We decided to revisit Atlanta this long weekend after obtaining support from Delta reward miles for me and a Bayer research conference for Melody. Thinking that we had escaped the Noreasters that slammed Boston last week, we were surprised on arrival to find a few inches of snow in a city unprepared to deal with it (they had six snow plows in the entire city). Although the snow had immobilized the region for the week, businesses were just re-opening when we arrived. Since we already visited Atlanta’s major tourist attractions a few years ago, we focused this time on relaxing and relishing Southern cooking. Saturday dinner at JCT kitchen was frothy shrimp bisque and fried chicken with mac-‘n-cheese for me, and fried oysters and shrimp & grits for Melody. On Sunday, after trekking to Buckhead for the famed burger at Holeman & Finch, we toured the Zoo Atlanta. Many of the animals were taken off display for the cold weather, but we did enjoy the hyperactive mole rats (much smaller in real life compared with the mutated ones in Fallout NV), as well as feeding time in the viper pit at the reptile exhibit. Dinner at South City Kitchen disappointed us with breast-only fried chicken and an over-spiced trout. Instead, I resorted to the jambalaya while Melody swapped
for more shrimp and grits. On our last day, we met up with my cousin (another ophthalmologist!) for brunch, then revisited the Georgia Aquarium for another gander at the only whale sharks in captivity in North America. Saddened by the lack of good fried chicken, I returned to my well-acquainted Atlanta airport Popeye’s for a 3-piece dark meat combo before our evening flight home. The weekend trip was overall a welcomed break, but our late night arrival back home will no doubt make for a rough start to the upcoming work week.