Scribble World Travel Blog

Atlanta Zoo And The Big Bad Hail Storm

Despite the tornado and severe weather warnings for Atlanta, we decided to stick it out one more day to take in the Atlanta Zoo. The gloomy day paid off in that we were able to get up close to the animals without the crowds. We took our time watching the munching panda bears. We watched as one massive gorilla posed for photos, dreaming of stardom…and as the otters charged into the water racing each other in pursuit of tasty fish dinners. Suddenly, it began to sprinkle and it was announced that the zoo needed to close now, an hour and a half early, as severe weather was approaching. I ran to use the bathroom and Chris ran to get the van. By the time I got out it was raining and the wind was picking up. It soon began to pour and then bullet sized hail balls came shooting down, stinging my legs, as I ran for the van.. (Thank goodness for the umbrella!) I thought for sure a tornado was going to swoop down at any moment, we could hardly see two feet in front of us, I fear we narrowly escaped with our lives!

CNN Tour and Historic Atlanta Underground Mall

We toured CNN today, just hours before the tornado swept across downtown Atlanta, right where we had been.

We left our car parked across from the CNN building and walked around the downtown area taking pictures, pausing to read the historical markers and learn about the many monuments.  We found the Underground, where I bought a delicous praline at one of the shops.  There were old cars on display, old painted walls, and the fact that it was underground made it pretty neat, but mostly, it seems this historic place is mainly a place to go to shop and eat-similar to other malls except in architecture.  Chris was disappointed.  The yumminess of the praline had made the trip a treat for me though.

Frogs at Botanical Garden and Fun at High Art Museum

The Botanical Garden made for a nice getaway-it was tranquil and relaxing.  I enjoyed seeing the frogs-the live ones and the statues as well as the many plant and tree species.  Walking along the perimeter of the Garden, I was captivated by something a delightfully floral and sweet.  A whole group of bushes seemed to be radiating this delicate aroma, but as I got closer I noticed all the bees and was content to enjoy it from a distance.  I wish I knew what it was called though, it’d make a wonderful air freshener.

Next we went to the High Museum of Art and spent many hours bumbling around the many exhibits.  There was something that at first glance looked like an unimpressive stiff old blanket.  Figuring there had to be more to such a strange object, I went closer to read about it-turns out the entire thing was made out of tinfoil labels off the top of beer bottles.  That was impressive.  I enjoyed reading the stories and thought provoking tidbits, and also getting a fuller sense of the history behind these objects.

Chris got a real kick out of seeing the old Egyptian stuff, but we could only look with our eyes-cameras were not allowed in a couple rooms.  We were the only two people in one room and a security guard followed us around silently keeping an eye on us.  They really take their jobs seriously, which is probably a good thing, but also rather amusing!  Sometimes we would split up and then the guard would go back and forth trying to keep an eye on both of us

Georgia Aquarium And The New World of Coca Cola

After purchasing City Passes, our first stop of the day was the Georgia Aquarium. We got a couple good pictures, but it was an overly crowded and hectic experience with pushy children everywhere-frantically shoving one another to get to the front to take pictures with their cell phones… It’s strange to see knee high kids carrying cell phones, what’s this world coming to?

Deepo’s Undersea 3D Wonder Show was great! I just loved that singing shark-”no one wants to be a shark’s friend.”

We took a short walk over to The New World of Coca-Cola which was right next door. I convinced Chris to go up to the 2nd floor first rather than go in order. That way we could start by sampling a handful of drinks now, give our taste buds a chance to re-orient themselves, and then go back and forth every so often between that and the other attractions…..versus what most people did-waiting until the end to start sampling more than 60 coke products from around the world-after a while your taste buds get overloaded and they all start tasting the same.

It was a very high fructose corn syrupy day, but honestly it was fun. I liked a minty tasting one from Djibouti called SunFill Menthe the best. Chris remains loyal to his favorite-Vanilla Coke.

Georgia SNOW?!? First Snow Since Minnesota!

We awoke on Saturday, March 8th to find it snowing! It went from being in the 70’s yesterday to cold enough to snow.  Bah-humbug, but at least we didn’t have to shovel. We extended our stay at the Western Inn another night rather than drive in this weather.  I shivered my way over to the grocery store across the street which was an unusual experience because everything was at cost, plus 10% So my groceries added up to $20 and then they added $2 to that-it was a lot less expensive than a regular grocery store, I like that method.

Warm Springs Hunt and FDR

We followed the GPS coordinants for 2 warm springs in the area, the most notable of which was at a BoyScout camp out in the middle of nowhere. We walked down the hill to a swamp carrying the laptop which said it was right under our noses…the swamp?  The water felt the cold temperature one would of expect of a swamp.  We headed back to the van and continued driving.

Today we explored the Little White House formerly occupied by FDR-admission was $7/person.  It was informative and brought this former president to life in, showing off his many accomplishments such as stabilizing the banks during the depression, introducing a rural electric initiative to encourage people to stay in the country (he was convinced country life was a better way of life than living in the city, but it was quite a bit harder without affordable electricity and other modern amenities), aiding the peacetalks, helping people with polio seek relief from their discomfort in the warm springs.

Then we went to the historic pools museum, once again hoping to find a functional warm spring to use, but all you can do nowadays is stick your hand in to feel the temperature as it bubbles up into a trough.  The guy who worked there said there had been a warm spring at the boyscount camp, but you have to swim out to the middle of the swamp to feel it.  I’m not quite that adventurous.

We’re spending the night at the Western Inn in Manchester, GA. It’s pretty nice-king size bed, microwave/mini fridge, cable, bathtub/shower with great water pressure and plenty of hot water, plus high speed inet access- $39.99 plus tax.

p.s. It’s raining again

Georgia Music Hall of Fame, Bridge Built By Former Slave

We checked out the Georgia Music Hall of Fame today.  It was quite a collection and one could easily have spent the better part of a day there.  We read about and listened to all kinds of music, watched a film about Georgia artists, and there was a Otis Redding Exhibit as well as other theme-style rooms.

Heading toward Warm Springs, GA We pulled off the highway to see a historical wooden bridge on the side of the road that was built by a former slave. It was in a pretty area and so peaceful, I could have spent the whole day there too… A gentle stream, a park like setting surrounded by trees, a cement picnic table.  Lush and serene.

Cheap Entertainment at a Walmart Parking Lot

We spent the night in a Walmart parking lot in Dublin, GA.  They had nicer than average bathrooms and it was a clean store, which closed at midnight.  We bought some Oreo cookies and rented American Gangster from the Red Box machine, for just a buck, and watched it on the laptop in the van, as it rained steadily outside.

Savannah Georgia-A Good Walking Town

Driving around the cute town of Savannah was not fun-traffic and too few parking spaces led us into the visitor center’s over-crowded parking lot where we drove around for 20 minutes waiting for someone to leave.  Walking is the way to do it, although a horse-drawn carriage ride would have been lovely. We stopped to watch as a magnificent workhorse drank from a trough in the middle of a square and a mother took her child to pet him.

We walked along the riverfront and watched the big boats and noticed the cobblestone road, and a struggling lady in high heels who was being encouraged, by her friend, to take her time.