Quick Trip 1: ATL Land of the Mostly Free, Home of the Braves (Part 1)

Nothing gives me anxiety quicker than merging on to any major highway (even when I'm merely a passenger in the car). So it's safe to say that our car trips to Atlanta are loads of fun for me and Eddie. I find that I feel better if I "help" him drive, while Eddie finds that I "help" him most when I sleep for the entire duration of the trip (seriously...from start to finish). You would think that he would appreciate my efforts to call attention to any car that I feel like might hit us, to gently question the speed limit to make sure we are law-abiding, and to ever so often grab the door handle to brace myself when I think we may crash. But I digress...

We chose a quick trip to Atlanta because of a couple of things: one being proximity to home and the other being a free nite at the Marriott. Nothing says come visit our city quite like a free nite at one of our favorite hotels. We headed out to Georgia Friday afternoon and arrived at the Marriott Marquis in downtown right before rush hour (which I'm sure would have been super fun for me to "help" Eddie navigate). I wasn't feeling all that great when we arrived, so we did one of the things we do best on vacation...we took a nap.

Eddie and I decided to pick up some food and eat in our room that evening since I was a bit under the weather. Lucky for us, The Cheesecake Factory was right down the road... and a slice of 30th anniversary chocolate cheesecake proved to be the right medicine, and by the next morning I felt much better.

Even though we have both "been there done that" at the World of Coca Cola (WOC), we had free passes (thanks Coke Rewards) so we decided to go again. This seemed to be a pretty popular destination on a summer Saturday as I believe everyone who was in Atlanta that day also made their way out to the World of Coke. The Coke folks know how to do it right though, and we were ushered in and on our way to the tour quickly.

After a quick overview on the history of Coca Cola and a photo op with the polar bear, we made our way around to the various rooms where we learned all we ever needed to know about my favorite soft drink...from the vaulted secret forumla to the bottling process...with milestone moments and memorabilia along the way. You do a lot of walking and reading, but there are moments to rest your feet for a bit in between. I always love taking a break in the 4D movie experience room...and getting our matching set of 3D glasses. Cute right? Right. 

The tasting room is definitely one of the coolest parts of the WOC. Visitors are encouraged to sample Coke products (from the tasty to the tragic) from over 60 countries. The tasting room has always reminded me of a Willy Wonka type area (well...without little orange men). Be prepared for your shoes to stick to the floor due to overflows and spills of Coke from caffeine-high kids running beserk. My favorite...definitely Bibo from South Africa...a fruity flavored fizzy drink...love! My least favorite...the Beverly...a bitter, guh-nasty beverage from Italy that is about as delicious as castor oil.

After we were full-up from Cokes from around the world (and buzzing from all of the caffeine), we picked up our little souvenir glass bottles of Coke and headed to the gift shop where you can pretty much find anything your heart desires with a Coca Cola logo emblazoned on the front of it. Since I wasn't in the market for a set of Coca Cola dishes and Eddie wouldn't allow me to purchase a Coca Cola Tervis tumbler (it's an addiction...I can't help it)...we headed out.

One of the coolest things about this trip happened as we were leaving. While I was sitting on a bench waiting for Eddie to make a pit stop, I saw a couple of people use the Coke vending machine...and not only did they get their 20 oz. bottle of Coke...they got little surprises too. I decided I would try my luck...couldn't hurt. I put in my $1.50 and out came my drink...followed by five more! One even had a little Coca Cola koozie with it. Too cool! Eddie gave it a whirl as well...and out came his bottle of Coke followed by two of the little mini souvenir cans of Coke. We watched a few other people use the machine, and each would get their bottle of Coke plus some extra goodies. One lady even got a 2 liter Coke! A guy got a Coke hat attached to his 20 oz bottle, and another ended up with a pair of
Coca Cola sunglasses tied to his drink. I looked online when we got home, and it just so happens that we were lucky enough to use Coca Cola's "Happiness Machine"...created to deliver random surprises to people as part of Coca Cola's Summer of Happiness promotion. I would say this promotion did exactly what they intended.

 

Now here's how the trip stacked up for each of us:

Nikki: Fun! My thoughts are above

Eddie: Fun! I love anytime that we can go a Marriotting hahaha (especially when we don't have to foot the bill). It was a great stay at the Marquis this go round and who wouldn't enjoy a night of Cheesecake Factory deliciousness in the comfort of your room. The World of Coke is always a good time, because it brings back memories of one of our first dates (everybody say "awwww"). All in all a great trip minus those times when Jezebel (aka the GPS) decided not to work properly...grrrrrrr. Even though Atlanta seems to be a big one-way Peachtree Street, we managed to navigate where we needed to go and didn't kill each other in the process.



The rundown:
What we did: Spent the nite at the Marriott & had a tour at the World of Coca Cola Where we did it: Atlanta, GA
How far away it was: 2.5 hours from home
How much it cost: Mostly free! Free!
How we saved dollars: We used our free anniversary nite (worth $109) at the Marriott by using our Marriott Rewards card (only paid for parking), and we used Coke Rewards to claim two general admission passes...a savings of $32!
Would we do it again: Yes