Getting Cultured, Thanks To Family Guy

Two years ago, for/around our anniversary, we spent a long weekend at the Ritz-Carlton, ate some fabulous meals, visited the Georgia Aquarium - had a lovely, wonderful time.  We wanted that to be our "thing" that we did every year for our anniversary but last year, for many various reasons, it didn't happen.  The same thing seemed to be imminent this year, as we started trying to pick weekends in April but things kept interfering with one weekend or another, such as a new software roll-out at my office kept being scheduled and then postponed, so almost as soon as we'd choose a weekend, circumstances would rule it out.  April passed, May passed (the actual anniversary month), June was poised to go similarly, but I finally realized that if we kept postponing, we'd never go, like last year, so I scheduled Friday off and kept to it, even though I had to be on a conference call about the new software (which call didn't get rescheduled, much to my surprise).  That was all I had to do, though, so by 4PM we were in our room on the top floor of the Ritz downtown.

We were given glasses of champagne and Snickers bars at check-in.  Alan doesn't drink so I got two champagnes.  I texted my friend Anne, "Ah, the Ritz-Carlton!  The lovely smell of money...and of rich people sweating nervously as they instinctively sense that someone in my tax bracket is among them."  Fresh orchids in our room every day, club level means free lavish breakfasts, an array of tasty snacks like cheeses, fresh fruit, mini-quiches, pastry-wrapped asparagus, hummus...okay, I need to stop or I will need to flee back to the Ritz and leave my post unfinished.

We had discussed visiting the aquarium and maybe doing one of the interactive things - for an extra charge you can do a 'behind the scenes' educational thing and interact with either dolphins, sea otters or penguins.  I was leaning toward sea otters.  We hadn't made a decision when, a few evenings before our trip, I was in the den reading on my iPad and had the television on, which I usually do for background noise or the occasional laugh.  Family Guy was on and I overheard Brian say in a rather pompous manner, "Lauren and I had a lovely time at the art museum."

Hmmm, thought I.  I went back to his study and told Alan what Brian had just said, and added, "We could go to the art museum instead of the aquarium, if you'd be up for that.  I don't think I've been to the High since a seventh grade field trip."  Alan said, "I haven't been there in decades, either - not since middle school, I think."  We talked about it a bit and decided that's what we'd do yesterday, and we had a wonderful time.  

It was a great experience and we want to go again.  We're even discussing becoming members; the temporary exhibitions seem to change pretty often so there are new things to see and enjoy.   I didn't take many pictures because I was so busy looking at them (and furniture and glass and jewelry and sculptures!).  This time there were a lot of Coca-Cola related Andy Warhol pieces on loan from the Warhol museum as part of a Coca-Cola exhibit, which was interesting but I think I enjoyed the old Italian masters part of the permanent collection most of all.

I have more pictures and stories to share, but for now - Alan and I are puzzled as to how I arrived at the museum half an hour before he did, considering that he drove me there and was next to me in line.  Obviously there is a time portal in the lobby of the High Museum of Art.  Oh, I'm sure ye of limited imagination will suggest a dozen more plausible explanations, but obviously there is a time portal in the lobby of the High Museum of Art.