Day 6,7, & 8

Day 6

Monday, Jan 30

We departed my Mom's house after lunch; we took our time getting ready to leave.  We headed to one of Dorothy's favorite shopping stores called H&M (located in Atlanta).  Dorothy commented that the store was much smaller than the one in Hong Kong.

After shopping we ate at Olive Garden.  I love their salads so much!  Dorothy ordered soup and she really enjoyed it.  I had something new there, it was shrimp with cheese ravioli. It was really good, but I ate too much. 

We proceeded to Chattanooga and stayed at my grandpas house for the night.

Day 7

Tuesday, Jan 31

For breakfast we headed to IHOP.  Dorothy ate chicken and potato soup for breakfast.  I had a new combo of Belgian waffle, eggs, and bacon.  Then we headed to Ruby Falls.  Dorothy enjoyed the view and liked the tall castle-like building (picture 1).  We looked at souvenirs before heading down into the cave and Dorothy wanted to look at them again before we left.

Down in the cave, Dorothy commented that this cave looked different from the one in China.  Although, I'm sure the natural formations were similar (ie stalagmites, stalactites, etc).  We had a great tour guide that has worked there for 18 years.  After the tour, we spent a lot of time looking at souvenirs.  Dorothy wants to buy some things, for her family and friends, that are unique and preferably not made in China.

Then we headed to Hamilton Place Mall just to have a look around.  After that we headed to my hometown.  We headed there earlier than I expected so I stopped by my neighbors house for a visit.  Then we visited a teacher from my high school.

We met some of my friends for dinner at 8pm at a mexican restaurant.  I wanted Dorothy to try a stuffed poblano pepper.  She liked it.  While sitting there for some reason, I kept listening for Chinese.  One of the waiters came and said "24" in Spanish (that was Dorothy's order), but I didn't hear it because I was listening for Chinese. 

I forget to plan a place to stay for the night but thankfully my hometown neighbors offered a place to sleep.  Thank you so much Mr. and Mrs. P!

 

Day 8

Wednesday, Feb 1

We met some more of my friends for lunch and they enjoyed listening to some Chinese culture that I shared with them.

I gave Dorothy a tour of my hometown.  For those of you who know me personally, you know that the town doesn't seem that impressive.  But Dorothy enjoys seeing the countryside.  We stopped by a few shops looking for unique gifts but didn't find any that Dorothy liked.

We headed up to my Uncle and Aunt's house and Dorothy caught a nap on the way up there.  My relatives have a small poodle and Dorothy played with Max (the poodle) for most of the afternoon before dinner.  There was also three cats that entertained Dorothy (picture 2).  We waiting for my Uncle and cousin's to show up for dinner.  

We had a wonderful dinner!  We ate honey baked ham, fried okra, mashed potatoes, pinto beans, deviled eggs, mac and cheese, and cornbread.  My Aunt made me my favorite cake for my birthday, red velvet.  Then Dorothy gave out the gifts that we bought for everyone.