Wednesday, October 03, 2007

I'm BACK!




Atlanta was wonderful --and painful! I got to see things that I had never seen and got to visit some really wonderful places...and then got to see the emergency room at Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale, Georgia....at 3:30 a.m. even! More on that later. I will edit this post with some pictures tomorrow. I didn't take too many since my camera is possessed, but I did get some of the yarn store....

My flight was really smooth to Atlanta. Mind you, having not flown commercially since before my 21 year old was born (and that was my first/last time), I was really unsure of myself. I left Wichita, Kansas --with our 11 gate airport---and landed in Atlanta, with their 10 gazillion gate airport! And the airport has a train in it!!! And it is inhabited around the clock with at least half the number of people that inhabit my little town!!!! Luckily I followed two ladies that got off the flight from Wichita--I figured they were going towards baggage claim, so I followed. This was probably their first time in Atlanta and this very minute one of them is blogging about being stalked by some crazy lady from the flight.....um, that'd be me...

Marita took me for a ride all over different parts of Atlanta and was very graceful when I announced there was a yarn store in Virginia Highlands that I had to visit. If you are in Atlanta, please visit Knitch ! The store is amazing and the staff are sooo friendly! They have the most amazing yarn selection for any kind of yarn or pattern your heart desires! I didn't take my double points with me on the plane so I was really going through withdrawal! I bought 2 skeins of sock yarn from Mountain Colors in an amazing colorway, a set of Brittany double points and some patterns. The owner was very sweet to give a little advice on how to at least save my work if they didn't let me go through with the double points. Luckily I had no questions at the security gate. I assume maybe the TSA guards realize most knitters are very quiet patrons if they are kept busy--plus, there is absolutely no way size 4 double pointed needles can inflict harm without breaking first...However, I definitely would not try my luck with metal. That is asking to get them confiscated.....Knitch is an amazing place with a dye kitchen and a Zen sitting space upstairs. They even have spinning wheels and roving of all sorts. My friend has not been enlightened to the zen of knitting =--but she was pretty patient with me. I really must knit her a scarf for taking me there.......I am going to bring an extra suitcase with me when I go next time so I can get all the cool yarn---oh, I mean souvenirs-- back.....

We took the train to Five points station--accidentally. She got Five Points and Little Five Points confused. It turned out OK because I really enjoyed the train ride--we don't have trains in Wichita. We went to Underground Atlanta since we were already down there. Did you know you can't take pictures in a train station? I certainly didn't---until this guy came up and yelled at us. Mind you, he didn't even tell us who he was, so we thought he was the crazy train station homeless guy. Decently dressed, but crazy nonetheless...I did find an attendant near the train area and he was very gracious about explaining what the issue was with any pictures in the station. I had taken quite a few before we got yelled at and was going to keep them, but the attendant made sense and was very polite, so I deleted them after we left the station. I certainly would not want to post something that a dingbat terrorist could use...It's sad that we even have to consider that...But, now I know you can't take pictures in any major transportation hub...see, I learned something. But the first guy could still use some interpersonal communication skill training. Dear Marta -- please train your staff in manners (except for the older attendant, he was very polite and gracious). OK, maybe just some of the staff --the attendants at the ticket machines and gate entrances were really sweet and quick to offer help to this really confused tourist...

Atlanta has some amazing ethnic restaurants, a Whole Foods Grocery store (I definitely had to visit that store----We NEED one in Wichita!!!), amazing funky stores and beautifully restored neighborhoods. Next time I go, I want to go to Little Five Points for shopping, the Martin Luther King Center and the Jimmy Carter Center. There is so much to do there, a weekend is not enough to cover. We even went downtown to the Atlantic Station area where there was an art fair. This was the first year they've had it, so the crowd was a little light, but hopefully they have it next year. I am saving up just in case. There were many really talented artists and I found a ton of inspiration! I am going to start making jewelry and painting again...

I was supposed to fly out of Atlanta at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, but that didn't happen. Instead, I awoke at 1:30 with a feeling in my left side like something had burst. I took two really hot soaks in the tub and the pain was so bad that I couldn't stand up. My first thought was my appendix burst--but I called hubby and he said the appendix is on the right side...next? At 3:30 it was clear the pain was not going away and was getting so bad I couldn't even breathe--add to that nausea...so I had to scare the bejebees out of my friend and have her take me to an emergency room. Not really what I had in mind. However, I must say, the staff at the hospital in Riverdale are very good with grumpy people in pain. Not to mention they don't blink twice when you get sick....I don't think I ran into a single grumpy staff member the whole time--so I really rate them highly--if you have to go. Everyone from the admitting staff, to the nurses, to the doctor who explained everything clearly, was very kind and patient. If I ever have to have an IV or get blood drawn again, I hope I can find staff as good as them. I am terrified of needles, but they really were good at their jobs. A CT scan, several shots of painkiller and some hours later, I found out I had a kidney stone....I would have never guessed something like that could cause so much extreme pain!! I wish that on nobody! Needless to say, I didn't make the flight home. I flew out on Tuesday afternoon after sleeping all day Monday....interesting ending for the week.

But it was all good. I saw a lot of interesting things, met and saw a lot of interesting people and found a spectacular yarn store (from that moment on, anything else we did and saw was just icing on the cake)..I am glad I had a resident to show me around though. Atlanta is a huge city.

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