Turner Field (Atlanta, Georgia)

We wrapped up our stay in Atlanta with a baseball game at Turner Field, watching the Braves lose 6-5 to the Florida Marlins. Being in Atlanta, we were rooting for the Braves (since they weren't playing a California team, hehe!), so it was a little disappointing that they didn't win. 

Although all baseball parks have something in common, each one has something unique as well, making each visit something to look forward to. Traveling through this part of the country, at this time of year, we are hoping to hit at least three or four more before heading back west.

Atlanta, Georgia

There was so much to see in Atlanta, I'm sure we didn't do it justice with the few days we were there, but of course visiting the Capitol was high on our list. The day we visited was very busy. Not only is this a working capitol, with the offices of the governor, lieutenant governor, and secretary of state on the second floor, and the General Assembly meeting on the third floor, there also happened to be an expo on ecology in full swing on the first floor. The place was packed, which made getting photos without somebody in them most difficult.

Like many U.S. state capitols, the Georgia State Capitol is designed to resemble the Classical architectural style of the United States Capitol, in Washington, D.C., and has been named a National Historic Landmark. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and houses a museum, in existence since 1889, with extensive collections representing the natural and cultural history of Georgia. Native American artifacts, animals, rocks and minerals, and fossils illustrate the diversity of the collections.

The Jimmy Carter Presedential Center

If you find yourself in Atlanta, it would be worth your while to make a stop at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center, located on 37 acres of parkland two miles from downtown Atlanta. In 2002, President Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work "to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development" through The Carter Center.

I think I am not alone when I say that my appreciation for Jimmy Carter has grown, and continues to grow, since he left office. His all-around peace keeping and humanitarian efforts that continue to this day have led him to be widely renowned as one of the most successful ex-presidents in US history. Many credit Carter's efforts at Camp David, which brought peace between Israel and Egypt, with bringing the only meaningful peace to the Middle East.

A strong supporter and activist for human rights, Jimmy, along with wife Rosalyn, have devoted their lives to improving the living conditions of people around the world. The Carter Center believes all people are entitled to basic human rights. These rights include political rights, such as peace, freedom, and self-governance, as well as the social rights of health care, food, shelter, and economic opportunity. President and Mrs. Carter have intervened with heads of state on behalf of human rights defenders and victims for more than 20 years. They often take their human rights concerns to heads of state in personal meetings and through letters.

 This country was lucky to have a president who really made human rights his priority, and whose work didn't stop when he left office.

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site

While in Atlanta we took the time to visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. The momument consists of several buildings surrounding MLK Jr.'s boyhood home on Auburn Avenue, a visitor's center, and the original Ebenezer Baptist Church where King and his father, MLK, Sr. both pastored. A tour through Freedom Hall takes you through King's birth and childhood years, his call to the Civil Right's movement, his quest for non-violence, and his tragic death.

King was an activist and prominent leader in the African American civil rights movement, using nonviolent methods following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. In 1964, he became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other nonviolent means. By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and stopping the Vietnam War.

King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986. In 1977, a memorial tomb was dedicated, and the remains of Martin Luther King Jr. were moved from South View Cemetery to the plaza that is nestled between the center and the church. Mrs. King was interred with her husband on February 7, 2006.

 It was an honor and a privilege to spend the day reflecting on the meaning of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life, his words, all he stood for, and to embrace the concepts of peace, acceptance, non-violence, and equality.

Savannah, Georgia

With an eventual goal of reaching Washington D.C. by May 1st, and having about 3-4 weeks to get there, we decided to take a meandering path, making as many stops along the way as felt comfortable. After leaving Jacksonville, we drove just 170 miles northeast to Savannah, Georgia, where we spent three days taking in the sights, sounds, smells, and impressions of this very vibrant and interesting Southern city. No doubt we could have spent three months and still not seen enough, but we did what we could in our allotted time.

Savannah is lush with plant life. Everywhere you turn is a tree, a shrub, a flowering plant, with Spanish moss hanging from huge trees that look to be hundreds of years old. The architecture of the city reflects its Southern heritage with its many plantation style homes and buildings. Beautiful churches seem to loom on every corner, and history is captured in the monuments, plaques, and statues sprinkled throughout the city streets.

We were even able to capture a little taste of Southern cooking, vegan style. Dan and I ordered two sandwiches to share, one filled with Fried Green Tomatoes, and the other with a Black-eyed Pea veggie pattie. We stopped in a peanut shop along the Riverwalk and bought a can of boiled peanuts, otherwise known as Goober Peas. It really is fun exploring the traditions, cuisine, and history of our very diverse country!

Established in 1733, Savannah was the first capital of Georgia, is the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Lowe (founder of the Girl Scouts of America), and the downtown area with its 22 park-like squares is one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the United States. Horse-drawn carriages and trolleys line the streets waiting to take visitors on tours of the city. Bonaventure Cemetery, featured in the book and movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil", is a landmark not to be missed, a former plantation and the final resting place for some illustrious Savannahians.

Jacksonville, Florida

We wrapped up our visit to Florida with a three day stay in Jacksonville, the largest city in the state both in population and area, as well as the largest city by area in the continental United States.  With everything else we were doing in Florida, we didn't get a chance to spend any time along the coast before now, so we made a point of walking the shoreline of Atlantic Beach on one of the days we were there.  We also toured the Budweiser Brewery and tasted free beer samples, and strolled along the boardwalk next to the St. John's River.  It was a great place to end up our time in Florida.

Tropicana Field (St. Petersburg, Florida)

It's been a long time between visits to a baseball park, and as luck would have it, baseball season opened earlier than usual this year, giving us the opportunity to catch a game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg before leaving the Central Florida area. The game we watched was between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Baltimore Orioles, and sadly (since we were adopted Florida fans for the day), the Orioles won this one with a final score of Orioles 5, Rays 1. Nevertheless, it was a fun day. Anytime I can sit in a stadium, eat peanuts, and drink beer, I'm having a good time!

Tropicana Field has a fixed permanent dome, necessary due to the area's hot, humid summers and frequent thunderstorms. The day we were there would have been perfect weather for sitting outside, but as it turned out the climate controlled setting was also quite comfortable, if somewhat artificial. Just over the right-center field fence is the Rays Touch Tank. This 35-foot, 10,000 gallon tank is filled with cow nose rays that were taken from Tampa Bay waters. Admission to the tank area is free for all fans attending home games, limited to 50 people in the area at any given time.

Hopefully we'll catch a few more games on the East Coast before this season is over.

Florida Theme Park Extravaganza

Florida, especially the Orlando area, is known for it's Theme Parks. And while neither one of us are theme park fanatics, we both appreciate the Disney parks, and with so many additional theme parks all in one area, we decided we would go full bore and squeeze as much as we could into a two week package of discount tickets.

We ended up with tickets to Busch Gardens, Sea World, both sides of Universal Studios (Universal, and Islands of Adventure), the four main portions of the Disney World parks (Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT), and Kennedy Space Center.

It just so happened that one of the days we were at Universal Studios, it was Dan's birthday, and right next door was a Blue Man Group concert being held. On the spur of the moment we bought tickets for that as well to top off Dan's birthday celebration. If you haven't been to a Blue Man Group concert, there is no way to explain it. If you've never heard of the Blue Man Group, here is a link to their website: http://www.blueman.com/app/webroot/orlandosearch/?x=0&gclid=CMKMxY-RhqgCFYRl7AodY1CNGw

A friend from Sacramento was visiting at the time, so the three of us managed to make nine visits to the various attractions in 11 days. Our schedule was 3 days of theme parks, one day off; 3 days of theme parks, one day off; 3 days of theme parks, one day off.

 
Even though at times it seemed we were really pushing it, we all really enjoyed ourselves and we all agreed, we have had our fill of theme parks for now, or maybe even forever.


We were lucky with the weather, having two weeks in a row of sunny days, highs in the 80's, and only occasional clouds, but no rain. This allowed us to keep up our crazy frantic pace without any forced days off. This was truly a case of needing a vacation from the vacation to recuperate, but I'm glad to say, we saw it all!