Atlanta, GA

It turns out that there is a great stopping point about 2 hours in the easterly direction from Auburn. Atlanta. Home to CNN, Coke, and (the weekend we were there) Dragon Con. We stayed at the Sheraton and were continuously amused by the stream of other-worldly characters heading in and out of the front door. Star Wars, Star Trek (including Shatner himself), pokemon, battlestar galactica, Wesley from Princess Bride, elves, dwarves, fairies, pirates... Everyone was welcome. Endless entertainment.
We skipped the chaos and did the World of Coke tour (Jim's sister works for Coke and got us a deal) our first evening.

Our second day started at CNN for the network tour. We were a little sad that nothing was on air while we were there, but it was still pretty cool!

We wandered from CNN across the freeway to the MLK memorial. The national park was dedicated not only to the Rev., but also to Ghandi and the rest of those who practiced nonviolent protest in the name of social justice. It was inspiring, and really got me thinking again about civic and social responsibility.

the Eternal flame

 Before heading out of the beautiful state of GA, we made a stop at Stone Mountain. We hiked up the giant granite massif and saw the Confederate leaders carved on the side. We were pretty beat by the time we climbed in the car and followed the thunder storms back to Charleston...