A Vacation in Atlanta?

A few months ago, when Korey asked if I wanted to go to Atlanta, I was a bit unsure what to say. My best guess is that I said, “Why? What’s in Atlanta?” I remember something to the effect of, “I don’t know, but there are $40 round trip flights.” So here we are, on the plane ride back from what turned out to be a fun three days in Atlanta.

However, the trip didn’t start off as well as it finished. We were hit with a nagging maintenance issue that ended up delaying us on the tarmac in Austin nearly two hours. I swear that I hit more delays flying with Crosby than I do flying by myself — even factoring in significantly more solo trips. Regardless of that, the kids both did great as we were waiting. It’s so nice to not need to stress as much about traveling with them. The massive delay meant that a late night was going to be even later, so by the time we got to Atlanta, it was nearly midnight. Fortunately, there were no issues with their car seats or picking out our rental car (nice Fusion Hybrid), so we were on our way to find our AirBnB.

The directions we had were a bit sketchy, but we did eventually find the parking lot described by the owner and we were able to park right next to the condo building with in and out privileges for $40 for a week. The place was small, but all we cared about at that point was getting to bed. The kids were exhausted enough that they didn’t fight about being in the living room where there was a twin and a futon, and we got the king in the sole bedroom. I don’t remember my head hitting the pillow as I was exhausted from flying back from Raleigh that morning.

The next day we went to the donut place we heard about on the plane and got some ridiculous donuts. We got a white chocolate, an oreo, an apple fritter, one with fresh strawberries, and another one equally as strange. We then made our way to the zoo to try to beat the heat.

The Atlanta Zoo turned out to be a lot of fun. We got to see the elephants get a pedicure / get their feet cleaned, a set of new baby panda twins, and a whole bunch of orangutans. There were also all sorts of cute monkeys, and some of your typical large cats. However, I think the weirdest thing we saw were the naked mole rats. They had a large cutaway underground viewing area where you could see them run around and live in the equivalent of a giant ant farm. Despite seeing lots of animals, I think Crosby’s favorite thing had to be riding the train. Go figure.

After the zoo, we decided to turn to Yelp for lunch recommendations and ended up deciding on a place called “Home Grown.” While there were bars on the windows and repeated signs about not leaving belongings in your car, the food was really good. I had a fried chicken sandwich with a horseradish ranch sauce (and I don’t like horseradish, but it was good), Korey had chicken and dumplings, and the kids shared a pancake the size of most pizzas.

After nap time, we ventured out to the Georgia Aquarium. This was when we were able to start take advantage of our room’s location. The Aquarium, College Football Hall of Fame, and World of Coca-Cola were all a short walk from our place.

Right when we arrived, the sea lion show was starting, so we went on over and watched the three sea lions on display. In this first show, they even had them flop around right in front of the people in the front row. Both Crosby and Carlyn were loving it. We also saw many of the other typical large aquarium fixtures like penguins and a huge array of fish, but found out how rare it is to see beluga whales (we’re spoiled by Sea World). The penguin exhibit was cool in that there were lookouts in the area where you could stick your head through and be right next to the animals.

However, the coolest thing about the aquarium had to be the huge, over six million gallon tank that held two whale sharks and several massive giant manta rays. This huge tank had two things that stood out: a large moving walkway in a tube that ran under part of the massive tank. There also was a huge viewing area (window doesn’t it do it anywhere justice) that allowed for a huge cross sectional viewing of everything. They had the acrylic on display to show how thick and strong it was. It was nearly two feet thick! While the big tank held the biggest wow, my smaller personal favorite had to be the lit jellyfish tank.

By the time evening arrived, we were pretty exhausted, so I went out to bring some Korean food back to the condo from Blossom Tree. I was wondering why all the restaurants closed so early, but quickly found out after walking down there. I was asked if I wanted Coke at Burger King — and I’m certain it wasn’t the kind that we would see the next day at the World of Coca-Cola. But again, despite the shady surroundings, the food turned out to be excellent. We shared a Korean chicken curry and a grilled shrimp taco that came with some killer homemade sauces.

The next day, we stayed close (and went chain) for breakfast, but it still turned out to be good. We then walked down the street to the World of Coca-Cola for the next stop on our CityPass. I’ll be honest that going in, I wasn’t expecting much, but turned out to be pleasantly surprised. We were greeted with a mini can of Coke to enjoy as we waited to go into the first room that held all sorts of Coca-Cola memorabilia, including one of the original syrup dispensers that would have been in a pharmacy in the late 1800s.

We also took pictures with the Polar Bear and saw the new Sun Trust vault where the secret recipe for Coca-Cola is stored. They said it really was in there and trying to open it would set off alarms. I didn’t test them on it. There was also all sort of neat history about the Coca-Cola Company and how ownership and production rights were sold, but throughout the whole visit, there were all sorts of interactive exhibits, most of which were pretty engaging for kids and adults alike. We tried out the 4D movie about the recipe, but when the seats started shaking, both kiddos started freaking out big time, so we cut that part short. There was also an interesting section about “New Coke” and the flop that it was.

I don’t know that I’ll ever go back, but if I do (or if you do), here’s the tip I wish I knew… go to the tasting room first! Then second, and third, etc! They have a massive self-serve dispensary where you can taste all the different types of beverages from around the world, sorted by continent. There had to be over 50 different sodas to sample. Unfortunately, we didn’t go there until the end, so we had to slam through them and then leave, but I would have really liked to spend more time there trying them all (and perhaps sampling a bit more than a splash of the ones I really liked.) Hands down, that was my favorite part.

We went for Korean again at lunch, this time at Kwan’s Deli. Despite the deli name, they were apparently known for their fried chicken. We decided we had to try it and it was good, as was the bibimbap we had. We then walked around the corner to the college football HOF.

We didn’t do naps this time around since we were right there, and Carlyn definitely was a bit on edge because of it. I think Korey and I would have preferred to spend a bit more time appreciating some of the historic pieces, but that was tough with the two of them. They too had some really neat interactive exhibits based on the college you selected and your RFID “All Access Pass.” I got to call a famous historic play and also make my pick on College Game Day… cheesy, but fun nonetheless.

The Chick-Fil-A experience had to be the most fun though… you could kick field goals, throw 20 yard TD passes, run the ladder and catch a pass or hit targets with balls… all of which I fully enjoyed. Crosby was having a blast too. He kept cheering me on when I went 3 for 3 on tosses into the target and then kicked a 20 yard field goal, and the he must have run the obstacle course half a dozen times. I easily could have stayed there for longer, but Carlyn dictated that it was time to go.

That evening, we went out and bought Cinnamon rolls for breakfast for the next day, a salad to share for dinner, and picked up a movie at RedBox. We also swung by the grocery store and grabbed some fruit and yogurt for the kids, and some pumpkin Leinenkugel’s for the adults. We capped off the night with Crosby and I watching Captain Underpants together. The girls apparently lost interest in a villain named Professor Poopypants — surprise surprise.

I woke up early to heat up the cinnamon rolls, which turned out to be really good! We then had to clean up, pack up our stuff, and check out before our last few hours in Atlanta. Crosby had been dying to ride on the Subway, so we bought some one-way tickets. We rode out aways, waited for the return train to come back, then ended up getting off at the same station we got on at, but I know he enjoyed the ride — which I suppose was like paying for some entertainment.

We finished off our last few hours downtown at an Arcade Korey found on Groupon. We got a big play card and ended up spending a couple of hours there. The only downside was that the “Bonus Points” could only be used at a subset of the machines, but we still had plenty of fun. Crosby and I loved playing Ice Hockey and driving a monster truck game. Korey and I battled it out on a Guitar Hero style piano game (I won 😉 ). Then the four of us battled it out in a crazy PacMan branded air hockey table which shot out about 20 different disks at the same time. Carlyn and I took on Crosby and Korey which was a lot of fun!

By that time, we had to start making our way to the airport, but wanted to eat one last time before we left. We struck out at the first place (it was closed), but ended up going around the corner to J&J’s Fish and Chicken. I’m glad we did! It was slammed, but we got a ton of food (perch and chicken). We also got to experience what it’s like to be a minority, despite all the foot traffic. The food was delicious though. I think the batter had a bit of Parmesan in it as it definitely had something more than just standard breading on everything.

All in all, it was a great trip. We had lots of fun thanks to all the activities, ate a bunch of good food, and were able to do so without breaking the bank. Crosby and Carlyn certainly had fun too! Plus, it’s nice to be able for them to go on vacation — even if it was a totally random trip and destination.