My ATL Tribute Ride

So, in continuing to cross Atlanta things off my list, I decided to do an Atlanta tribute ride. I had it all pictured in my head... driving the I285 loop with the GA sun shining down on me while listening to mixed tapes (ok, really it was cds, but 'mixed cds' just doesn't have the same ring to it) of songs that are meaningful to me in an "Atlanta way."

So, after burning two mixed cds Saturday night (yup, after getting over my creeped-outness from the Cabbage Patch place), I had it all planned out...

I got up Sunday morning and after putting out the Open House signs, I got in the car and headed to the interstate. Our house is only a few minutes from 85, so it wasn't long until the tunes were blaring, and I was getting sentimental. AND wishing that I had worn waterproof mascara.

Here's a little sample of the songs that played and the things I started thinking about and missing. Already.
-When You Say Nothing At All (Ronan Keating): my old apartment at Tech. specifically the living room where Seth proposed (during that song)
-Cupid Shuffle (Cupid): again, the living room in my old apartment where I practiced it over and over again while prepping for the wedding. More so, though, I was thinking about our wedding and how the dance floor was PACKED during that song.
-Mr. Brightside (Symp Vibes, but not with Scott Johnson as lead. boo.): our wedding, them singing (WITH Scott as lead!), and all of the concerts Seth and I have gone to over the years--including this last one where I got a shout-out!
-Shattered (OAR): Anne Marie. BFF.
-Wide Open Spaces (Dixie Chicks): It's my theme song. It's been my theme song. I played it when moving from Kzoo down here, and apparently need to still have it readily available cuz I'm moving again.
-Whatever You Like (Paper Trail): The election YouTube video from some school here in A-Town.
-Another Day Another Dollar (Tennessee Mountain Boys): Seth and I's honeymoon in the Smokey Mountains. Who knew this yankee girl could love me some bluegrass?
-So What/ U and Ur Hand (Pink): good songs to be listening to while driving the Buford connector curve at high speeds
-Georgia on my Mind (Ray Charles): obvious reasons, and the fact that it was played at our wedding
-Labels Or Love (Fergie): the fact that I got to see (and now own) one of the best movies of all time while living in one of the best cities of all time! A girl can never have enough SATC.
-Sweetest Mystery (Eddie Kirkland): Buckhead Church. All that I have to be thankful for. I'm more blessed than I can fathom.
-Bubbly (Colbie Cailat): it was Seth's ring on my phone for most of my time in ATL (but now it's 'strum' on the iPhone)
-The Longest Time (Billy Joel): the song that was blaring out of our car speakers when we got in the car after our wedding reception
-Great is Your Love (Breakaway Ministries): is a great worship song that Seth and I often sang on our way to church together
and finally...
-Oh, Atlanta (Alison Krauss): the lyrics are that she'll be coming back to Atlanta someday because she hears it calling to her. *sigh*

...

75 miles later and a ton of tears later, I feel better somehow. Relieved somehow. And yet, still extremely sad.

The Cabbage Patch Kids

So, since we know that we're for sure moving, I've created an "Atlanta to do list." And I've already started crossing things off the list! This past Saturday was a day alone to myself to get done the things that nobody would want to help me with (including Seth). I decided a long time ago that at some point, I would go up to the Cabbage Patch Factory place in Cleveland, GA to check it out. Well, as it turns out, Saturday was my time to do that.

After going to our final Blueprints study (where I mostly just collected information and tried not to smack the annoying guy next to me or fall off my chair--which is a whole other note), I headed to north Georgia.

It was a great drive as it was sunny and semi-warm outside. I had good cds with me, and really enjoyed the drive. I picked an interesting weekend to go up there because it was some sort of winter festival on their grounds, so one could buy boiled peanuts or homemade purses. I breezed through all of those stands as I was on a mission. I was going to see the birthplace of the Cabbage Patch dolls (CPDs for short). I didn't realize it would be literal.

They literally have a 'live' Cabbage Patch birth. Out of a Mother Cabbage. Under a Magic Tree. (The Magic Tree has 'crystals' on it that light up when Mother Cabbage is about to give birth.) Where Beebunnies sprinkle either blue or pink fairy dust to determine the doll's sex. And there's a Cabbage Patch Doctor there to help Mother Cabbage with delivery who makes some dumb comment about not cutting the cord well because it has an 'outie' belly button. "But then, it seems like all our kids have outies..." ha ha. And when I tell you I was creeped out, I'm under-estimating it.

I was half-expecting creepiness, but also half-expecting to learn more about how the guy came up with the doll idea, etc. But no. You walk in and see an old picture of him holding some of the originals (which look quite different than what we all picture when we think of CPDs). Then there are some preemies in real (though not plugged in) NICU incubator thingies, and then the next room is full of newborns in cribs, and then there's the worst room of all... the kids.

There's a school bus full of kids hanging out the windows, a classroom with a human, adult-sized doll sitting at a desk (she's the teacher, get it?), and there are kids sitting at lunch tables eating food. I'm telling you, I was in awe of how weirded out I was. The next room is where the Magic Tree is, and there are just all sorts of 'kids' for sale. BUT, there's a sign stating price tags make the kids nervous, so you have to ask one of the staff (all of whom are dressed like nurses or doctors) about adoption fees.

I took several pictures of the different kids, trying to capture 1. the creepy factor and 2. what I would look like if I were a CBD. Unfortunately, the camera battery died before I could capture the 'live' birth, so for all of you wishing you could see that for yourself, you'll have to go there to see it.

Seth and I always buy tree ornaments or magnets at places we travel to, so I bought the least creepy ornament I could find and then left as quickly as my feet would carry me. And then it was off back to Atlanta to continue checking things off my list...