Home > Health > MOMania > Archives > 2008 > April > 06 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USGimme a break from aquarium
Where do your Atlanta visitors always want to go? Sites you refuse to return to? Share favorite out-of-the-way places
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ah, Spring Break — a chance for families to reconnect, travel and force friends to take them to expensive tourist sites they’ve already visited.
Like many Metro Atlantans, we often have friends and family visit. We love to show off our city and are always happy to host. However, if one more person asks us to take them to the aquarium, I’m going to blow up — like an angry pufferfish.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the aquarium. It’s interesting, family friendly and educational. But it’s also expensive, especially when you’re taking a family of five and visitors.
My husband Michael’s family came to visit us last fall and we took everyone to the aquarium and to the zoo. While MasterCard is right, the memories are priceless; I’d like to make some new memories at different locations.
I have a girlfriend coming to town in May. I told her there was an exciting cooking show at the Cobb Galleria the weekend she was going to be here. She said, “I really just want to see the aquarium.”
The kids are picking straws to see who “gets” to go. I’m not paying for all of them again. Why doesn’t anyone ever ask us to take them to the Margaret Mitchell House, Warm Springs, the Oakland Cemetery or the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park? Heck, I’d even settle for the Carter Center. These are places I’ve never been, and they would be less crowded, less expensive and more interesting than another trip to the zoo or aquarium.
When Michael was growing up, relatives from Rhode Island would visit his family in Augusta during school breaks. They had fairly low expectations on their trips. They would ask to get a tour of The Augusta National Golf Course — during Masters week. Michael’s father’s response was to drive by the fence that separates the golf course from the city and say, “There it is. If you crane your head right you can see a little of Magnolia Lane.”
His cousins would also ask to visit Disney World. To them, once you’re in Augusta, Orlando’s just a hop away — a 9-hour hop. His parents were more hospitable than I am — they actually took them.
When we lived in New York City, the Statue of Liberty was our aquarium. Every visitor wanted to see (and climb) the Statue of Liberty. I went a couple of times, only climbed it once. Michael refused. In fact, he would ruin the trip by telling each visitor how many other things they could see instead of spending the day sitting in line for tickets, waiting to get on the boat, waiting to get into the statue and then waiting to get back on the boat.
Back in our pre-child days in New York City, we were mostly conducting bar, restaurant and shopping tours. That type of tourism we enjoyed. It was fun to show off our inside knowledge of the city, not just regurgitate what any guide book could tell you.
This year for part of Spring Break we’re taking the kids to explore Washington D.C. We plan to visit all the regular tourist sites — the Smithsonian Museums, the White House, the Capitol and the spy museum.
And, while we do have some old friends there, we haven’t asked them to lead us around. However, they did offer. I guess they’re nicer than we are.
To avoid confusion in the future, I’d like to set up a few tourism ground rules for our friends who come to visit Atlanta: We prefer to keep our tourism focused on history, the arts or good food. We do have a pass to Stone Mountain, so we can walk the trails; visit the playground and the lake. But just know upfront that I will not pay for any of that nonsense in the Crossroads reproduction 1870s town area.
With that said, we can be bought. If you offer to baby-sit while you’re here, we might take you to the aquarium.
Comments
By Steve D
April 7, 2008 8:00 AM | Link to this
Right on! Let’s stop the Aquarium Mania and show people the many other fine aspects of our city!
By JJ
April 7, 2008 8:12 AM | Link to this
Stone Mountain!!!! Cheap and there is a ton of stuff to do, especially with kids.
Take them up to Dahlonega and Helen and surrounding area. Eat at the Smith House.
By Tommy
April 7, 2008 8:25 AM | Link to this
Clermont Lounge!
By FCM
April 7, 2008 8:35 AM | Link to this
A few thoughts:
Why do you have to pay for the guests but not choose where you go?
Drive (or Marta) downtown and do a walking tour, you walk right by the aquarium so they ‘see it’—-that’s your FIL version of Augusta Nat’l.
Mention that aquarium is fabulous, loan them a car and let them see it with out you (or again there is Marta).
Tell them your glad they are visiting you had planned to go to Stone Mountain that weekend, or some other place, and would love them to join the family then.
As for where to go depends on the age…right down by the Aquarium (which I have not seen and my children have 3 times)…is the Children’s Musueum.
The High and Louvre have a wonderful partnership right now….they can’t make it to France? Show them the awesome art while they visit you in Atlanta!
Not sure why anyone would visit The Dump…take them to the Swan or Tulley Smith House…and of course point out the Gov. Mansion while you are at it.
Have a sitter? Time to hit Buckhead! Stop at the Buckhead Diner and you might get more than a meal.
Everyone I know wants to go to Lenox while they are here. I never understood why…..Try taking them to Mall of GA instead. Or there are several areas with outlet malls (Dawson, toward Macon, Helen, and 400).
When the kids are older Helen and Dahlonega would be appropriate…as would Chickamauga (sp?) Battle Field.
There are TONS of places to visit but ‘outsiders’ won’t know unless the city has ‘promoted’ them….
By jess
April 7, 2008 8:56 AM | Link to this
Wait until dark and cruise them down Cypress Street to see the Magic show. They are so many men that can magically transform themselves into women that it’s amazing. And the show is free.
By Kat
April 7, 2008 8:57 AM | Link to this
Why are you paying for all of these people? If this is a must-do situation, then I would suggest Kennesaw Park - as you mentioned, Stone Mtn is great, Dahlonega has a great town square, Amicolola Falls is beautiful, and Helen, GA is a lot of fun. Be sure to visit the Toy Shop with the HUGE train display. It’s amazing, and well worth the $5 or so to see it. It’s in a shop behind the toy shop on the main strip!
By smokey fenmore
April 7, 2008 9:06 AM | Link to this
Do you EVER stop whining?????
By Ebaby
April 7, 2008 9:07 AM | Link to this
This happens to me (I live in Europe) and I am sick of having to see the same stuff over and over again. I think the people coming to visit me understand, so they do all the typical stuff while I am at work and then we go do something really off the beaten track on the weekend. That way I get to see something different too. In GA, I always liked going to the North GA Mountains (Dillard House, Helen, etc.). For me- metro Atlanta has so much nature-tourism to offer that its a shame to go Downtown.
By james
April 7, 2008 9:17 AM | Link to this
By Nunya Bidness
April 7, 2008 9:29 AM | Link to this
We recommend the usual (aquarium, CNN, World of Coke, Stone Mtn & laser show) but our favorite place to take visitors is Cyclorama. It’s cheap and different.
By Nunya Bidness
April 7, 2008 9:29 AM | Link to this
We recommend the usual (aquarium, CNN, World of Coke, Stone Mtn & laser show) but our favorite place to take visitors is Cyclorama. It’s cheap, local, and different.
By FCM
April 7, 2008 9:48 AM | Link to this
oops I listed Dawson mall twice…I meant Dalton and Dawson.
By Wilson
April 7, 2008 9:50 AM | Link to this
The Vortex The Varsity Six Feet Under The Atlanta History Center
I sort of agree on the aquarium. I’ve been several times, and I think it’s a good addition to our city. But it’s far from the only good thing about our city. It’s dismaying that we have centers honoring two Nobel laureates within a couple of miles of each other (The King Center and the Carter Center), yet you never hear a word about them. I also remain bemused that so many out-of-towners find Lenox Square so enchanting. It’s certainly a nice mall, but is that really what you traveled here to do?
By FarLeftLoons
April 7, 2008 9:54 AM | Link to this
In DC, you MUST see the Holocaust Museum. One of the best places by far.
By Jen
April 7, 2008 10:02 AM | Link to this
Yeah, if you can get a baby sitter then go to Clermont Lounge! I am completely serious. It’s one of those things you should do before you die. Total culture campiness.
However, you can drive to Candler Park, get a bite to eat at Flying Biscuit.
Then take the kids to Candler Park (the park) and let then play and let the guys take in a 9-hole game.
Then walk over to the CP MARTA station (which is maybe a 1/4 mile from the park (leave your car at the park). Take a ride to do some “disaster tourism” because you can see the tornado damage to the lofts and the cemetary out of the south windows of the east-west line as you go downtown. Plus, kids love riding on MARTA.
Walk around downtown, go to Centennial Park. If it’s hot out let the kdis play in the fountain.
Get back on MARTA and go get your car. Drive over to Six Feet Under and eat dinner overlooking the cemetary.
And that’s one day and not a lot of money!
By FarLeftLoons
April 7, 2008 10:13 AM | Link to this
I don’t know why your guests expect you to pay for the aquarium when they visit. That’s ridiculous. There’s no reason they can’t buy their own ticket. If I’m visiting, I don’t expect the host to pay.
By FarLeftLoons
April 7, 2008 10:15 AM | Link to this
I don’t know why your guests expect you to pay for their passes to the aquarium. That’s ridiculous. They can buy their own. I don’t expect the host to buy my tickets when I visit.
By Pria
April 7, 2008 10:27 AM | Link to this
Get a pass for GA State Parks and let them have a taste of nature - Tallulah, Fort Yargo, Amicalola Falls, Sweetwater, Chattahoochee Nature Preserve, Stone Mountain, Lake Lanier to name a few. Pine Mountain Nature preserve is more fun and cheaper than the zoo. In Atlanta you could take them to Centennial Olympic Park, Underground Atlanta and Sun Dial restaurant.
By Sunny
April 7, 2008 11:05 AM | Link to this
I don’t believe the guests are asking her to pay for the tickets, however, if she’s playing host, she will have to pay for herself and her family.
This is why I will point people in the right direction and meet up with them for dinner after they have completed their sight-seeing.
By Mr. Q
April 7, 2008 11:17 AM | Link to this
Bulldogs.
By DB
April 7, 2008 11:20 AM | Link to this
Well, I, for one, would not expect my host to drag along behind me everywhere I want to go! Presumably, they have family to care for, work to do, things to do … when I go to visit them, I do NOT expect to be entertained 24/7! If your guests want to go to the Aquarium — LET THEM! Tell them you’ll have diner ready when they get back!
Send ‘em on a tour of CNN.
I haven’t been to World of Coke, but it sounds like someplace I’d send someone, not necessarily go, myself.
Visitors with kids? Zoo time!
The High Museum is very popular with us, with lunch at the Swan House. And at almost any given night, there’s a theatre production SOMEWHERE in Atlanta.
The Atlanta History Museum is also fun.
Check out the Atlanta Visitors & Convention Bureau website — they have a fantastic compendium of “what’s happening in Atlanta” that you can check by day, week, etc. Did you know that the CDC has free public exhibits? Cool stuff!
Ebaby, I laughed at your comment about Europe. My daughter was in Europe last year for six weeks, and one of her stops was outside of Paris. Her host family generously took her and her roommate into Paris, and kindly offered to take them to the Eiffel Tower. Both girls had “been there, done that”, and the hosts were comically relieved that they didn’t have to DO “la Tour Eiffel!” and happily took the girls for a memorable shopping trip in fun, out-of-the-way places.
By Patriot
April 7, 2008 11:31 AM | Link to this
If they are staying with me…I try to take them home.
By Native
April 7, 2008 11:36 AM | Link to this
My last visitors especially enjoyed the Clermont Lounge (no joke) and tiki drinks at Trader Vics.
Lots of local restaurants and sights were fun, but those seemed to be the most popular with my young-adult guests.
By Pete
April 7, 2008 11:44 AM | Link to this
Let’s be honest here , there ain’t much to see and visit in Atlanta period. Besides, every city has an aquarium anyway, fish are fish ! Downtown ATL sucks.
By Laura
April 7, 2008 11:53 AM | Link to this
Wow. What a nice hostess you are. Why do you even bother having friends and family come visit if this is your attitude. I hope they read this blog so they know what you really think of them.
By BPJ
April 7, 2008 11:56 AM | Link to this
Where we take visitors depends on their interests. For history lovers, we would typically go to the Atlanta History Center (its Civil War exhibit was the highlight for my brother-in-law from Paris), the King Center, and (depending on specific interests) the Cyclorama, the Carter Center, Rhodes Hall, or the Margaret Mitchell House (“the Dump” is a very popular attraction, and we love to go to the author lectures there).
For those interested in the arts, we start at the High. The Louvre exhibits are excellent, but there’s a great deal more: first rate exhibitions of photography, contemporary art, African art, etc…. and there’s actually quite a lot of superb work in the permanent collection, although many Atlantans don’t know that yet. Then we go to the Carlos Museum; we also take Atlantans there, for their first visit, and the reaction is always oh my god I had no idea there was anything like that here! We often take visitors to The Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, MODA, MOCAGa, and several of our favorite galleries. And maybe an evening at a play, a concert, or a jazz club. Our visitors usually wind up saying something like I had no idea there was so much going on in the arts in Atlanta, which is all too true of many Atlantans as well. For kids, we have gone to the zoo, the Botanical Gardens, the Puppetry Arts center, the High Museum (great kids activities), Piedmont Park, and even the aquarium & the World of Coke. We also take visitors to some of our favorite walking around neighborhoods, such as Virginia-Highlands & Litlle Five Points.
Most of our visitors have gladly paid their share of expenses. Also, we have some “bring a guest” coupons for several of these places. So it really hasn’t been a burden. The issue of who pays for what will vary from person to person, so sweeping statements are not useful; if, for example, family members with very different means (a lot more or a lot less $) are visiting, that will affect who pays for what. Thirty years ago, my parents would take visitors to the Varsity, the Sun Dial, or Stone Mountain. Those attractions seem a bit dated now; Atlanta has better to offer.
By Joy
April 7, 2008 11:58 AM | Link to this
Virginia Highland! This Ohioan visited Atlanta this past weekend, and despite the crappy weather (you guys are supposed to be in the midst of a drought? Ha!) found the boutique shopping there a blast. And we painted pottery at Wired and Fired. Good times!
By Lunatic Fringe
April 7, 2008 12:09 PM | Link to this
Hopefully to the AIRPORT.
By pete
April 7, 2008 12:13 PM | Link to this
Dear Laura
Have you ever been to Boston, DC, Chicago, Montreal, NY ? Cities that are actually fun and interesting to visit. Now you tell me what’s so exciting about ATL ? About my friends, don’t worry, they come down here to see me, not ATL.
By bballnut
April 7, 2008 12:14 PM | Link to this
Hey Laura it was a joke….look up the word pneumocephalic I think they have a picture of you by that word in the dictionary
By Denise
April 7, 2008 12:16 PM | Link to this
I am so in agreement on the Aquarium… I have family comeing this weekend and you got it, here we go to the Aquarium… I refuse to spend that kind of money, when you can go to Tenn Aquarium and it is so much better. I told them that I had other plans but that we can meet up after. My family is pretty good about these things so in order to get me go with them THEY bought our tickets… so we will go and then go do my plans it is a comprimise… we have a day of it ending with dinner at the Spagetti Factory on Ponce.
We also have state park passes and national park passes. so most of the time we just do picnics and days outside.
By james
April 7, 2008 1:07 PM | Link to this
@ pete
They are good cities just make sure you are home b4 night comes or u might get shot:)
By Penguinmom
April 7, 2008 1:10 PM | Link to this
I agree with an earlier comment that I can’t understand you paying for your guest’s vacation. The only time this happens with us is when we visit grandparents. They pay because they want to treat their grandchildren to some event. But when we go visit my sister it’s always dutch treat.
Certainly if its your money, you get to choose where to go. If they want to go to the aquarium, they can go online at home, purchase the tickets and go by themselves.
The Tennessee Aquarium is definitely way better for the money.
Has anyone bought one of those City Passes? They seem to be a decent deal if you are planning on visiting the aquarium and would like to go somewhere else also.
By rdb2010
April 7, 2008 1:13 PM | Link to this
Take them anywhere but Underground. It is just too, too scary a place.
By cobbmom
April 7, 2008 1:16 PM | Link to this
If they want to go to the aquarium, let them. No one says you have to go. I for one would be royally p** if there was something I really wanted to see in a city and my hosts basically made it so I couldnt go.
High museum is a great idea. The children’s museum, not so much as there is one of those in just about every city.
If you are going to do the zoo, include a tour of Oakland and grab a bite at six feet under.
Check out some of the more historic buildings in town. Like the new Ellis Hotel, formerly the Winecoff. Now there is a great story.
Go to Piedmont Park.
Go eat at the Varsity. Go to Mary Macs Tea Room. Eat at Dante’s. Go on a walking tour of the city: http://www.preserveatlanta.com/walkingtours.htm
I’d also be raging mad if I traveled to a new city and my hosts dragged me to some nondescript outlet mall. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy outlet mall shopping, but it is NOT what I want to do in a new city. For gd’s sake why dont you just take me to the local walmart!
By cobbmom
April 7, 2008 1:24 PM | Link to this
For those of you who just want to bash atlanta, why do you even live here? I mean, that is pretty pathetic that you live in a city that you hate and you won’t move.
By Jen
April 7, 2008 1:32 PM | Link to this
I LOVE Atlanta.
But then….I actually live in the city.
You really don’t know a place until you live there…
By james
April 7, 2008 1:40 PM | Link to this
http://www.castleberryhill.org/local_businesses.php
Check out all the Art Galleries in Castleberry Hill
By Atlgp
April 7, 2008 2:06 PM | Link to this
Buy an annual pass to the aquarium, thenyou can go or not go. The botanical gardens area always changing and children never tire of the children’s garden. The Zoo is a great small day trip. World of Coke is a joke, don’t bother.
I agree with the poster who said visitors come to see us not the city. Suggest some things they can do on their own and plan a fun day trip for everyone.
By renee
April 7, 2008 2:08 PM | Link to this
King Center is a must for all vistors!! It’s historic, it’s free and everyone can get something out of it.
By Canes
April 7, 2008 2:28 PM | Link to this
Magic City, Metropolitan Ave (Stewart), Bankhead Hwy, etc….
By cobbmom
April 7, 2008 3:06 PM | Link to this
Jen, very true. I lived in the city of Atlanta for many years. But just living in the city doesnt mean jack anymore. It always seems to amaze me when people claim to be “from” atlanta but don’t know an atlanta w/out centennial olympic park, atlantic station, etc. If you 30 or older and you don’t remember seeing Willie B in that stark white room with the TV and tire swing, ya aint from here! I have no hostilities towards people not from here, but don’t come into MY HOME and tell me how crappy you think it is!
Back to the topic, another great idea for visitors is taking them to off-beat sites that may interest them. Instead of the dump, take them to the corner where MMitchell met her fate. Movie/TV scenes are great too. Driving Miss Daisy, Dukes of Hazard, Smokey & The Bandit,etc. Or you could introduce them to a few local celebs like Baton Bob or Bicycle shorts man!
By Jen
April 7, 2008 3:22 PM | Link to this
I see Bicycle Shorts Man almost daily….
By faye
April 7, 2008 3:43 PM | Link to this
PenguinMom - I bought a CityPass for me and my mom a couple years ago when she came to visit. She had never been here, although I’ve lived here since 1990. It was a pretty good deal, all told.
You got admission for 6 places (8 choices total - Aquarium, World of Coke, CNN Tour, High Museum, and Botanical Garden or Atlanta History and Zoo or Fernbank - I think the choices have changed slightly, though).
She came during Christmas break so we opted not to do the Zoo or Botanical Gardens (personally, I love the Botanical Gardens, but after living in San Diego, every zoo seems lacking to me now). I had never been to the Atlanta History Center - that was my favorite. Fernbank had a great exhibit on Rome (gone now) and the High had the first of the Louvre exhibits.
Overall it was great - I saw things I wouldn’t have seen otherwise and learned some new cool places to go. The aquarium was nice, but not the highlight.
Plus - you get to bypass the long admission lines - that was fun. Minus - it’s only good for about 10 days - so if you or your guests don’t use all the admissions, they expire. My mom and I were on a bit of a whirlwind tour.
By Dave
April 7, 2008 3:47 PM | Link to this
I just take them to the Atlanta north suburbs to watch all the “talibangelical” idiots that drive SUV’s with “W” stickers still on them…oh those and the “support our troops” magnets. Then we toss pennies at them as they go by.
By Single Man
April 7, 2008 4:15 PM | Link to this
I can recall when I moved to Atlanta and I didn’t know anything about the city. It took me several years of researching, visiting, and finding the best attractions in the city. There’s so much to do in this city. From sporting events like the Hawks, Falcons, Braves, and Thrashers. From cultural events like the MLK Center and the Carter Library. A must see is Stone Mountain Park, Centennial Park, and the Zoo. I could go and list 101 places for you. Better yet just check out a site I came across several years ago that lists 101 places to go in Atlanta. They compiled a list of all the places for you.
101 Dating Ideas For Atlanta Singles ,they can help
By Leigh
April 7, 2008 4:28 PM | Link to this
Why is this blog listed under “health”?
By Flo Jean
April 7, 2008 4:45 PM | Link to this
When I visit my family I go to visit with them. Not to sight see. If people come to visit me here in Atlanta and want to go to the Zoo or Aquarium I hand them a map and say “see ya at dinner time…we’ll go out somewhere when you get back”.
By DiedInSuburbia
April 7, 2008 5:32 PM | Link to this
Pete, I’m with you — for years, Metro ATL has been filled with people who don’t even want to go “into the city,” and now we wonder why the city is so clearly lacking in intown culture when compared to the greats like Montreal, New York, New Orleans, even Austin.
Don’t worry Cobbmom, I’m bashing, but I’m very likely moving in the next year. I’m tired of living in a state where residents begrudge the major city’s success. Atlanta DOES suck.
By Blondie
April 7, 2008 5:34 PM | Link to this
…I am the #1 tourist attraction…Come see me and my babies nightly, at the Clermont Lounge…
By j
April 7, 2008 5:45 PM | Link to this
Sorry, big cities don’t impress visitors. They’re all the same. Get out of the city to get the feel of an area.
Summer time we take them on a north GA loop of Cleveland (Cabbagepatch place), Helen, Appalachian trail, Dahlonega.
Winter time we take them to Warm Springs & Pine Mountain.
Close by is Monroe & Madison for some quaint southern buildings.
By Reality
April 7, 2008 6:10 PM | Link to this
If Atlanta’s population was majority nonminority the same people on this blog bashing the city would be giving it raving reviews. Peace.
By Not Chuck
April 7, 2008 6:10 PM | Link to this
I say that the new Pink Pony South is a must for visitors over that dirty, nasty Clermont Lounge.
And for food, you can’t beat Thumbs Up for breakfast.
By Pen
April 7, 2008 6:24 PM | Link to this
Our kids enjoy the Yellow River Game Ranch. What could be better than deer running around you and eating out of your hand? My niece was a little overwhelmed on her first trip. We arrived early so the animals were still hungry. She was greeted by two large bucks, a duck and a squirrel who were all VERY interested in the food she had brought for them. In the summer the animals look a little rough, but spring and fall are just great.
By Penguinmom
April 7, 2008 6:38 PM | Link to this
We really enjoy the High Museum and the Botanical Gardens. If you’re willing to go a little further out, there’s the Booth Western Musuem in Cartersville. They have a great western play room for the kids and an interesting exhibit about the presidents.
Just recently went to a great place in LaGrange called Explorations in Antiquity. It is a recreation of a Biblical Village. Explorations in Antiquity
Also enjoyed the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History.
Downtown for kids there is also the Center for Puppetry Arts. Always good shows there and the museum and workshops are good as well. My kids still talk about the rainforest and weather shows we’ve seen there.
By Your tour guide
April 7, 2008 6:45 PM | Link to this
Best places include:
Fernbank Museum of Natural History
Fernbank Science Center (especially the evening planetarium show, followed by free viewing thru a 36” diameter telescope on Thurs and Fri nights. Best cheap date in town. Good for kids of all ages too.
Wild Animal Safari down in Pine Mountain GA, with lunch at the buffet at Callaway Gardens. Drive your car (or rent a zebra-striped van) through herds and groups of wild animals. Zebras, zedonks (zebra-donkey crosses), giraffes, camels, lots of cow-like, horse-like, and deer-like things, buffalos, etc. Feed them by hand!!!! See the lions, tigers, and ligers (lion-tiger crosses) in the cages. Petting-zoo-type things too. While you are there, see the Butterfly Gardens, etc. at Callaway Gardens.
Kangaroo Conservation Center up near Dawsonville. See herds of kangaroos on a farm. Ride through in an open vehicle. Good animal show afterwards.
Atlanta History Center
See the Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History in Kennesaw.
Then go to Kennesaw Mtn battlefield.
The go to the Cyclorama at Grant Park, next to the Zoo, to see the other locomotive, from the Great Locomotive Chase you saw in Kennesaw.
See the DeKalb History Center in the Old Decatur Courthouse, followed by a stroll through the Decatur restaurant district and a meal at one of the many award winning or top rated restaurants.
Ride out to Social Circle and eat at the Blue Willow Inn. Run out to Hard Labor Creek State Park while you are there.
Stone Mountain, but you had already thought of that.
Ride up to Lake Lanier. Drive across the dam. Go camping at Lake Lanier Islands.
Go see Amicalola Falls. Go to the lodge at the top of the falls. Have a good meal and enjoy the view. Hike around some too.
Then run over to Dahlonega, see the Gold Museum, and go pan for gold. See the cute stores around the town square. Eat at the Smith House. Not to be missed experience. Family style.
Do you need any more ideas?
By MADA
April 7, 2008 6:53 PM | Link to this
I agree with the person who said the Yellow River Game Ranch. It is always a good trip, and is close enough to Stone Mountain that you could go there on the same day. I am amazed that no one has mentioned the Center for Puppetry Arts. It is great for kids and is interesting for adults as well. Fernbank is always great (and underappreciated). For the adults, get a sitter and take them to Sweetwater Brewing for the brewery tour and the beer tastings. There are usually live bands playing. And it is a great atmosphere. Afterwards, go to Fat Matt’s for Blues and Ribs.
By Kimi
April 7, 2008 7:40 PM | Link to this
I used to live in NYC & get what you are saying, I visited all of NYC’s tourist attractions at least 10x over my years living there with various visitors.
However, I did not look at it as visiting the same places repeatedly, each tourist attraction is a new experience with a different visitor/relative/friend. But then again, my visitors do not expect me to finance their vacation or pay their way anywhere. We do so for at least one meal, but with finances the way they are these days we don’t expect that from each other.
Also I try to remember that when people come to visit me in my area, that it is not about me but about the visitor. Just as when I visit friends/fam elsewhere, it is about what I want to do and where I want to go because I am the visitor.
I have taken friends/fam to all the places listed in this blog depending on who it is and what they like to do.
All my visitors loves Fatt Matts ribs for eats and strangely enough, Waffle House. I have also taken anyone with kids to Dixieland Fun Park in Fayette county, it’s closer to our house than 6 flags & the kids always enjoy it. We also like to take them for brunch to that seafood place on the North side, can’t remember the name of it now but it’s awesome & everyone always loves it.
By OurAmericanParks
April 7, 2008 7:44 PM | Link to this
I vote for Kennesaw Mountain or Martin Luther King site except for during the month of February or last week when the MLK site was too crowded.
By NICK
April 7, 2008 7:45 PM | Link to this
The Pink Pony!
By Katie
April 8, 2008 6:54 AM | Link to this
I take out of towners, out of town. There’s nothing worth seeing in Atlanta. If you want to see a good aquarium, go to Monteray California, not Atlanta.
By Decaturflyer
April 8, 2008 7:44 AM | Link to this
I take them downtown to see all of the construction on the connector. They are usually impressed by the delays. We then head to Peachtree St. in Midtown to see all of the metal plates in the road, they are usually impressed by the quantity of steel our roads are paved with. We then head over here to Decatur to enjoy being panhandled while we try to eat outside at one of the many nice resturants in the square. I also like to take them to the Trader Joes’s on Monroe to see frantic Atlantan’s fight for parking spaces to buy nasty $4 wine that costs $2 everywhere else.
By Linda C. DeMars
April 8, 2008 6:10 PM | Link to this
Did anyone mention Fernbank _ I’m not sure how expensive it is because we have a membership. The Carlos Center on the Emory Campus is an undiscovered jewel - and a real bargain too.
By BILL
April 8, 2008 6:51 PM | Link to this
WE don’t go dowmtown to much crime.IT just not safe.To many crooks and theves.WE went to a braves and mets game one night and damed if one of the mets did’t steal second base Im telling you its just not safe.
By Renee
April 8, 2008 7:14 PM | Link to this
Can you be more self-centered? Someone comes to town and wants to see a major tourist attraction, and you complain?
Grow up.
By Mike In Woodstock
April 8, 2008 7:43 PM | Link to this
If you can get a sitter, then the Trapeze Club is worth an interesting visit.
By katmaia
April 8, 2008 8:07 PM | Link to this
Maybe get an annual pass to the aquarium? Then you can go for free whenever. We have friends coming in from out of town in May and they want to go to the aquarium.
By nono
April 9, 2008 7:55 AM | Link to this
For all of you who think Atlanta is so great, you’ve either never traveled or are just unsophisticated. Atlanta is soooo far behind other cities—NYC, DC, Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago—when it comes to cultural opportunities (with the exception of the puppet museum). Think the botanical gardens and callaway gardens are beautiful? Try again—Buchart Gardens in Victoria, B.C. (that’s CANADA for you without a map) is breathtakingly beautiful. Your museums are small and extremely expensive, and there’s no downtown area where you can just stroll for an afternoon like so many cities have. No, Atlanta’s best asset is all the places to EAT. Even your dekalb farmers market which you rave about is nothing compared to the Pike Place Market in Seattle’s waterfront. And you claim culture, but there are so few Thai restaurants and almost no chinese restaurants that don’t also have a big steak as an entree’—food isn’t a recreational sport, people! Food should be a gastronomic delight, an orgasm of flavors that mesh together—not something from a trough (sorry, buffet). My friends don’t come to Atlanta for the “culture” they come to see me—they can get their culture elsewhere! It’s time for Atlanta to grow up and realize it’s not that great compared to other cities its size throughout the nation. It’s like being on a “dial-up” service when everyone else has a T-1 or faster internet connection—there’s simply no comparison.
By Joe
April 9, 2008 8:18 AM | Link to this
The aquarium staff is one of the rudest staffs in the city. There is a certian arogance with that place. It is like ” we are the aquarium so we really don’t care how you feel. You do it our way of you get nothing.”
I actually had a staff member say to me” we don’t do that, we are the aquarium.”
It is not the first time this has happened to me and I have spoken with many others who feel the same way.
I probably won’t renew my season pass because of the way the treat repeat visitors.
By Mamma Mia
April 9, 2008 8:46 AM | Link to this
Take them to a strip joint, so they can see females who are not ugly dumpy whiners.
By Ed
April 9, 2008 8:56 AM | Link to this
Management’s decision to allow a limitless amount of walk-up admissions in front of those who had prebought their tickets to the point vistors could not physical move inside the aquarium without touching someone was the height of greed. Our complaints brought no apologies. We will not go back!!!
By Ed
April 9, 2008 8:57 AM | Link to this
Management’s decision to allow a limitless amount of walk-up admissions in front of those who had prebought their tickets to the point vistors could not physically move inside the aquarium without touching someone was the height of greed. Our complaints brought no apologies. We will not go back!!!
By Ed
April 9, 2008 8:57 AM | Link to this
Management’s decision to allow a limitless amount of walk-up admissions in front of those who had prebought their tickets to the point vistors could not physically move inside the aquarium without touching someone was the height of greed. Our complaints brought no apologies. We will not go back!!!
By justduckie
April 9, 2008 9:34 AM | Link to this
Good Lord - this is all you have to complain about today? Consider yourself blessed.
By CMM
April 9, 2008 9:40 AM | Link to this
Theresa, I find it discouraging and sad that you would take a decent blog topic (off the beaten path activies in Atlanta) and in addition use it as a forum to bash an Atlanta non-profit. You could have written an upbeat blog entry without the negativity.
By Mark
April 9, 2008 10:06 AM | Link to this
Take your visitors to LFP to watch the freak show, to Norcross to see cultural filth, to Snellville to see all the monkeys, and to MLK drive to witness a real driveby.
By Mark
April 9, 2008 11:03 AM | Link to this
If you take them to the aquarium, don’t eat the fish sandwiches. They could contain Norton, or any of the countless other fish that were killed by the ineptness of the facility.
By DB
April 9, 2008 11:50 AM | Link to this
I was a volunteer at the Aquarium for over a year when it first opened, enjoyed it tremendously, and learned quite a bit. Crowd control has always been a problem, because once people get in — THEY DON’T LEAVE! They paid quite a bit of money to get in, and they are going to get their money’s worth! First appointment of the day or late in the afternoon is best, but between 10 and 3, it’s going to pretty much be wall-to-wall people and tour groups.
I spent several months working behind the scenes answering emails, and finally had to stop, because I didn’t feel that people were being well-served. A large part of it was due to the sheer volume, and the then-problems with annual ticket renewals, etc. and burn-out with having to repeat myself 30 times a day for the same questions, over and over again.
Most of the people you see on the floor are volunteers - for every staff person, there’s probably seven or eight volunteers in any given area. Keep in mind that, once you’re inside, the poor volunteers have NO CONTROL over how many people the management has let it — but they are the ones who have to deal with it. Snarling at them doesn’t help. Find someone with a radio, ask politely for a manager, and then make your complaints to someone who can do something.
By nurse&mother
April 9, 2008 1:31 PM | Link to this
Hey NONO- If it is that bad why are you still living here? Just a question.
I don’t live in ATL, but if I hated where I live, I would move. Life is too short to be unhappy:)
By Magenta
April 9, 2008 4:51 PM | Link to this
I’m lucky. My out of town friends either want to shop (anywhere at all), sleep in & watch TV, or just have me drive them randomly around and look at McMansions. Or they want to go to Red Lobster. Whoop de doo!
By Penguinmom
April 9, 2008 5:10 PM | Link to this
CNM,
Where is the bashing? She said that she loves the aquarium for it’s educational aspects but that it’s expensive to take a bunch of people. That’s not bashing, that’s just true. The places she mentioned as being more interesting are partly because she’s never been to them. Anything new is automatically going to have more interest potentially than something you’ve seen a bunch of times.
By fk
April 9, 2008 5:48 PM | Link to this
Just got back from Memphis. Visited a family member who used to live here. We were actually talking about the places we like to take company when they come to ATL for a visit. My favorite: Cyclorama. Have not yet checked out the “new” World of Coke. Have taken many a guest to the original. Always a fun tour.
By cobbmom
April 11, 2008 7:38 PM | Link to this
Workers at Zoo Atlanta and the Aquarium are indeed some of the rudest folks. Not sure about the zoo, but my husband, a seasoned aquarium volunteer, looked into volunteering at the GA Aquarium. They treat their volunteers like dirt, so it is no wonder they can’t keep anyone decent. Both the zoo and aquarium are outrageously expensive compared to other cities too.
By cobbmom
April 11, 2008 7:41 PM | Link to this
Hey nono, if those other cities are so great, why not move there? You know, we all have the power to live in whatever city we choose.