Where Do You Live?

Lori at Just Pure Lovely is asking, "Where do you live?" "What do you love about your corner of the country?" We've lived in many regions of the United States-each of them different and possessing a unique flavor. For the last year and a half we have lived northeast of Atlanta. We are far enough out of the city to avoid a lot of the traffic and congestion, but close enough to enjoy the sites and attractions. When pulling out of our neighborhood, a right takes you to all of the benefits of an urban area-restaurants, every big box store you can name and a dry cleaners on every corner. But left? Left takes you to the country. Farms and cows and even some llamas! I love left! Left takes you to the north Georgia Mountains. The beginning of the Appalachian Trail. Streams and waterfalls. We've done a lot of hiking since we moved here. The kids are now old enough to make it on their own foot power (the majority of the time!) and we all love the outdoors and the "nature" (well, most of it!)

Some of Our Favorite Things To Do in the Atlanta Area

1. Tallulah Gorge-once the posh destination of wealthy vacationers, Tallulah Gorge is the 2nd largest canyon in the United States, behind only the Grand Canyon. Ever heard of the movie Deliverance? Yep, filmed here!

2. World of Coca-Cola-okay, this one is very touristy and commercialized, but my kids LOVE it. Why? Because there is a tasting room where you can sample every Coca-Cola product made around the world. Soft drinks are a BIG (read NEVER) treat around the Circus and the kids get free reign for the short time we spend in this section. There is also a 4D movie and my favorite part-a continual playing of all of the Vintage Coca-Cola commercials (Remember Mean Joe Green and "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing?") All here.

3. Amicalola Falls-The Southern start to the Appalachian Trail. We've been numerous times, but the best time was this past March. We met 3 thru-hikers starting the trip North. (Thru hikers are hikers who are attempting to walk the length of the trail in one season. They start early spring in Georgia and go north or late spring in Maine at Mt. Katadin and go south.) If this interests you, I recommend you read A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. Hysterical!

4. The Fountains at Centennial Olympic Park-Check the website and be sure you go when the fountains are scheduled to "dance" to music.

5. The Georgia Aquarium-the aquarium is very cool. It is also very expensive...I'm talking four dollar signs. We were members last year, so we could go whenever we wanted, but I think we got our fill of fish! The whale sharks are worth the visit. There are also a lot of touch tanks with sea anemones, rays and nurse sharks, and shrimp.In addition to LOTS of fish, there are also penguins and sea lions and my favorite, the beluga whales.

6.The Varsity Drive In-worst hot dog I've ever tasted, but you can't come to Atlanta and NOT experience the world's largest drive-in. Try a naked dog walkin' with strings!

7. Mayfield's Dairy-wonderful, freshly-made ice cream! A HUGE scoop for $1.50. You can take a factory tour to see how the dairy gets and processes the milk sold and used to make the ice cream.

8. The Cyclorama-the world's largest oil painting measuring 42 feet high by 358 feet long. The painting is in the round. You enter up through the middle and sit down and the seats slowly move in a circle to see the painting and diorama of the Battle of Atlanta. History with some "aaah" thrown in.

There are still lots of places on our TO DO list. We plan to knock out quite a few of them this summer. What do you love about where you live?