Followers

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Dixieland Part 11...

Our last day in Atlanta dawned and we realised it was also our last day in America!    We were due to fly home in the evening but had a busy day ahead of us before we actually left.

Before embarking on our first excursion for the day we took at photograph of a house quite near to our hotel.



Margaret Mitchell's house.   Of course you know that Margaret Mitchell wrote 'Gone With The Wind' and this tied in nicely with our trip which was to take the 'Road To Tara', in Jonesboro, Georgia, home of the fictional Tara Plantation from her classic novel.


Arriving at the Road to Tara Museum we met up with a local costume historian who guided us through the  museum  and joined us on the coach as we toured the area, entertaining us with both historical and hysterical information about this deep southern town.  The museum contains many exhibits such as detailed and accurate reproductions of the costumes worn by Vivien Leigh (Scarlett O'Hara) and other stars from the film, as well as Margaret Mitchell's china, and an authentic 'Sherman's necktie' (a section of rail twisted into a loop so as to be useless to a railroad company) from the Civil War.   It was an entertaining and informative tour and one I would certainly recommend to anyone visiting the area.

Our next stop was a tour of the World of Coca Cola.  A unique experience that includes interactive exhibits, historical memorabilia, a sensory 4D film, a functioning bottling line, and the chance to sample over 60 different refreshing flavours from around the world.  There is so much to see and it's very informative, a delight for children and we didn't realise there were so many different flavours of Coca Cola!



After our tour of the World Coca Cola we went in here,



where we enjoyed a burger and a milk shake,





whilst reflecting on all the wonderful things and places we had seen on our 12 day trip to the U.S.A.    Then, all too soon, it was time to head back to the hotel to meet Alice (our tour director) and Jerome (our coach driver) who were waiting to take us to the airport to catch our flight home.

We had a wonderful time and the places and things we saw and the people we met will provide some wonderful memories.   We cannot praise Alice and Jerome enough, they really made the whole tour a delight, Jetsave should be very proud of them.   Alice was a fountain of knowledge about every place we stopped, we never had to find a bank to change travellers cheques we just signed them and Alice handed over the money, if we wanted a postcard sending we just wrote it out and gave it to Alice with $1 and she posted it and we never had to queue to check into a hotel because Alice was in there first booking us all in and then gave us our room keys.   Jerome made sure our luggage was on the coach every time we moved to a different location, his careful driving (over 2200 miles from end to end) made all the journeys we took comfortable and we always felt safe, so I'd just like to say a big THANKYOU to them both for making our holiday such a pleasurable one.

I hope you've enjoyed our Dixieland Tour as much as we did.   We're now planning our next trip to the States with the same tour company (Jetsave) for August 2012 taking in Los Angeles,Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Fresno, Sonora, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, Lompoc and back to Los Angeles - we can't wait!

Read Dixieland Part 1 here
Read Dixieland Part 2 here
Read Dixieland Part 3 here
Read Dixieland Part 4 here
Read Dixieland Part 5 here
Read Dixieland Part 6 here
Read Dixieland Part 7 here
Read Dixieland Part 8 here
Read Dixieland Part 9 here
Read Dixieland Part 10 here

22 comments:

Melanie said...

I am glad to hear you had such a positive trip!!

Pam said...

i see that you're planning your next excursion near where i live. you will have to let me know when you're in san francisco(about an hour away without traffic), or when you're in vegas, if i'm visiting during that time. you and the hubby are world travelers now :) my hubs and i are just boring old sit-around-the-house folks...or we have to travel with the kids lol

Akelamalu said...

Thanks Melanie x

Oh yes I will let you know Pam for sure, it would be great if we could meet up!

Valerie said...

I imagine you were a little sad on the last day... I know I was when I left American shores.

A Daft Scots Lass said...

I'm Glad your ring arrived safely!!

Remember to send me a pic of you and your ADSL tattoo!

Daryl said...

Never heard of Lompoc but I adore San Franciso, Las Vegas is fun for one day/evening, and I am on my way tomorrow to Los Angeles .. a long flight but the weather out there is a lot nicer than the rain here which is due to last all week into weekend ..

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

what a lovely trip! and i tasted those coke flavors too, well most of them! so strange some of them!

i am so glad you had a good trip to the south, the place i call home.

smiles, bee
xoxoxooxxo

Akelamalu said...

Yes we were Valerie

Thanks. I will when I get a minute Scots Lass

San Francisco is somewhere I've always wanted to visit Daryl and the other stops are are bonus.

Some of those coke flavours were wierd Bee. The South was wonderful, we enjoyed every single minute there.

G-Man said...

I need a Mint Julip....

Ron said...

Wonderful post, m'dear! I hate to see this Dixieland series end :(

Awesome photographs. I especially loved the ones of Margret Michells house because I have a picture book on Atlanta and they show a photo of her house in the book. But it's not nearly as clear as your photo.

I also enjoyed the photos of Johnny Rockets because we actually one here in Philly. I not only love their food, but the atmosphere is so much fun!

Thank you for sharing such informative, interesting, and enjoyable posts of your trip. Muchly enjoyed!

Have a great Wednesday!

X

Maude Lynn said...

I would love to take the Road to Tara tour!

Commander Zaius said...

We're now planning our next trip to the States...

You mean you want to come back to see us crazy people again?!?!?!?!

Just kidding, you will love San Francisco, its one of the most beautiful cities we have. Its still a distant second to Charleston, South Carolina.

MorningAJ said...

It was obviously a fantastic trip and I'm pleased you enjoyed it. Last time we did the States we went with Virgin and I won't BEGIN to tell you the mistakes they made. I'm pleased you've found a reliable tour operator.

Travis Cody said...

I'm so glad you enjoyed yourselves. I certainly enjoyed your recaps and photographs.

Linda said...

I think it's great that after you took the Road to Tara that you never went hungry again and had lunch at Johnny Rocket's! They do make a pretty good burger I must say!

This looks like it was the trip of a lifetime for you and MWM - you packed so much into and saw so many great places!

And may I just say that you are absolutely going to love San Francisco and Lake Tahoe - but espcially Lake Tahoe! Oh, and the Grand Canyon, too! As for LA - eh, I can take it or leave it but I bet you go to a lot of the good places. I'll look forward to the next trip - almost as much as you do I bet!

Cloudia said...

glad your last American meal was in such a classic burger joint!
You could lecture - or at least dine out on- your expertise in the US south. You know it better than many of us!


Aloha from Waikiki;


Comfort Spiral


> < } } ( ° >

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a great trip. I'm really envious - but in a good way!

Akelamalu said...

Oh I love Mint Julip G-man!

You sound as though you enjoyed our trip just as much as we did Ron, thanks for that my friend. x

The Road To Tara tour was SO interesting Mama Zen I'm sure you would love it.

Oh we definitely want to come back to the States Beach, we can't wait!

I can definitely recommend Jetsave AJ, their organisation is just great!

We really enjoyed it all Trav and I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed my travelogue. x

It was the trip I've waited all my life to take Linda and I'm sure we will enjoy the next one just as much. :)

It was all so wonderful Cloudia, I confess I made notes everywhere we visited so I wouldn't forget anything. :)

If you get the chance you should do the trip Dumdad, it's worth every single penny. :)

secret agent woman said...

Wow, you sure are covering the States, aren't you?

Julia Phillips Smith said...

Just catching up on your final two Dixieland posts, Akelamalu - as a massive Gone With The Wind fan, that tour of the costume reproduction museum would be just heavenly. Also, the Jack Daniels distillery! Loved the shots of the cavern containing the spring (I have a thing for caverns - I keep using them as settings in my fiction.)

And as a lifelong devotee of The Real Thing, my husband would love to tour the Coca Cola exhibit. Loved that Coca Cola couch.

Thanks again for bringing us all along for your journey. You're so good at them!

Anonymous said...

So what was your favortite flavor at the World of Coke. I think mine is Cherry cola. Sometimes I like to mix Sprite and cherry cola.
You are going to LOVE your next trip. I love the Grand Canyon. I now live in Reno, NV and we just drove up to Lake Tahoe last weekend. It is at a high elevation. 8,000 feet. It is beautiful but crowded, houses all around it.

Akelamalu said...

We're trying SAW ;)

I'm so glad you've enjoyed our trip Julia x

Some of the flavoured cokes were disgusting Conniemeraldyes! I'm so looking forward to our next trip.