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For some reason, that was the lame way I used to think about how to pronounce the town where my Dad grew up (after leaving Poland at the age of 9). Chattanooga, Tennessee - the perfect place for folks straight from the shtetl to land, right? Anyway, after living here in Atlanta for ten years, I thought it was high time to find a place for a quick retreat - especially considering it was our fifth anniversary weekend. So for the first time in probably twenty-five years, I returned to spots my dad had dragged me as a kid - Rock City, Ruby Falls, etc. And we had a great time! The waterfront area is really a jewel with great hospitality, walking distance to tons of attractions, lots of restaurants - although next time, we’ll know better than to expect to find a table at 7pm on Saturday night w/out a reservation with a grumpy Sam in tow. 

The legendary Ruby Falls, (pictured at left) a subterranean cave complex discovered in the 1930s by a businessman who was drilling a shaft to reach another known (and less spectacular cave) which had been cut off by a railway tunnel a few years earlier, was just as stunning as I remembered. Despite the annoying guide pushing us along at a pace faster than I’d prefer, the place was magical. I hope Sam remembers a good chunk of this - I’m sure we’ll be back. 

We also had to ‘See Rock City’ as the barn-side paintings from across the country tell us - and that was equally fascinating. Sort of a pre-Disneyworld theme park with a gnome instead of a mouse, the paths through the rock formations there are great fun, and the side attractions like the raptor show and the bygone-era ‘Mother Goose’ exhibit under black-light were big hits with the kids. 

We also took in some Civil War history atop Lookout Mountain, driving the same roads that I recall my dad scaring the heck out of my mom (and by association, my brother and I) cruising around with not-very-significant guard rails along the outer edge. They didn’t seem so bad this time around, and hopefully no children were scarred. We’ll have to see!

On the last days, we checked out the Tennessee Aquarium, which I have to say was a very enjoyable change of pace from the over-packed Georgia version here at home in Atlanta. 

Full photo gallery is here.

Tags: chattanooga, rock city, ruby falls, tennessee

I’ve been very slack, so here is the first of several updates. Seth came down to Atlanta with Gabe, Zach and Caleb in early February, as did Amy’s cousins from Toronto. We did the usual stuff - hanging at home, the Aquarium, Zoo, a quick visit to Joey’s office etc. Here are various photos from that visit. Slideshow is here.

Be still my beating heart. The restaurant that taught me what fresh New England seafood is all about is coming to Atlanta - just around the corner from my office. Yes, Legal Sea Foods, that 50+ year-old institution begun by a nice Jewish family in Boston, is expanding to the A-T-L. Joining franchise locations in  Florida and the D.C. area, the 9,000 square-foot restaurant will anchor the still-under-construction  Hilton Garden Inn adjacent to the Georgia Aquarium - and no, whale shark nor beluga whale is expected to be in the menu. If I were one of the Alaskan King Crabs, I might be nervous however. I have such fond memories of going to the Chestnut Hill Legals when I was at Brandeis, from the ‘men only’ dinner my dad and I shared when he drove me to Waltham from Savannah for my freshman orientation week to the ‘impress the girlfriend’ dinner where my meager credit card limit had already been exceeded, resulting in a hasty sprint down to the mall to retrieve some cash from an ATM. I can already taste the steamers, chowder and  yes, the belly-included fried clams.  The only negative - opening is not expected until NEXT winter. I’ll be biding my time until then.

Tags: aquarium, atlanta, Boston, hilton, legal sea foods

So today will feature a fast update as I’ve been too darn busy with work to post any updates for some time now. Please check out these galleries, and I promise to be back soon with more and more frequent content posts.

In my most recent photo set, we headed out for a walk to the neighborhood playground with Sam in tow this past Sunday. More pictures here.

We hosted a small get-together for the Super Bowl, and Sam was gung-ho for all the action. He, like dad, is sad that we have at least another six months before we can watch football on the tube again. Click here for more photos.

On a recent sunny but chilly day, we headed to Zoo Atlanta with the Silvermans. Check out all the photos, especially this one of a lion’s breath visible as he roars from atop his habitat.

We also finally renewed our membership to the Georgia Aquarium. The pass now allows us to get in without a reservation, and is a big improvement over last year’s system. Sam and Amy have already gone several times during the day - perfect for the cold months here. Anyway, we had a great time on this visit - photos here.

Here’s a cute picture of Kate and Jay Sandhaus’ little guy, Alex. We got together for dinner a few weeks back at the local kid-friendly hangout Dakota Blue. Alex slept most of the time, but his parents were much more alert, even at the end of a long week on a Friday night. More pics here.

Finally, there is this picture from early January and a few others when Sam decided he wanted to play along with Daddy on the Xbox360. Smart little guy - I look forward to years of getting my butt kicked by his much better reflexes than my own!

Tags: aquarium, atlanta, friends, Photography, sam, xbox360, Zoo

Animal lovers around the world are surely saddened today upon hearing the news that the bubble-blowing beluga whale from the Georgia Aquarium was euthanized this morning after a long illness. Gasper is pictured at right being his playful self during a visit in March, 2006. Purchased from a facility in Mexico, Gasper arrived in Atlanta on Oct. 17, 2005. Upon arrival, he was severely underweight and had visible skin lesions. He was later diagnosed with osteomyelitis, an infection of the bone (interactive explanation at AJC.com, registration required). I look forward to seeing the sculpture being developed for the Aquarium’s entry plaza.

Tags: aquarium, atlanta

Looking for something to do this Sunday, I discovered there were open slots at the Georgia Aquarium. Wanting to take advantage of our annual membership, we gathered the troops and headed over. We missed Gasper the Beluga, but Sammy had a great time. Being able to stand on his own (unlike our last visit in February), I think he enjoyed some parts a great deal more, especially the big tank window above. I still have to rant about some aspects of the facility, though. First, I booked online, and was supposed to get an email with my tickets. Well, they finally arrived, at 1:30pm for our 11am visit. Second, it’s just far too crowded. The flow of people through a facility like this one is a classic challenge, and I don’t think they’ve done a very good job. Although tickets are for one hour slots, in reality people come and stay most of the day. So the later you come, prepare to feel like a spawning fish yourself! Anyway, it’s all worth it to see Sam enjoying himself. The amazement in his eyes is clear above. Full gallery is here.

Tags: aquarium, atlanta, sam

So we joined the brand-spanking new Georgia Aquarium last Fall, and soon after the opening discovered that you need roughly 6.5 years of advance booking to attend on a weekend. Actually, it’s more like 3-4 weeks, but being new-ish parents we just didn’t have much luck planning that far ahead given our work schedules and the little guy. We did finally manage to visit last weekend, and managed to enjoy ourselves, taking photos along the way (gallery here). If you have an aversion to crowds, you may still want to hold off. The place does not handle the flow of visitors very well, with various eddies and tide pools of visitors bunching up and screwing up my photos enjoying the varying views of the marine habitats. I’m a huge fan of aqauriums, and when I heard the main tank here is one of the largest in the world, I expected to see something like the old New England Aquarium I fell in love with during college. There, a continuous ramp wrapped around their centerpiece, a huge tank. In the Georgia version, there are only a few smaller windows into the main tank plus a huge ‘theater-like’ main window some 61 feet wide and 23 feet tall. It’s very impressive - but with the huge crowds, the setup of several (five to be exact) ‘exhibit areas’ tends to have visitors clumping up and blocking the best views. Patience is a virtue here!

technorati tags: georgiaaquarium, photography, undersea

Tags: aquarium, atlanta, Photography, sam