I’ve never been to Atlanta, part 3

Well, I need to change the name of this post to “I’ve BEEN to Atlanta” because I arrived, the surprise was a big success and Dancing Niece performed 4 routines in one night! It was a busy Friday night and there’s a gigantic “first” for me, and I’ll give you a hint… it’s NOT that I’m in Atlanta for the first time.

After unpacking and settling into our room at the Hyatt Place, Airport Edition, we shuffled off to the convention center where dancers were dancing, judges were judging, and dance moms were hovering. This is definitely not a scene I’m familiar with.

Headlines for tonight are that Dancing Niece did an amazing job with her team, and… OH YEAH I almost forgot to tell you about the other “first.” Have you heard of Beyond Meat? Well, I have but haven’t ever tried this brand until this first night in Atlanta. The hotel had a really good menu (and no restaurant, just prepared right there on the first floor), and a Beyond Meat burger had my name written all over it.

I was shocked how much it tasted like real meat. Crazy! So that was something I’d been wanting to do, but I had no idea it would happen at a hotel in Atlanta, Georgia.

Stay tuned for the next post to find out what we decided to do Saturday. Hint- I wish I had 4 legs for all the walking I did!

-Out of the Wilderness

List of stars/celebrities donating to Nashville tornado relief

I thought it would be a good idea to put together a list of artists, musicians, and various stars/organizations donating to the relief efforts for the recent tornadoes in middle Tennessee. Please know there are a lot more than this, and plenty of well-known people AND local businesses (too many to list) getting their hands dirty by physically being there in the areas that need help and/or donating. I’ll update this list as I find more folks donating!

Taylor Swift – $1,000,000

Kid Rock – $50,000

Chris Young – $50,000

Johnny Van Zant (Lynyrd Skynyrd) – $10,000

Dan + Shay – $100,000

Kacey Musgraves – proceeds from a clothing sale

John Rich – benefit concert

Dierks Bentley – benefit concert

Nashville Predators Alumni Association – $20,000

Minnesota Wild hockey team (owned by Craig Leipold, former Preds owner) – $25,000

Craig Leipold (former Predators owner) – $25,000

National Hockey League – $50,000

Tennesse Titans Foundation – $1,000,000

NFL Foundation – $250,000

Nashville Sounds (minor league baseball team) – $100,000

Texas Rangers (MLB) – $10,000

-Out of the Wilderness

Air Force One, a site to behold flying over my house

The President of the United States is in Nashville today touring the tornado damage in the area. The upside of living in the flight plan of the nearby airport is usually being able to see lots of different types of aircraft coming and going. And I like watching airplanes.

My first experience with Air Force One was one day when I was home for lunch. I let the dogs into the back yard and looked up to see a gigantic plane flying over. It was none other than President Obama arriving in Nashville. Well, with a little heads up I planned to be ready this morning when President Trump flew by. I wasn’t sure he’d fly over my house because sometimes planes have a different landing path to the airport. But then this happened….

Pardon my excitement in the video. It’s just a surreal and majestic site to see this so close. Let’s put politics aside and just enjoy the moment!

Thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness

I’ve never been to Atlanta, part 2

Well, folks… we have some drama! You can catch up on this story by first reading I’ve Never Been to Atlanta, part 1. Can you remember the last time you’ve been to an amusement park? Was it during one of the 12 months of the year? My guess is your answer is “yes”… well, did you know Six Flags Over Georgia isn’t open for part of the year??

I had no idea amusement parks shut down during the year. Crazy stuff. So from the list of ideas, Six Flags has obviously been removed. I do have good news, though! In it’s place I’ve added another idea. Granted, this one isn’t unique to Atlanta but I floated the idea out to my sister and Dancing Niece. Manicures and pedicures! I got some laughter. I’m guessing this fun suggestion might as well remove itself from the list.

I’m leaving tomorrow and I’m excited about the following things: 

1. I’ll be watching my dancing niece and her dance team perform up to 5 times!

2. The surprise for my mom, sister, and Sequence Niece. 

3. On Sunday, we may go to Louie Giglio’s church.

4. My goal is to never say out loud, “the A-T-L,” or “Hot-lanta” for obvious reasons… I’m not cool enough.

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to check back each day at 1pm central for the latest posts. Next up, Friday’s events and what we’ve decided about Saturday? Chat with you soon! 

-Out of the Wilderness

Bloomberg out, Biden back in?

I think it’s very appropriate to call the Democratic run for presidency a roller coaster so far. Just looking at my posts from the past few months is a good example. Not even a month ago I posted Biden out, Bloomberg in? because Joe Biden’s campaign appeared to be on its last leg after he lost in Iowa. The day after the Iowa primaries Michael Bloomberg had TV ads showcasing his relationship with Barack Obama and this morning, after Super Tuesday results, Bloomberg is out of the race.

Just yesterday I saw a new TV commercial using a clip of Obama praising Biden, although Obama has yet to endorse any candidate.


Biden is gaining momentum even after all his worrisome gaffs in public speeches and on the debate stage. Even last night he confused his wife and his sister.

The more I think about it, the more I’m losing faith in the American people. I mean, if you can admit that he’s had mental stumbles, but can’t admit it’s something more than accidental slip-ups, and STILL choose him for the nominee… maybe something isn’t wrong with him, something is wrong with you. 🙂

In his own words Biden said about picking a Vice President, “he’s capable of immediately being a president because I’m an old guy,” which means that he’s admitting he could die during his presidency! That would concern me a great deal if I was a supporter.

Somehow, though, Biden is gaining traction day in and day out. Bernie Sanders would give Trump a stronger challenge if the demographic he appeals to (young people) would be motivated enough to actually get off the couch and go vote.

I suspect the roller coaster is just getting started which means we have lots of twists and turns and loops and twirly-do’s to come. After all, some think Hillary Clinton is still waiting in the wings. She’s appearing on late night TV tonight so that will be interesting to watch. I’ll be listening for any indicators that she has her eye on disrupting the process by adding her name as a nominee which is very possible if this turns into a contested convention.

Thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness