White Christmas in Atlanta (and the Resulting Travel Hassles)

I can't believe that of all the years for us to be in Australia, Atlanta manages to get snow.  And not just snow, but a WHITE CHRISTMAS!!  I'm so excited for the Southerners who were able to experience their first white Christmas and I'm incredibly jealous that we didn't get to participate!  

The entire city shut down for almost a week when the storm hit.  Thankfully no one we know was hurt in the ordeal and the worst of it was being trapped in their homes for days.  I suspect it was kind of nice to have an unforeseen vacation!  

Much to his shagrin, David had to go back to the US (why take the time to travel to the US when you're on this side of the world and can explore over here?!) for the PGI sales conference.  Since he had to make the trek he thought it made the most sense to stop in Atlanta on the way to drop off some wine.  Now remember we've been collecting wine in Australia and we've learned that it will cost us $250-$300 PER CASE to ship back to the US (plus the expense of the wine and insurance!!) so we have been looking for every opportunity to bring wine back when we (or our guests!) travel to the US to avoid the extra expense.  I'm proud to report that David was able to bring 30 BOTTLES back with him on this trip!!  18 in his suitcases and 12 in a separate padded case.  He also managed to avoid excess baggage fees and the Australian government gives 22% of the purchase price back when you leave the country due to the "wet tax" (what ever that is!)  So $600 bucks in his pocket, David got on the plane to LA with a smile on his face!  

The unfortunate thing about the timing of his trip is that it hit while Atlanta was out of commission (having only 16 sanding trucks for the entire city makes it difficult to take care of icy roads!)  He ended up having to stay in LA for a night before getting back to ATL. Once he was there, he wasn't able to have any of the meetings he had previously scheduled nor could he do any shopping because everything was closed!  At lease he and the wine made it back to Mom's safe and sound and he had a much lighter suitcase for his trip to Miami for the conference.  

Next stop Tokyo (I'll meet him there in a week)!!

Leaving a few days later, Mom made it back with only minor delays.  All reports are that ATL is coming back to life.  In fact, I'm watching the Falcons/Green Bay NFL playoff game  being played in the GA Dome in ATL as I type!  

~LAA :)