Hotlanta...

As I have chronicled before, being parents has not cured our case of wanderlust and we still regularly check out the airfare deals online. We found a good deal on a trip to Atlanta, GA and decided to go see our dear friends, the Wessels, since they had only seen pictures of Miles. So we packed our bags and headed east.
On the drive to Memphis I told Mason that vacations were never going to be the same for me. I didn't have that giddy feeling of complete freedom and excitement of the open road. Instead I had this nagging sensation that I had forgotten something important - not for me, but something for Miles. And that forgotten something was going to make life miserable for all of us. Miles is completely dependant on me to remember everything for him - and anyone who knows me well knows "remembering" is not my strong suit (though it has improved out of survival). I developed checklists in my head and on scraps of paper weeks before we left and would add to it while washing dishes or blow drying my hair. It was like a lurking shadow. And now that we were on this trip, it did not stay in Little Rock. Rather, it evolved into new concerns the whole way. I'm not saying that I did not have a good time because of it. I did. But things were just different.
Anyway, our flight left Memphis Saturday morning around 9 a.m., so we decided to take a more relaxed approach and get a hotel room in Memphis (after dropping Smokey off in Searcy.) We had dinner at Cozymels (because it was close to the hotel) and were back in our room by 7:30ish. Another indication of this new phase of our lives - I was on vacation and in my hotel room for the night at 7:30 on a Friday night by my own choice. Things have changed.
This was Miles' first night in a hotel. He was excited to be in the room with us and would not have gone to sleep except for the towels and blankets that I draped over the side of the hotel roll-away crib (which seemed more like a cage without the top). He kept kicking his feet in between the bars intentionally and running his hands along them. I think he liked the cold metal. We got a picture of him chilling on our bed before he went to sleep.

Of all our bad nights, this was the worst. We all had a hard time falling asleep and after I was just about there, the fire alarm in the hotel went off for a brief second. I have never experienced the fire alarms at a hotel but I can now tell you that they are LOUD. Very loud. It scared me and Miles half to death. He started screaming and my heart was pounding. For the rest of you who know me very well, you know I am terrified of fires, especially in the middle of the night. For the next two hours, I tossed and turned with the idea of running out of a burning hotel clenching my baby floating through my mind. Miles must have had the same thoughts because he woke up just about every single hour until the alarm went off, which could not have come soon enough. All night long I ran back and forth to his little crib popping his pacifier back in his mouth and occasionally picking him up for a short rock hoping not to disturb one of the three family reunions that were staying at the hotel with us. 6 a.m. never looked so good to me. We got ready and went to the Memphis airport to go to Atlanta.

Airport security always makes me a little nervous, but now I had a stroller full of baby stuff. I was sure I would be pegged. Luckily I have a fabulous husband who said to me, "You just take care of the baby and I will take care of the rest." I couldn't have been more relieved. Mason got all of it through like a pro and i just held on to the baby. Miles LOVED the airport. He is a people person and would squeal at all the people and the attention that came with it. It was Miles' first plane ride and he did fantasticly. The sensations of the change in pressure and all the acceleration and turning did not phase him. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of us on the plane. We tried to take one but it turned out poorly. Oh well.

We grabbed all our bags and headed to our rental car - or should I say our rental minivan. Yes, boys and girls, we rented a minivan. Another indication of how the times-are-a-changin'. There was a cute little VW Bug convertible and a sweet Audi within reach but we chose the mini-van. It was very convenient for our situation since the Wessels would be riding with us. And it did have leather, which made me feel a little more hip riding around in it. It was a good ride, but I had a hard time swallowing the fact that we deliberately chose a minivan.
We had a nice visit with the Wessels, and her mom actually kept Miles while we went to Stone Mountain that night for the laser show. I didn't get to see much of the show because we were late arriving and didn't have very good seats. I had seen it before and I don't think it has changed in 15 years from everyone I have talked to about it. It was nice to be free of the youngin' and not have to worry about his bed time and how keeping him up too late was going to create havoc on us in the coming days.


Sunday we visited their little church and then made a beeline for the new Georgia Aquarium and Coke Museum after we had a quick lunch at the Varsity - an established grease joint in a 50's style eatery. I had chili cheese dogs which I thought were very cleverly executed. They take the hot dogs and put the chili and cheese on them and then grill the buns shut. They were the tidiest dogs i have ever eaten. Miles had a milkshake! (Just kidding mom.)
Again - the whole time Miles did fantastic. He just rolled with the punches. True, he probably didn't nap as well as he did at home, but if he got tired he would take a little nap in his stroller. He did not fuss much at all and is a great baby to travel with. I almost think he is better while we are on the road than when we are at home. Maybe he gets bored sitting at home. I do too. But how sad it is to think at 5 months old Miles is already bored.
Here are a few favorites from the Aquarium. I especially enjoyed the humongous tank aquarium. It is supposedly the largest in the world, and I think I believe it. I was able to slip back in the handicapped section of the observation room and feed Miles while I sat and watched the fish swim by. There were 4 whale sharks in the tank if that gives you any idea how big it is. There was a tunnel that you walked through to get to the room which was amazing. When one of the whale sharks would swim by, it was as if an eclipse was occurring.
It would block most of the light and all you could see would be this huge silhouette floating by.
We rushed through the coke museum since it was getting late but were able to stop for a few photos. Our little joke has been "MILEStones" and they had a great sign that we took our photo next to. We had a moment and took a family portrait by the big coke bottles. The best part about the Coke museum is the soda bar they have. You can sample coke products from all over the world. My favorites were the Asian sodas, and the Latin American sodas were yummy too.
.
We were only there for one whole day and then had to turn around and go back - and through the whole airport worry again. I wish we could have stayed another day. But isn't that the way vacations go - you always wish you could stay longer.
It was a learning experience. I don't know why I worry so much about Miles. He did better than I dreamed he would. Babies are such resillient beings. They are more flexible than the majority of adults I know. I realize that this lurking shadow of worry isn't going to go away for a while - if ever - but I can pretend it's not there. I can't stay home because Miles might disturb someone else - or because I might forget to pack something. That would deprive Miles and me of living life. I don't want him to be an outsider watching everything go by. The only way to teach him otherwise is to get in the middle of it. True, vacations will never be the same again because I have been changed forever - I am a mother. And being a mother, a little piece of my heart will now be running around outside of me somewhere. It makes me quite vulnerable and I believe that is why I worry so much - no matter how many lists I make and precautions I take.