"You're Counting Calories? That's Not Allowed In Here!"

"I'm leaving in one hour, so if you're coming, be ready by then!" I told Joshua as we sat on the couch watching Lie To Me on Netflix. I had a princess party booking to attend in Alpharetta, Georgia, and thought it would be fun if Joshua tagged along and we went on an adventure afterwards. Atlanta has always intrigued me, but as much as I have passed it by on the weekends I have never stopped to explore, being intimidated at the thought of walking around the huge city alone. Josh got ready, and in an hour we were on the road.

Thanks to Josh's driving, we were almost an hour early, so we decided to get some lunch. I was from Orlando which, as most of you know, is not a small town. Josh was amazed by the sheer size and volume of businesses there. Every inch of the place seemed crawling with life - one street in Alpharetta had more restaurants than the entire city of Forysth, GA! We hadn't had Steak 'N Shake in a long time (I hadn't been there since my High School Days - oooh, so long ago, I know), so we decided on there. I grabbed my carb counting book out of the side door and brought it in with me. I was in a bright pink and green Barbie dress, so thought nothing of the book - if anyone would comment on anything, it'd be the dress! However... Josh opened the door for me. I walked inside the cool, familiar restaurant and began nonchalantly flipping through my book. A man stood behind the counter and it wasn't until a few seconds later that he and everyone seated at the front benches started laughing at me. "You're counting calories? Ha! That book isn't allowed here!" He started to ridicule me. My cheeks grew red and I could feel my ears growing warm. I snapped, "I'm not counting calories, I'm counting carbs because I'm diabetic." It was silly, but I was angry as I sat down, the crowd at the front quieting around me.

I finished my party as princess Barbie 2 hours later, Josh helping me to pack up. My customer handed us two big slices of cake (which neither of us planned on eating) and we drove off. Okay, I might have licked off some of the frosting... or all of it! Traffic was awful. It was nearly 4:30, and rush hour traffic was beginning to congest the highways. I was excited to get to Atlanta, but being stuck in traffic was a big pet peeve of mine. I hated the feeling of sitting in traffic, going nowhere! Josh and I blasted music and kept the AC on high. It was hot, and I wanted to cool down.

We finally made it. As the skyscrapers of Atlanta began to tower over us, we exited 75 and drove straight into downtown. And the traffic was...even more awful. We must have driven around for an hour before accidentally driving into a parking garage, in my big truck, with a 7 ft clearance. My truck must have been 6 3/4 ft tall! We laughed and laughed - and cringed - as we carefully eased ourselves out of the garage.After about 30 more minutes, finally, we celebrated on finding a place to park for $5!

Elated, we grabbed what we needed and locked up the truck, making sure to hide any valuables. Where to go first...?

Everything seemed new and exciting and interesting. Mid-town Atlanta was no New York City, but the city had always held an intrigue for me that nowhere else ever had. The feel of the city, the flow, the hustle and bustle of life and sheer volume of everything - how amazing! My senses came alive as I smelled good food, heard traffic and voices and music, and saw flashing lights, towering building, glimpses of gardens and sky, traffic everywhere - there was a spring to my step as I gripped Joshua's hand and we walked together wherever we wanted.

We stopped at a quiet Starbucks in an even more quiet office building. It was after hours - all the workmen had gone home by now - and we were one of the few customers in the store. Joshua ordered a Java Chip Frappe and I, watching my blood sugar, ordered a light mocha frappe - sans whipped cream, which was pretty difficult for me. When our frappes cam out I gave mine a try - it tasted good but definitely had a stronger soy taste to it than I remember in any of the normal frappes. Oh well.... at least I was healthy, right? I took out my insulin and bolused for the milkshake-coffee. I had to guess, seeing as carrying my book around Atlanta would have just added another thing to have to carry.

After Starbucks, we found ourselves in a beautiful neighborhood - the landscaping in front of the grand houses more impressive than most themeparks I had ever seen (of which there are several). We walked through a quiet park with a small pond, weaving our way through the trees and up a mulch hill before circling back towards the city again. We passed by churches, homeless men, and even went inside the towering Bank of America building. The lobby was closed, but the security guard allowed us in for a little while to look. We had walked over 15 blocks to get there!

It was beginning to get dark on the way back. It was past 8, and we didn't want to be stuck in the city at night. We walked the long way back from 2nd street to 14th street, passing crowds and the impressive Fox Theatre, filled with life as people rushed in for a show that night.

The world swam a little. I swallowed. "Can I have my meter? I want to check my blood sugar now," I told Joshua, staring at the sky, trying to steady myself and determine if I was low. "Right now?" Josh asked. "Isn't it a weird time to test?" "I think I'm low," I told him, continuing to walk. He held my meter and placed a test strip in so that all I had to do was prick my finger and draw blood. The task, once daunting, had become rudimentary, and I did it quickly, placing my finger on the strip for... goodness knows how many times it had been by now.

The meter read 53. I remembered I'd kept the same pack of gummies in my purse for at least a month now, and although crushed, I pulled them out now and scarfed them down, glad for them as we walked through the big city. It could be scary, being in a strange place and feeling low.

We made it back to the car. My feet were rubbed raw, and we could both feel blisters coming on. It felt as if we had spent the whole day walking through Disney!

We started the car and drove on through the city, wandering past old buildings, hotels and underground Atlanta as we made our way back to the Interstate. We stopped in McDonough on the trip back, the only one's in the restaraunt eating Zaxby's as the world began to wind down around us. I tested my blood sugar and bolused - all routine now- and then we started on the long trip home after we had finished our meals. My heart was full of happiness and my eyes all the more traveled for counting all of the new sights - not calories - that I had seen that afternoon. It had been a marvelous adventure. By the time we made it home, we had exhausted our energy - I slept well that night.