Silly September

I went into the month of September thinking let me sleep when September ends, not so much wake me up when September ends.  Four straight weekends of football madness with the small things called work and laundry mixed in the other five days.  Prepping for four weekends of travelling and/or having people in town meant having enough frozen breakfasts ready to go and making sure I scheduled laundry time during the week.  I think I'm still in a daze from it but the best kind of daze [and not because of how well my team did in the first four weeks of the season].

Weekend One aka Labor Day

Mercifully, Auburn opened up the season with the Chick-fil-a Kickoff in the Georgia Dome which meant I got to sleep in my own bed this weekend.  The weekend kicked off with a trip to the Aquarium with two of my best friends.  I managed to go a long time without going but am obsessed now; definitely worth a trip if you haven't been!

Penguins!

Saturday was spent as it should be with corn hole, new and old friends, and Auburn giving us one too many heart attacks.  Games at the Dome are always fun but there's something off about not being on a college campus.  I much prefer grass lawns or at least walking by a library and thinking "thank goodness I'm not in there anymore" to a downtown parking lot.

A country apart but no issue picking back up!

The Labor Day holiday came at a perfect time as it gave me time to spend the day with my sister for her birthday.  She and her family just recently moved to a town about an hour from me so I try to take advantage of the proximity.  

Weekend Two aka Jumbotron Weekend

This weekend brought Auburn's home opener and unveiling of our new jumbotron.  The season ticket girls (two Atlanta friends and myself) headed over Friday night since the next day would be an early morning.  11 o'clock kickoff means mimosas should start by 8 so we threw together a make shift tailgate at a friend's before heading into the game.  Let me just say that walking in 15 to 30 minutes prior to kickoff and having a specific seat is the best thing since sliced bread.  I wouldn't trade my memories from student section for anything but once you start paying taxes and health insurance, a real seat is required on Saturdays.   

If you follow CFB at all, you know this was a ratchet game for the Tigers as we struggled against what should of been an easy team.  We pulled out a win in overtime but no one was quite sure if celebration or sighs of relief were more appropriate.  As always though, a win is a win and being back in Jordan-Hare is all we really wanted out of the weekend. 

Season Ticket Squad!

Weekend Three aka the One I Wait for All Year

Don't let anyone ever convince you that LSU fans are mean or that Baton Rogue is a gross place.  They know how to tailgate and hate Alabama just as much as I do so are good people in my book.  One of my best friend's from Auburn has family in Baton Rogue that we have gone and stayed with for every Auburn game played in Death Valley.  It's always a good time but this time meant seeing a beautiful baby and friends that live too far for regular visits.  

LSU and Auburn Thetas

The 8 of us live in 6 different cities!

We didn't pretend that we were 19 years old and had a relaxing Friday night catching up after some of us encountered crazy traffic jams and long work days.  Saturday morning was another early morning for me but I'll take early mornings because of football and gumbo over early mornings because of work any time.  The game was less than spectacular from Auburn's point of view and the hottest I've ever been on a fall Saturday.  Saturday evening brought another chill night of catching up and games.  Saying goodbye to the group wasn't too hard Sunday morning because I was seeing the majority the following weekend.

Weekend Four aka the One Where I Pretend I'm Back in School

So I didn't pretend to be 19 during weekend three but weekend four was full on throw back.  Most of my college family was in town and we made the most of it.  Lots of shenanigans, reminiscing, and creating of new memories filled the 48 hours.  It was another rough game for Auburn but I made it through the 2012 season so still deem this weekend a success.  We wrapped up our weekend with a Sunday food tour of Big Blue Bagel at 9 am and Pannie George's at 11 am.  It's funny how you can stretch your stomach when necessary.  The see you later's were hard this time because I don't get IRL time with a lot of the people until March.  As always, snapchats and phone calls will make it easier.

We're worse than herding cats.

So I made it through September in one piece and another year older.  It was a month filled with good people, bad football, and lots of naps on lunch breaks.  I live for the fall, not because of pumpkins or Halloween movies, but because football season is about more than wins : it's about people coming together and having a dang good time.  {That's not to say I'm not secretly still hoping every other team will take a dive bomb and Auburn will end up number 1}.      

The infamous "burnt orange" scarf.

The Summer without the Gulf

The last official weekend of summer is upon us.  For some it means one last beach trip or lake weekend, for me it means the beginning of the most magical time of the year.  College football.  Fear not though, this is not the post in which I gush about college football and all the wonderful aspects of it.  I'll save that for another day.  

However, as this Labor Day weekend approaches, it occurred to me that this summer was the first in my 23 years on this Earth my toes will not have touched the Gulf of Mexico.  Living in Atlanta is conducive to many outdoor adventures but the beach, specifically the glorious Gulf, is less attainable than I'd like. My short trips home this summer didn't allow time for a day trip down to St. George Island and the trip down to 30A is a long haul from here for a weekend.  

My soul yearns for water, so this has by no means be a water-less summer, just Gulf-less.  I am a creature of habit and don't like change but, as this pretend adulting business is full of change, I adapted and found other ways to satisfy my need for time on and around water.

Overlook at East Palisades!

The summer kicked off with a Memorial Day hike at the East Palisades Trail in the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area.  We followed the portion of the trail that hugs the river and takes you to a tall outlook point.  All manners of rafts and people were taking advantage of the river that day.

The next weekend was spent on the Atlantic, big and beautiful in its own right but nowhere near what the Gulf is for me.  Swimming in the Atlantic is always a tad more fun than the Gulf just because of the wave size. Really there's nothing to disparage about the Atlantic because it's still salty water and ocean breeze.

View from Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge in Nashville

A mid-June trip up to Nashville let me spend time on the Cumberland River listening to country music and wishing we'd rented a pontoon to listen from.  I'm a fan of cities built on rivers, even though the rivers aren't always such fans.  Just seems to make it less industrial and steely and take you back to what life should be.

Only way to do Fourth of July!

Gold Branch along the Hooch

Mid summer saw many water bodies.  A trip home for Father's Day meant time on the Wacissa.  A quick trip to Lake Martin.  A family reunion on the West Coast meant lots of waterfalls and time in the Pacific.  Other weekends full of hikes at various trails along the Hooch.

Towards the end of July, I spent a weekend with my nephews who live west of Atlanta. We took advantage of the wonderful hospitality of old friends who live on Lake Carroll.  The Saturday was spent jumping off the dock, learning how to paddle board and paddle boat, and catching up.

My younger nephew is an expert paddle boat captain!

This last weekend of August I spent a glorious 24 hours at Lake Hartwell with a good friend.  Saturday we were on the boat and visiting friends.  I attempted skiing for the first time in years and definitely felt it Monday morning.  Sunday morning was a rainy day but the perfect rain for sitting under the covered dock with coffee and a book.

Summer 2015 may have been Gulf-less for me but I have learned and fully accepted that all water, not just the Gulf, has the same sacred effect of calming and restoring mind, body, and spirit.  So I suppose all there really is to say is "Go jump in a lake" or river or pool or ocean or sprinkler!

Nashville Top Ten Countdown

10. I-24 between Chattanooga and Nashville. 

Hands down one of the prettiest rides I've ever done. Lots of peaks and valleys. Old farm houses. Two distilleries. The University of the South. 

I've added a weekend trip just in this in-between stretch to my list.

Standstill traffic near Bonnaroo but the views made it okay!

9. The view from Tootsies rooftop.
Saturday night we started our evening here for a quick drink.  It's right on Broadway.  Looking right were Bridgestone Arena and the Country Music Hall of Fame.  Looking left were the lights of Broadway and the Cumberland river.  Willie Nelson sang here before he got his big break.

Summertime is for rooftops!

8. Bakersfield.
Fantastic tostadas made even better by the laughs we had trying to explain what it was to the guys. Tried Yazoo's Hop Project and loved it.  Also it was just nice to get out of the mid-afternoon heat and suck down some water.

7. Aaron Watson, but really his fiddle player. 
Fantastic old school country artist from Texas.  I had never heard his stuff before and loved it.  But really, the fiddle player is what hooked me.  I believe any good country song should have an even better fiddle solo.

6. Zac Brown Band's cover of Bohemian Rhapsody.
WATCH.
I felt like I could die happy.

5. Dancing at Honky Tonk Central.
One of the best parts about friends moving to new places is meeting the great people who take care of them.  Added bonus is when they're generally amazing people and like to dance to any music as much as I do.  After the headliners were done Saturday, we headed here to bust a move.

Loved connecting with these girls!

4. The Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge.

Two things about this bridge.  One : The view of downtown and the river are fantastic. Nashville is so compact compared to Atlanta and I loved being able to take in the majority of the city at once. Two : There's a few spots where when the headliners at CMA Fest were playing you could stand with a beer and just listen.  AKA what we did Friday and Saturday to see Lady Antebellum, Carrie Underwood, Little Big Town, Zac Brown Band, and more.

Downtown Nashville!

LP Field and the Cumberland River

3. Meeting Andi at Acme Feed & Seed.

Although I'm not a fan of the Bachelorette, meeting her was pretty dang cool.  We were on the rooftop and she just walked up to us and started chatting.  Thank goodness my friend keeps up with her on Twitter! She was down to earth and super chill, just came for the music like the rest of us.

Before Andi moved to NYC, she lived right across the street from me in Atlanta!

2. Singing along to Corey Smith on the river bank.

This may or may not have been the tenth time I've seen him.  21 and If I Could Do It Again bring back so many memories.  Mexico Beach with my Lincoln Ladies, Sky Bar before I was actually 21, and the first time I saw this kickin' performer down at St. George.

So weird seeing him without a ball cap on!

1. Seeing my lady A's.

These two girls mean so much to me, what a treat to spend a weekend in their town.

A Whole Decade.

Twice in a span of about 10 days I was able to spend time with people I've known for close to or more than a decade.  What a weird way to say how long you've known someone.  Typically it's a "oh we met in 9th grade English" or "we've known each other forever".  Putting that descriptor of decade onto a friendship is odd but pretty cool.  And when you've known someone that long, it's easy to see how much you have grown and changed since that first summer or event together.

Camp friends!

The first occasion was a Braves game on a Wednesday because we could.  A friend from home and camp recently finished Ranger school nearby and suggested we get to a game before he moves onto the next post.  A casual idea of a few people going to see a game turned into 19 of us from all over settling into some great outfield seats - thank goodness for military discounts!   Some people were home people, some camp, some Auburn, some new Atlanta friends I've only known for a few months, and others were brand new friends.  It was great to catch up with the people I hadn't seen in a while, meet new people, and see the Braves win a ball game!

850 represent - Lincoln, Leon, and Chiles c/o 2010. 

The second occasion was a quick visit with a friend headed to home from school in New Jersey.  We've known each other since the summer before my junior year of high school and it was such a blessing to have him visit.  I had my last kickball game of the season so got to show off my mad second base skills and then we grabbed dinner with a friend on the team.  The evening was spent catching up and watching T Swift music videos (not even a little sorry he was subjected to this).

Tricked the Florida fan into an Auburn shirt!

These kind of evenings are a huge reason I'm thankful to be in a big city that is relatively central to most people in my life.  The random visits with people travelling and the overwhelming amount of people that come here for work make a huge place seem much smaller.  While it may be a long time before I get to see some of these people again, a decade of friendship means we are always able to pick up right where we left off.  Who knows at what occasion we'll be catching up at next but I'm already looking forward to it.