Atlanta, GA / Mineral Wells, TX - March 2008
	The first thought that came to mind with the preparations for this trip comes from the comedy sketch Dinner For One. Same procedure as last time? Same procedure as every time. We packed, loaded, completed every last minute project we could think of, emptied the refrigerator, emptied the trash, unplugged all the electrical appliances, cleaned the house, checked the oil in the car, filled the car with gas, locked everything and drove to Rugendorf to drop off Parsus a day or so before the flight. Only this time, like on a few previous occasions, we would be making a stopover in a layover city on route to Dallas. On this occasion it is Atlanta, GA for 2 days. We arrived at the Munich airport in plenty of time to have some coffee and let Lea play on some of the rides. No problems with timing on this occasion. I did call in advance to try and reserve the bulk head seats on the plane, but they can't be reserved by someone who buys the cheapest seats possible. After many attempts on reserving bulk head seats on many different airlines I have come to the conclusion that preferred customers or disabled people will get these seats. I will get them only if there is a free one not requested by someone that in those categories. So from now on I will not expect to get them, but from now on Lea will be required to have her own seat anyway since she will be 2 years old next time we fly. Luck had it, however, that the seat in front of me was empty and I jumped into it, just as another person was going for it, leaving an empty seat behind me for Lea. It was on an exit row so it worked out perfectly for us. We arrived on time in Atlanta, GA, where a tornado had hit the downtown area only 2 days before. No problem in immigration and our bags made it fine. Well, the bags made it until we had to put them back onto a conveyer belt within the international terminal E and claim them in terminal S. The person who put the bag on the belt slammed it down and busted a bottle containing Lea's milk, covering the contents of the suitcase and conveyer belt with milk. The guy who did it conveniently disappeared and all eyes soon pointed toward me as the guilty one. It had to be wrapped in plastic, delaying our departure from the airport by about 1 hour. Excellent taxi system. The charge is a flat fee from the airport to anywhere downtown. I have seen this in other cities as well. It does alleviate the stress of negotiations after such a long journey. After driving us to the wrong Best Western initially, we finally made it to the hotel on 330 W Peachtree Street. Nothing fancy, but it was nicely located in the downtown area, walking distance from CNN headquarters, The World of Coca-Cola and the Aquarium. After getting settled in the room, Lea decided to lock herself in the bathroom. After about 10 minutes we were able to get it open with a lollipop stick only after terrifying the reception desk of this occurrence. I caught them on the way to my room with a pair of pliers they were intending to use somehow to open the bathroom door...?! We put the trash can in front of the door from then on, so it could not be closed. We walked up and down Peachtree Street, observing the people and the damage the tornado did to many of the high rise buildings downtown. The Westin building, which has an observation deck overlooking Atlanta was damaged and closed during our visit and we did not get to experience it. The next day, Wednesday, we visited CNN Headquarters. It was a cool experience. We got to hear the control room managing the different monitors that they would move in and out of the live feed. As well, we got to see the correspondents during a live broadcast. The tour took about an hour. We walked over to The World of Coca-Cola and toured it as well. The highlight for me was at the end getting to taste all the different Coca-Cola products from around the world. They have it setup pretty nice, arranging the drinks by the region they are sold in. I.e. North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia, then identify the specific country the drink is from within the region. Some tasted sweet, minty, sour, some spicy and some tasted like curry. Lea's favorite part was the Polar bear that she sat in the lap of. After this tour we went back for a nap. After the nap we had lunch and went over to the aquarium. Due to a misunderstanding it was already closed and we did not get to see it. What a disappointment for all of us. We all played outside in the park for an hour or so, then returned to the hotel to eat and sleep. The time change was having an effect on us. On Thursday, the hotel checkout, taxi drive to airport, airline check in and flight followed expected protocol. Lea took her afternoon nap on the plane from Atlanta to Dallas. Walking out of the gate, I see my Dad's head looking through the exit door almost immediately. We hug, exchange our happiness to see each other, get our bags, use the restroom and get in the car for the 1.5 hour drive to Mineral Wells. We went to Six Flags over Texas on Saturday. Mostly went for Lea, who had fun posing with the Looney Tune characters and riding the baby rides. Mom, Anne and Lea left around 14:00 so Mary, Dad and myself could ride some of the bigger rides. Being it was a weekend, spring break and that there was a concert that evening, we waited for almost 4 hours to ride the Titan, which was fun, but that ended our time at the part. On the trip home Dad and I exchanged some good conversation and stopped at the Mesquite Grill for s chicken fried steak, my favorite dish. The highlight of the trip was our visit to The Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, TX. Mom, Dad, Mary, Sheldon, Hannah, Anne, Lea and I all went for a few days of relaxation and fun. The lodge houses a very large indoor water park with slides, wave pool, lazy river and baby pools. Lea loved the lazy river the most. Lea has this game she always plays with me...she pretends like a monster or lion is coming to get her, taking a gasp of air and pretending to shake she rushes towards me and into my arms for protection. We did this while floating in the lazy river many times, some places the water got very wavy and water was splashing around. I think at one point it frightened her and she pretended to play this game so I would hold and protect her. I assume it was the only way she could communicate to me that she wanted some comfort in a way other than crying. Maybe she thought if she cried it could result in us leaving the river and she didn't want that, maybe I have no idea why... I loved it anyway and I hope I provided the comfort and protection she was looking for. Lea also loved the baby pools where she could run, fall and play. She didn't want to leave, but it was well past her bed time. Other activities we took part in during our visit. Trip to Wal-Mart, seafood at the country club, reviewed the website I am building with Dad, jumped on trampoline with Lea at Mary's house, had my deep talks with Mom about life, went to the post office with Mom, which she loves, delivered a few payments, watched 'No Country for old Men' and 'August Rush', drank some blue label Johnny Walker that I bought in London, had my quota of Shiner Bock, Lea stepped in a pile of Pogo's poop, Tex-Mex and frozen margaritas at El Paseo and another trip to Wal-Mart. Like most of my trips to visit my family, the time flew by and before I knew it we were back in the car on the way to catch the return flight to Munich. It was a lovely drive, we sang all three verses of Mary Had a Little Lamb about six times for Lea. It was just one of those memorable events. She is beginning to sing a little now. The plane in Dallas was delayed. Having only a 1 hour layover in Atlanta we were concerned that we wouldn't make the connection. Landing at gate 1 of terminal B and needing to get to gate 36 of terminal E didn't help much. Both were at the very ends (furthest distance from each other) of the terminal. We took the tram and ran the entire way, making it to the gate shortly after they started boarding. Since we have a small child, we go to the front of the line since we need additional time. Unfortunately, we did not have the bulkhead seat reserved for us. One significant (possibly life changing) event happened on the flight from Atlanta to Munich. Not having the bulk head seat, Anne, Lea and I were crammed into 2 economy seats, so I was looking around for empty seats I could possibly use. The guys in the row next to me had an empty seat in the middle. Building up some courage, I ask the gentlemen sitting on the isle to move to the middle seat so I could sit next to Anne and Lea, giving Lea a seat of her own. He reluctantly complied, I noticed some resentment, but I understood what I was asking and what he was giving up for a complete stranger. I told him thank you. Because of his kindness, I commit that one day I will return the random act of kindness to someone. Throughout the flight I couldn't help but think that if he did this nice thing for me, then I do something nice for someone else, if it continues on indefinably maybe we can stop some of these unfriendly things happening in the world today and turn it into a nicer place. As we landed and pulled up to the gate getting ready to disembark the plane, I executed a premeditated act of kindness. I told the man from Japan who gave up his isle seat for a stranger, 'thanks again, you are very kind and it was very appreciated.'