Coca Cola Museum

I took Maris with me to Atlanta GA in 2002, when I attended the ALA Conference.

2001-2002 had been a rough year for Maris, and I wanted to so something fun for him. He had never flown in an airplane before, so I thought he might enjoy going to Atlanta

I made reservations at the Peachtree Hilton, because it was the tallest hotel in the U.S.. But then I chickened out and made reservations at the Sheraton instead, because I kept worrying an airplane might fly into the Hilton. It was less than a year after 9/11, and I was still freaked out over that. Maris must have been disappointed, because he had been looking forward to spending lots of time gazing out over Atlanta from the top floor of the Hilton. I guess that is what Mary means when she says I hurt my kids by over-protecting them.

I made maris pack his trunks, so that he could swim while i attended the conference. I also thought he might go exploring, so we invested in some cell phones so we could keep track of each other.

We originally planned to drive, and I wanted the whole family to come. We were going to visit the Centers for Disease Control, which was something else Maris was really interested in...but it was another disappointment for him when Ray and Philip decided to stay home. He ended up watching movies and playing video games, and did nto swim.

We had planned on visiting a plantation, but the tour was canceled due to lack of interest...one more disappointment. But we did visit the home of Margaret Mitchell, which allowed us to experience the MARTA subway train. And we visited the World of Coca Cola, which was really fun. The most interesting part was a soda fountain that featured all the exotic flavors of Coke that are marketed in foreign countries. We got to try Coke flacored with leechee juice, and other varieties that are popular in other countries.