#28 - Atlanta Braves Game

Last weekend came and went with no bucket list worthy events...sorry guys, my wallet needed a break. The weekend prior was "Amy is ATL Bound" weekend and we lived it up with all her ATL favs...most of which have been checked off the list already.....all but one of course!  The dreary weather provided a not-so-gorg hair day, but MARTA didn't mind at all. I scooped up Seany and headed to the blue lot for the Atlanta Braves Game vs. Houston Astros! 

Side note, did anyone else notice that the MARTA prices went up? Um, it's $4.50 for a roundtrip. GASP. Depending on where you're living at the moment, it may not be cheaper than the drive down to Turner Field...even if gas is close to $3.00 these days. It still beats the heck out of being stuck in traffic and finding a parking spot...says me, the person who has an hour commute to work every morning. Again...GASP.

Ok, back on track. There is nothing I like better than a group email with 19 "reply all" responses with subject: BRAVES GAME SATURDAY - BE THERE! I had yet to be to a game this season, and despite their losing streak, I needed my boys to feel the love from this ATL gal. Only a few MARTA stations later I was steps away from our amazing tailgate spot with Amy and company waiting for our arrival, beer in hand.

If you're going with a group, get one person to purchase the $10 parking ticket and split the cost if need be. Also, always get the cheapest tickets, then hang out at the chop house if you're looking for more of a social gathering than watching the score board.

I was with some big Bravos fans, so we headed up to our seats up in the sky....well, pretty much....

We didn't care. The breeze was amazing and despite my semi-panic attack due to my fear of heights, it was a spectacular event. We sipped on tall boys, ate hot dogs, tomahawked and cheered with the best of em!

before

after...poor thing never even saw it comin'

I'd like to think my appearance played a part in them finally winning a game (10-1, I believe), putting an end to their nine game losing streak, but I suppose I could be more humble than that....don't get used to it.

All in all, it doesn't matter if you're an Atlanta native, newbie or just passing through on business....you should be making an appearance and supporting the big boys aka Atlanta Braves. If nothing else you get to see the fancy cars they drive and do some major manscouting....wowie wow wow, call me.

 Bucket list worthy? Um, anything with Tim Hudson involved is worthy of my presence...and this bucket list. Sooooo yuppers! Onto the next...

#27 - Inman Park Festival

Waking up to thunderstorms last weekend almost put a damper on my bucket list plans, but knowing that my adventure would be a brand new experience for me I had to pack up a weekend bag, get on the road and power through the thunderstorms for Inman Park Festival!

 

The event lasted several days and boy did they provide some bipolar Atlanta weather. Does everyone remember last Saturday? Yeah....day one was monsoon central. Street parking wasn't horrible to find but definitely took a drive by or two. 

Thanks to my previous roomie Adriatic, we had the festival at our fingertips, literally. Her house sat right on one of the busiest vendor streets! After a quick costume change, we headed out with our umbrella's to watch the parade...

Unforunately the majority of the vendors closed down early or were hard to get in and out of because of the rain, but we did make a quick cameo at the one's that caught our eyes.....and ultimately our wallets.

Amazing sculptures of people made from junk yard scraps!

Necklaces that can turn into headbands...made out of t-shirts.What a cute idea!

Day two was a whole new ballgame. Hello street parking, where did you go? I can't find you through the sea of vehicles that took over you. Horrendous. A 78 degree cloudless follow-up to the monsoon the day prior invited about 50 times the amount of people! Check out this crowd....

So if this isn't an obvious testament to taking MARTA, I don't know what is. Skip the stress of getting towed with your creative parking job and pay the $2 for a stress free transit. Get off at the Five Points station and you are steps away from hundreds of food, booze and white tents as far as the eye can see.

I was thankful for the rays since this girl can offird a sun bathing session here and there....not to mention I finally got to weave from street to street to see ALL that the local artists, cooks and entertainment had to offer. Jessie Parks, aspiring artists, photographer and all things adorable, served as wingman for the day.

It was hard to keep up with the crowd, but we did an excellent job of talking each other out of ridiculously expensive purchases. Here are a few that made my credit card want to jump out of my purse and into its Mecca.

 

Out of all the festivals I have attended thus far this spring, this one wins the best of the best...by a landside. Perfect mix of vendors, food and entertainment....but above all else LOCAL VENDORS. I can't tell you how many times my heart would skip a beat when I found myself falling in love with an item that my wallet said no to at Dogwood or 420fest. "I'll get that next paycheck" I'd tell myself. Really? You're going to drive to Minnesota to try on that dress are you? Ugh. I know we can all purchase our favs online these days, but we all need the touch and feel or a good old fasioned retail store from time to time right? Right. So thank you Inman Park community, for providing more local vendors than any other festival has this year. Well played.

Bucket list worthy? Rain, sleet, snow or tornados could not keep me from coming back next year. Definitely one for the books!

#26 - Sweetwater 420 Festival

It didn't take long for my thirst for "festivaling" to come biting back....Sunday afternoon I headed to the Ninsters to carpool down to Candler Park for Sweetwater 420 Fest.

I purposefully made the trip on Sunday in an attempt to avoid a packed out festival days prior. To be honest, I wanted room to shake my groove thang. Fact. But seeing as we had another beautimous day and there are no alcohol sales on Sunday in the great state of Georgia, Candler Park clearly had a different agenda for me! The park was packed to the max with vendors, food and local musical artists the entire day. Surprsingly I was not bothered by the crowd at all, despite my original mindset.

 

We found street parking pretty easily, but I recommend taking MARTA to avoid the stress of remembering which street you parked on, and if you're going to get towed on a Sunday (that would make for an interesting work debut Monday morning...boo).

While the festival is advertised as FREE, you must pay $5 for a wristband if you're planning to drinkity drink. I willingly paid the $5 and thanks to our 99X buds, the Ninster and I got VIP wristbands that helped us avoid the $5 Sweetwater's and $6 corn dogs. Thanks boys!

I guess they were a bit reluctant at first...but we wore them down

For life

After meeting up with our OTP friends, we made our way through the maze of vendors. I realized after about ten minutes of walking that I was not prepared for the hottest day of the weekend. Note to self: long flowy tan dress + 80 degree weather = potential swet stains allllllllll over. Thank goodness for Loose Loosies's tent where I could find a cute new dress to sneaky snake into.  Vendor and friend photoshoot for your viewing pleasure....

New dress - soooo comfie

What a fantastic Sunday Funday we ended up having at Candler Park. Totally worth fighting through the crowd every once in a while for a beer or to pee pee for coco puffs. While I had a blast, I will admit it was second to Dogwood Festival. 420fest is more about the beer and food than the vendors, and that's one my favorite parts of the festivals. Their music blew Dogwood's out of the water, but I was still craving about 20 more tents full of local artists and maybe a new pair of earings for that perfect night out. All and all, this festival rocked and quenched my desire for a springtime Sunday Funday. I will leave you with the picture below....

Oh, and Bucket list worthy?  You betcha! Onto the next....

#25 - Dogwood Festival

After the shock wore off from RHPS the night before, I washed the stank off from my soccer game that a.m. and met up with Broder to walk down to Dogwood Festival at Piedmont Park!

I was mucho thankful for not only a gorgeous 75 degree cloudless day, but also that the festival was no longer hosted at the Lenox Mall parking lot. Does anyone remember that?! It looked miserable from the confines of my car driving by last year, so I vowed to boycott the event until it came back to where it belongs....success!

Dogwood has been an active festival in Atlanta for 74 years, and by golly I hope to be around for 174. Did I mention it is one of few Atlanta's festivals with FREE admission? Its endless green space welcomes vendors from all over the U.S., selling their trinkets and entertaining each visitor with their back-story on how it all began for them.

This event is HUGE, one of the biggest I have experienced in Atlanta yet. We didn't even head down until around 4:00 that afternoon, but the crowd had not yet subsided. Thankfully it wasn't shoulder to shoulder throughout the maze from entrance to exit....only a tight squeeze when people stopped to check out the yummy food, expensive booze ($5 Corona's, $8 margaritas and $3 bottled water....typical)  and some amazing artistic talent. Enjoy the photo montage below.

A Crepe station??? Well done, Dogwood

 Num, Num, Num

Inspired by The Beatles....I'm in love

Our favorite artists: Stephen J. Kasun in GA, HC Porter Gallery of MS & Xavier Nuez of CA

Stephen Kasun

My fav from his collection

H.C. Porter

Xavier Nuez

An hour or so later I started feeling the urge for some major noshing....and then a light began to shine from above, and I found my reason for living.....

....FUNNEL CAKES BABY!!

Man has it been a minute since I've endured the sweet succulent taste of a greasy festival funnel cake. Please take a moment to experience it with me....

At long last...we meet again...for $7

It doesn't get....

...any better....

...than THIS!

And now bro's turn....we were both in heaven...can you tell??

Before heading back to our opposite ends of the earth, we listened to a few tunes from a random white guy.....no seriously, he was literally all white.

Statue or real man? You decide. Wait, I was there so I will decide for you...it was a real dude.

 Dogwood festival is great for all ages....small groups, big groups, couples, besties, families, you name it. I'd hate to be the cleanup crew for this event, but it was a great way to eat some amazing food, get some exercise and catch up with my bro in between flights. Bucket list worthy? YES'SUM!