Wow ~~

Such a long drive but worth it! We both enjoyed our trip to Atlanta and all the attractions in it. I wish we could have walked around a bit more but to be honest it really wasn't safe at all. 1 in 11 people get robbed, assaulted, etc every day in the city of Atlanta. It is one of the highest crimes rated city in America x_x. At one point we almost had to defend ourselves. I don’t like to be ‘raciest’ but all 3-5 people that approached us were black and asking for this or that, yelling at us, and or following us. I know there are many different types of ‘ghettos’ not just black people. It’s all about principles and how these people were raised. Unfortunately a bad crowd attracts more bad crowds and cities like that eventually end up that way and you have to continually watch your back. I really thought we were going to get shot, robbed, or stabbed – especially at the Atlanta Underground Mall. Guess the name says it all.


Besides that it was awesome. The Aquarium was huge and they even house 4 whale sharks. If you don’t know, those things are HUGE! And they are just babies still. I have no clue what they are going to do when they get bigger. We had our close encounter with an African Penguin. Her name was “Lulu” and she was a young penguin that had just recently gotten her adult feathers. She was very curious about my attire; trying to grab everything on me. She was super soft! Not what you think a penguin would feel like. We also met her mother “QT”. She was calmer towards us, but then again – she is older.


The Zoo was the best, SO much better than the DC zoo if you want to see pandas! Literally, about a 7 to 10 inch thick of glass is all that separated the panda from us. We were able to get so close to them! I even caught a glimpse of one of the twin cubs that were born!! The mother had him in her mouth – it was so cute! Sure enough we went back to that spot many times before we left and made a donation as well. They had a variety of other animals that you don’t normally see. A fossa for example, it’s a cat looking mongoose type of animal only found in Madagascar.


The Natural History Museum was interesting though hard to enjoy at some points because of the field trips going on. The only place that didn’t have field trips going on was coca-cola world (makes sense). Coca-Cola World was a spectacular experience; from the mascot polar bear following me around to tasting all kinds of coke products from different countries around the world. I always love seeing how things are made, sanitized, and filled before they hit the shelves.


Noah’s Ark Animal Sanctuary didn’t disappoint either. Even though it was about in hour more south of Atlanta it was worth it. It’s in a very quiet small town and it was nice to get out of the city for a while. The famous BLT; Baloo, Leo, and Sher Khan - bear, lion, and tiger - in their enclosure together was a site to see. As well as the bear cub and tiger cub together and then lion cub with a tiger. These animals were all rescued in some form or another. Noah’s Ark is a non-profit sanctuary and does great work with these animals. It was really nice to see a lion cub tossing a ball around and rolling over on it’s back so relaxed.


We also hit a China Town Mall above Atlanta city. A bakery/café named ‘Sweet Hut’ has some of the best Asian bakery ever! I wish there was one closer to home. We picked up quite a bit of Asian Décor as well thanks to Will’s handy haggling skills and speaking Chinese. That’s were most of the spending money went to xP. I did get some souvenirs from the other places we visited as well though! And the whole time we were there we had a visitor everyday ~ A little tabby black kitty! He/She was so pretty - but ear-tipped and definitely unsocialized. We went to a local pet store and bought some canned cat food for him everyday =D, bet ya he's upset that we aren't there anymore!


All in all it was a good 7yr anniversary trip and I’m glad to be back home away from the city. Will even surprised me with a bouquet of roses! There are still many other places to explore, zoos and aquariums to go to, and close encounters to do. Better to do it all while we are still young. We have a huge future in store for us and who knows – we may even end up in Hong Kong sooner or later since Will’s family is from there.


Christmas is coming upon us fast and it will be another new year soon. Another year closer to our goal of obtaining our home together =)