Thanksgiving in the Peach State

For the first time in I don't know how many years, I did not spend Thanksgiving in New York City.  And for the first time, I went down to Atlanta.  My sister's in-laws are down there and she spends every Thanksgiving in Hotlanta, so my friend Melanie and I joined them.

We saw all of the major sights that were on our list:  Georgia Aquarium (whale sharks!), Zoo Atlanta (pandas!), and the World of Coca-Cola (soda galore!).  There were a few things we didn't have time for, many of them Civil War related (ahem, the Union won) but I am satisfied with what we did see.

Whale shark on top--world's largest fish species in the world.

Behind the scenes view of the gianormous tank
--it is about the size of a football field!  This tank is the world's
largest, holding 6.3 million gallons of water.

Melanie diving with the giant manta

While Melanie was getting ready for her big dive, I went to check out CNN.  Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time for the guided studio tour.  And there were too many families in the lobby taking pictures with the big CNN logo so I didn't get a chance.

I also walked through Centennial Olympic Park, which serves to commemorate the Centennial Olympic Games (held in ATL back in 1996) as well as part of the revitalization of downtown Atlanta. There wasn't much except the Olympic ring fountain.

After the aquarium we headed across the plaza to World of Coca-Cola.  Atlanta (and perhaps Georgia itself) is Coke-Land.  I was actually shocked to see Pepsi sold in stores.  Highlights of the tour were photo ops with the Coke polar bear and Coke Mecca--getting to taste a ridiculous number of Coke products from around the world.  My faves were the bitter lemon from the UK (a zippier tasting Sprite) and gingerale from Africa--very gingery and zingy.  The biggest lesson learned?  Stay away from the fruity sodas.  Except for orange Fanta.

mmmmmm...Coca-Cola products from around the world...

Last but not least, we hit up Zoo Atlanta. 

Sleeping panda.  Actually, the other pandas
were very active, wandering around. 




 

 



Gorilla soap opera!  There was a lot of drama amongst the gorillas.  The big silverback alpha male was pounding his chest, two smaller males were trying to get to one of the females with a baby.  Then one took the baby and seemed to be using him as a shield from the silverback.  Craziness! 

Meerkats!