One week in Atlanta GA mid-October

[Deleted]

Hey peeps, I'm off for another week with my best friend/worst enemy this fall.  We settled on Atlanta b/c there's an incredible Chihuly exhibit at the botanical garden.  Now I need ideas for other things to do in Atlanta October 14-22.  Remember, my friend is a road warrior extreme so we are cool with other towns in a 100-mile radius.  History, culture, shopping, food, whatever.  Bring on those ideas everyone.  TIA.

[giramomma]

When we went we saw the house MLK grew up in, the visitor's center, and drove past his church. We were there over a weekend and not feeling up to going to service at his church.

We also went to the Margaret Mitchell House and visited friends.

We only had two days to sight see.

[wvugurl26]

You must go to the aquarium. It's amazing. If you like sports the College Football Hall of Fame was very nice and interactive. I haven't made it to the World of Coca-Cola but I've heard mixed reviews on that. CNN Center is there too.

[tskeeter]

Feb 29, 2016 21:08:15 GMT -5 @donethat said:

Hey peeps, I'm off for another week with my best friend/worst enemy this fall.  We settled on Atlanta b/c there's an incredible Chihuly exhibit at the botanical garden.  Now I need ideas for other things to do in Atlanta October 14-22.  Remember, my friend is a road warrior extreme so we are cool with other towns in a 100-mile radius.  History, culture, shopping, food, whatever.  Bring on those ideas everyone.  TIA.

I'd go to Stone Mountain park.  It helps one understand more about the civil rights movement when you study monuments to the Confederacy that were being completed during the same period.  

If you like residential architecture, check out the Buckhead historic district.

Make at trip east on I-40 to Madison and look at the pre-Civil War homes.  Sherman had a West Point classmate from Madison, so his troops didn't destroy the town, like they did to much of east GA as they marched to the sea.

I found some of the Civil War related displays at the High Museum, in Atlanta, worth a few hours.

Stop by the Colonnade for a Southern meat and three meal.  Eat grits at nearly any breakfast place, but grits at a Waffle House is a true southern experience.

Visit Jarrell Plantation State Park near Macon and think about the life of the slaves who lived there.  You might get a chance to try freshly made boiled peanuts, a GA specialty.

Check out antique shops.  Watch for Confederate currency and slave bills of sale.

Visit a Home Depot in it's home town. Buy a souvenir Homer bucket.

Drink iced tea.  Sweet (often toothachingly sweet) or unsweet.

Visit Andersonville National Historic Site, the location of a Civil War prison camp and home of the National Prisoner of War Museum, which tells the story of Americans who were prisoners of war from the Revolution to the present.

[weltschmerz]

Feb 29, 2016 21:08:15 GMT -5 @donethat said:

Hey peeps, I'm off for another week with my best friend/worst enemy this fall.  We settled on Atlanta b/c there's an incredible Chihuly exhibit at the botanical garden.  Now I need ideas for other things to do in Atlanta October 14-22.  Remember, my friend is a road warrior extreme so we are cool with other towns in a 100-mile radius.  History, culture, shopping, food, whatever.  Bring on those ideas everyone.  TIA.

I went to the Chihuly exhibit when it was here. Spectacular!!

Did you know he's blind in one eye?

[happyhoix]

The Atlanta Zoo is nice, and they have a lot of different music venues in the city. October is a nice time to visit - not so blindly hot and humid that you can't stand to be outside. If you like gardens, Barnsley Gardens is not too far up I-75 to the north. If you don't mind a 2 hour drive, Chattanooga is a nice small city, lots of restaurants, nice downtown area with an aquarium, Imax, kids museum, etc. Between Chattanooga and Atlanta, (just south of the TN line) is Chickamauga battlefield, if you're into Civil War history.

[gs11rmb]

I've lived in Atlanta since 1998 and there are lots of things to do for visitors. Downtown at Centennial Park, you can visit Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola, Center for Civil and Human Rights, CNN headquarters and the Ferris Wheel. A tram will take you over to Sweet Auburn to visit the birth home of Martin Luther King, the King Center and Ebenezer Baptist Church.  The current church is across the street but the original one where Dr. King preached and his funeral service was held is still open to the public.  If you like Civil War history there's the History Center in the city or you can drive to Stone Mountain park or Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield Park.  If you like hiking, it's possible to climb both mountains without being in anything more than reasonable shape. There's also a cable car to the top of Stone Mountain if you don't want to walk.

If you like gardens, in addition to the Botanical Garden, about 90 minutes south of the city is Calloway Gardens near Warm Springs, GA (where Roosevelt died).  I love their butterfly house.

There are lots of wonderful restaurants that use locally sourced ingredients but lots of people go to either the Colonnade (also known as "Gays and Greys" ) or Mary Macs Tearoom to get old-style southern cooking.  Tasty but spectacularly unhealthy .

Have fun!

[alabamagal]

Feb 29, 2016 23:31:20 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Feb 29, 2016 21:08:15 GMT -5 @donethat said:

Visit Andersonville National Historic Site, the location of a Civil War prison camp and home of the National Prisoner of War Museum, which tells the story of Americans who were prisoners of war from the Revolution to the present.

I'd say no to Andersonville, it is 2 1/2 hour drive to south GA.  It is a historical site for sure, but not a great place to visit.

[tskeeter]

Mar 1, 2016 10:42:16 GMT -5 alabamagal said:

Feb 29, 2016 23:31:20 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Visit Andersonville National Historic Site, the location of a Civil War prison camp and home of the National Prisoner of War Museum, which tells the story of Americans who were prisoners of war from the Revolution to the present.

I'd say no to Andersonville, it is 2 1/2 hour drive to south GA.  It is a historical site for sure, but not a great place to visit.

Thanks for the great advice!  I have wanted to visit Andersonville, but never made it during the 18 months I lived near Atlanta.

[atlantapenny]

Ooh! The Atlanta History Center has the Swan House among other things, which is now famous due to being featured in the Hunger Games movies.

Mary Mac's tea room is great and I would also suggest the Georgia Aquarium.  The botanical gardens are great and if you can get a reservation at the restaurant there it is delicious.  

[Deleted]

Ooooh!  We are going to have so many cool things to see and do that we won't have time to do them all.  Thanks for all the awesome input - I promise to research all the ideas.  After a South Texas hot and humid summer, October in Atlanta sounds really nice.