Atlanta Blue-Day 2

The alarm woke me up at 7 and I right headed down to the second floor for a workout. It wasn't near the best I've ever experienced; it's really hard to get a good strength workout at a hotel that isn't spectacular. One cable cross machine with no bench. And an elliptical that didn't even have moving arms.

From there, I walked outside, heading west towards the touristy area of downtown. I checked out the Omni Hotel and CNN Tower. Just west of that was the Philips Arena, at the site of the old Omni. Behind the Arena, I could see the Georgia Dome in the distance. Unfortunately, my camera ran out of battery power as I was about to snap my final photograph of the Atlanta shaped steel arches in front of the Arena. I picked up a Green machine Naked juice when I got back. I pretty much knew that would be about my only chance to eat anything healthy all day.

Mom and I headed out together and made the mile walk west to Centennial Olympic Park. I explored the Olympic Fountain of Rings, the many torches, and the brickwalk. Across Baker Street is Pemberton Place, which houses the World of Coke and the Georgia Aquarium, the largest indoor aquarium in the entire world. John Pemberton, a Georgia pharmacist, invented Coca-Cola in 1886. We entered the World of Coke at 10 am. There were artifacts from all over the world: bottles from Argentina, Ecuador, etc. Huge bottle openers, advertising signs, clothing, etc. Then came the animated Happyfication theater. I took my picture with the polar bear, which was quite cool. We also saw the bottling plant, the Milestone of refreshment (lots of interactive games, history, and a display of at least 150 Coke beverage can/bottle designs from throughout the last 120 years). I got to trace the classic logo with my finger and it's really hard to make the holes in the a's and o's.

We headed the the second level to the pop culture gallery. There was the Coke couch from Season 4 of American Idol, a kisok to make my own Coke computer-generated art, and a wall dedicated to the failed New Coke experiment from 1985. Then came the 4-D theater, which has the moving seats and blasts of wind and water, and yes, I got wet. Last, but not least, came the tasting room which offers guests a chance to try 60 different beverages from across the globe.

I probably went through at least 20. I has a lemon soda from England, it was marvelous. The Italian soda called Beverly tasted terribly bitter and tasted more like straight alcohol. Definitely my least favorite. The Mozambique ginger ale was really good and relaxing. The Mexican iced tea featured a very robust lemon flavor. I never had Barq's red cream soda before, and I'm typically not a big fan of cream soda, but I really enjoyed this one. And gingerbread coke could very well become a new holiday tradition for me.

The last stop was the gift shop and Mom and I could not agree. It was my money, I brought a sign and I'm still mad I did not buy a glass. She wanted me to get this big empty bottle, which must have been four feet tall, to drop spare change into. Sounded good, but how was I going to get that into an airplane?

Anyway, we walked another half mile north just past Georgia Tech. It was time for some grub. So many people have told me about the Varsity and have recommended it. It is the world's largest drive-thru and one of the most iconic eateries in Georgia. We ordered two Number 1's:a pair of steamed chili dogs with yellow mustard and beanlesss beefy chili. Mom got the fries and I got the rings. I have to say those were the best onion rings I've had since I was in Mount Morris, so that probably goes back ten years. They're cut not too thin, not too thick and the coating on the outside tasted just tremendous. I found the dogs to be very good. I'm not used to chili The addition of chopped onions added an extra layer of flavor that I think made them better. I passed on the soda and a sweet tea for the frosted orange, which tasted like the thickest creamsicle ever. Tremendous! I can only imagine how much better it would be on one of those hot Georgia summer afternoons. But the thickness was insane. It took 45 minutes of walking to finish it off, I do not exaggerate.

We planned to take the 3:30 flight home, but we got to the airport early and took the 2:15. We stepped off the plane into a welcoming December atmosphere of 30 degrees and rain. Of course, the airline misplaced Mom's lost luggage.

All in all, it was a good 36 hours. There are some nice features of Atlanta, but I wouldn't want to spend much time in the heart of the city. I'm just no redneck.