I visited friends in Georgia this past week and was blown away by how beautiful the Atlanta area is. Elaine and her husband live in an absolutely gorgeous Sun City active-adult community near Peachtree City (approximately 40 miles south of Atlanta). When I think of the South, I see images of flat terrain, Spanish Moss in the trees and Palmettos -- not rolling hills with beautiful tall pines, oaks, maples, and mimosas. What a treat!
After arriving, my friend Elaine and I rode over to her amenity center in "Junior", her cute little blue golf cart for a much-needed post-flight swim.
Sun City Peachtree has a wonderful community center (or "amenity" center as they call it) where residents can play Pickleball, Tennis, Billiards, swim in one of the two pools (one indoor, one outdoor) or workout in the full gym. They even have an upstairs indoor track -- nice for those days when it's a bit too hot and humid to run outside.
World of Coca-Cola, Centennial Park, and CNN
The following day, we all took a trip to the
World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta. I have to say it was really just a monstrous advertisement for something that isn't all that good for you, but having grown up with "Coke", it was really fun learning about the company's history and sampling 64 different varieties of soda. :)
My fabulous hosts, Bruce and Elaine.
Looking down from the second floor.
Looking across to the top of the stairs leading to the second floor.
Some of the many beautiful decorated bottles, each of which is about six feet tall.
The soda selections from Asia.
My two personal favorites: Fanta Magic (Blackberry soda) from Estonia, and Inca Kola from Peru, which tasted like a delicate creme soda. Yummmmm!
The star of the "Happyfication" movie. Just behind her is the entrance to the vault where the original Coca-Cola formula is stored.
The controls to the vault.
Another vintage Coke delivery vehicle in one of the exhibits.
This is the machine I remember most from my childhood. :)
A collection of vintage Coca-Cola vending machines.
Recycling was heavily promoted throughout the World of Coca-Cola. Nice! At the end of our visit, I purchased a really nice ladies t-shirt of which 40% was made from recycled plastic bottles.
The exhibit included lots of wonderful Coke-related artwork.
This particular piece was about 5 feet by 8 feet in size and was absolutely mesmerizing.
A view of the Coca-Cola headquarters building from inside the World of Coca-Cola.
Elaine (at center of photo), sampling a soda from one of Coke's newest "
Freestyle" vending machines.
After touring the World of Coca-Cola, we headed to Centennial Park, on our way to the CNN headquarters, both of which are located just outside the WCC.
Elaine and Bruce at the entrance to the Centennial Olympic Park.
Looking up from inside the CNN headquarters.
That evening, we had a great dinner at the
Eagle & Lion Brew Pub in Griffin.
Heading to Athens
On Friday, Elaine and I drove to Athens to participate in the Classic City Georgia Masters LCM swim meet. We decided to arrive the evening before the meet so we would be able to be fully rested. While in Athens, we had a nice lunch at The Grill, which is a nostalgic 50's era diner, took a walking tour of the Memorial Garden at the University of Georgia, and a driving tour of the city. For dinner, we walked across the street to the Sweet Peppers Deli.
A historic marker on the fence of our hotel in Athens.
Tranquil fountain within the memorial garden at the University of Georgia.
Elaine in front of the first home of the Garden Club of Georgia.
Plaque on next to the front door of the building.
The garden located behind the Garden Club building.
Close-up of Foxglove blooms in the garden.
Flowering Dogwood trees.
Another beautiful part of the garden.
Another fountain in the garden. |
Day Three (Swimmers Up)
After a nice breakfast at the hotel, Elaine and I headed over to the Ramsey Student Center for the swim meet. Elaine and I had a great time and came back with several ribbons.
Me, showing off my Arizona Masters cap.
I got to meet and chat with lots of nice folks who approached me due to the cap.
USMS rules!! Woot!!
Happy to have another meet under our belts.
The University of Georgia pool, our venue for the meet.
Hands-down the best facility I have swum in to date.
"Queen" Anne Dunavin, a legendary Masters swimmer, who at the tender age of 96 swam in the meet, with Elaine just after arriving.
Elaine, waiting for her next event.
Day Four
Sunday was a bit more low-key. After breakfast, we headed over to Dundee Lake for a little kayaking.
Perfect conditions for kayaking. :)
Bruce, preparing the "yaks".
A group of Canada Geese allowed me to get close for a picture.
Elaine and Bruce after their paddle around the lake.
For dinner that evening, we headed to the
Southern Pit Barbeque for some authentic southern BBQ -- MMMM-MMMM, good!
Heading Home
On Monday, Elaine and Bruce dropped me off at the Atlanta airport for my trip back to Arizona. It had started raining just before we left and we saw a huge bolt of lightning just as we approached the turn-off to the airport. During the drive, we were talking about different airlines and how so many of them had disappeared over the years. I mentioned that some airlines kept the original paint jobs from some of the airlines they had acquired and Elaine asked me if I remembered the PSA planes from back in the day. A few of the PSA "Grinning Birds" as they were known are still around under the ownership of US Airways. To my delight, one such plane was at the gate next to mine in Atlanta. A fitting end to a wonderful trip.
If you look closely, you can see the "grin" on the bottom of the plane under the windows of the cockpit. You can click the picture to see it larger.
We flew through lots of white puffy clouds during most of the flight.
Almost home!! Looking down on the Royal Palms Golf Course in Mesa, AZ.
