We planned to leave for Atlanta about 8:30 am so we would miss the rush hour traffic. Our plan worked really well – there wasn’t too much traffic and we could use the HOV lanes. (In Georgia HOV are 2 people in the vehicle!) We followed the signs to the Aquarium without any problems. We had read on line that parking was $10. So when we saw the parking garage at he hotel across the street from the Aquarium for All Day parking for $5. we took it. The walk to the Aquarium was a block but we got a parking spot right next to the elevator.
 |
| Lion Fish |
We rode the elevator with a young couple and their 2 year old son. It ended up that they were from Towson. She attended Towson University and had been VP of NASA. She knew Scott Zoltak’s name but she was there right after he left. Small World!
We got our tickets at a kiosk and went straight into the Aquarium – didn’t have to wait in line! The Aquarium is set up really interestingly. There is a section of Georgia Waterways and fish native to here. (Also some that have become invasive and are destroying some of the habitats. Mostly ones that were brought for home aquariums and then when the fish got too big are dumped into the lakes and streams.
 |
| Beluga Whales |
Then there are other places where fish live – there is a river area that you walk thru. There are exhibits on each side of you and even some right over your head so you can see what the life that lives on the bottom of rivers.
One of my favorites was the area with 2 Beluga Whales. The area we were in was dark and had classical music playing. It was as if the whales were performing and underwater waltz. So peaceful and calming. They should record it so people could play it and watch just to lower their blood pressure.
There was this funny place with penguins. Not only were they funny but there were tubes that kids and people with better knees than mine could crawl thru. Then along the tunnel were places with clear plastic bubbles you could stick your head up and be in the middle of the penguins. I don’t know which was funnier the look on the penguins or the look on the human “floating” heads!
 |
| The Tunnel! |
We then ate a quick snack – I had a hamburger and Sam ate a hot dog – no fish meals here!
 |
| Sam and "Friends" |
 |
| Just for FUN! |
Then it was time to go to the exhibit that was one of the main reasons we were here – the walk thru aquarium tank. There are more than 8 million gallons of water in the entire Atlantic Aquarium. AND more than 6 million gallons are in this one exhibit! Amazing doesn’t even begin to cover the feelings. It is even bigger than I thought! You stand there and hundreds, maybe 1000’s, of fish are swimming on each side of you and over your head. Whales Sharks – 4 huge ones, Black Tip Sharks, Manta Rays, Grouper – just to name a few. You keep going around and different views and angles, caves, ceiling circles – all kinds of effects.
Then you walk into a huge darkened room where there are benches – like stadium seating. One wall – maybe 40 feet high and 150 feet long – floor to ceiling was the tank wall. Made from Plexiglas 2 feet thick! You could sit and become mesmerized by the beauty, size and grace of the fish. There were 2 divers in the tank and a Manta Ray was playing in the bubbles – curving, flipping, and sailing thru the bubbles. It was easy to tell it was doing it just for the fun. We were told that all these fish could live together without eating each other is because they are all fed.
After we left that area we still had smaller exhibits to see. The Asian Seas had so many small fish but there were fish of every color of the rainbow – so pretty! Even the kind of angel fish that Monique had to make a report on when she was in the 5th grade!
 |
| Cool Jellyfish |
There was a whole section on different jellyfish! What a great trip – I even touched a ray and a shark!
 |
| Pemerton Park |
 |
| World of Coke |
After leaving the Aquarium we headed across the park called Pemerton Park.
 |
| Beaded Huge Coke Bottle |
We were headed to the World of Coke. After taking our tickets we had to go through the metal detectors. They wouldn’t let Sam in because he has the knife as a necklace. Well I guess he could have given them the knife – but he chose not to.
I went ahead and took the tour. Kind of cool – kind of hokey. When you walked in in you had to stand and wait for the next tour to begin. The area was full of huge decorated Coke bottle – my favorite was a beaded one! The first room was full of memorabilia from all over the world. Then the next room was a theater where a commercial was shown. Then you could go to a small bottling line – it is the smallest and slowest in the world! No really it is!
 |
| Coke used to be bottled by States |
Then onto another room of memorabilia. Then into a 3-D theater. We were shown a film about people trying to figure out the recipe for Coke. The seats were rigged so they shook – wind blew in your face – you were sprinkled with water and the seat punched you in the back. Very weird – but interesting. They did have seats in the back that didn’t move. But my favorite part? The tasting room! 60 flavors of soda from all over the world! It was all self serve – you could taste any and as many as you wanted. I really liked Bitter Lemon from England. It was also great to taste coke, diet coke and coke zero! As I left Coke World I was give a 7 oz. souvenir bottle of Coke. The kind that was made in the tiny bottling room!
When I exited the building into Pemerton Park, named, by the way, after the man that invented Coke a Cola, I was in a totally different area than were I entered the building. After finding my way back I had to find Sam. He was on the other side of the park where he had found some shade. All day long we kept commenting on how many Ravens fans we saw – lots & lots of dressed in purple.
When we were walking to the Aquarium we walked by the lounge –restaurant, Legal Seafood, in the hotel and decided when we were done we would each there. We ordered our meals. Sam had blackened Trout and I ordered a crab cake with orzo. While we were waiting we found out there was going to be a football game at the stadium and the Ravens were playing. Oh, now I get it!
Sam’s food came and he was almost done and I still hadn’t received mine. – the waitress came over and realized I hadn’t gotten my food. After checking she found out they had run out of crab cakes and were making more. Finally after another 15 minutes my food came – it was really good and made better because I had to wait we weren’t charged for my meal.
We pulled out of the parking garage and followed the signs back to 85N and 985N. We must have missed a sign and we ended up in a residential area – and not a very nice one! We just kept heading in the direction we felt would take us where we needed to be – it didn’t help that it was rush hour traffic. But Sam made it back to the interstate and home to the RV.
No comments:
Post a Comment