Atlanta — the perfect place
to turn 29 for the second time

By Stephanie Edwards

Atlanta is a place that I had envisioned as holding a never-ending amount of possibilities, especially as far as entertainment goes.

Having grown up only about three hours away from the metropolis, I am surprised that as a teen and younger adult I hadn’t visited, other than a couple of trips to see the Atlanta Hawks pro basketball team play. When time for my (ahem) second 29th birthday rolled around, I figured it was time to see what I had been missing.

I set out for a three-day trip with my family, planning for some urban exploration and summertime fun. There were some must-do activities on my list — the Georgia Aquarium, the World of Coca-Cola, the Varsity and Lenox Square Mall.

Despite getting lost after exiting the interstate a couple of times and dealing with some insane drivers, we managed to do everything we had set out to accomplish.

Day 1

After spending about half an hour driving around in circles — thanks to my GPS’ incorrect sense of direction — we finally found our hotel in Buckhead. We were absolutely exhausted due to the heat (it is called Hotlanta for a reason) and confusion, but decided that since our hotel was directly across from one of the nicest shopping malls in the Southeast, we had to see it for ourselves.

Leave it to me “The Bargain Queen” to find good deals at a supposedly ritzy mall. For just over $50, I purchased a pair of Coach sandals and two Calvin Klein tops at Macy’s, saving a total of about $100 off the original prices.

Maybe there’s something wrong with me, but I absolutely get a kick out of bargain shopping.

Then, we walked almost a block to the nearest Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority to purchase Breeze passes so we could ride the rapid rail trains and buses, which kept us from having to drive to downtown Atlanta.

Instead of going into the city, we decided to go back to the hotel, go for a swim and get ready for dinner.

For dinner, we needed to dine at a restaurant with a gluten free menu. (My sister, Jessica, has Celiac Disease, a gluten and wheat intolerance).

My mother had found several positive online reviews for Wildfire, a steakhouse near Perimeter Mall in the Dunwoody area.

Jessica was able to order a hamburger with a gluten free bun. She hasn’t been able eat a restaurant hamburger with a bun since she was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. She seemed to truly enjoy her meal, as did the rest of us.

I ordered the Mushroom Crusted Pork Chops, which were the thickest, but most tender pork chops I had ever eaten. They were topped with a delicate mushroom sauce that added an indescribable savory flavor. By the time I ate a piece of bread and the creamed spinach that accompanied my entrée, I could only eat one of my chops.

My dad and my husband were both happy to eat the leftovers, even though my dad isn’t a mushroom fan. I have to admit that I wasn’t completely honest about the fact that the chops were covered in mushrooms, when I offered him part of the remaining chop.

After our bellies were completely full of deliciousness, we drove back to our hotel and rested up for our big day in downtown Atlanta.

Day 2

We made our way to the MARTA station and caught a train to the city. The ride was uneventful, which I was thankful for because I have had some interesting experiences on New York City subway trains.

After a three-or-so block walk to Centennial Park (the location of the 1996 Olympic ceremonies), we settled on visiting the Georgia Aquarium first.

The Coldwater Quest section was by far my favorite part of the aquarium.

Beluga whales, African penguins and harbor seals are the main attraction in the exhibit. The beluga whales attempt to interact with passersby and seem to feed off positive energy. They are very friendly acting creatures. The African penguins are housed inside an environment that mimics their natural one, from rockwork to a state-of-the-art light system that replicates the light pattern of a typical day. Acrylic tunnels and pop-up windows allow guests to interact with the penguins.

Other aquarium exhibits include the RiverScout, Planet Shark, Tropical Diver and the Georgia Explorer. The aquarium also got brownie points with my sister because the café had a gluten free cookie. It is extremely rare for her to be able to purchase pre-made baked goods in a public place.

After touring the aquarium, we were all feeling pretty hungry. So we decided to go to a restaurant called Legal Seafoods, which is, ironically, across from the aquarium.

Once again, we had researched the restaurant’s menu and found out they had plenty of gluten free options. She chose breaded and fried shrimp, which is almost never an option when dining out.

To add to her positive experience, the server brought out gluten free rolls — another first since she went gluten free. The rest of us were fans of our food — a jumbo lump crab cake sandwich, a delicious burger, portabello ravioli served with scallops and salmon served Mediterranean style with hummus, cucumber yogurt sauce, orzo pasta and pita chips. Since they had to return to work the next day, my parents and my sister left downtown Atlanta and started their journey home immediately after lunch.

My husband and I decided to make the World of Coca-Cola our next stop. More than 60,000 square feet are filled with memorabilia from around the world. Exhibits demonstrate exactly why Coca-Cola is such an iconic part of the world and how each of the countries that sell and serve the beverage receive and distribute bottles and cans to consumers.

This may sound boring, but the World of Coca-Cola uses a bit of magic to make everything seem interesting. A multi-sensory film experience (complete with 3D glasses and moving seats) adds to the excitement.

The best part of the World of Coca-Cola is the tasting experience, where you can experience 60 international soft drink flavors. Imagine tasting sodas based on fruits that most Americans could not even identify by sight. It was such a unique experience; I would go so far as to say it was the best one I’ve had at a tourist attraction.

We decided to end our day by taking a train from CNN Center to North Avenue Station, just one block from the famous Atlanta landmark, The Varsity, for dinner.

Because of the large crowds the hotspot draws, customers are expected to order quickly and step out of the way. I chose a cheeseburger, an order of onion rings and the trademark Varsity Orange drink. It was easy to see why The Varsity is considered the quintessential Atlanta diner.

After taking a train to the Art Center Station and a shuttle to Atlantic Station (one of the city’s major shopping destinations), and walking around for a few minutes, we decided to call it a day and headed back to our hotel.

Day 3

Exhausted from a weekend crammed full of walking and experiencing Atlanta, we didn’t want to push ourselves too hard. We wanted to check out the ultimate upscale shopping mall, Phipps Plaza, complete with stores like Tiffany’s & Co., Saks Fifth Avenue and Gucci. While most of the items sold in these stores were out of our budget, it was interesting to see a mall with a valet stand and such high-end stores.

After a couple of hours, we decided it was time to head back to Knoxville. Sure there were other places we could have visited, and believe me, we will. This was by no means my last trip to Atlanta.

During the ride back, we talked about the places we went and how happy we were that we went on this trip. After all, you only turn 29 twice.