The Golden Girls See The Sound Of Music

Upon getting a notification from the Fox Theater in Atlanta that The Sound of Music would be venued there, I mentioned to some ladies in my Friday night dinner group about a possible girl's trip.  Did not take but a matter of seconds for them to say, "Let's go"!  So I went online to Ticketmaster and secured 4 tickets for Thursday, Aug. 26.  In searching for a hotel near the Fox, and being a Marriott Rewards member, I made a Senior reservation at the Renaissance which was only a couple of blocks away. 
We began to make our plans and the morning finally arrived for our little get-away.  I was supposed to be at the Judy's at 8:45 am and we would leave promptly from there.  Around 7:45 I got a call from Marilyn saying that she would be a little late and to wait until around 9.  So, I made a spur of the moment decision to just try Priceline.com and see if I could come upon a miraculous deal for a hotel room.  As I began my search I thought of the commercial where William Shatner says to name your own price.  He makes it sound like it will not be turned down.  I have had good luck in the past by doing this, but sometimes been turned down. 
So, I put in the URL, and began my quest for a DEAL!  I added all the info, Atlanta, Aug. 26, 2 rooms, downtown Atlanta, etc.  Then I selected the 4 star level because I knew I would have a nice room by doing so.  There was a little icon beside it that said "Best Deal".  So I did what William suggests on the advertisement and put in a ridiculous offer to bid on the room.  Then I held my breath and clicked "Buy My Room".  I always get nervous on this part because, what if I had some wrong information entered.  In a matter of seconds I got a reply that said my offer had been accepted.  And, to my surprise for $55 we got rooms at the Downtown Atlanta Hilton!  A newly remodeled and decorated 4 star hotel!!!!!!!  I immediately cancelled the rooms at the Renaissance and let out a Yipee!!!!  I could not wait to tell the other ladies the deal I had so luckily obtained.  Marilyn said she was so glad because she had read the reviews and someone had written that they had been bitten by bed bugs.  Thank you Lord that we have this room!
So we headed out to Atlanta, stopping in Columbus to have lunch.

When we got to Columbus, we were beginning to get hungry, so we began looking for someplace to eat.  We rode around, turning around in a couple of places, then decided to go back to a place called Cheddar's.  I was talking to my daughter Kendall on the phone and she said it was not a good place to eat.  Too late!  We were hungry, tired of riding and looking for a place, and Carrabbas is not open for lunch, so what the heck.  We did eat there and although it was nothing special, we did have some absolutely wonderful Croissants with our meal.  We ordered vegetables, salads, pot pies, etc. and the portions were humongous!  We left over half of our food on the table.  I probably will not eat there again, but the service was very good and the food was good if you are hungry for some home cooked type food.  Everybody came out with doggie boxes of Croissants.
On to Atlanta to our 4 star hotel.

We got checked into our rooms at the Hilton and were very surprised to find such new and modern furnishings in the room.  The first thing I did was to check for bed bugs.  There is an epidemic in some hotels in case you have not heard.  No bed bugs, and absolutely clean newly remodeled room.  I love a good bed with European bedding!!!! We had adjoining room and after having to call the hotel engineer to come open them we enjoyed being able to peek in each other's room. 

We had a great view of the Marriott Marquis swimming pool from our window.  A lady with a very skimpy bikini was strutting around, but since I only had my little camera with a not so good zoom, I was unable to capture her.  Looked like they were having lots of fun! 
We got ready, then walked over to Peachtree Center to catch a quick bite before heading to the Fabulous Fox for our musical.  It began to rain, so we caught a taxi to the theater and felt like we really got ripped off.  We decided next time we will drive our car and park near the theater.

We arrived dry, despite the fact that one of the windows in the taxi would not go all the way up.  The Sound of Music was fabulous at the Fabulous Fox.  I sang along with all the songs except one that had been added to the play.  After the play, we walked back to the Hilton and camped out in the room Patricia and I were in.  We had a good girl's talk and turned in around 12. 
The next day, we slept late, shopped and Lenox Square (Macy's had a wonderful sale), and topped the trip off with cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory before heading back to Alabama.  Before leaving Lenox Square we got called "The Golden Girls" by a man.  It's okay to be called that when you can get Senior discounts, but don't call me this when I am shopping!!!! 
By stopping at the Cheesecake Factory we avoided the Friday rush hour traffic and breezed through Atlanta with no congestion at all. 
We have already planned the next trip which will be to see Irving Berlin's White Christmas.