First: the walk. We walked there when it was still light outside and felt totally safe. There were plenty of other people walking around also. It got dark while we were there however, and I felt like the walk back was a bit scarier. There weren’t really other people out… and sometimes walking in Miami just makes me nervous.

CocoWalk itself: It has your regular restaurants (Chili’s, Cheesecake Factory), a french place we heard was good, lots of italian places and steakhouses, and a few dessert places (surprisingly nothing really stand out). It has good atmosphere if you just want to walk around. There was a live band playing. A few panhandlers but some were playing music so that’s a little added bonus.

Yogurbella: We stopped and got frozen yogurt at Yogurbella. The lemon flavor was AMAZING. I can’t say enough about the taste. The cost was pretty much what you would expect for Miami ($4.50 for a small with 1 topping). The only bad thing was the portion size. The small didn’t even fill the small cup–it was one tiny swirl of yogurt. The topping (at a cost of $.99) was 5 blackberries. It just frustrated me… so good, but so little. I tried to complain to their office but they don’t have an online form and I feel a bit cheap complaining to the manager over the phone… I’m not sure if this is their standard size or if the person working the counter that night just didn’t know what they were doing.

So overall I’d say CocoWalk is a fun place to walk around, even if you don’t go out to eat or go into the shops. If you like people watching this is a cool place to do it.

The second time I went I walked with my friend Allison through a very sketchy neighborhood on a hot day. Undaunted, we made it alive and paid $15 to get in.

The World of Coke delivers exactly what you would expect. There was Disney-esque music playing in the front queue, a giant polar bear mascot thingy and a 3D movie. Actually, the place could have been an attraction at Disney World. Shock of all shocks–Coke is a Disney sponsor and there’s a Coke pavilion at Epcot.

I’d have to say the highlight of the experience was getting to drink all the cokes of the world. Sure seeing the history of Coke was neat, and the 3D movie was appropriately cheesy. I even liked seeing the Coke in Pop Culture exhibit. But there’s just something about all the Coke you can drink that calls to my heart in an indescribable way. Even though some of the flavors were disgusting and by the time I’d had very small sips of 60 flavors I honestly felt I was going to puke, I had a great time.

It’s very brandy (another shock) and the person leading the tour was really into Coke. There was an extremely strange animated film at the beginning that still confuses me. The little mini-factory doesn’t actually make Coke all the time, so that was kinda lame, although you get the general idea of what goes on. I think it’d be cool to go to a real Coke factory. At the end of the tour you get a commemorative bottle of Coke to take home, and of course there’s a gift shop.

Overall, I’d give the World of Coke my seal of approval. Out of the 3 major attractions we saw in Atlanta, this was by far my favorite and the only one I felt was worth the money (although… still… it was a bit pricey considering it’s just a walking advertisement for Coke…)

Tune in next time when I begin my in-depth coverage of Miami, Florida!

Let’s see… you pay your money, then ride a giant escalator to the 7th floor and watch a video about how great CNN is. Then you slowly make your way down. You can get your picture taken at an anchor desk and pay something outrageous for it (they print out the pictures so when you get down to the gift shop it’s all ready for you… if you don’t buy it, they throw the picture away). Then you walk by 47 life size posters of Anderson Cooper, who, incidentally, never comes to the Atlanta office. “I think he came here in 2003…” –tour guide to AC’s disappointed fans. Then you get to see a real newsroom, which is basically a room full of people working on computers. If this interests you, let me know. For a low price I can get you into a similar room full of financial advisers!

Then you walk by the international newsroom then finally, a somewhat offensive video involving Muslim clerics dancing to an MJ song. Uh, thanks CNN.

Again, unless you just LOVE CNN, people working on computers or wasting your money, skip it. Or, if you buy that CityPass I guess you could squeeze the tour in… then and only then it might be worth it. CityPass needs to pay me some advert $$…

http://www.amazon.com/wishlist/2YO2CS6YFQYW1

Since I haven’t been in Miami since June, I thought I would throw up some reviews of the places we visited in GA. The first place we went was the Atlanta Aquarium. The tickets were expensive–$26 a piece! Using basic multiplication you can see that we spent $52 on admission. I guess I’ll go ahead and give my first point right here: It was too expensive. I didn’t feel like the value was there (even though the place was cool) and honestly, who can just drop $52 bucks for an outing? It only took us 2 hours to get through the entire place. We obviously got past our aversion for spending so much money and went in anyway but… it was rough.

The Aquarium itself is very well-maintained–clean and well-kept. We received a map at the entry but honestly didn’t need one. The place is split up into sections with different themes.

Some of the highlights: touching a hammerhead shark/stingray, seeing a beluga whale, going on an official behind-the-scenes tour of the temporary penguin habitat, and seeing a representation of the barrier reef. I’m not really that into fish or aquatic life, but I thought it was cool. They’re getting dolphins, so that should be cool. There were a lot of kids who seemed to love the place (although if you have kids to take it could seriously break the bank).

One thing I’d recommend to people visiting Atlanta is to purchase a CityPass; it’s $68/pp and gives you access to almost all the city’s attractions. The only trouble is that it expires in 9 days, so that didn’t really work for us since we only went out on the weekends. I think this would totally make the Aquarium worth it.

So to recap, my take: A cool way to spend a couple of hours and worth the cost if you buy the CityPass. Otherwise, you might want to skip it unless you are very interested in marine life.

Anybody have any thoughts on toll roads or the Turnpike?

Pollo Tropical is actually a chain fast food place here and it is amazing. You can get a plate of chicken with rice and beans for only $3.79! And the chicken is really good.

They also have other stuff like fajitas, salads and bowls… but the chicken is by far the best deal. It’s not the most inventive food ever but I’ve definitely paid way more for much less (taste and quantity).

Pollo Tropical. I’m a fan.

(notice I tactfully skipped the tearful farewell from my family… I’m still not over it.)

I went to check in to the hotel and then went out to get Austin and the stuff. I tried to steal a luggage rack but the bellhop outside caught me and started unloading my car. Then she wheeled my cart and told me I’d have to wait for another bellhop to take me up to my room. Then she stared at me in expectation of a tip. Uh, sorry lady, I have no cash. So she gets mad and leaves and I just start rolling the cart upstairs. I didn’t want help in the first place, right? Then the original bellhop flags me down.

“Ma’am, the bellhop will be here soon.”

“oh, I’m okay,” I assured her, and kept pushing the cart.

“sorry, but for insurance purposes you just can’t do that.” uhh… Somebody needs to let the other hotels I’ve stayed at know that. I’ve been pushing carts right and left!

The lady stomped forward and grabbed the cart and shoved it in the elevator.

Now my mother taught me never to get in an elevator with someone you feel uncomfortable with and let me tell you, she looked tough! But I had no choice and I got on.

Thankfully I arrived unscathed on the second floor and the second bellhop met us.

“have a great stay with us,” the lady mumbled, and walked away.

Then the second bellhop unloaded all our luggage. Let me tell you, it is a lot. We had to pack for six weeks, but the bellhops clearly thought I was insane.

“you’re just here one week?” the guy asked me.

“yep.” I was tired, hungry and in no mood to explain.

“this must be your first time staying overnight at a hotel,” he decided.

I just smiled.

So he unloaded all the luggage and then waited and I explained that my husband had all the cash. He disappeared pretty quickly after that.

Austin spent over an hour looking for free parking, getting cash and then trying to break a twenty so we could tip our bellhops. By the time he got back, the first lady was gone, but we got to tip the second guy. Good thing, because after nine he’s the desk attendent and we had to talk to him everytime we walked in our out of the hotel.

Miami is big but not overwhelmingly so. I think the presence of trees and other green stuff makes me feel more comfortable. We walked the miracle mile last night and didn’t get mugged, so that’s good. We are both so freaked out that we saw potential mugging spots everywhere… Especially by the Denny’s. We became even more paranoid when Austin admitted to having large amounts of cash in his wallet.

I would have taken pictures but my camera still needs new batteries. I actually have some in the car but it’s parked a few blocks away. I will rectify the situation when I go to pick up my new friend at the airport!

This last weekend, as a sort of NC wrap-up, I went to the mountains with my family. We stayed outside of Marion, NC and it was great!

We went to this season’s opening of the Orchards at Altapass and bought fudge, ice cream, a t-shirt, honey, and other assorted foods. Their products are amazing so it’s fairly hard to resist. I tried key lime fudge and it was THE BEST FUDGE I’VE EVER TASTED! I love sour desserts though, so keep that in mind. The orchard is so beautiful that it’s totally worth a trip just to go. Also you can take a cool hayride and hear stories about the war and other people who lived on the mountain. (The revolutionary war, of course. They’re still talking about it up there.

Yum…

Sam’s one happy moment. He spent the rest of the hayride (and indeed, the rest of the trip) in terror of bears.

We went panning for gems at Emerald Mountain. They have some kind of tour where you can tour the mine and another one where you can actually go and mine (like, take a pick and chip into the side of the mountain) but by the time we found the place it was too late for that.

I love how my mom took this picture of the backs of our heads. It’s probably my best side, anyway.

Hi cute girl!

Then we “hiked” (it’s a one mile walk over a mostly flat trail) to Roaring Creek Falls.

I need a t-shirt that says “I walked all the way to these falls and I all I got was a bad picture.” The light around mountain waterfalls is not great. It was beautiful in real life though.

He’s saying “Booyah!” to bears.

This week’s adventure is packing, cleaning and moving. Fun. I would take a picture of my progress but it would only depress people. Also my camera needs new batteries.

Next stop–Miami!

I started off my day by passing another teacher exam. I didn’t take any pictures of that. Cameras weren’t allowed inside the testing area.

Since I was already in downtown Raleigh I decided to hit up the Farmer’s Market for some fruit. We eat fruit like it’s going out of style and I figured even if we didn’t polish everything off we could always take fruit on our road trip to Miami.

Hello, Farmer’s Market.

So I always skip the homegrown in NC sections (ironic, no?) and go to the wholesale area. Individuals purchase a carton of something (for example, apples) and then split up the produce into shares. They then sell the shares to ordinary people. It’s a way of getting food at wholesale prices without having to buy enough to feed an army. I guess it’s also a way for people to make a little bit of money on a Saturday (although based on how cheaply they sell the produce, any profit is entirely marginal).

This is what I bought for only $10.75! The watermelon was my big splurge at $4. Right after I bought it, I intended to take it to the car but then it started to rain heavily.

So I waited. But I wasn’t alone! A nice lady gave me a box to put everything in since I didn’t bring my huge supply of grocery bags (it was a last minute kinda thing). Finally the rain slowed and I made it back to my car.

Goodbye, Farmer’s Market.

I realized I was really hungry. Rather than eat unwashed fruit, I decided to eat out.

Hello, Cookout.

****THIS IS A SPECIAL MESSAGE DIRECTED AT PIGS****

Hi, pigs. I just want you to know that I love you. When I saw you drive by in a hog truck the other day, I wanted to give up eating you again. I thought about sausage, bacon, and pork loin and was still doing okay until I remembered BBQ. Then I faltered. I’m so very sorry.

****MESSAGE CONCLUDED****

So my meal was amazing even though they were a bit skimpy with the hushpuppies. Considering how many calories were undoubtedly contained in that meal, it’s probably for the best.

Cookout… Where else can you get chicken nuggets as a side? Where else can you get a BANANA PUDDING MILKSHAKE?!?! That’s pretty much the ultimate Southern treat.

Yum. And it doesn’t stop there… there are dozens of flavor combinations!!! I will miss that place.

Goodbye, Cookout.

I was already downtown and there was an exhibit I really wanted to see so I called my dad and convinced him to drive into Raleigh with the babies so I wouldn’t have to go alone.

Hello, Museums.

Let me add a little shout out to those leafy trees… I love you, trees.

While I waited (it took over an hour for my dad to get there) I walked around reading stuff.

I was going to store some valuables in there. Good thing I read the warning.

Finally they came and we saw…

Chocolate! And got a free Hershey’s Kiss. And learned how chocolate arrives in this world.

Then we saw this owl:

(I love that picture! Owls are so… cool.)

And then we saw this NASCAR car. (Can you say that, or does the “car” in nasCAR do the job for you?)

Then we went to the NC pirate exhibit which was informative, to say the least.

I highly recommend both the Museum of Natural History and the Museum of History… and they face each other in the same square so really, it’s the perfect setup.

By the time we walked them both we were tired and ready to go.

Goodbye, Museums.

I wasn’t very hungry but there’s one more thing I always have to do when I’m in downtown Raleigh.

Hello, Krispee Kreme.

Hello, minis. Yes, that’s right, minis. Krispee Kreme now carries MINIATURE DONUTS! THIS IS THE BEST IDEA I’VE EVER HEARD OF! THEY ARE AMAZING AND THE PERFECT SIZE!

Okay, I’ll calm down now. I was in too much of donut-inspired high to take a picture of them so I’ll just give you the admonition to try some yourself.

Goodbye, Krispee Kreme.*

*now my heart is breaking because I truly love those original glazed minis.

That was it for the North Carolina day… later that night I went to a wedding reception with my best friend:

Hi best friend. No goodbyes needed, you’re going with me.

So that’s me… what do you like to do in NC?