This past weekend The Beard and I headed down to Atlanta for the Atlanta Salsa Festival. I had purchased our passes with their early bird special last November so we had been looking forward to it for awhile!

After a little bit of your average pre-trip frantic prep we made it to the airport and decided to start the flight off right with Starbucks. I have a very common name, and have been fortunate enough to not encounter many misspellings, but this barista took it to a whole other level. If you’re confused, this is their version of “Jessica.”

Our flight went smooth and we settled in on the Marta Train for an hour ride to the end of line. Our hotel had a shuttle that, according to their website, only needed 5 minutes notice to come pick us up. We exited the train and called the hotel at 3:47 and were told the shuttle was in route, but it was rush hour and would take a bit longer than usual. We found a shaded bench, because it’s Atlanta and sweltering, and sat down to relax for a bit.Fast forward 45 minutes and there is no shuttle to be found. We called the hotel once more and are told they are on their way, traffic is bad, blah blah blah. At this point a group of dancers had converged next to the curb, all here for the conference and waiting on the shuttle. We called once more and receive a different story for the delay but were assured it was on it’s way. At this point it is 5:15pm. We decided enough was enough and called an Uber. This was my first time using Uber, as I don’t have much need where I live currently, and let me tell you, we loved it! Our driver picked us up in 5 minutes and we were at the hotel in 10! Shout out to Fazle our Driver!

After we checked in we decided to grab a bite to eat, opting for a restaurant at another hotel near by. Little did we know that a local university’s football team would be arriving, and attending the Alumni Party at the restaurant. Nothing like trying to enjoy a flatbread pizza and salad with your love while having fifty year olds, who peaked in college and are clinging to the good ‘ole days, drunkenly shouting in your ear for the majority of your dining experience. At least the food was good! Isn’t he handsome?!

We headed back to the hotel and nothing sounded better than a nice relaxing soak in the tub. Only problem was, we were missing the tub stopper. We called down to the front desk and were told they would send one up. After thirty minutes had passed with no tub stopper and no bath I decided I was going downstairs. The Beard always finds it amusing when I get riled up, and of course aggs me on to go get them!

Set Scene: I walk up to the receptionist in the lobby.
Me: Hi, I called over 30 minutes ago about a stopper for my bath tub and I have not received it.
Receptionist: I’m so sorry! I think he is looking for it. Actually, that’s him right here.
*Pan over to man, leaning against the desk.
Receptionist: Did you find the tub stopper?
Maintenance Man: I am looking.
Receptionist: Right now?
Maintenance Man: Yes. *Continues to lean against the desk.
Me: Well, I think it’s safe to say we can eliminate the lobby as its location. *My sarcasm takes on a life of it’s own when I am frustrated.
Maintenance Man: I will bring to you. *Starts walking off
Me: Oh no. I will go with you. *Follows him down the hallway
Maintenance Man: *Walking, repeatedly looking over his shoulder* No, I bring to you.
Me: I will wait right outside this door. *It was marked private and I wasn’t that enraged at this point to follow him into the employee only section.

I proceed to wait another fifteen minutes before he reappeared with the plug. He had to come install it, as he wasn’t sure which screw it would need and an hour later I could finally take my bath. I pushed the plug down, turned on the water and immediately realized it wasn’t getting hot. The Beard tested the temperature on the sink and found it to be scalding. So what does one do now? Ice bucket time. We started filling the tub from the sink and after it was about halfway full the hot water returned to the shower lines and it was finally bath time! I don’t have any proof, but I feel like the maintenance man might also drive the shuttle….

We cleaned up and decided to head downstairs for the dance social, that according to their facebook event was scheduled to start at 8pm only to be told that they were still setting stuff up and it would be more like 9:30ish before the performances started. While I appreciate all the hard work people put into these performances, they just really aren’t my thing so we opted to go back to our room and wait them out while watching The Big Bang Theory.

We headed back down stairs around 10:30pm thinking the performances might be close to wrapping up. Turns out we severely under estimated the amount of performances and they didn’t finish up until after midnight! So it was around 12:30am before we finally had a chance to hit the dance floor! I know lots of dancers are perfectly fine staying up all night dancing, but that is not my typical Friday evening. We like to snuggle up with a pint of ice cream and watch the Blacklist!

Saturday we spent the day taking various workshops and had a lot of fun! We learned some awesome Casino routines, brushed up on our Bachata and even learned some cool lifts! Afterwards we went to the pool where the Beard was kind enough to act as my personal raft and whisk me around the water.

From there we scheduled another Uber and headed to our favorite restaurant from our last trip to Atlanta, Alma Cocina. Our driver Winston was awesome, and we convinced him to take his wife there whenever he was in need of brownie points!

Allow me to present our Chicken Mole, smoked green beans on a bed of smashed plantains and hibiscus sorbet with a coconut cream sauce and shaved coconut. SO GOOD!

We got in more dancing Saturday evening and headed to the airport on Sunday.

In case you’re ever wondering if carrying your knitting around with you provides other uses, you are correct. I present exhibit A: Instant Pillow!

Despite the crazy time delays and coordination issues, we did have a wonderful weekend together! As always, I’m looking forward to more adventures with this amazing man!