So long, Atlanta...

We end our wonderful journey today, at the Georgia Aquarium...

Home of the Whale Shark....

and other equally amazing fish-tivities.

Good-bye, Atlanta.....

we LOVE you!

This Land Is My Land

Such a special day.

You see, my great-great-great-great (is that too many greats?) grandfather

had a plantation in Georgia. And beings that it was just south of Atlanta, the girls and I set out to find it. Thankfully, my Uncle Bill had already done all of the work, and with his map in hand, we set out to find a piece of my heritage.

And after watching 'Gone With The Wind' with Summer and Amy, it was SO fun to drive down Tara Blvd....

until we hit Thomaston, Georgia.

We found Old Alabama Rd.

and soon found the Fellowship Baptist Cemetery.

These are my great-great-great grandparents...

and other family...

We then drove by the land that my family owned. It is mostly hunting land now, but just like at Scarlet's Tara, the earth was a scarlet red.

And although technically this land was my land...

I wanted to make it back in one piece to blog about my land!

This land was made for you and me! :)

The World According To Coca-Cola

Did you know that In May of 1886, Coca Cola was invented by Doctor John Pemberton, a pharmacist from

Atlanta, Georgia?

Me neither.

I just know that my mom wouldn't drink anything else, especially if she had a headache,

and it had to be in the glass bottle.

Period.

But NOW, I can say that I've BEEN to the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Georgia.

The girl's favorite was the taste-testing room, where participants can taste over 60 different products of Coca-Cola, from Africa, Asia, Latin America, North America, and South America.

My favorite was the Coca-Cola Pop Art section.

They didn't give taste-tests, though.

Although it was MUCH too sweet, the girls thought that this was perhaps a sign from God?

If it WAS a sign from God...it would, too, be MUCH too sweet!

An afternoon with Jimmy

President Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum and Gardens

Another day of inspiration.

A man filled with compassion, honor, and strength...

then...

and now.

I am, again, changed.

Red Eyes and a Blue Heart

At 12:50 am we boarded our plane from LAX. Yep, our first ever "red-eye"... and arriving four hours later in Atlanta, our eyes were a bit scarlet. But knowing that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. awaited us, (and the help of a yummy vanilla latte and cheese grits at the Stone Soup Cafe), we were on our way.

We saw MLK's birth home,

the church where Daddy King and MLK preached,

the burial site of MLK and Mrs. King,

and Martin Luther King Jr.

Although it was very moving and inspiring and wonderful,

I wish that it could have been bigger.

I wish that it could have been more current.

I wish that it could have showcased more heroes of the struggle.

I wish that there could have been so much more.

They deserved it.

Yet, with red eyes and a blue heart, I was there.

And I am changed.

Road Trippin'

Where life is slower-

the land is drier-

and cattle guards are still cool.

It's nice to be home.

Swell-ee-oh

Spring Break...Santa Monica Pier...Sweet Friends...Super Day!

(oh...and Ally's first Slurpee!)

Swell-ee-oh.