Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year blog readers!! I KNOW I am way overdue on updating this thing but honestly I have been so unmotivated lately! And isn't the beginning of the year supposed to be when you get really motivated? That might be a problem. Anyways, the trip to Atlanta was AMAZING! I seriously thought about not coming back and just finding a bartending job down there. Just kidding...sort of.

First off, I would like to say thank you to the 3 awesome girls that went with me on this trip. I could not have done it without you, mainly because I do not know how to operate a GPS. haha. Now I know all of my lovely readers are just DYING to hear about the trip to Atlanta...so here is the story...or most of it.

When we first arrived in Atlanta it was about 7pm on Dec. 30. We checked into our AWESOME hotel (The Hyatt Regency) and got ready for dinner. This was seriously the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in. And yes, that is probably because I am one of the most untraveled people you will ever meet. So we all got ready....in coordinating purple outfits (not on purpose I swear) and headed out to dinner at Max Lager's. We asked the guy at the front desk of our hotel how far of a walk it would be and he said about 2 blocks. But, since it was raining and super cold we decided to take a taxi. When we got in the taxi, the man asked us where we were going. When we told him, he made a face at us and asked us if we were joking. I kind of got upset that he was questioning us about where we wanted to go so I may or may not have a made a few rude comments to him. So, when we arrive at Max Lager's, literally a 5 second taxi ride, we realize that they taxi driver was making a face at us because the restaurant was maybe 50 feet away from our hotel. And here's the kicker, the asshole charged us 10 dollars!

So we walked in to the restaurant and headed upstairs to the bar to wait for table to be called. Within 5 seconds of sitting at the bar a super creepy guy approached all 4 of us and demanded to buy us drinks. No seriously, he was not taking no for an answer. So, a ton of free drinks and a $2oo bar tab later, we said farewell to our creepy friend and went downstairs to eat dinner. After devouring a delicious dinner which consisted of a random assortment of appetizers, we decided to try again with the taxi and head out to this place called Virginia Highlands (and yes we were all very excited that it was called Virginia). When we arrived at this place, we discovered that it was more like a strip of bars within a one mile radius or so. Since it was raining and super cold, we settled on the first bar we saw. As soon as we walked in, we realized that we were way over dressed, and stuck out like sore thumb. So after feeling awkward for about ten minutes, we chugged our drinks and headed over to the next bar. This one was slightly less awkward but still too relaxed/casual. I guess we all had this idea in our heads that bars in Atlanta were crazy and super loud with intense music and lights. So after another drink we decided to call it a night and head back to our hotel early.

When we got back to the hotel we decided to take a quick tour around the lobby to explore. The lobby had 3 different restaurants and a sweet bar. Oh, and I can't forget to mention that one of my lovely friends on the trip brought along her video camera to record every moment of our adventure. As she was filming us walking around the lobby, a guy approached us. He was wearing a UVA shirt...ew. But then we took a closer look and realized that it was UVA-Wise, completely different. So we started talking to him and absolutely fell in love with his adorable country accent. Or maybe that was just me that fell in love? Either way, this guy was super nice and very fun to talk to. So we invited him and his friends to come up to our room and continue partying. After all, it was only 12am. The night was young! We finally called it a night around 4:30am when we realized that we had to be up and functioning for the game at a decent time. During our time in the hotel room with our new friends, I managed to get engaged and married to my sweet southern gentleman, while the rest of the room sat around encouraging us and video taping the whole thing. (Don't worry it wasn't for real. Thank God we weren't in Vegas...)

So the next day we managed to be up and ready to go by 1pm. As soon as we walked outside or hotel, we discovered a huge parade going down the street and UT and VT fans everywhere. It was insane! We grabbed a quick lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and then headed to the MARTA to get to the game. Now, for those of you who don't know me well, I get motion sickness very easily. Our ride of the MARTA almost made me lose my lunch. It was probably the least fun part of the trip for me. Everyone else found this extremely amusing but I was not a happy camper. Just thinking about a subway makes me dizzy/nauseous/ completely uncomfortable.

Around 3pm we finally arrived at our awesome tailgating spot right across from the Georgia Dome. Eventually I got over feeling like I was going to throw up and started tailgating like a true fan. This was probably the best tailgate I have ever been to. There were tons of friendly VT fans, tons of booze, and yea....that pretty much sums it up. I even watched a guy catch himself on fire. Don't worry, he didn't hurt himself...much.

Around 6:45pm we headed into the stadium to find our seats before kickoff at 7:30. Before we made it to our seats we discovered the awesome bathrooms complete with a flat screen tv, and the multiple concession stands that sell beer and mixed drinks! Perfection doesn't even begin to describe this place. Our seats were in the Virginia Tech endzone on the upper level. These seats were amazing. We could literally see everything. So, the game started and we all know how that turned out. VT killed Tennessee and gave us another reason to celebrate!

When we got out of the game it was 11:15 and we knew we had to move fast to make it to a bar before midnight. We had one particular bar in mind that we all wanted to go to but we weren't quite sure where it was. After 30 minutes of walking we FINALLY found it. The only problem was that there was a huge wait outside and they weren't letting anyone in because it was over capacity. Bummer right? So we walked next door to this little family pizza place and ordered tequilla shots at approx. 11:55. I think we may have been the only people actually drinking in the whole place but we didn't care. We watched the peach drop on the tv at the bar and toasted with our shots of tequila....a bad choice looking back.

So after ringing in the new year with tequila we decided to take a taxi back to Max Lager's and hang out with our bartender friend Ric...not Rick, just Ric. We probably went to Max Lager's a total of 5 times during our 3 day trip and I know this guy probably thought we were stalkers. But Ric was an awesome bartender/ super fun to talk to/kind of creepy all at the same time. During our taxi ride we all recorded our new years resolutions on video so that we could remember them. Smart right? Although looking back at them the next day my new years resolution to "be successful" seems a little vague.

When we arrived at Max Lager's 2 of us were ready to party more and 2 of us were ready to go home. I found myself in the 2 that were ready to go home. So, me and the other party pooper walked back to the hotel and got ready for bed. Party pooper #1 got in bed and passed out, after drinking the 6 dollar bottle of water in our room, and I stayed up and waited for my southern gentleman to come wish me a happy new year. My husband and his friends arrived around 2am and we continued to celebrate until approximately 5:30am when we realized we should probably go to bed because they were starting to put out the breakfast buffet.

Although the night ended there, I must include this little side story into the big story. Just before bed, I walked down to the lobby to find my husband sitting by himself at a table, looking really sad and depressed. So, I approached him and asked what was wrong. He told he that "he really liked me but it would just be easier to forget about me". THIS IS NOT A JOKE, HE REALLY SAID THIS. And he looked really sad/upset about it. Awkward much? This statement left me confused/ disappointed/yet relieved all at the same time. Of course meeting the perfect guy on a trip to Atlanta would be too good to be true. So right there in the lobby we ended things. We signed the divorce papers and I gave him back to ring. I told him it was great meeting him and then went up to my room. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it again, sigh. (sarcasm)

The next day, 2 of us went to the aquarium and 2 of us stayed in bed nursing our hangovers. I will not tell you which "2" I was a part of, but I'm sure if you know me you can probably figure it out. Finally, around 6pm we managed to start getting up and moving again. We ate dinner at another awesome place with a flat screen tv in the booth. All of us ordered the exact same thing and same drink and looked kind of gay, but we didn't care. After dinner we decided it was only right to spend our last night in Atlanta hanging out with our favorite bartender Ric. Although only one of us felt good enough to consume anymore alcohol, we managed to have a good time. We ordered a drink made of peanut butter, bacon vodka, and banana and made the one person who wasn't still hungover drink it. And yes, it really did smell like bacon. Sadly I never got to taste it.

We ending the night by watching the Hangover (it seemed appropriate) and reminiscing on what a great time we had in Atlanta. We woke up the next morning around 9am, packed up, checked out and hit the road. This road trip to Atlanta was by far one of the best trips I have ever been on. I could not have asked for anything more. Thanks again to the three awesome people that shared this trip with me. You will remain nameless since 2 of you are furthering your education and the other one has a real job.

I would like to end this blog with a few things I learned from my trip to Atlanta.

1. As much as I dislike technological advances, a GPS is a good thing to have.

2. I am a sucker for a guy with a southern accent.

3. I am in love with Virginia Tech. I never thought I would be going back to games after I graduated and driving hundreds of miles to watch my hokies play. But I guess the saying is true, once a hokie, always a hokie.

4. This trip convinced me that all you really need in life are a few good friends. Sure, finding a guy and falling in love SOUNDS great, but in reality, having a relationship is way more complicated than it appears. For now, I am completely content being single, making a fool out of myself, and having fake marriages with cute southern boys. Sorry mom!