Homecoming for Allie, The Atlanta History Center, Code Names & Pizza
Friday, October 6: Friday morning, Mike and I got up early and took a 3.4 mile walk around some Marietta neighborhoods. We enjoyed a breakfast of scrambled eggs, green onions, hominy and dill. I took a leisurely bath. Alex texted us to say he was working from home today and would bring Jandira and Allie home from the hospital.
In the afternoon, we visited the Atlanta History Center. We learned about carpetbaggers, the 1939 movie Gone With the Wind, a fiery plane crash that killed 114 Georgians in Paris, a washerwomen’s strike and the Great Atlanta Fire of 1917.
We read about child mill workers, desegregation, the local transportation system, and Atlanta music, dining and sports. Finally we learned a bit about the Coca-Cola Company, based in Atlanta.
We found exhibits about religious expressions in Atlanta, folk art, furniture-making, gumbo, basket-weaving, river baptisms, and Uncle Remus and Brer Rabbit.
We went on a self-guided tour of the Swan House, built in 1928. It represents the life of the elite class in Atlanta in the 1920s and 1930s. It was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Inman, heirs to a post-civil war cotton brokerage fortune.
One of the most fascinating things at the Atlanta History Center was the “Cyclorama,” the huge, late-nineteenth-century painting depicting the Civil War battle fought July 22, 1864, east of Atlanta. Housed at the Atlanta History Center and owned by the city, the Cyclorama is a national tourist attraction and cultural treasure. It is one of only two cycloramas in the United States, and at 42 feet tall and 358 feet in circumference, it is the largest painting in the country. The other remaining cyclorama is The Battle of Gettysburg, which can be viewed at Gettysburg National Battlefield Park.
These cycloramas used to be moved from place to place throughout the country, much like a traveling picture show or a traveling circus. At their peak, 40 cycloramas were on tour in the US. Because of the high cost to transport and set them up, they went bankrupt in the 1890s.
Last but not least, we walked through the Civil War exhibit which outlined the Confederate and Union plans for each year of the war and then showed what they actually achieved.
The “Myth of the Lost Cause” was explained very well, a MYTH that sadly still influences many people’s beliefs to this day.
Soon after the Civil War, White Southerners created the Lost Cause Myth to explain Confederate defeat. According to the myth, Southerners won a moral victory against the North’s overwhelming numbers and resources. The Lost Cause denied slavery as the primary cause of the Civil War.
Many Northerners rejected this view. They believed Union victory saved the United States and its Republican form of government. African Americans also rejected the Lost Cause. They understood the Civil War as a fight for freedom from enslavement.
By 1900, White Americans developed another set of beliefs. The idea of reconciliation celebrated the valor of white soldiers on both sides while defining the war as a tragic misunderstanding. Reconciliation denied slavery as the primary cause of the war and glossed over violent suppression of African Americans. Many Americans asked: Who really won the Civil War?
I know that during the 1960s and 1970s in Virginia public schools (Richmond, Virginia was the capital of the Confederacy), we were taught that slavery was NOT the cause of the Civil War. It was mostly about “economics,” or so we were taught. But of course, slavery had everything to do with the Southern economy.
We left the Atlanta History Center and returned to our Airbnb, where we waited for word that we could go visit the new family.
Finally, once Alex, Jandira and Allie settled into their cozy home, we brought over Domino’s pizza and Code Names and we took turns admiring Allie, holding her, playing the game and eating our pizza. A lovely night with our new granddaughter and the smitten new parents. 
Once back at our cozy Airbnb, we watched How I Met Your Mother and went to bed.
Steps: 12,339; Miles: 5.23. Drove 36.4 miles. Weather Hi 77°, Lo 54°.
Atlanta: World of Coca-Cola & Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park and Birth Home
Saturday, October 7: This morning, we went first to downtown Atlanta to make sure we could get tickets for the tour of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birth Home. We put our names on the list for the 1:00 tour and then took off for The World of Coca-Cola.
We arrived too early for the opening time of the museum, so we took a stroll through the Centennial Olympic Park, a 22-acre green space that is Georgia’s legacy of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. We saw the huge Georgia Aquarium, but we didn’t visit.
Returning to The World of Coca-Cola, we watched a 6-minute film that showed special moments in people’s lives where Coca-Cola was interwoven into celebratory events. It was surprisingly moving.
John S. Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist, tinkered for years to create a unique drink, and when he finally did in 1886, he created a whole new category of drink: cola. Coca-Cola quickly soared to success, but Pemberton sold the company in 1888 and died shortly thereafter. Pemberton’s recipe to this day remains one of the most closely guarded secrets in the world.
Pemberton’s bookkeeper, Frank Robinson, came up with the name after many attempts. He liked the repetitive “C” sounds. When figuring out how to depict the name, he decided to write it in script by his own hand. Today it is one of the most recognized logos in the world.
Asa Candler bought the company after sampling the drink and promptly launched one of the most successful marketing campaigns in the world. Besides convincing soda fountain operators to sell the drink, he started incorporating the Coca-Cola logo into everyday objects: sheet music, calendars, trays, and clocks – items that reminded people constantly of the product. He also distributed sampling coupons which people could use for a free drink. Affordable pricing was another cornerstone of Candler’s marketing philosophy: for its first five years, the drink sold for 5¢.
In 1899, two Chattanooga lawyers tried to convince the president of the company that the beverage should be bottled so that people could carry it anywhere. Not convinced, Candler sold them the bottling rights for $1. In 1915, the bottling company held a contest to find the most original bottle design to distinguish it from other soda bottles. The Root Glass Company of Terre Haute, Indiana came up with contour bottle design that has made Coca-Cola bottles iconic the world over. It is one of the few product packaging designs that enjoys patent protection.
Over the years Coca-Cola imagery has tried to capture the lifestyles of the day while reminding us that Coke is a natural companion to good times.
Finally, Coca-Cola’s marketing campaign expanded to making Coke available to everyone wherever they happened to be, including throughout the world. The company has paired with the Olympics and other sporting events, and it even shipped 5 billion bottles to troops during WWII to give them the familiar taste of home.
At the end of our visit, we watched an 8-minute 3-D movie then visited the Tasting Room, where we sampled many iterations of Coke products from all over the world.
We grabbed a quick lunch at Mi Barrio. I got a ground beef taco and Mike had a huge bowl of Posole.
After lunch, we went to the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park and Birth Home. We had stopped earlier and arranged for a tour of his birth house at 1:00. The ranger told us tidbits about MLK Jr’s maternal grandparents, who owned the house, and the childhood shenanigans of Martin and his siblings. Sadly we weren’t allowed to take photos inside.
Martin Luther King Jr. was born in an upstairs bedroom on January 15, 1929. He lived in the house with his parents, maternal grandparents, sister, brother, uncle and great aunt for his first 12 years. The house is located in the Sweet Auburn community, still an active community.
We walked through Historic Fire Station No. 6, built in 1894 in Romanesque Revival style. In the 1960s, it became one of Atlanta’s first racially integrated firehouses. The interior includes a 1927 LaFrance fire engine. The exterior is restored to its appearance in the 1930s-1940s.
The Reflecting Pool at the King Center surrounds the tombs of Dr. and Mrs. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Eternal Flame serves as a reminder of the Kings’ undying commitment to their beloved community of prosperous working families.
In the 12 years that MLK Jr. led the American Civil Rights Movement, African Americans made more progress toward equality than in the previous three centuries. He credited his success to the courageous men, women, and children he led and to the philosophy of non-violence he learned from Jesus of Nazareth, Mahatma Gandhi, and others. He spent time in India studying Gandhi’s nonviolent teachings in 1959 and this philosophy provided the backbone of his belief system. He was very disappointed that soon after he gave his “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington, his movement fractured into groups, many of whom believed progress could only be made through violent means.
In 1964, he became the youngest person at the time to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. On April 4, 1968, he was assassinated in Memphis the day after giving his famous speech “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop.”
An exhibit in the park museum compared President Jimmy Carter and Martin Luther King Jr, two men who dedicated their lives to the downtrodden and poor, and to creating a just world for all people.
We were tired out this evening, and so were the new parents, so we gave them their space to get settled in at home. We stayed in, ate leftover pizza from the night before, along with some of Mike’s leftover posole from lunch. We watched Lupin and How I Met Your Mother.
Steps: 8,317; Miles 3.53. Drove 44.5 miles. Weather Hi: 68°, Lo 45°.
A Kennesaw Mountain hike and dinner out at Marietta Square Market with the new family
Sunday, October 8: This morning was cool and nippy, a perfect day to climb a mountain. We hiked up to the top of Kennesaw Mountain at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park.
We stopped at a gaming store called Gigabyte after lunch to pick up a gift of Ticket to Ride for Jandira and Alex. We stopped by their house to take them the game, using it as an excuse to visit with Allie. She is a very sleepy little sweet pea.
Sunday night we walked with Allie in her stroller to Marietta Square Market where Alex, Jandira and Mike had dinner from D’Cubano and I had a Shrimp Po’ Boy and Mardi Gras beignets from Café Bourbon. This was Allie and her parents’ first night out to dinner!
Back in our apartment, we watched How I Met Your Mother.
Steps: 14,618; Miles 6.2. Drove 39.9 miles. Weather Hi 65°, Lo 42°.
Doctor visits and Tapas at Silla del Toro
Monday, October 9: Today I was lucky enough to accompany Jandira to Allie’s first pediatrician appointment. Allie weighed in at 7 lb 6 oz, so she’d only lost a little weight. She got a clean bill of health, so we were all happy for that. 😍😍
We ran to grab a bite at Chick-fil-A. I hadn’t eaten there in years. We ran back to the house so Jandira could feed Allie (she was crying) and then I went with Jandira and Allie to a lactation consultation at Wellstar Cobb Hospital.
I was worn out from all the running around, so I told Mike I wanted a special dinner out (I didn’t want to cook in!). So, Monday evening, Mike and I walked to Marietta Square and had a lovely dinner at Silla del Toro Tapas & Drinks. Mike enjoyed a tequila flight and I had the best glass of Sauvignon Blanc I’ve had in ages, Luzón Colección, Jumilla. We shared delectable tapas: Spanish Style Mac + Cheese, Pinchos, Calamari and Albondigas.
The weather was perfect so we walked around Marietta Square yet another time. A perfectly pleasant evening.
Back at our home-away-from-home, we watched Virgin River and How I Met Your Mother.
Steps: 6,495; Miles: 2.75. Drove 37.8 miles. Weather Hi 74°, Lo 42°.
Another Marietta walk & sushi with the new family
Tuesday, October 10: Near the end of our visit, Mike found a local pool he could go to, so he went to swim there for the second time. I took my last morning walk around Marietta this morning, seeing a couple of new things including Kennesaw House and the Frequency Bridge. In antebellum days, Kennesaw House was a summer resort for planters attracted by the lively social activities of the town. Confederate wounded were fed and treated here after many battles and civilian refugees from overrun Tennessee and Kentucky stayed here, moving south as the Federals drew near. On July 3, 1864, Sherman had his headquarters in the hotel while directing pursuit of Confederates retiring into Atlanta. After the war, numerous northern visitors wintered in Marietta, many stopping at the Kennesaw House.
The bridge to the cemetery was another art installation titled “Frequency.”
I spent the afternoon shopping at an outdoor mall near our Airbnb. In the evening Mike and I got takeout sushi from Thaicoon & Sushi Bar and took it to Alex and Jandira’s house. We ate our sushi, oohed and ahhed over Allie, and then played a game of Ticket to Ride.
We’d be leaving Marietta early Wednesday morning and heading to Shreveport, Louisiana, where we’d stay one night and then head into Texas.
Steps: 11,418; Miles 4.84. Drove 26.6 miles. Weather Hi 79°, Lo 49°.
~ wander.essence ~ 
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