Luggage and Literature

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. - St. Augustine

Archives for December 2014

Atlanta, Georgia

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In August 2013 I traveled to Atlanta, Georgia for a conference and then a family reunion just a few days later. When I travel for conferences (which is not infrequently), I always try to explore the local area where the conference is held, but having a little extra time made it even easier to check out the local attractions.

Martin Luther King Jr. Historic Site

The last day of my conference also happened to be August 28th, the 50th anniversary of the I Have A Dream speech. Atlanta was Martin Luther King Jr.’s home, so I definitely wanted to check out the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site. And it was very impressive. The site is actually multiple locations, including the visitor center (which I recommend starting at, as it’s a great primer and has maps and schedules for all of the sites), the birth home of MLK, Jr., the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change (which includes the tomb of Dr. King), and the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church.

0828131426bSince I was there for a major anniversary of the I Have a Dream speech, there were extra events were scheduled. I was able to attend a very moving event at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where all in attendance held hands and sang We Shall Overcome. It certainly brought tears to my eyes to think about how far our nation has come since Dr. King’s time, but how far our world still needs to go to achieve peace and basic human rights for all.

0828131518abWhile I was visiting the King Center, I watched as one gentleman prayed, bowed, and did yoga in front of Dr. King’s final resting place. While observing the Eternal Flame, I was even approached by a local news station for a comment about the experiences of the day and what they meant to me. It was tough not getting choked up while thinking about all of the things I’d observed and experienced on the historic occasion. It was all certainly very moving.

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Centennial Olympic Park

My conference was at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, so I stayed downtown, and only a few blocks from the Centennial Olympic Park. I was a child when the Olympics were held in Atlanta, and I watched them on television. Ever since I was a child, I’ve wanted to go to the Olympics, and someday I’ll make it happen. But it was fun to meander through the Olympic Park and see the fountains and artwork that were commissioned for the games. I spent a considerable amount of time just wandering through and enjoying the sites.

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World of Coca Cola

My husband flew in at the tail end of the conference and we had about a day and a half together to explore the city before heading to our family reunion. World of Coca Cola was on our list of must see attractions for Atlanta, the birthplace of Coke. The tour was a bit cheesy, but the vintage signs and memorabilia were neat to look at. And our absolute favorite part was the tasting room. It was fun and delicious to taste sodas from all over the world. So this is definitely an attraction to visit thirsty!

the World of Coca-Cola

One other little tip, there’s a promotion in Atlanta called the Pemberton Place Promo, where you can get a discount at the aquarium or at the World of Coke, by showing your ticket from the other location. It’s a great way to saves a bit of money and visit both attractions.

Georgia Aquarium

I was extremely impressed when we visited the Georgia Aquarium. It greatly surpassed my expectations. This is definitely a site that kids would enjoy; I know that our niece and nephew would love all of it. But it’s wonderful for adults too. Mike and I don’t have children, spent a couple of hours wandering through the different exhibits, and could have spent several more hours. The variety of the marine life and the quality of the displays is top-notch. This is not an inexpensive place to visit, but is absolutely worth the price of admission.

Before visiting, I assumed that the aquarium would only have salt water fish.  This was definitely  a mistaken assumption.  The aquarium has several different exhibits that focus on different types of marine life.  When we visited, they included an exhibit focused on fresh water fish and mammals, a dolphin exhibit, a cold water exhibit, an exhibit about frogs, and others.  The aquarium is set up with each of the exhibits off of a central area, so you can choose which exhibits to visit, and in the order of your own choosing.  It really is worth a trip to see.

Dining Out

There are two restaurants in Atlanta that stand out in my mind. The first is a drive-in mecca, The Varsity. We went to the original, located downtown, and were greeted with the “What’ll ya have?” that all diners at The Varsity are bound to hear. Mike tried the naked dogs and onion rings. I tried the chili cheese dogs and a frosted orange. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was really fun too. We love The Varsity so much that we make sure to swing by the airport location any time we fly through Atlanta.

The Varsity

The other memorable restaurant that we tried was Gladys Knight’s Chicken and Waffles. We, of course had to try chicken and waffles, so we ordered The Midnight Train. The waffles were crisp, buttery, and sweet, while the chicken wings were crunchy, seasoned to perfection, and absolutely enormous. I have never before seen chicken wings that large before. I heartily recommend this establishment at any time of day any or night.

What I Read (Atlanta)

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When I travel, I always find time to get a bit of reading time in. Car trips, flights, and relaxing by a pool or on a beach afford ample time to read fantastic books.


While on my trip to Atlanta, I read only one book (probably since I was traveling there for a conference followed by a family reunion, but with a little sight seeing smashed in the middle). But that one book is perhaps the ultimate novel set in Atlanta, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Before reading the book, I had seen the 1939 movie starring Clarke Gable and Vivien Leigh. Typically I prefer to read a book before seeing the movie, but in this instance it was practically impossible to make it this far in my life without having seen the movie. And while reading the book, I definitely pictured the stars in my head for their literary counterparts.

What I really appreciated about the novel was that it was very easy to identify with the characters, including the characters’ racial ideas and anti-North sentiments. I certainly don’t mean to say that I agreed with them, but rather that I can understand how they arrived at their particular point of view when their backgrounds and in their time period. And I think that we can probably all agree that the Reconstruction as carried out in the post-Lincoln era was an unmitigated disaster. Rather than bringing the country together as one, it instead contributed to ongoing racism and hostility. What Margaret Mitchell truly succeeded in doing was bringing the reader into the fold and feel the emotions that the characters felt, however strong or serious or silly those feelings may be.

Before reading this novel, I had read quite a lot of Jane Austen, and it was quite interesting to me to contrast Mitchell with Austen. In most, if not all, of Austen’s books, there is tension created between the romantic interests that is resolved by the end with the characters ultimately falling in love and ending up together. In Gone with the Wind, the tension is continued throughout the entirety of the novel,and ultimately never resolved. Throughout the story, the reader knows or can guess at Rhett and Scarlett’s true feelings, and the missed connection is frustrating but truly the only possible ending that would feel authentic.

It was a bit of a happy coincidence that I had downloaded Gone with the Wind on my Kindle shortly before my trip to Atlanta, but it was a perfect fit, considering that so much of the story takes place in Atlanta. I very much liked the linkage between the place I was visiting and the setting of my novel.

DeSmet, South Dakota and Laura Ingalls Wilder

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DeSmet, South Dakota is a small town located on the prairies east of the Missouri River. It is named after Father Pierre DeSmet, a Belgian Jesuit missionary. But the town is made famous by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and Little House on the Prairie series of books and the television show.


I read the books as a child and was absolutely fascinated by all that these pioneers had experienced, and even more so by the fact that some of the books took place in my home state. As an adult, that childhood fascination translated into an intense desire to visit the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

26 Ingalls House in De SmetVisiting the Laura Ingalls Wilder historic homes and the museum takes about an afternoon. It includes a tour of the surveyor’s house, the Brewster School (the first school that Laura taught in), the DeSmet school, and the home of the Ingalls family in town. Seeing the places described in the books was so much fun. I was amazed at how much smaller these buildings were than what my mind’s eye had pictured.

The price of admission is $12 for adults, $6 for youth, and free for children under age 5.  I thought the amount of information and entertainment provided was well worth the price of admission.

I recommend reading the books before visiting. But they are available in the gift shop for purchase as well. Another great resource for those wanting to read more about the time is the Discover Laura blog. I recommend checking that out as well!

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