Atlanta, USS Yorktown ~ September 1st - 10th 2016

 

Aaron and AJ went to Atlanta for their father and son Labor day trip.  It rained for most of the drive but by the time they got to Georgia it was beautiful weather.  Dad got them a sweet room with an Alabama theme.  

AJ said he'd stare out the window looking at the lights from their room for hours.

Audrey is taking her piano lessons with Ms. Dawn.  She is a quick learner, but I'm glad Dawn has lots of patience with her stubborn streak. LOL 

While the boys are away, Audrey and I went to Matthews Alive and watched the parade, rode some rides and had fun.

Audrey had her first yoga experience at our neighbors and loved it.

Audrey and I enjoyed a movie, playing and smores at the Kerr's house.

Aaron took these pictures from the hotel window.  He loves pictures of skylines.

The boys went to the College Football Hall of Fame. Aaron loved seeing all helmets.  He spotted the BYU helmet too. 

They had fun simulating the College Gameday show in ESPN.

Aaron and Dad found everything BYU and USC related.

Aaron's favorite part of the experience was kicking, passing and catching the football. Dad made a field goal and Aaron caught some sweet passes.

  

The boys walked around Olympic park and saw the new stadium being built. They saw the mall and rode on the observation wheel.

Aaron loved all the view of Atlanta from the Wheel.

Another fun place they visited was the World of Coca-Cola. They learned about the history of Coke, got a free sample and saw lots of memorabilia from around the world. 

Inside this huge safe is the original recipe for Coke.

Another highlight was tasting coke flavors from all around the world.

The Georgia aquarium is the 2nd largest in the world. Some of the highlights were walking through the tube and being surrounded by all the sea life, penguins and more.

This albino crocodile above was a favorite as well as the piranhas below. 

Aaron was able to touch the stingrays and said that they were really smooth and soft. 

This tube display had a moving walkway helping everyone move along while viewing all the sea life.

The penguin exhibit was their next stop.  Aaron was able to climb in a tube under the penguins and it smelt like socks.  

Aaron is loving these ribs from a smokehouse down the street from the hotel.

Audrey and I spent the day at Carowinds while the boys are playing in Atlanta.

I asked Audrey where she wanted to go for dinner and she immediately said Kabuto!  I couldn't think of any reason to say no, so we enjoyed yummy food and entertainment.

On the last day the boys visited Stone Mountain.  They raced to the top and made it in 19 minutes. 

Dad loved playing catch with Aaron in the big field in front of the relief of Stone Mountain.  Jefferson Davis, Robert E Lee, and Stonewall Jackson are carved in the mountain.  

Aaron and AJ are off to the USS Yorktown. They spent one night on the Yorktown with the boy scouts. 

Aaron slept on the middle bunk of 4 and Dad slept on the top.  They gained a new appreciation for what the sailors sacrifice to keep our country safe. 

These are models of planes that Aaron liked.

They walked all around the Yorktown and saw lots of planes and even some dolphins swimming by the boat.

The boys took a boat to Ft Sumter and walked around the island.

The scouts were able to put the flag out and learn how to fold it. I love seeing Aaron helping with this huge American flag.

They saw many of the cannons that were used and took a final walk around the whole area.

Below are the dolphins they saw.

They explored some of the submarines as well.

They saw all the planes and took a tour around the whole ship.

They also toured a mini Vietnam exhibit outside of the ship.