Atlanta Adventures

Hot-lanta. A-Town. ATL. I have no idea what these terms mean besides being slang references to Atlanta, Georgia. I do know that on my first visit there, I plummeted straight down 16 stories (that's 161 feet). Then I twisted, turned, and flipped through the air riding on Superman -- the rollercoaster -- at Six Flags over Georgia. I'm usually not a roller coaster fanatic, but the sensation of free fall, the whoosh of thousands of pounds of screaming flesh and straining steel spiraling at 60 mph (all held together by a metal pipe not much wider than the ventilation hose on the back of my dryer) changed my mind. Personally, my trip couldn't have started at a better place, but for those of you who prefer to keep your feet on the ground, come with me.  Let's spend a day in Atlanta.

First, getting there. The Crescent Train runs from the Big Apple to the Big Easy, stopping in Atlanta at the Peachtree Station (about a 25-minute cab ride to any place in the city). Now you have some decisions to make. Are you interested in art? Shopping? Sports? Food? Coca-Cola? The Civil War? Civil Rights? Really big fish? No problem.

You planned well, so it's relatively early, why not go to the High Museum of Art? The High, in partnership with the Musee de Louvre (think glass pyramids and the Mona Lisa) in Paris, France is in the midst of mounting three different collections. The current exhibits, which are scheduled to close on September 2, feature the paintings and decorative objects collected by seventeenth- and eighteenth-century French Kings. On view from October 16 through September 7, 2008, the second collection features Near Eastern, Egyptian, and Greco-Roman antiquities. The third, set to debut in October 2008, is still under development and will examine today's Louvre and its relationship to modern society.

The High always has a great collection of nineteenth-  and twentieth-century art from around the world. But it's the way the works are presented that really gets a visitor thinking. In one hall you can behold a painfully ornate secretary from the Palace of Versailles dating to Louis XIV. Then, minutes later, you find yourself in front of a rainbow-painted, American folk-art chest made out of washtubs and barn planks. It makes you wonder whether form should follow function, or just fun.

You could easily spend all day at the High, but it's time for lunch. From Europe to Asia to Africa, in terms of cuisine, Atlanta is international. We're stopping at the Globe. The atmosphere is cool and relaxing, with modern furniture and a color scheme of sage and mauve, with white accents. When you walk in, you feel trendy. Every weekend, the Globe has a brunch special from noon to three. You get one entrée, with a Bloody Mary or Mimosa, for $14. Eating light? Try the Caprese salad (you know, the classic combination of tomatoes, mozzarella, basil). The Globe's version is made with red pear and yellow cherry tomatoes, watermelon, buffalo mozzarella, and basil sorbet. The pear and watermelon offer a welcome twist on traditional Caprese textures, and the sorbet is so unexpected you can't help but love it.

Enjoy lunch? Good. Now, what kind of adventurer are you going to be today? The shopaholics can head to Lennox Square for anything you, and your budget, can imagine. You can go upscale with Hermes, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, and -- my favorite window-shopping stop -- Cartier. At a more accessible price range, Anthropology is a very earthy, go-green place that offers, in addition to clothing and jewelry, unique items like hanging lamps made out of sticks. Now, some gender specific Lennox Square tips: Ladies, go by Salvatore Ferragamo, put on the most outrageous pair of heels you see, and strut around the store. Okay, now look at the price tag. You may never wash you feet again. Gentlemen, go to The Art of Shaving and set up an appointment for a shave or haircut.

For adventures in history, you have myriad options in Atlanta. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthplace, and burial site are in the Sweet Auburn District; so is the Ebenezer Church, where three generations of the King family preached. The Fernbank Museum of Natural History has an iMax theater and an exciting dinosaur exhibit. Civil War sites are hard to miss in Georgia. There are museums, battlefields, even separate Yankee and Confederate cemeteries.  Ever wonder what Coke tastes like in China? The World of Coca-Cola has a tasting room where you can sample any Coke product worldwide.

Sports fans, here's your ticket. Atlanta has every major sport, including two ice hockey teams. You can cheer for everything from baseball to roller derby.

Another adventure option, my favorite, is the Georgia Aquarium. It's the world's largest aquarium, housing around 100,000 animals. Penguins, Piranhas, and whales, oh my! Don't miss the Ocean Voyager exhibit. It's a moving sidewalk (there's a regular sidewalk, too) that goes through a see-through tunnel in the aquarium's largest (6 million gallons) tank. There are throngs of tropical fish, and it's the home of the automobile-size whale sharks. There's a mild sense of trespassing when your perspective switches from looking into the tank to traveling through the tank. It will change the way you treat your goldfish. The aquarium also has a petting pool where you can touch stingrays (think wet suede, in a good way), starfish (slimy, very slimy), and sea anemones (yeah, right).

Fish make you hungry? Just a few blocks from the aquarium, in the heart of downtown, you'll find the Westin Peachtree Plaza.  The top two floors (72 and 73) make up the SunDial Restaurant Bar & View. With so many other restaurants in Atlanta, why the SunDial? First, it's a hemispherical landmark -- the Peachtree Plaza is the tallest hotel in the western hemisphere. Second, it's all windows. Finally, the tables are positioned in a ring facing the windows. This ring is actually a platform that slowly rotates around the entire building. You can see the Atlanta skyline from every angle. The views at sunset are beautiful, but take sunglasses. Facing the West can be intense on a clear day. Sorry thrill seekers, the rotation is slow.

Molly Sammons Morris is a writer and editor based in Georgia.