Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Whirlwind Weekend—Part II

Ok, when I last left you we all were sleeping in the hotel room and I forgot to make mention of this little jewel on our wall:

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Hello Mr. CEO of Hampton Inn, you will be getting a memo about this soon. Thank you.

Praise the Lord the time on the clock when we all began stirring was somewhere around 8:00am. I actually heard Lego-Man up at his usual time (6am) but he went back to sleep.

After enjoying our “On the House Hot Breakfast” we were off, headed to the World of Coca-Cola. Since we are a Coca-Cola family and all about heritage here, we thought it would be good for the kids to know where their favorite beverage came from. You know, history.

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We enjoyed looking at all kinds of Coke memorabilia:

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We also enjoyed a 4-D movie. They called it 4-D because the chairs we sat in actually moved.

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One of my favorite displays was this one:

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It is dedicated to the disastrous decision by some idiot who thought it would be a great idea back in 1985 to change the formula of Coca-Cola. Anyone else remember life before Coke was labeled Coca-Cola Classic? Or anyone remember the terrible taste of New Coke? I most certainly do.

Next stop….the tasting room! 64 Coca-Cola products from all over the world for us to sample. The GRITS family was up for the challenge, but I think the only one who tried them all was the hubby. Some of them, the name didn’t even sound enticing…. “Lemon Bitters”. Another interesting find, a drink from Israel was in the Africa station. *shrug*

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Before leaving we all got a souvenir bottle of Coke. Because we all know there is nothing better than cold Coca-cola from a bottle!

We ended our trip with the traditional stop by the world’s longest drive-in, The Varsity. Nothing better for the ride home than a Frosted Orange drink….. similar to an Orange Julius for those of you who remember those.

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In Birmingham, we had to pick up the hubby’s car at his part-time job. So the kids got to take a closer look at Dad’s work ride:

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We certainly couldn’t exclude “Anna Grace” from the fun. After all she was the reason we took this whirlwind trip!

Sure we could have ordered her from a catalog, but what fun would that have been. Then I wouldn’t have had anything to blog about.

9 comments:

Cindy-Still His Girl said...

Did you try the one from Germany? NAS-TAY.

Joanna said...

Oh I love the Coca Cola place! It's right beside the aquarium. The last time we went to Atl we didn't make it back to the Coke place. : (

Ok, Where Was I? said...

I love it--history. I do remember new coke, but as I was in 5th grade and loved all things pop and sugar, I didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Except for the helicopter part (yikes), looks like a fun trip.

TJ said...

Sounds like an intersting trip! Funny how certain toys (although my daughter insists they aren't just toys) always have to come along.

I hope you get a free room or something for that nastiness on the wall!

Kristin - The Goat said...

I have never been to Coke Museum, but I want to go. It's on my list! (I get worn out from my 8 hours in IKEA and never make it anywhere else lol)

I left a note with the front desk once about my room - I was staying all weekend - and they gave me half off my room rate for the whole weekend and they cleaned what I thought needed cleaned. I even had the hotel housekeeping manager in my room with me, so I could explain to her the issues.

Hotels should be clean, if not, they should fix it and compensate you. That kind of nastiness is not acceptable.

Diane Meyer said...

First of all, I have to comment on your kids. How. Cute.
Next...do you suppose they have a Diet Pepsi Museum somewhere? I would go.
Finally: Thank you for your comments on my blog. Cindy always makes me pee my pants, too. It is a gift she has.
Also, the note on the devotional post was helpful to me. I didn't know Prov.31 would send you stuff on your phone or computer during the day. That would be so encouraging during those low moments, if you know what I mean. Good idea!

Anonymous said...

I sincerely believe that when it comes to shots-you gotta do what ya gotta do to keep your saniety-
Buy, bribe, make promises, Target, Toys R Us,-whatever it takes to make it a more tolerable experience! Don't forget to load em up on Tylenol or Motrin before you take them- I forgot- Luckily the nurse remembered!
GOod luck!

j said...

LOVE the Coca Cola museum. I KNOW that you had a good time there. The American Girl Doll (Anna Grace, right) is so pretty!

Be blessed.

Jen

Valarie Lea said...

One time Syd went to the Coca Cola Museum and I was not thinking when I gave her, her cloths to put on. I sent her in a 7-up shirt which is a Pepsi Product. When she got to the door the guy said she could not go in, because she had that shirt on. He was just kidding though. :)