Trip to Atlanta

On June 1, Colin and I went on a quick weekend trip to Atlanta.  We got started early - with a 7:00am flight!   

Once we arrived, we drove around the Piedmont Park area, and stopped at a cute little café type restaurant that specialized in locally grown food.  I had some delicious chicken strips with cheese grits (a first for me), and Colin had a roast beef sandwich and coleslaw.  I loved all of the cute houses in the area.

{House in Buckhead; Home Grown restaurant; Martin Luther King National Historic site}

We headed towards our hotel, checked in, and then walked a couple of blocks to the Coca Cola factory for our tour.  There were a TON of Coca-Cola keepsakes and decorated bottles from all over the world.  We saw commercials that are played in various countries, and went through a bottling tour to see how the process works.  At the end of the tour, we got our sugar high as we tried all different kinds of Coca Cola products that are showcased all over the world.  I must admit, they had some delicious flavors!

{Coca Cola paraphernalia; the "secret" ingredients; the vault; the tasting room with flavors from various continents; the polar bear} 

To wear off the sugar rush, we walked to Olympic Park across the street and checked out the cool monuments, fountains, etc.

Once we got back to our hotel, we enjoyed our welcome gift – wine and cheese!   We had a great view of downtown.

For dinner, we went to Fat Matt’s – known as the best BBQ in town.  They gave Texas BBQ a run for its money!  We shared some ribs, chicken, baked beans and macaroni and cheese.  DELISH!  Top it off with a live band, and you have got yourself a great night.

Sunday morning, we headed to Stone Mountain Park.  Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome with a carving of three of the figures in the Confederate States of America - Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis .  We got there early, so we did not have to fight the crowds.  We drove around the park and explored, and then headed out to the game.

We got caught in Atlanta traffic heading to the game, so we were a few minutes late.  Luckily, we had our parking permit, so we walked right up.  Turner Field is very nice – lots of concourse room to walk around and get food, etc., their team shop right up front, and Chick-Fil-A at the game!   (Atlanta is where Chick-Fil-A is headquartered.)  Since it was Sunday, Chick-Fil-A was a no-go, even at the game.  A friend of Colin's had recommended that we try H&F Burger at the game.  They specialize in the double meat, double cheese.  It was pretty darn good, and filling! 

The sky was getting pretty cloudy throughout the game, and in the bottom of the fifth inning, it started raining.  (For those that do not know, you have to play a full 5 innings for it to be a full game.)  The Braves were winning, so they were not about to let a little rain stop them.  We moved from our seats on the upper deck to the lower deck behind the 1^st base foul line since a lot of people left when it started raining.  Not much later, it had stopped completely and the sun was back out.  We enjoyed a Braves Victory against the Nationals (6-3), and headed to the airport.

Apparently the weather had things backed up at the airport, and we faced a two-hour delay that would have caused us to miss our connecting flight.  Gotta love Southwest though – they held the plane for us in Houston, and we made it home that night.

{Souvenir Coca Cola Cheers}

It was a busy, quick weekend, but I am glad we got to see another city and cross off another stadium from our list!