Ohhhhh, Atlanta-The BIG Peach
- Dec 16, 2022
- 5 min read
From Tennessee to Alabama to Georgia in one weeks time sounds like a lot. But, it was only 450 miles of travel between those three States. A couple hours each drive and three to Atlanta. Three diverse and definitive styled states in their own right. While in Atlanta, we stayed in Stone Mountain State Park, which was about twenty minutes outside of Atlanta. It was huge! Over 500 campsites (a lot of empty spots this time of year) spread out over a sprawling lake and of course Stone Mountain itself. It had a ski lift up the mountain, which we didn't take but checked out. Supposedly, It gave you a better view of the Mount Rushmore of the South. Yes, The Mount Rushmore of the South is a Confederate Memorial carved into the mountain of General Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis. We're surprised it has not been sand blasted off the mountain yet. Not that we minded it by any means, but in this day and age you never know what part of history people try to vanquish into oblivion.
Our first stop in The Big Peach, was to visit the stomping grounds of arguably the most famous guy to ever come out of Georgia. We went to The Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum and Library. It was a historic but subdued Presidential Library filled with his accomplishments before, during, and after his presidency. Remember, he won a Nobel Peace Prize after his one-term presidential obligations were complete. We enjoyed the visit on this damp and rainy morning.
After, we went to the Capitol building. Finding our way into the place was the hardest thing we did all day. Conveniently, they give you complete access to the entire building which is always cooler than the ones that are restricted in one way or another. It was all self-guided. The entire third floor was designated for Georgia history and artifacts from the state. Below is a picture of a young Jimmy Carter when he was Governor along with pics of the outdoor park across from the building that commemorated historic battles in the state. And yes, that's a Liberty Bell replica. Every state has one!
We drove around the city a bit. Going through Olympic Park and winding up at Ted's Montana Grill for dinner. This is a chain of restaurants owned by Billionaire media mogul Ted Turner. Paramore was playing at the Tabernacle Theater across the street from Ted's and there was a line spanning three blocks to get in.
The next day we went to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park. For those of you who may not know, Atlanta was a centerpiece of the Civil Rights movement in the Sixties. Martin Luther King was born and raised there. When you first enter the Historical Park, there is a small but powerful museum. Below is the actual donkey drawn wagon that carried MLK to his funeral and the flowered cross that adorned his casket. They had an awesome and spiritual movie that included the "I had a dream" speech there along with much more insight to the man and the movement. It was compelling.
Next was a walking tour of MLK's birth house. The tour was narrated by an energetic, blind, Park Ranger. Who by the way, got along great. Keeping in mind this is managed by the National Park Service. It was cool to hear from him, the inside of the family King dynamics as MLK, his brother, and sister were raised.
We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the house so sorry about that! The Ranger was an awesome, engaging, and entertaining story teller which made the tour that much better. The house was fully furnished including some original pieces including their piano. The living room, kitchen, bathrooms, and bedrooms were all available for our viewing along with insightful stories in each.
Next stop was the Freedom Walkway and Hall, The Reflecting Pool, the King Memorial Burial sites and eternal flame. Kathy was done with the museum part of the tour so Brad went upstairs into Freedom Hall by himself. It was a quick visit. The Reflection Pool leading up to the Memorial Site where MLK and his wife Corretta were buried was another compelling part of our visit.
From there we went to the Ebenezer Baptist Church where Reverend King Sr. proceeded MLK as the head pastor here.
The last picture above was at the exit to the church where we were greeted by a Park Ranger. She pointed out some of the nuances to the picture/photo. From the horse drawn carriage we saw earlier in the museum to where Robert F Kennedy, Jesse Jackson, Thurgood Marshall and more dignitaries were standing in the processional photo.
The temperature was only in the upper fifties for our five day stay. As you probably could tell from our attire. It was a bit rainy and cloudy everyday too. At night, temperatures were below freezing so we made the appropriate changes to our utilities in the RV. To us, that means: turn the fireplace to 68-70 degrees all night and we turn the space heater on in the kitchen area. We set the thermostat for the electric heater in the cabin to 70 degrees. Disconnect the water intake, or, sometimes turn the incoming water off. Then, the space heater is put on in the utility basement. We do this for two reasons. The first is to keep the temperature comfortable in the cabin and two is that we don't get any frozen water throughout the systems. All part of the adventure.
From there we went to the Ponce City Market. We arrived a bit before sunset and left just after. After casing the joint, we settled on a snack and a refreshing beverage at the Biltong Bar for some beef jerky and booze. We had a Biltong sampler board that featured four or five different jerkies along with Chile bites. The well-trained staff made it fun and informative as well as a tasty visit. Plus, it was different!
The next day we went back to downtown Atlanta, this time to The World of Coca Cola. Brad had to be coaxed into this visit and was happy that he went. Before arriving in the city it was unbeknownst to us that Coca-Cola even started in Atlanta. It was interesting, enlightening, and fun. It not only featured history of the brand, the vault where the Coke recipe is kept, but also a tasting room featuring two hundred Coca-Cola products to not just wet your palate but to soak it. Fun fact #1: Coca Cola was started with a $2300 dollar investment and later sold for $25 million.
This place was true marketing genius. They showed films, made Disney type presentations and even had a make-shift Coke factory on property. Here's a self-made narrated video of that process. Hopefully you'll dig!
Fun Fact #2: Coca-Cola now features over 300 different beverage brands Fun Fact #3: Coke Brands are sold in over two-hundred countries around the world. Fun fact #4: No more stupid coke fun facts. 😂
From there we went for a very unexciting stop at the Krog District. We were hoping for an equally exciting visit like we had at the Ponce City Market. Not the case.
Over the course of the week, while heading back to Stone Mountain, we passed the El Ponce restaurant four times after visiting downtown Atlanta Everytime we passed it we couldn't tell if it was a hair salon sign or a restaurant. On our last day, we stopped there for dinner. It was a tacky Mexican restaurant but with excellent food. Brad loved his Elote so much he took a picture of this awesome Mexican street corn. Yum-Yum!
We left Stone Mountain the next day which was one day earlier than we had originally planned. We wanted to avoid holiday traffic on our ride back home. Our next stop will be dropping off our RV in St. Petersburg, Florida and then driving home to Connecticut. Home for the holidays!
Thanks for following our journey. We hope to catch up with friends and family while North. Wishing you and your families a safe and happy holiday season! Kathy and Brad
I never knew there was a Mount Rushmore of the South. Now I have to go online and check it out because I'm curious about it. As always great photos. The coke museum sounds like a fun visit.