I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing

Thursday in Atlanta was a gorgeous, sunny day. We slept late and drove about an hour to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. Jeff and I have been visiting these museums for years and I now have only two more to see, the two Bush's. The Carter site is very pretty and is adjacent to the Carter Center which promotes world peace and healthy environments among other important issues. The entrance has pretty flower beds and a water features.

Inside we watched a short movie and spent about two hours exploring the exhibits. You travel along a long path that takes you from the early years in Plains, GA, to the Naval Academy to political offices and finally the White House. At the end was Carter's Nobel Peace Prize, Grammy, and Bill and Melinda Gates Award. You learn lots about Carter's family and values. I really enjoyed a video exhibit that showed a sample day in the presidency. Also liked the peach decor in the Oval Office replica. All in all it was well done. Educational, interesting and fun.

Out back was a lovely walk along a lake with a statue about the river blindness in Africa. This was a major area that the Carter's attacked and have almost cured. There was a stunning Japanese Garden with a small waterfall. I was happy to see tulips and a forsythia bush.

By now we were hungry and Jeff found a place with four and a half stars on Yelp. We arrived at Hattie B's Hot Chicken and our tummies were so happy. They serve fried chicken in six degrees of hotness. Jeff went Southern which has no hotness. I tried mild which had a little bite and was delicious. I had pimento Mac and cheese and cole slaw while Jeff had fries. The food was really good and large portions. The place was packed and I encouraged the manager to open up somewhere near our hometown. Turns out they have locations in Nashville, Memphis and Las Vegas.

Now we were fed and happy to fight the terrible traffic and go into downtown Atlanta. Our destination was the Coca Cola Museum and it is now in a plaza with the Aquarium and Civil Rights Museum. They share a convenient parking lot which made things simple. This place is a huge ad for Coke, but still fun.

They give you a small can of soda when you enter. I tried the new Coke made with Cane Sugar and Stevia. It has 60 calories, tastes great and is now available in test markets. We wandered through the exhibits and saw a 4-D movie that was just okay. I had fun taking my picture with the Coke polar bear mascot.

At the end and before the gift shop is a large space with soda fountains. There are different Coke 

products from around the world. I loved one from Malaysia called Confetti Bon Bon. Most were awful.

 

We walked across the street and through the Centennial Olympic Park.

I had spotted a tall Ferris wheel on the other side and we decided to take a ride. We love Ferris wheels and this was fun seeing the skyline and things below. One cool thing was a covered parking area with solar panels atop the roofs.

Some of the cars were painted up for the Atlanta Braves.

 As we walked back we passed an area that is the five Olympic Rings that is a fountain. Some kids were dashing through and getting wet. I found an area where you could stand without a splash and Jeff took some pictures. Of course I had to be careful running out while the fountain was not spurting.

We drove home without too much traffic and shared some salad and pizza for dinner at Mellow Mushroom near the hotel. A little TV and some reading completed the night.