My first date

This past weekend my parents flew in to visit, it was so nice to have them here! RG and I went back and forth on if we should plan an elaborate weekend and jaunt around the city or just relax and play it by ear. We ended up somewhere in the middle…they arrived Friday late afternoon to the a clear sky with the sun shining and a brisk wind. We decided this was the perfect night to take them on our first date.

Before I tell go into details about the night out with my parents I should tell you about our first date. RG and I met months before we actually went on a date. In June of 2006 one of my really good friends from high school came to Atlanta for a work conference and had a free night to hang out. I was working at CNN at the time and she had asked if I could show her and her coworker around the studios. Right before we were to meet up at CNN she called and asked if her coworker could bring a friend. Sure, why not?!? Little did I know the “friend” would end up being my future husband, RG. I don’t remember much about the tour, I had given so many to my friends and family they all run together. But I do remember that our day didn’t end with the tour. The four of us ended up hanging out all afternoon, going to the Westin Sunday Bar to show the out-of-towners Atlanta (more on the Sundial here). We were having such a good time we even made plans to hang out later that night. After a night out in Buckhead RG graciously offered me a ride home, turns out we lived only two miles apart from each other. We got along great and when he dropped me off he asked for my number and we talked about hanging out again soon.

A mere twelve hours later as I am laying pretty hung over in bed trying to figure out which fast food place I was going to visit to some grease from and my phone rang. To my surprise it was the boy from last night, RG. He had had a great time last night and wanted me go to a World Cup party with him that evening. So much went through my hung over head in just a few seconds… Should I pretend like I have plans? If I say yes do I seem too eager? Am I up for another night out after last night? …all of this led to me politely declining due to other obligations (my hangover!) but expressing interest in hanging out later that week. Well, after that one call I didn’t hear from him again…I learned years later that he took that as me turning him down and he figured I wasn’t that into him. In hindsight it’s probably a good thing we never hung out back then, relationships are all about timing and I don’t think we would have made it at that point.

After that night we all went out I kept running into his friends I had met, it turned out we hung out in similar circles. But I never saw RG. Occasionally he would cross my mind, but in no way did I sit around pining away waiting for my phone to ring…I did end an on/off relationship with an out-of-town boy, continued to date and do my own thing. About four months later, after a hockey game and a few beers, I was invited to meet up with a group of people at a local bar, RG was going to be there. Using my liquid courage I decided I would call him before heading that way, after a few rings he answered and me thinking I’m smooth and seductive lowered my voice and said “Hey stranger.” Since he was already at the bar and assuming he’s had a few cocktails I felt flirty and aggressive. Boy was I was wrong…he was actually at home watching the world series and had decided to stay in for the night. Somehow my charm worked and I convinced him to peel himself off the couch and meet me a girlfriend at a lounge close to his house.

We danced the night away and had a fabulous time. I didn’t know what to expect after that evening…would I have to instigate the next call again, did he have as much fun as I did, did I scare him off with my horrible dancing? Well all of these questions were quickly pushed aside when my phone rang that afternoon. He actually called(!) and asked me out on an official date.

…now to the story that I began this post with. Our first date was supposed to be at Loca Luna, a small tapas restaurant, but we had trouble finding it and ended up at a neighborhood restaurant, Wisteria. It turned out to have a lot of character and sweet southern style food. When dinner was over neither of us were ready for the night to end so we decided to head back to the Westin Sundial Bar, where we had gone the first day we met, to look at the city and continue our night. We sat there, drinking a few beers, looking out over the city lights and talking about everything from our childhood to past relationships. Time flew by and we were up there for hours. It was absolutely perfect. So when my parents came to visit we wanted to recreate that night for them. We changed it up a bit though, starting out at the Westin for sunset and finishing up with dinner and dessert at Wisteria. I only hope they enjoyed it as much as we did.

My apologies for the rambling…I know it tends to take me forever to get to the point, but I hope you enjoyed our story. Some photos from the Westin – Enjoy!