We are back from Atlanta and your suggestions were great! DH wouldn't let me leave the hotel without the "GW list". We ended up going to JCT Kitchen, Zoe's, and Buckhead Diner. We also had a very casual dinner at Yeah Burger. Their Southern Dog with pimento cheese and Bama sauce with a side of Napa Coleslaw is perfect when you are tired and cranky from traveling and haven't had lunch. JCT Kitchen was definitely the best meal of the trip.The food was delicious. Dad did complain about the noise, but Mom told him deal with it because she was having a great time. My favorite dish was the fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese. Yes, there is a pimento cheese theme here! The best part of the trip, besides seeing my parents, was meeting the people of Atlanta. Southern hospitality is alive and well! Made me think about growing up in Houston. Seeing the beautiful trees starting to change colors was just an added bonus. Thank you all for your suggestions. Lisa

DH and I are in our mid-50s and have shared tables both at home and while we're travelling. In crowded cafes either we've asked if we could have the spare seats at someone already seated's table, or we've invited people who are obviously looking for a seat to make use of our spare seats. We've even changed our seats around to make room for others. We don't necessarily start up a conversation with the other people beyond a few remarks, but it wouldn't occur to us to refuse to share if the place was crowded. On a similar note, we were in a tiny indie cinema with three long (about 10 or 12 seats) row of seats across the space. Being so small, and the movie quite popular, it was pretty well full, in fact there were only two seats left, one at either end of the row DH and I were sitting in (I was next to one of the empty seats). In walked a couple, obviously nonplussed at the potential seating disaster. So I called to the rest of the people in the row, "Could everyone please move down one seat so these people can sit down?" Everyone seemed ready to do just that until the lady sitting at the opposite end announced she couldn't move down one because the seat next to her was (for some reason) higher than the others (by about 4") and if she sat in it her feet wouldn't touch the floor. So I said "Well then, everybody move up one, I'll sit in the wretched seat and DH can sit next to me and that will leave two seats at this end for these people." So we all moved, I got the high seat which, even though I have short legs, wasn't really that bad- I certainly didn't notice it. But the lady who didn't want to move would not shut up about it! All through the movie, she kept muttering to her friend things along the lines of "Well, I couldn't move, my feet just wouldn't have touched the floor!" etc. I felt like saying, for Pete's sake, give it a rest already! Problem solved! Everyone happy! (well, except her, I guess).

Different people, of different age levels, have developed/are developing different kinds of skills. Some years ago I was having teeth out at the local dental school. When my student and the secretary were doing the accounting, it turned out that removing the first tooth in a quadrant cost $32.00, and $16.00 each for subsequent teeth in that quadrant, of which there had been four. I said, "$96.00". When they finished the calculating and came up with the figure, they looked at me with surprise and asked how I'd figured it out so quickly. I said that the first tooth was $32.00, and that four times sixteen was the same as two times thirty two ... that one plus two, i.e. three thirties are ninety and that three twos are six: total, ninety six. ole joyful

I am too late but hope you got a burger at The Varsity if they are open. I took my children to restaurants from a young age. We chose appropriate places ( like an Italian place , not a chain, that gave the kids pizza dough to play with), took quiet books and toys. We had a plan to take them outside if they got loud or restless. We would not scold them but tell them we needed to step outside because others were trying to have a nice dinner. I feel like even as a toddler they can start learning. As they got a bit older temper tantrum type behavior that continued outside meant we went home. I at many cold meals and took home a few but by about 3 they all had impeccable manners and were able to start going to “nicer” places. Kids need to do to learn, IMO. At 2 they might not be able to express why they are melting down or just can’t sit still. Leaving because they could not was not broached as a punishment but as “ there are others that want a meal where they can talk with their friends. We will go home so they can do that” We were thanked but other patrons at times for taking them out for a few moments. My kids are grown and last week I was at a locally owned business who did some work for my youngest, pretty specialized and expensive custom stuff, and the owner asked how he was and complimented him on being so respectful and knowing how to speak on an equal level but taking the advice of an adult even if he is in his mid 20’s. I give credit in part to speaking to him as a kid on a simple but babyish level and setting expectations to respect others. I just wrote way too much but I hate seeing a kid running around in a restaurant unchecked and equally if not more a parent screaming at a 2 year old who is acting like a two year old.... take the kid aside for goodness sake. The fact that you (Beagle) asked means you are a thoughtful Person and parent!