movies, hikes, and more!

I've been busy the past couple of weeks, and am currently staying in Acworth with Cousin Linda, commuting to Woodstock to an outpatient clinic for my second two week clinical.

Two weekends ago I joined a bunch of first year PT students (15) to watch The Dark Knight Rises - the newest Batman movie.  Moire organized the crowd and bought tickets online since it was still the opening day of the movie.  It was fun, a good (but not great (sorry, Batman lovers)) movie.

they never showed the movie title...

The next morning I got up pretty early and joined Dan and Sultan for a trip out to Dahlonega to check out Amicalola Falls, the tallest falls in Georgia.  Dan's timing was perfect weather-wise - it rained a bit on the way out there, and started pouring after we finished.

me, dan, and sultan before all the stairs

bottom of the falls

upper part of the falls, 175 steps up

real-life forrest gump (in the red)

We met a real-life Forrest Gump (thanks to Dan's friendliness/ chattiness).  This guy was at least mid-70s if not over 80.  He ran downhill past us as we were hiking down, then while still in sight, stopped, turned around, and ran back up.  When we had made it to the bottom and started hiking up the first 175 stairs by the falls, he passed us a third time, this time heading downhill.  While we were on the 425 step portion of the uphill, he caught up to us a fourth time.  Dan greeted him, and he chatted long enough to tell us he was training to run from Savannah, GA to Monterey, CA!!  He passed us a fourth time at the top of the falls, munching a granola bar as he proved he wasn't even planning to stop to eat!

view from the top of the falls

That next week, I had two written finals.  The second was Friday morning.  After that was over, Moire and I met up and headed to the Georgia Aquarium.  The Aquarium opened in 2005, long after my last trip to Atlanta with my parents.  We headed out to the Lindbergh MARTA Station to take public transportation - that saved us $12 parking, and cost $5 each - $2 cash savings plus gas and wear and tear on the car...

view from garson parking deck at lindbergh marta station

fish as entering the aquarium - first exhibit

whale shark - biggest one at aquarium is 26 feet long!

funny little garden eels - they retract back under the sand when a fish comes close

jellies!

moire and me

moire and i enjoyed photographing the frogs - perhaps because they were more brightly lit than fish

"possibly the most poisonous animal on earth"

specifically, this guy is supposed to be the most poisonous, not the most colorful

creepy looking alligator

adorable otter

cute beluga whale

The next morning, not quite so early as the previous weekend, Moire, Dan, Katherine and her mother, and I went out to Sweetwater Creek State Park for a hike.  I was hoping that the recent rains would make the falls more impressive than they were back in November, but that was not the case.  Nevertheless, it was a fun hike, especially walking out on the rocks on the creek.

moire by the old textile mill ruins

moire, katherine, and dan - just another pose...

My current clinical rotation has been fun and intense so far - I've observed a lot of different techniques and also been asked to do a lot of them myself.  It's been challenging and a great learning experience, and it isn't even half over yet!