Fernbank Natural History Museum

On Saturday John and I each ran around Piedmont Park, and I wish I had some pictures of that to show you. It's really beautiful and a wonderful place to run as a visitor to town. But I don't hold my camera when I go running, so no pictures.
























We had lunch at Popi's, a Cuban/Caribbean restaurant off of Ponce de Leon.
























John and I really liked the place. It's casual, perfect for lunch, and inexpensive. The service was awesome and the food was delicious. We picked it because it was on the way to the museum we went to next, and if you're near the Fernbank Museum, I'd recommend eating there.



























We both ate the Jerk Chicken sandwich, which was sizable and on fresh, warm bread. I think the bread had melted butter brushed on it or something. It was so good.























Next we went to the Fernbank Museum of Natural History.























Both when we drove up and when we entered the big hall with the dinosaur bones John started singing the theme of Jurassic Park.























We learned about different cultures in one exhibit and Science in another.




























We made bubbles and I made myself dizzy while learning about optical illusions.

John tricked a kid into thinking that he was in a lot of pain while doing this:































Then we spent some time with the dinosaurs.

































I'm including this one for scale.
























Some of the dinos were in an exhibit called a Walk through Time in Georgia.
I think this one has a look on its face like, "...What? I didn't eat the birthday cake that you left sitting out."


























And this guy is a Megatherium, one of the Megafauna.






























Then we went to their special exhibit about geckos.
































I'm not wild about geckos so I was interested in this enough to go, but not that excited beforehand. Turns out, the exhibit was really great. Geckos, it turns out, are pretty developed little dudes.































We knew that they had detachable tails, but they also have a detachable layer of skin, which basically helps them escape big predators (they're built for a speedy getaway, not a fight).






















The billions of tiny hairs on their feet help them stick to things in various ways - both in terms of friction and grip, and in terms of molecular attraction between their little hairs and various surfaces. Also they can see really well at night.




























They had lots of types of geckos on display, naturally.



























In general, my impressions of the Fernbank Museum are that it was nice enough, not crowded, had free parking, and was less than half the cost of the aquarium. Still, I think if I only had one day in Atlanta I'd rather shell out the money for the aquarium than go back to the Fernbank.*

Sometimes natural history museum displays kind of weird me out. They have a bunch of stuffed animals that always look sort of, well, old, and falling apart. The displays at Fernbank seemed to be kept up as much as possible, but you can only dust an old looking fox so many times.

Since the museum is still having trouble with people touching things they shouldn't in the exhibits, they display animals that visitors have (let's hope accidentally) broken. At first I didn't realize that they were there to scare us from touching anything, I thought they were just a bunch of even older, crappy looking stuffed animals. I'll leave you with this picture. Note the headless birds.

























*It's not as if these are the two choices, but since I went to them back to back, I kept comparing our experiences.

Note: on Sunday, June 6th we are traveling to Chattanooga and then on to Cookeville and Memphis, TN, all in the span of a few days. After that we'll be in Springfield with my grandma (i.e., without the internet) so the blog posts will be spotty until we get back to Fort Wayne in a week. See you then!

Georgia Aquarium

Since John had the day off from field work on Saturday, we decided to do touristy things.























We started with brunch at the Flying Biscuit Cafe. John had a veggie scramble and I got two eggs on top of black bean cakes, topped with salsa, sour cream, and feta. It came with one of their biscuits (which are glazed - a brilliant idea), cran-apple butter, and really creamy grits. Yum...



























After breakfast we decided to tour the Georgia Aquarium.



























This place was really amazing. I know people are wild about the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, which I've never seen, but I feel like the Georgia Aquarium is still pretty great.





























They have several different exhibits, including Planet Shark (no pictures allowed), which is a traveling exhibit from Australia.





























We were able to take wonderful pictures of everything except Planet Shark, and it's hard to choose which ones to include here.
































They have a lot of displays where the aquarium tanks go over your head, and a moving pathway that sort of guides you through the tunnels of water.


























Manta rays and whale sharks swam over our heads.


























There are several parts where you can "use two fingers ONLY and a gentle touch" to pet the sea critters. I petted a sting ray, John touched a shark. Then he touched a shrimp and said, "It feels, you know, like a shrimp." As in, the way they feel when you peel and devein them. For eating. Because some sea critters are tasty.



























One nice thing about the aquarium is that there are plenty of places to just sit and admire the fish and sharks. We took a break after Tropical Diver, Planet Shark, and Georgia Explorer before finishing Ocean Voyager (below) and Coldwater Quest.


























The tickets are definitely pricey, and I can't imagine taking a family with several children there. But it was worth it for the two of us, and I'm really glad we went.

Downtown in the ATL

For the last few days of our time in Atlanta John and I stayed in the Artmore Hotel, a beautiful old building in midtown Atlanta. We're within walking distance to all kinds of stuff, including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, where John is doing his fieldwork.




















Since this is the nicest hotel John and I have ever stayed in that our parents haven't payed for, I'm going to show you some pictures, Pioneer Woman style.




























We got a really good deal on Expedia, and it basically makes us want to try to get deals like this more often.





























This hotel is within a 10 minute walk of a DSW. Just sayin.'


























There's a gorgeous fountain and seating area outside, presumably where you can enjoy your drink from the bar inside.



























After posing by the fountain,




























we headed to dinner and then to the Symphony for a concert with eighth blackbird. This concert is the reason that John has been observing rehearsals, etc, all week.

























We ate at The Tamarind Seed, a great Thai place near the Woodruff Arts Center, where the concert took place.

























Sarah's family came to the concert that night, too.































After the concert we headed out to a bar somewhere around Emory (I think).































We played a few really terrible rounds of darts before calling it a night. I wish Sarah could come hang out with us more this weekend, but I'm so glad we got to spend the better part of the week with her.

Atlanta part 1 - "House of Flying Gibsons."

John and I love Atlanta, and I think we would feel that way even if it weren't for the Gibsons or the Chillas.
























But they sure do make it a fun place to be.


























Sarah's mom made a fabulous Memorial Day meal - ribs, Italian sausage, salad, baked beans, and cole slaw that her aunt brought.

























After dinner we spent some time playing the piano and singing, you know, the way music majors do when they visit their families.




































































Tuesday we went to a pretty cool outlet mall where I found the salad spinner of my dreams.





















We also went to Chick Fil'a, where I had my umpteenth glass of sweet tea since we arrived in the South.























I'm making up for the lack of sweet tea in Canada by having it all the time down here.

Strawberries Romanoff

Remember a few months ago when this blog was all about recipes?





























I'm happy to have one recipe post from my visit with Kira. She didn't ask me to participate in making a single thing (which is a fine vacation). When she visits me she doesn't get off so easily.



























This recipe is simple, elegant, and delicious. We made it for her parents' supper club, which we crashed* for dinner on Sunday night. It was a wonderful addition to the meal, since it's so light and easy to put together.





















Strawberries Romanoff
Serves 2
from Cook like a Champion via Food alla Puttanesca.

Ingredients
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons brandy or vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced if large
freshly grated nutmeg

Directions

Mix the sour cream, brown sugar and brandy together in a small bowl.
In another bowl, whisk the heavy cream until it thickens slightly, then add sugar. Continue whisking until cream is fluffy.
Gently fold whipped cream into sour cream mixture.
Place strawberries in serving dish of your choice, top with sauce and freshly grated nutmeg.







*Not technically, we were invited.

Not-so-midnight Car to Georgia

John and I arrived safely and without incident in Alpharetta, GA on Monday afternoon.






















We had such a good time with Kira in Nashville that we tried to get her to just hop in the car and come with us.
























But, you know, she has a life. And cats. And a husband.



























Isn't southeast Tennessee beautiful? This is down by Chattanooga.





















I want to go to there.






These flags were at the first rest stop inside the Georgia border.




















The whole rest stop seemed to have a Georgia-music theme. They were playing TLC's "Unpretty." I'm guessing that's one of the more appropriate TLC songs they could play. (Seriously, click the second link).


We're here until Sunday, half the time at the Gibson's house. LOTS more on that later.