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An email from my sister:

On Saturday, I went to the PBR-Professional Bull Riding Tour at the TD Waterhouse.  It was really neat!

This is a pic Mom sent me of her and her beau at the Jack Daniels Distillery in Tennessee.  I'm sure he's wearing his NASCAR cap.

Whackadoodle weekend was a little more uneventful than expected.  My sister and her husband rolled into town Sunday afternoon, followed by my mother and her boyfriend in the evening.  The boy and I showed them around Midtown, the West side, and Virginia Highland.

We planned on eating at Six Feet Under, but found the restaurant was closed due to a plumbing issue.  I was all kinds of excited to eat my dinner from a bucket, so I pouted for a while.  In our scrubbiest duds, we headed over Inman Park and found ourselves dining at Wisteria.  It was my first time, and I was impressed with the food and service.  The other patrons, however, were a little disturbed by our flip flops, the fact that my mom's boyfriend had to be reminded to take off his NASCAR hat, and that my brother in law guzzled down six crown and ginger's in a matter of 15 minutes.  My mom wanted seafood, so we convinced her to order the skate without telling her what it was.  After we placed our orders, my sister and I simultaneously began yelling, "It's like a stingray!  A stingray!"  I admit it was a little much, but apparently after spending $300 on dinner, rednecks are always welcome.

The next morning we went to the West Egg for breakfast, which always confuses me since I always forget they only have table service on the weekends.  My sister and brother in law continued their trip up north.  After explaining all the options to my mom, she decided she only wanted to visit one place in Atlanta:  Chinatown.  The problem is that Atlanta DOESN'T HAVE A CHINATOWN.  Yes, Chamblee has a scary looking mall called "Chinatown" but we only stayed there for a couple of minutes to take a picture.  I took them down Buford Highway between Doraville and Chamblee to my favorite Asian market, Ranch 99, and showed them a few of the meat section's LIVE specialties (don't worry, I only came home with crawfish).  Later that evening the Meeting of the Moms took place at our pad. My mom completely ignored the boy's very southern mom and her every effort to start a conversation, instead keeping her attention fixed upon the tv.

After many apologies and sending everyone AWAY, the boy and I shook our heads at everything that transpired.  I began laughing as we both lay on the bed staring at the ceiling: 

"What?"
"It's not that I'm embarrassed by them in that 'oh my god my family is just so weird' way.  It's just that I'm so tired of explaining it to people, so I just stand by and watch, too."

Team Whackadoodle is rolling into the ATL this weekend, prompting me to make some plans and outlined agendas.  They are really just on their way up to Nashvegas for a family trip that I fortunately can't make due to work commitments.  However, I've convinced them to stay for a couple of days.  Mom and her boyfriend will be staying with us, and my sister and her husband finally listened to my advice and will be staying at The Highland Inn.  I really want them to experience the city that I've come to love.

The city that I've come to love.  Not touristy things like Underground Atlanta or, god forbid, the World of Coke.

So here's the short list of options.  We'll definitely walk to Piedmont Park from my place at least once.  ATL people, what else am I forgetting?

Centennial Park
Oakland Cemetery
Botanical Garden
Cyclorama
Virginia Highland & Little 5 Points neighborhoods
Dinner at Six Feet Under