May 31 10

I am running out of days in the deep south. July 3rd is our last day in Atlanta, but between now and then there is a trip to Nashville to see my niece’s ballet recital and a trip to Myrtle Beach and a solo (work) trip to Toronto for me (where I will be working but I will also get to see my brand spanking new house. Yes. The one my husband purchased and I have yet to see) so, you can see how it is that I am starting to panic, yes? The (mostly) single parent in me was often too tired to plow through the MUST-SEE-IN-ATLANTA list. So, I’ve decided to start packing it all in.

See? I’m not kidding.

But to be fair to the Atlanta Cyclorama, it wasn’t an actual reenactment, like, say, the one Earl Smooter participated in.

(If you don’t get the reference, you are dead to me. Unless you are this lovely lady. Or if you have a penis.)

This was less this

and more of the world’s largest oil painting hung in the round plus a life-sized, three-dimensional diorama adding 30 feet of depth around the painting, retelling the story of the battle of Atlanta, a battle fought on July 22, 1864, which marked a huge turning point in the civil war. It’s pretty friggin’ cool, even the kids loved it.

(I will stop geeking out on you, because, well, you know how I feel about history and what talking about it does to me and well, is it hot in here??)

I could have spent all day looking at the artifacts. The uniforms. The hats. The guns. The ammo. But, perhaps the coolest things were the things you don’t think about. A set of dominoes. A deck of cards. Letters written to family members. The things these soldiers were doing in their down time, when they were in hurry-up-and-wait mode to find out where they were heading next to face their enemies head-on.

The kids didn’t think these things were as cool as I did.

No.

They were more interested in the gift shop, especially the President section. heh.

See what I did there? I gave my little Lincolns-in-training the vintage effect. I am so fancy.

Speaking of fancy camerawork…I made a big purchase this weekend.

It’s not the 40D I was looking at and almost bought. But, I KNOW I’m going to be happy with this purchase. The reason this pretty baby is such a big buy is two-fold: a) I spent what I had saved. I didn’t try to convince my self that I should stretch to buy the 40D. I don’t need it. YET. I even had money leftover in the Ali-saves-for-a-camera-fund to buy a 50mm lens too! and b) I AM NOW A CANON GIRL. I have always owned Nikons, mostly because that’s what my parents own. I had a d40, and I have been using a d80 for the past year. BUT, too many people whose photos and opinions that I value shoot with Canons, so, I made the leap.

I know it will do nothing but take beautiful shots as we continue our quest to plow through our Atlanta bucket list in the next few weeks…up next: The kids first trip to Krispy Kreme! A Braves game! The Margaret Mitchell museum! Oakland cemetery!

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  1. I really am stupidly excited that we got the same camera.

    You should totally make a little trip out here to Bowmanville for a visit (if you have time) when you come on your trip!

    Comment by Assertagirl Amy on May 31, 2010
  2. General Sherman – right?

    Comment by Miss Britt on May 31, 2010
  3. YES! Sherman. I am super impressed!

    Comment by ali on May 31, 2010
  4. Dang it, woman. Couldn’t y’all have told me that before I bought a Nikon?

    (See how I used “y’all”? You’re welcome.)

    Comment by Momo Fali on May 31, 2010
  5. I have that camera! 🙂

    Comment by Allison Zapata on May 31, 2010
  6. Yay for Canon! And yay for you taking many great photos with it. 🙂

    Comment by Angella on May 31, 2010
  7. You need to go eat at all the Top Chef restaurants too!

    Comment by Avitable on May 31, 2010
  8. Congratulations on your new camera! I’m a Canon girl too! You should join me on the Photography Friday’s I host. It will get you up to speed on your Canon really fast. (You can also look thru past photography friday’s for great tips!) Yay! I love photography and I’ve been a Canon girl for twenty years!

    Comment by Twenty Four At Heart on May 31, 2010
  9. You are going to LOVE the Canon! And who doesn’t love children with beards?

    Comment by suzanne on May 31, 2010
  10. I love! that you went to a civil war reenactment.

    And Earl Smooter is awesome.

    Comment by Kerri Anne on May 31, 2010
  11. Yay Canon!
    I look forward to many many more awesome photos from you and it.

    Love the kids at L’il Lincolns.

    Comment by monstergirlee on May 31, 2010
  12. HUUUZAHHH for all of us getting new cameras, Nikon & Canon alike!

    Also, you may be a little upset knowing you missed out on taking the kids to the Mullet Festival in October. It’s pretty much the epitome of all things Southern.

    Comment by Angie [A Whole Lot of Nothing] on June 1, 2010
  13. you’re right. I AM PISSED!

    Comment by ali on June 1, 2010
  14. This Illinois resident is very proud to see your kids in Lincoln beards and stove pipe hats. (I almost wrote Stove Top. And now I want stuffing.)

    Braves game. Boo. I need to come back and do that with you!

    Comment by Kristabella on June 1, 2010
  15. “You can’t ride two horses with one ass Sugar”

    LOVE that movie! Congrats on the new toy.

    Comment by Colleen on June 1, 2010
  16. I’m sure the fact that it is 35 degrees here with the humidity will help you transition back.

    Comment by kgirl on June 1, 2010
  17. You can always just start saying y’all. It’s nit the accent but it’s a start.

    I am a canon girl myself. Although I only have the powershot. I love it though.

    Comment by Issa on June 1, 2010
  18. I was just working on 4th of July events for our e-newsletter and I was SHOCKED at how many Civil War reenactments there were on the calendar. I just didn’t know we did that in Oregon.

    Comment by Rhi on June 2, 2010
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