Helen and Alpharetta

We finally made it within sight of Atlanta and J. R. texted our son Thomas to see if he was available for dinner. He was, so we drove to Smashburger near his apartment to catch up. Our hotel was in Buckhead near the mall, so we drove there for the night and then met up with Thomas the next morning. We made a stop at a very busy Chick-Fil-A for breakfast and then drove down to Zoo Atlanta. But there was no parking near the zoo so we decided instead to drive to the North Georgia mountains and Helen, GA. We used to love Helen's bavarian town when we lived in Atlanta, but now it just a bunch of souvenir shops all selling the same thing. It was very disappointing.

Lunch was back in Alpharetta at the Salt Factory Pub, a Southern restaurant. The food was very good and we wished this place had been there when we lived in Alpharetta. We saw there was a Cafe Intermezzo nearby, so we stopped there for dessert and coffee and Becca found a gelato place. Then we drove back to Thomas' apartment and Mom had to buy her boy some groceries and then we went back to our hotel.

Father's Day

The next day was Father's Day, so we picked up Thomas and drove down to Peachtree City to visit Janie's dad. Janie picked up the Father's Day tab at Los Mariachis in Peachtree City, one of her dad's favorite Mexican restaurants. We spent some time with her dad and stepmom and the dogs and then drove back to Atlanta.

Tech and the Varsity

We made two stops, one at the Georgia Tech Bookstore for some souvenirs and then another at the Varsity to get Becca a frosted orange. Then we said goodbye to Thomas and began our drive to Nashville.

Driving Home

We stopped at Smokey Bones in Chattanooga and that was a mistake. The hostess was indifferent to the group in front of us and continued with us. She seated us after a long wait and then we sat around waiting for a server. J. R. finally flagged down a waitress walking by. She agreed to serve us even though it was not her area. She turned out to provide fantastic service, though. It was turning dark by the time we got to Nashville and we turned in early with a seven hour drive back to Chicago ahead of us the next day.