have been there. Looking back at how "American" and obsessed with the flag her kids are, I am sure my mother wishes we went. I am determined to make it to one set of games.

Hungry, per usual for me, we went to The Varsity. I had passed it a million times going to see my sister, but never stopped in to hear "What'll ya have!?". So. Freakin. Good. A competitive rival to my favorites, Cheeseburger House (located in Greenville) and the always there-for-you Fuddruckers.  With full belly's and a great weekend behind us we headed North back to Greenville.