Swim
with the whales in Atlanta
A
family-friendly visit in the South
by
Phyllis Steinberg
 I’ve always been a fish
lover, but I never got to swim with a Beluga whale, but my adventuresome
friends did at the Georgia Aquarium on a visit to Atlanta.
My friends donned sweat suits,
goggles and fins and loaded oxygen tanks on their backs and dived right in
to the largest aquarium in the world. The program, called Swim with Gentle
Giants, gives visitors to the aquarium the once in a life-time opportunity
to swim alongside hundreds of species of fish including four beluga whales.
 The aquarium is divided into
five spectacular galleries. I was amazed at the collection of species from
stunning whale sharks and groupers to hammerhead sharks. There are many
viewing spots including tunnels with swarms of fish swimming above and
beyond.
Just
across the street from the aquarium is the new world of Coca-Cola where
visitors can sample 70 different variations of Coke from around the world.
The bottling line producing eight-ounce commemorative Cokes is a real
eye-catcher.
 Lines of tourists enjoy the
Inside CNN Atlanta Studio tour. I enjoyed being a tourist and waiting in
line to see where my favorite news anchors work. The CNN building is located
in the Omni Hotel in Atlanta right above a large food court. The
behind-the-scenes tour demonstrates how anchors read the news and let
volunteers try their hand at reading a news story. Of course, I was one of
the volunteers.
There is
always something to do in Atlanta. The High Museum of Art
is a must. The Museum recently
developed a partnership with the Musee du Louvre. Masterpieces from Paris’
famous museum are exhibited outside its permanent galleries. The Louvre
Atlanta showcases furniture, tapestries, silver and other items used in
royal households. Also, interesting is the museum’s folk art exhibit.
Even the
Imax theater is extraordinary in Atlanta. The Fernbank Museum is a part of
the Imax and is home to a world of dinosaurs, artifacts, science interactive
exhibits, shells, wildlife and more. I
enjoyed a dinner in the museum and there was entertainment.
A Friday
evening gathering place for locals, tables were artistically arranged
indoors and out around the museum and guests have dinner, listen to music
and have drinks in the lower level surrounded by a giant dinosaur.
 Another popular tourist
attraction is the home of Margaret Mitchell, author of “Gone With the Wind.”
Guests get the inside scoop on why Mitchell wrote her famous novel, the desk
that she sat at to write it and interesting tidbits about the local
residents that inspired the novel. There is also a museum next to the house
which contains special exhibitions and a gift shop with commemorative “Gone
With The Wind” memorabilia.
 The Atlanta Botancial
Gardens has a fabulous Fuqua Orchid Center and 15-acres of botanical
gardens, walking trails, a children’s garden, a conservatory that houses
rare and endangered plants from tropical rainforests and desert regions. I
enjoyed mixing and mingling with families who brought their children to view
this beautiful assortment of plants. Artists such as Dale Chihuly
and Niki de Saint Phalle also have their works on display in the
gardens.
I am a
foodie and there are no shortage of great restaurants in Atlanta. For
breakfast, Murphy’s is a well-established local hangout with wonderful
brunch items from homemade muffins and croissants to dozens of omelet
varieties with whopping portions that you even those with the heartiest
appetites can never finish.
 Other outstanding
restaurants are South City Kitchen located in Midtown, which serves up
Southern cuisine in a vibrant cosmopolitan setting and Ecco, also in
Midtown. .Ecco serves seasonally inspired cuisine in a sophisticated yet
causal elegance.
 Atlanta is a college city.
Emory University has a beautiful campus and houses the Michael C. Carlos
Museum which features art of ancient cultures of the Mediterranean and the
Americans including several fascinating Egyptian mummies; pre-Columbian
pottery; ancient Greek and Roman sculptures and artifacts from the Middle
and Far East. This is no little museum. It houses more than 15,000 objects
that span 9,000 years.
This was
my first visit to Atlanta, but not my last as there were so many interesting
attractions and great places to eat. Next time, I plan to do as my friends
did and swim with the gentle giants. They said it was the experience of a
lifetime and I didn’t want to get my hair wet, so I didn’t do it.
by Phyllis Steinberg
Atlanta
Convention and Visitors Bureau,
www.atlanta.net
Atlanta
Botancial Garden, Inc.,
www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org
Georgia
Aquarium, Inc,.
www.georgiaacquarium.org
Fernbank
Museum of Natural History,
www.fernbankmuseum.org
Inside
CNn Atlanta, www.cnn.com/tour
World of
Coca-Cola,
www.worldofcoca-cola.com
Margaret
Mitchell House and Museum, www.gwtw.org
High
Museum of Art, www.high.org
Michael
C. Carlos Museum (Emory University),
www.carlos.emory.edu
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