The Shopoff Showoff

For quite a while now, Patrick and I have been discussing the possibility of moving to Georgia for me to go to grad school. We both love the beautiful state of Georgia, the University of Georgia has an amazing Instructional Design and Development master's degree, and we figure that if we want to be adventurous and try something new, now is the time.

This past weekend, we had the opportunity to visit Georgia to check out grad schools there. We spent a day in Atlanta and checked out Georgia Tech before heading to Athens to check out UGA. It was a great weekend, despite a few transportation problems in the beginning(we missed our flight out of DFW and had to wait on standby).

We really enjoyed the time we spent in Athens. It's a very neat city. It's small(only about 100,000 people--I know some of you will laugh that I think 100,000 is small but when you are comparing to Dallas, it is) but because it is a college town, it is full of things to do. The downtown area is amazing--tons of restaurants, shops, and places to hang out. Even better than that, downtown is located across the street(literally) from the UGA campus. I would be able to walk there after class! Athens has also been voted the #1 College Music Town because of all of the live music. Every day of the week, there is music somewhere. We really enjoyed being there, but the logistics of both of us getting jobs in a smaller city cause a slight hesitation with moving there. We'll just keep praying and see where God takes us!

While in Georgia, we also got to spend time in Atlanta. While we enjoyed the tour at Georgia Tech, I just don't think that the program is exactly what I am looking for. In Atlanta, we were able to visit the Georgia Aquarium, the largest aquarium in the world. It was pretty amazing! Part of it reminded me of the aquarium in Japan that we visited while we were there. These aquariums are just so large!! We also walked through Olympic Park and took pictures in front of the Coca Cola Museum before catching our flight home. Overall, the trip was a success. We had a great time, and though we don't know much more about where we will be in the next year, we do know that God will open up doors for us.

Georgia Tech Tower

Georgia Tech's Football Stadium in the midst of bustling downtown Atlanta

University of Georgia Arch -- pillars stand for wisdom, justice, and moderation

Herty Field -- home to the first collegiate football game held in the state of Georgia

View of Downtown Athens from campus

Because Georgia's mascot is Uga, the bulldog, there are 36 statues of painted bulldogs all over the city of Athens. Patrick and I were only able to find about 8. Here are a few.

(Puffy had to visit his Penguin cousins, of course!)

Olympic Park