On a trip to visit my parents, Roger and I turned onto one of the many back roads in Wilmer and were pelted with splatterings to the windshield. Like any born and raised Gulf Coast girl, I knew exactly what was happening – love bugs flying like mindless idiots. There are so many of them that you often mistake them for rain, until you realize wait, rain doesn’t leave smudges . . . ewww. Welcome to Alabama my friends!

The curious thing is, I hadn’t realized it was love bug season yet (oh yes, there’s a season – the bugs show up twice a year every year). And that’s when I fell in love with Atlanta all over again. Sure, we drive on 7 lanes of I-75 in mind-numbing traffic while risking our lives as we dodge 18-wheelers trying to merge onto 285. But I’ll take it any day over swarms of love bugs.

However, mosquitoes do inhabit Atlanta. I should know. I was bit 7 times this weekend. And I won’t mention the huge black spiders I’ve seen in our garage (even Roger thinks they’re big).

Attention all bugs: you can bite me! Well, you know what I mean.

Our Sunday school teacher Russ has season tickets to the Falcons game, but he couldn’t go last Sunday. So he gave us his tickets. It was my first time in the Georgia Dome and my first time to see an NFL game. I was not disappointed.

I learned that Falcons games have two advantages over Braves games. First, they play inside so it’s not crazy hot like it is at baseball games. Second, Falcons games seem to be a more adult crowd. Sure, there were kids there, but the entertainment was not all about the kids. They actually played hip hop music during the game. This does not happen at Braves games.

On the other hand, there were a lot more drunks at this game than I’ve ever seen at Turner Field. We were also greeted by some of our crazier brothers in Christ who informed everyone that you should “Love Jesus or burn in Hell.” I thought that showed Jesus’ love in a favorable light. I tried to ignore both of those groups.

The half-time show was marched by LeFlore High School from my hometown Mobile, AL. That was a cool surprise. They won Battle of the Bands in Alabama so they were invited to the Dome to march the show. They did a great job, and we could hear them even in that huge place. That’s saying a lot.

Overall, I rate the Falcons game a fun experience. The Dome gets really loud, so I can see why visiting teams wouldn’t want to play there. I did my part to add to the noise. The Falcons won, beating the Carolina Panthers 45-28.

During half time, once LeFlore was done, the Atlanta Falcon mascot brought his family out for entertainment. Roger captured the moment on video:

See more photos of the game.