The next day (Thursday, May 9th) our Atlanta adventures continued. Jeff and I usually don't stay more than 24 hours in a city before we move on. We like our little road trips where we see tiny treasures in each state while visiting multiple states, but this week we really got to delve into the fun activities and sights that Atlanta has to offer. Thursday we filled our day with visits to the largest aquarium in the US, the World of Coca Cola museum, and the College Football Hall of Fame museum. The aquarium was impressive. There were massive whales and sharks and minuscule seahorses and fish. My favorite was walking through the water tunnel where the fish were swimming all around us. It was so cool! After a couple of hours in the aquarium, we headed to the World of Coca Cola. Coca Cola, Chick-fil-A, and Home Depot all started in Atlanta. Coca Cola is probably the most well known product to come out of ATL and there was a whole museum dedicated to the intoxicating elixir. It was fun to see all the displays and understand the story behind the well-guarded recipe. However, the most exciting part was the tasting room where we got to sip on carbonated (and most likely caffeinated) Coca Cola made beverages from around the world. Some of them were really good, some were ok, and others were disgusting (like the one that smelled and tasted like carbonated BBQ sauce). It was fun to simply try them all. After filling our bellies with soda, we decided to get a little food in there too. We indulged in one of Georgia's iconic foods - BBQ. We found a delicious BBQ restaurant near by and enjoyed ribs, brisket, pulled pork, and iconic southern sides like mac & cheese, sweet potato soufflé, etc. With our bellies now doubly full, we headed to the College Football Hall of Fame. I can't say this was my favorite museum, but it was interesting to see the history of football from the clothes and helmet to the way spectators enjoyed the sport. The boys also liked the indoor field where they got to try to kick field goals and throw a pass. Finally, we walked over to Centennial Park where I produced a small frisbee from my purse and let the boys toss it around. The park was really nice. It even had the Olympic Rings from the 1996 summer olympics. All in all, I would say it was a successful first day!
Friday (May 10th) was all about Amber. We drove from Atlanta to Americus in southwestern Georgia to get to the university. We are so proud of Amber for sticking it out! It wasn't easy to juggle full time work and a rigorous academic load. She was determined to do it and succeeded! After her graduation, we grabbed a quick lunch at a local seafood place before making our way back to Atlanta...and to the Dwarf House. Yup...we literally went from eating to eating (minus Casey and Laurin who broke off from us for the next day to explore some of Casey's mission since he served in that area). Dallin and Jacob didn't love the seafood place so they were still hungry when we got back to Atlanta. The rest of us weren't super hungry, but we were all excited to experience Chick-fil-A as a restaurant. The Dwarf House was the location where owner, Truett Cathy, crafted the first chick-fil-A chicken sandwich. It was unique in that on one side of the restaurant was the typical fast food Chick-fil-A experience and the other side was a restaurant with a soda shoppe type bar and several booths. The menu featured the typical Chick-fil-A foods with additional items like crispy brussel sprouts, sweet potato soufflé, and banana pudding. Once we finished our meal, we enjoyed sitting outside while Dallin, Jeff, and Jonas tried to hula hoop as we waited for the traffic to die down to drive back to our hotel (Atlanta traffic was intense!). Another fun day full of celebration and of course...food!
Saturday was another celebration...Dallin's 23rd birthday. He woke up to our rousing rendition of the happy birthday song and a couple of gifts. He didn't have strong opinions about what to do that day so we checked off a few more Atlanta sites. We started with the gorgeous botanical gardens. We got there when the gardens opened and enjoyed smaller crowds as we wandered through the different areas. Throughout the gardens were several features that depicted scenes from the story Alice in Wonderland. I loved those! After the gardens, we headed to Ponce City Market. This unique retail (and residential) space was housed in an old factory building. I love that the city chose to refurbish and repurpose the building rather than tear it down. The city also repurposed an old rail line into a walking path called the Beltline. We decided to stroll down the Beltline for a bit after exploring the stores and grabbing some food. We finished our day at the zoo. Atlanta is one of the only cities in the US that has panda bears...and they were so cute! They were probably my favorite animal. The boys liked watching a sparring match between the sun bears. Other than that, we saw elephants, gorillas, zebras, and more. Before leaving the zoo, Jonas and Jeff spent some time on a little ropes course. We finally headed back to the hotel where Jacob and Amber freshened up and went to a community production of Legally Blonde (a show the rest of us were ok to miss out on). We dropped them off and ended Dallin's birthday with a trip to Taco Bell. He is such a funny kid and enjoys Taco Bell. It was the running joke all day so, of course, we all had to indulge.
Sunday the celebrations continued with Mother's Day. I woke up to some beautiful flowers and toaster strudels. I'm not sure how, but those have become a traditional Mother's Day breakfast staple. I loved that Jeff and the boys made the effort to honor the day even though we were on vacation. The older kids gave me some thoughtful cards. (Jonas gifted me a date with him and Jeff gave me some new weights prior to the trip.) All day long, Jonas, Jeff and Dallin made sure I was comfortable in little ways while Casey and Jacob took care of their wives. I'm grateful to have respectful men in my life that show me how much they care through their actions. We started our day at church. The building we went to was just a short stroll from the temple so after sacrament meeting we walked over to the temple to snap a picture. After that, we headed out of the city a little to visit Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. This was the site of a bloody Civil War battle in which the south tried to stop General Sherman from taking Atlanta. There were heavy casualties on the Union side, but they ultimately broke through the line and captured Atlanta. The mountain itself was beautiful and oddly peaceful considering what happened there 140 years ago. There were evidences of trenches (aka earthworks) that protected the southern soldiers still visible today. Cannons were set up in several places to show where these weapons would have been positioned. It was a humbling experience to be on this hallowed ground. After the battlefield, we headed back to Atlanta where we had an early dinner at Cheesecake Factory before going back into downtown to see an off-Broadway production of To Kill a Mockingbird. We were all looking forward to this production...and it did not disappoint! Jonas may not have understood all of it, but even he said he liked it. It seemed fitting to see this production in the south where it would have taken place. It was another poignant part of our day as we considered the lasting ramifications of our nation's complex history. It was a great way to end another fun day.
Monday (13th) was our final day in Georgia. We had seen the sites of Atlanta so we headed out of town to Tallulah Gorge State Park. (Jacob and Amber stayed back at the hotel since it was a day full of hiking.) We got up early with the hopes of grabbing a coveted "gorge floor" permit to swim in the pools, but the floor was closed due to the Georgia power company releasing more water from the dam. Jonas was pretty disappointed, but we were still able to hike down to the bottom of the gorge to admire the incredible waterfalls...and see a few helicopter drills. Since the floor was closed for the day, a fire and rescue team was practicing helicopter rescue drills. It was kind of fun to witness. We spent a couple of hours exploring the gorge. The kids even found a vine that they decided to swing on. I'm so grateful that it didn't break! These vines were everywhere! Georgia's landscape is green and very lush. I'm not sure I would love to live in that amount of humidity, but I do appreciate the beauty it creates! After the gorge, we decided to take a detour on the way back to visit the cute Bavarian town of Helen. The Main Street was picturesque. We wandered through the shops and enjoyed an authentic German lunch of schnitzel, spatzle, and more. Laurin and Dallin were a little worried at first but everyone enjoyed their meal.
Our trip finally came to an end. I'm grateful that Amber invited us to tag along. It was a fun family experience! Our flight home was largely uneventful. We flew from Atlanta to Dallas. After boarding our return flight, the pilot announced that the plane we were on was carrying a WWII POW's remains. This sergeant died in a Philippine POW camp and his remains were finally being returned to Utah. Before take off, the Dallas Fort Worth Fire Department gave the plane a water cannon salute. After landing, the Color Guard was there to escort the body from the plane to a hearse. It was actually a pretty cool experience to be a part of...and a memorable way to end an already memorable family trip!
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