Coming Down to Atlanta

As I may have said earlier, the Japanese consulate for my area of the country is in Atlanta, GA. This is sort of weird for us, since the embassy in Washington, DC is slightly closer. In the grand scheme of things, though, it's good that I have to be down in Atlanta rather than in DC again. (I also got to get a look at some lake levels on the way here, and some appeared to be suffering from drought conditions.)
My mom found a Days Inn beforehand and drove the two of us here. We've got a cool view of the city through our balcony: skyscrapers with plenty of lights at night, a building where I can see into the rooms (not well, though, without glasses), and another with a giant "W" on it. (I don't know what this "W"stands for.) The neighborhood nearby is a bit questionable, but the solution to that is simply to not be out too late - and to watch out for the giant cockroaches near the storm drains.
Hopefully, Mom and I can get all of the visa/miscellaneous stuff squared away at the embassy tomorrow without any tasks spilling over into Tuesday. If that is the case, then we will be able to go to the Georgia Aquarium on Wednesday, which apparently is a big deal. (I love zoos and aquariums.) I'm not really going to have much time at home after this trip, though - we return Thursday, then leave for the beach on Saturday.
I'll post how the bureaucracy-navigating goes tomorrow.

P.S. The current dollar-yen exchange rate hovers around 108 yen to the dollar. I know that because of this little sidebar-thing on the family laptop (which I must use, as my computer is in the shop). There's also a clock that shows Japanese time, held by a mildly disturbing fuzzy pink thing with fangs. Clock-beastie aside, Windows Vista seems pretty cool, if only for these gimmicks.

Washington, Day 3

My final day in Washington was a bit hectic. There was some confusion about what the one other remaining house-guest, the host, and I would do that day. It turned out that the host's plans disintegrated, but I and the other guest didn't know this until later in the morning. The guest and I eventually went to the National Zoo without our host, who slept in.
I really pushed the limits on how much time I spent at the zoo (and didn't get a lot out of it). I definitely did not leave myself enough time to get to the airport two hours early, and I ended up in an insane rush to get to DCA. It all turned out fine, though - I had a decent amount of time in the waiting area before my flight boarded. Still, it gave my parents and I a scare.