After visiting New Jersey, we took a NJ train to New York City. Billy’s friends, Patrick and Karen, were kind enough to let us stay at their apartment in Chelsea and treated us so well. Their lovely dogs, Ellie and Buster, also entertained us day and night. It was also a great to see other friends who came out of their way to see us. It was a very short time but we really appreciate the time we spent together. Although Chiz has been to NYC before, she had not been to Brooklyn so this was a good opportunity for her. Bobby and Gabrielle took us for an amazing tour of Brooklyn including Billy’s old neighborhood, Coney Island and the Promenade. It was also good to meet their beautiful daughter, Isabelle. Lastly, we got to see Billy’s Uncle Michael and Aunt Leona. They were not only nice enough to store our luggage while we were visiting New Jersey and NYC, but were also nice enough to take us to the airport. Before heading to the airport, we had breakfast together at a ‘traditional’ dinner where we enjoyed our last supper in USA! It was a great trip! Check out the pictures below:
Author: Billy and Chiz
New Jersey
Before heading to China to start our new jobs, we stopped in New York and New Jersey to see family and friends. My Uncle Martin was nice enough to come in from New Jersey to pick us up at the airport. We also stopped along the way at my Uncle Michael’s place to drop off our luggage for safe keeping while we travel around. I am very lucky to have such nice family to help us out on our trip! It is really great to see family that I have not seen in such a long time. I got to see my cousins and also spend some time with my Grandmother and Great Aunt.
Stone Mountain
One of the places that Chiz wanted to visit while here was Stone Mountain. My sister was nice enough to take us there. While I had been to the Stone Mountain area before, I had never been to the top of the mountain. We took the cable car to the top and it was really beautiful at the top. It was much cooler due to the elevation and the views were magnificent. It was definitely a fun experience!
Braves Game
We got hooked up with some really great tickets to the Braves game! We had amazing seats behind home plate and tickets into the 755 club. We went with our friend Rae, who also happens to be the biggest Atlanta Braves fan in the world! It was also fun because it was Chiz’ first American baseball game. We have been to a few baseball games in Japan, but they are louder and have more fan participation there. This was the original though… slower, quieter, but still just as much fun! We even participated in a few waves that went across the whole stadium multiple times!
Atlanta Botanical Garden – Imaginary Worlds
We were lucky enough to be in town to go to Atlanta Botanical Garden to see the Imaginary Worlds exhibition. The exhibition was not actually new but new to Atlanta. As the title indicates, it makes you feel like you are in imaginary worlds by nature. All statues created by greens and flowers were well-done and some take your breath away. Both children and adults can surely enjoy this exhibition. We not only enjoyed the exhibition, but also had great time visiting different gardens. They had huge greenhouses with plants from different climates and even a garden for edible plants. It was educational and also nice walking around and enjoying all the nature in the summer.
4th of July Thanksgiving
The 4th of July means a lot to all Americans. Yes, it is an independence day. The typical way to celebrate the 4th of July is BBQ but this year we celebrated it like Thanksgiving. The main reason why we chose it was that we always wanted to cook turkey. We tried once when we were in Australia but unfortunately we missed the right time and could not get an opportunity to cook a turkey. Also, since we have been missing Thanksgiving, it was a good way to celebrate both while we are here. Of course, we did not miss the 4th of July fireworks at Lenox Square Mall. It was the most American day in history!
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More food and fun!
We have been doing lots of eating and meeting. Trying new restaurants are always one of the fun parts of our time in Atlanta as well as revisiting our favorites. We also always appreciate our friends who have been kind enough to invite us for yummy meals and to catch up. We never get bored of good meals and good company.
Washington D.C.
Since we are in Atlanta with family, we decided to take this opportunity to take a family road trip to the capital of US, Washington D.C. and stayed for 4 nights and 5 days. We drove to Washington D.C via South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. On the way to Washington D.C., we spent one night in North Carolina but on the way back to Atlanta, we drove through for 10 hours making a few stops. Billy and his family have been to Washington D.C. before, but it was my first time. We stayed at a lovely hotel in Virginia and ‘commute’ to Washington D.C. every day. Public transportation in Washington D.C. was quite good but all metro stations were quite dark. Most buildings looked very historical and have got impressive architects and interior design. We visited the Mall, the US National Capital, Lincoln Memorial, the Reflecting Pool, US Memorial, the Supreme Court, some of the Smithsonian museums, and the Newseum. We were also lucky to have a couple of friends who live in Washington D.C. to visit and have dinners and lunch. This truly gave us good insight of Washington D.C.
4 full days were not enough to cover all attractions that Washington D.C. offers but enough time to experience and learn about the capital of USA. Besides, the trip brought us together as a family and we surely enjoyed our ‘alone’ time together. It was fun and has become a very memorable piece that we will talk about it in the future.
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Savannah
We took a road trip to Savannah, which is the oldest city and former capital of the State of Georgia. Savannah is a very different city from Atlanta and has many old southern style houses and walking attractions. It also has beautiful streets with huge old trees covered in Spanish Moss. The city itself is quite small but many small shops so you wouldn’t get bored. We hope to go back there in the future.
Strong for life 5k
My sister organized a 5K run for her company Strong 4 Life. It was lots of fun and raised lots of money for a good organization. It was also good to work off some of the food we have been eating!
