My daughter’s high school scholar bowl team qualified for the NAQT High School National Championship Tournament in Atlanta, Georgia! Exciting, I know! So here we go…queue trip planning(one of my favorite things to do!) Atlanta has never been on my vacation radar…not really sure why, it’s just never been at the top of any of our travel bucket lists. I’ve always heard how horrible their traffic is and nightmare stories from the airport, so when we started thinking about traveling to Atlanta, my expectations were low. I am SO pleased to report just how wrong I was! Atlanta pleasantly surprised my family and I. We will most definitely find our way back to Atlanta and we will also be recommending that our friends and family plan a visit. Well done Atlanta! We now see you, know you, and love you! Here is how we spent our 4 days in Atlanta Georgia.
Day 1-Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is frequently ranked as the world’s busiest airport. That may be true, but I will say the airport is quite organized and we found it easy to navigate…just be sure to allow yourself some time and grace for train travel. There are so many gates and it’s so spread out, that they have train stops to get you there. For those of you that love a good “airport walk” like my husband and I do, there are also tunnels to walk through in lieu of the train, many of them with museum exhibits to look at…but that all depends on what kind of time you have. We had an evening flight, so once we arrived, that gave us just enough time to get checked into Hilton Atlanta, our hotel downtown. Of course we were ready for some dinner so our concierge suggested we go to Metro. We envisioned a small 24-hour diner…but, wrong again! Metro Diner and Bar was hopping! It was karaoke night and it was packed…and loud. But SO fun, the food was fabulous, and the service was quick and friendly. Way more items on the menu than a typical diner. If you’re in the area, it was truly a great place to eat…and even karaoke, if that’s your thing!
Day 2- Breakfast! Atlanta Breakfast Club is a must! Southern breakfast from a southern kitchen, so many original takes on traditional breakfast dishes. The food was fabulous and the service was amazing. Next stop…coffee. When we travel, we love to find the best coffee shops. We try to stay away from the big names and stick to small businesses. For our day 2 coffee shop, we found Aviator Coffee Co., they had homemade syrups and fresh baked goods. We tried an orange blossom latte, an iced lavender latte, and a banana bread…those were excellent choices!
We always love to take a tour of new places when we visit. Tours are a wonderful way to learn the culture and history of the town or city you are in. For our Atlanta tour, we chose The Peachtree Trolley tour and we are so glad we did. Luke was a fantastic tour guide and we loved listening to all the stories of the past, present, and future of Atlanta. This tour took us to many of the “must-sees” like Martin Luther King’s birth home, Centennial Olympic Park, The Atlanta Beltline…just to name a few. Luke also gave some great pointers on places to eat in the area. We have learned from mistakes in the past, to always take tours toward the beginning of a trip so we can try some of the things recommended instead of having regrets for taking tours toward the end of the trip and not getting to partake in things we didn’t know about. The Peachtree Trolley Tour was affordable, informative, entertaining, and just the perfect amount of time.
On the tour we learned about the Ponce City Market and it seemed like the perfect place to spend our afternoon and evening. So many fun shops and restaurants…some seriously delicious food. The Ponce City Market is also a perfect place at access The Atlanta Beltline. We were so impressed with the Beltline. That alone made my husband consider moving to Atlanta. He loves to run and The Beltline is the PERFECT place for running, walking, biking and scooter riding. Perfect for all ages and for your four-legged family members as well.
Day 3– We started off our morning with doughnuts from Revolution Doughnuts & Coffee. Our tour guide Luke from The Peachtree Trolley pointed out this place on our tour and we knew we had to give it a try. Their doughnuts are made from all natural and organic ingredients. We got a dozen and enjoyed a sampling of some AMAZING doughnuts. To walk off all those doughnuts, we decided to walk around in the beautiful Inman Park neighborhood. We admired all the beautiful homes and even discovered some tiny doors! Yes…tiny doors…it’s a thing in Atlanta. There’s even a map on Tinydoorsatl to help you find them all. Our walk led us to Krog Street Market and let me just say…this is the hang out of all hangouts. There are so many fun shops, restaurants, and hangouts, you could stay here for hours and still not see it all. After an afternoon snack, we walked around to look at the AMAZING murals of Atlanta. The art work in Krog Street Tunnel, Inman Park, and Cabbagetown is phenomenal…it’s truly something to see.
After all our exploring, it was time to head back to Hilton Atlanta and Atlanta Marriott Marquis to watch our scholar bowl team matches. Fun fact, the Marriott Marquis was a filming location for the Hunger Games training facility…and once you are inside you’ll see why!
For our Day 3 dinner we were exhausted so we just decided to try the restaurant in our hotel. What a hidden gem! Literally, Trader Vic’s is hidden below lobby level of Hilton Atlanta. It’s an island-inspired hideaway…the food and service were both fantastic. I had one of the best salads I’d ever eaten, the Eden Salad with a blend of spicy cashews, raspberries, granny smith apples, cheese curds and a vanilla vinaigrette, and you can add your choice of protein! Trader Vic’s was an awesome place for dinner. So many families were even dressed in their best Hawaiian shirts, had I known, I would’ve packed ours!
Day 4– This day was pretty low-key. We started off our morning with breakfast from the quick service counter in our hotel because we had an early morning for scholar bowl matches. Our team was done by lunch time so we headed on over to Krog Street Market again. Seriously…If we lived in Atlanta, this would be our favorite place to hang out. We grabbed some lunch…AMAZING food options! Then we found a nice bench to do some people watching while our scholar bowl kids rented scooters and spent the afternoon riding them on the Atlanta Beltline. Then time to pack and get ready for our early morning flight.
Atlanta was the BEST surprise with so many hidden gems! There were several things in the area that we didn’t have time to enjoy…but we will certainly add them to our list for next time. Thank you Atlanta for a wonderful weekend, we will see you again real soon!
Everything I packed for a long weekend in Atlanta– While this was just an extended weekend trip, there were a few items we can’t travel without. First of all…we actually forgot one of our favorite items, this daypack…the one that goes EVERYWHERE with us. I have to admit we were a little lost without it. We bought a small cinch pack at the World of Coco-Cola to get us through the weekend. One thing is for certain, we won’t leave our favorite daypack at home again! We missed it! We have it in gray, but there are so many adorable colors to choose from. My husband’s 40 oz. Owala fits perfectly in the drink holder and there is even a convenient little strap to secure it in while we are walking around. Speaking of walking…we did a lot of it! I love my New Balance 608 Cross Trainers. These shoes are all leather, which I love for travel, because I can wipe off any dirt. They are so comfy to walk in for long periods of time, and they double as my gym shoes for my workouts. These are a big space saver when packing! Another great item that helps my family with packing, space saving, and organization are these compression packing cubes. Each family member has their color of choice, which makes unpacking at the hotel super easy. No one is left searching suitcases for their stuff because it’s color coded and better yet, the compression feature saves space, making more room in the suitcases…meaning less suitcases! A win-win for everyone! My favorite carry-on suitcase is my little purple Rockland spinner, this comes in lots of color options and is so affordable. I never travel without my favorite portable charger. This little guy will charge by iphone, Apple watch, and AirPods! The hotel room never seems to have enough outlets, so I always toss this power strip in the suitcase so that we are able to charge multiple devices. My inflatable knee pillow is a must when I’m away from home. It’s a great space saver in the suitcase but gives my hips the comfort of home! A travel fan is super important to us too. This little portable fan is perfect for traveling and giving you that desired fan noise while sleeping.
My family and I love to travel and discover new places. Over the years we’ve learned some tricks and tips along the way. I always want to share the places we love, the products we love, and the amazing things that we’ve been fortunate enough to see. I also love to hear about places we haven’t discovered yet, so if you have a place that you love…hit me up and let me hear all about it.
Proverbs 16:9 “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.”
