Day 2 Road Trip to Atlanta

Day 2 Road Trip to Atlanta started with breakfast included at the Residence Inn. What a welcome surprise…great healthy choices this morning. While the ‘Ole Buckeye enjoyed his usual oatmeal, yogurt and fruit, I piled my plate with scrambled egg whites, turkey sausage, fresh spinach, and salsa. A five star breakfast courtesy Residence Inn.

The morning 5 hour drive to Atlanta brought up a few concerns about our return trip on Saturday. There were huge backups on the northbound side due to construction at 3 different locations. This left us with something to think about as we planned our trip back home. Normally we depend on WAZE to find the best route, often avoiding major backups. We will plug in WAZE early on the return drive.

Our only stop en route was a Starbucks break. The ‘Ole Buckeye does all the driving and he needed a lift. He ordered his normal Pikes Place, while I decided on a skinny mocha latte made with almond milk…Venti! I don’t go to Starbucks often, but enjoy it when I do. They have updated all of their offerings to accommodate a variety of dietary requests. They offer a stevia sweetener which helps when following THM. (Upon research later in the day, I did find out that Starbucks uses sweetened almond milk, so the next time I will order my latte with heavy cream and the sugar free flavor, (Vanilla, Hazelnut, Cinnamon Dulce, and Mocha). Lesson learned.)  

W arrived at the Residence Inn Downtown Atlanta at about 1:30. It didn’t take us long to get settled in, although it looked like we might be staying several weeks with all of our luggage. It is always difficult to pack when the weather is expected to be in the 60’s and later in the week drop to the 30″s. That’s my excuse and I will stick with it.

Our one bedroom queen suite was compact…very typical of a hotel in the city in a restored building. The kitchen area was compete. 

It took only a short time to stow the food, unpack, and change clothes. Since the ‘OLe Buckeye had slight indigestion, we opted to skip taking time to eat since we planned to join the RI Mix Meet and Great downstairs at the Residence Inn between 6-7:30. We had dinner reservations at 8. I also knew that there would be food available in the showrooms at market to grab a bite.

Gift and Home Market

The walk to Americas Mart was a few short blocks and I had decided early on the first showrooms that I wanted to visit. 

When I was last at market 2 years ago, I regretted not purchasing new linens for our bedroom and I had not recorded the name of the supplier of preserved magnolia wreaths that I fell in love with. 

There are no major goals for this trip, I just wanted to experience market once again…maybe for the final time.

I am looking for ideas for wall decor, especially displaying my orchids which are taking over my desk. Another need is great pots for them. I am also on the lookout for outdoor living and indoor accessories and wall decor. Most of all during market I am looking for ideas and trends. Another plus, walking the mart is great exercise.

My favorite showrooms this afternoon were Saro and Accent Decor.

Accent Decor

I loved this idea at Accent Decor. This would be an awesome way to display my orchids. In fact, there were a multitude of ideas in their showroom.

The ‘Ole Buckeye and I spent several hours exploring showrooms and I was thankful he accompanied me. He always knows when my ideas for change are feasible. More often then not my ideas won’t work, but at least he sees what is in my mind’s eye.

After several hours of shopping our tired feet demanded that we head back to the hotel where they were having RI Mix, an evening social with food, beer, and wine. Tonight they were serving barbecue sandwiches, baked beans, and potato salad. After a quick taste and discussion, we decided that this could be dinner and we could simply relax, eat and drink without going out again. I cancelled our dinner reservations. At first after tasting the potato salad (not great), I was simply going to have the barbecue (no bun). However after hearing the ‘Ole Buckeye’s report on the beans, I decided to go for it and had barbecue and beans…and 2 glasses of cab. That certainly took the edge off. 

Breakfast is all inclusive with our stay, as is the RI Mix on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings. It is always a complete breakfast. The Mix is sometimes simply appetizers, but often can serve as dinner. Once again the food varies from location to location, but lately we have been pleasantly surprised. 

So far our 2 day trip has been extremely economical with a great Greek dinner en route and Starbucks. Everything else was included in our stay. Pretty impressive…right? 

Relaxed and fed, we retired to our room, watching Season 4 of Downton Abbey and then to bed. I looked forward to another market day and the ‘Ole Buckeye planned anything but!

Day 2 Road Trip to Atlanta was a tiring success.