Thanks everyone for your ideas and info. Dealing with this is going to be difficult, and I hope we can make it work. I was looking at vacuum robots yesterday and I think I may invest in one.
Right now I am writing this from Atlanta, snuggled up next to DarkKnight in our hotel room. We're having such a wonderful trip! I'm going to break this up as I type, so I don't lose anything. So if you're reading this, wait a bit and see if it gets added to over this morning.
We spent Sunday in Washington DC, as our train did not leave Union Station until 6:30 pm. Our plan was to visit the Air & Space Museum, but there were long lines for entry out of most of the museums we were considering - I usually go during the week and did not anticipate the lines. So, we decided instead to walk around and see the monuments! We've lived an hour and a half from DC for 3 years and had never done this, so it was a lot of fun. The weather cooperated for the most part, though we did get rained on at a couple of points. At the end of the day we had walked 13.1 miles - a slow half marathon!
The train ride was fun. I had reserved us a "Viewliner Roomette" on Amtrak, so we were in a private space from DC to Atlanta overnight. I would recommend this, for sure. The room was very tiny, but the seats were large and comfortable, we had a very large pair of windows to look out of, and a private toilet. The seats flattened out at bedtime, and with a mattress added on top of them, they made a decent bed for DarkKnight. My bed came down from the ceiling, and it was also very comfortable. That said - neither of us got much sleep, as the route we were on involves a ton of turns, and there was a lot of sway in the train car. For me on the top bunk, that meant if I started to drift off, I'd roll right over and across the bunk, which would wake me up immediately. I spent the enter night just starting to sleep. Oh! Our room also included free meals in the dining car, so we had both dinner and breakfast there, and the food was really good. All of the employees on the train were amazing too. It was definitely an adventure! Which honestly, is what I paid for - flying down would have been faster and cheaper, but taking the train was part of the trip that I wanted to make special for DarkKnight.
Yes, we had sex in the train car. It was quite awkward, given the space restrictions, but it was hilariously fun. Now I can say I've done that, though I am not sure who would ever ask. Lol
We arrived in Atlanta around 8 am on Monday. Our hotel reservations had check in time at 3 pm, but we decided to see if we could get into our room early. Thank goodness we checked, because it worked - we got in and were able to rest a bit before starting the rest of our day! Oh, I don't know if I have a picture that conveys this - let me look:
Yeah, because we knew we'd be spending an entire day in DC before leaving for Atlanta - and also one in DC after we return - we opted for backpacks, rather than traditional luggage. These things weigh a ton, and they're massive. We walked that 13.1 miles sporting these monstrosities, and we are both unused to that sort of exercise. So, we were VERY happy to be able to take them off and drop them in the hotel room!
For lunch, an old friend came and picked us up for a short visit. We ate at Big Matt's Rib Shack and it was very delicious BBQ. The company was great - our "Uncle Al" was the guy who performed our wedding ceremony ten years ago in Boston. So it was great to catch up with him. After he dropped us back at the hotel, DarkKnight and I walked down the street to the Skyview Ferris wheel. I had bought a groupon, so we got to ride at a discounted rate and we were given a box of chocolates. We were able to see the city from really high (I am afraid of heights but this actually wasn't too terrifying) and there's a narrated tour so you know what you are seeing.
That's the view down to the Olympic Rings Fountain, in the Centennial Olympic Park, right next to our hotel.

After the Ferris wheel ride, DarkKnight and I spent an hour or so exploring there, and watching kids - and adults - run through and get soaked. We also ate our chocolates.

Then we went across the street to sit in another open space, this one between the Aquarium, the Coca Cola Museum and the Civil Rights Museum. We have plans to visit a couple of these while on our trip, but the Coke museum seemed silly, so instead of spending over $30 for the two of us to take a tour, we went to the store instead, and bought a couple of things. One was a bottle of Diet Coke, so we could sit outside along the grass and share it together. <3
After walking around a bit, we returned to the hotel and made further plans for the week. We walked about a mile for dinner at The Varsity, which was highly recommended by 3 people to us as a must-visit fast food place. We had chili dogs.

Then we had a fun time at this bar/arcade where we played games and won fabulous prizes. (Not really - you know how arcade prizes are!) By this time we'd walked a little over 4 miles and our legs were killing us, so we went back to the hotel and soaked up some rest in the hotel rooftop spa together. Then, we ended our day cuddling in bed, watching episodes of Impractical Jokers. Lol
Today we are going to the Aquarium, and I paid for a "penguin encounter." Can't wait!