I've just had an amazing weekend.  Granted, it involved cramped airplanes, no sleep and weather I wasn't tottally prepared for, but it was still awesome.

I decided to take a break from all my unpacking and organizing (and all my procrastinating of unpacking and organizing) so I could fly to Atlanta to see Midnight Oil's first US tour date in about 15 years. Plus I got to see Magnus, a friend I met through another friend and I havent seen him in about 16 years.

Oh my gosh, the show was INFUCKINGCREDIBLE!!!!  Songs I've never heard live (nor did I ever expect to hear live) were played.  We had front row seats (not that we were seated at any point during the gig) that gave us a good view of the entire stage.  I'm too tired to write up a review of the show right now, but it truly ranks up there with one of the best concerts I have ever been to. Ever.

We took the Friday night red eye to Atlanta, touching down a little after 5am.  We hopped on MARTA and took the train directly to our hotel. The night manager was an angel who offered to check us in to our room right there and then, instead of just holding our bags (which is what we'd originally asked for) . It was 6:30am and check-in is normally 4pm!  We took him up on his kind offer, went up to the room, dumped off our stuff, then went and got a delicious breakfast. After that, we walked down to the Museum of Puppetry Arts. Yes, that's a thing!!!! I saw in online and just HAD to visit it. It's PUPPETS! I'm afraid of puppets, but it sounded so cool. They had puppets that were ancient, along with new puppets from Corpse Bride, Colraline, Labrynth, the Never Ending Story, Fraggle Rock & many more. Half of the building was dedicated to Jim Henson!  There were all sorts of muppets, props, videos and interactive things.  I think the only puppets I didn't see were Gonzo and Animal, but most others were there, even Dr. Teeth!

After the puppets, we explored the area on foot. What a nice area we were in! The Arts District is beautiful!  Finally, we went back to the hotel to change. We decided to get dinner before the show, so we found a pizza place to head to. The weather was turning cold,  dark and rainy, but it was still nice.  Unfortunately, when we got to the venue and stood at the back of the line, it started to get windy and rain! Gah! It took forever to get inside, then we saw the world's longest merch line ever to stand in.  I think we got to the front of the line about 10 minutes before the show started. We were razor-focused on what we needed, so (unlike everyone else) we listed what we wanted, paid and booked it to our seats with just enough time to put our stuff down a meet our REALLY drunk neighbors (we were sober, no alcohol at all).

The show was about 3 hours long and mind-blowingly good. We got back to the hotel late, but still made time to watch the videos my friend took and go through the pictures we snapped.  I think we eventually got to sleep at about 3:30am. The alarm was set for 8am so we wouldn't have to rush to pack and check-out. Total sleep since Thursday night: about 4 hours.

We were able to stow our bags at the hotel after checking-out, then we left to explore more of the city before brunch with Magnus. Piedmont Park is so pretty! Everyone was so nice and friendly to us. Strangers said hello!  We even got interviewed for a national radio show. Not sure we'll get used, but it was fun.

Brunch was so good!  I had the best southern bluberry pancakes! I don't even really like pancakes, but they looked so good, I couldn't say no. Instead of maple syrup, there was sorghum syrup, which I really enjoyed.  Along with our food, we had bottomless mimosas, dangerous for sure! We caught up with Magnus and got a driving tour of Atlanta and got to see his townhouse (which was VERY swanky). I think the mimosas started kicking in at about this point, because I don't really remember much after this, until we were getting ready to board the plane later. Being dropped off at the airport? No. Waiting in line? No. Going through security? Nope. Sitting down in the terminal? Yes! Our plane being delayed? Totally! Sitting on the tarmac for an hour? Of course! Yikes.

I finally got home a little before 1am, took a quick shower and hit the pillow at a little after that. 3 hours later, it was time to get up and go to work.

I'm still trying to catch up on my sleep, but I have no regrets. This trip was definitely worth it and I'd do it all over again. Twice.

I can't wait for the four other tour dates I've got tickets for!!!