Day 3

Leigh and I haven't been to Six Flags for at least fifteen years. As a kid, it seemed like the closest thing to Nirvana you'd find in Georgia. They had roller coasters, cotton candy, trinkets, and stuffed animal games.
Waiting in line was no big deal and every moment was a new discovery. There was ice cream and Icees. Arcade games and water rides.
As we got older, new priorities filled the spare time. Mortgages and car payments keep us away from Six Flags today.
Well, that's what an At Home Vacation is supposed to be; spare time filled with childhood fun and whatever else we want. Today, we want Six Flags.


There were many new rides. Many.
Back in the day, The Mindbender was a Hell of a ride. It had three loops, after all. These days, you don't even get started without five loops. One of Six Flags' rides is called The Goliath and rises two hundred feet above the ground. That's about the height of a twenty story building. It goes seventy miles an hour.
Things have changes.


Here's me getting ready to be thrown around...






We also did all the cheesy little rides that you did as a kid. Here's Leigh on the Hanson car ride...

Here's us on the carousel...






Here's an example of how much things have changed. Its kinda hard to see in this photo unless you know what you're looking for, but check this out...The horses now have seat belts. On the carousel. Yes, on the carousel...

We also rode the bumper cars, and I totally owned Leigh.

Here's Leigh standing outside the Log Jamboree ride. Of course, that's also the title to a movie that was the sequel to Log Jammin', which starred Karl Hungus.

And this is the good old Great American Scream Machine...

Day 2

Boot camp started off with a rough workout...

100 lunges

80 push-ups

60 double under jump ropes (or 300 singles)

40 burpees

20 wall balls

800 meter run

rinse. repeat.

After yesterday's workout, I'm looking forward to tomorrow's day off.

Leigh and I took the dogs for a little walk. After all, its their At Home Vacation, too. Here's a couple of photos of us in the hood...

Speaking of "hood," look at the new mural we saw painted on the side of an East Atlanta business. Yes, that's a Colt 45 mural that says, "Works every time." Yes, its ghetto fabulous.

So, neither of us has had breakfast and we did that on purpose. We're going to Ann's Snack Bar for lunch. Never heard of Ann's Snack Bar? Then you're a moron.

It was judged to be America's Best Burger. Don't believe me? Look here...

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117348069193432668-3Vp_rYqpZJRILUpFrHCpe4FFjVk_20080312.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top

I've been going there for years and it really is a very unique establishment. Ann is the proprietor of this eponymous establishment where she's been working the grill for 36 years. Her flagship burger is the Ghetto Burger, which is a giant double cheeseburger with bacon, and chili. I'm not exaggerating when I say its as big as your head.

Ann's place is not big and it only seats eight people. She seats eight, takes their orders, fixes the food, and then serves it up. When those eight are done, another eight may enter and take their seats.

Ann does not like standing in her snack bar. Nor does she like cursing. In fact, there are a list of rules hanging over the griddle. Let's just post the more colorful:

No babies on the snack bar,

No weapons in the snack bar,

No alcohol.

But the food is phenomenal.

Here's a couple of shots of the exterior...

Ann doesn't have a "real" sign out front, so you could drive right past it if you weren't looking. The only signs she has are the ones you see in the shots above. Wanna see more about Ann's? Take a look at this piece done by Channel 2 shortly after the WSJ's article came out. You may recognize one of the devistatingly handsome patrons...

http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&q=anns%20snack%20bar&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv#

Leigh and I had the regular, single cheeseburgers, which were probably close to a pound of meat each. Its unbelievable what this woman does with a burger. They really are the best burgers in the world.

I told Ann years ago that if I wasn't already married I'd ask her. She laughed and blushed a little.

After that enormous meal, we headed home and took naps. Leigh went to the bed and I took the couch where I fell asleep during Monty Python's "Life of Brian."

I woke up in time to walk up to a local pub called "The Midway," and I caught the two soccer matches for the UEFA 2008 Euro. I ran into several of my bar friends and we watched the Netherlands vs. Romania and France vs. Italy. They had two giant TV screens and one played on each screen.

The Netherlands and Italy both won. That means they'll be moving on to the next round.

Leigh joined me just after halftime and we had a nice little time watching soccer with our pub friends.

We wandered home, had a relatively light dinner, and retired early.

This vacation stuff is something I could get used to, real quick.

Someone asked me about my tshirt from last night. Here it is...