Adventures in Atlanta

I had the opportunity to travel to Atlanta for a Walmart meeting. My younger brother, Jeff, is stationed nearby. So, as you can imagine, I was very excited.

Day 1 - Thursday, April 2
Thursday was spent traveling to Atlanta. They were late boarding our plane and then we sat on the runway. We arrived in Atlanta tired and hungry. We were staying downtown, so we were able to walk to a restaurant for dinner around 6:30 p.m. We decided to try Ted's Montana Grill (owned by Ted Turner) because one of the guys we traveled with is all about red meat. We were waiting on our table and I started feeling a little odd. I remember leaning against the wall. The next thing I knew everything was black. Apparently my head bobbed over on a co-worker's shoulder. She thought I was being silly and then they realized that my eyes were glazed over and not focusing on anything. I had locked my knees, so they did a karate chop on the back of my legs and pushed me down into a sitting position. I had passed out standing up with my eyes open. I have never passed out or been with anyone who passed out. I was thankful it wasn't more dramatic. I'm not sure if it was an inner ear problem or low blood sugar (we had skipped lunch). I was very embarrassed and it was discussed over and over during our trip. They told me that I had to call Fred and let him know what happened. His words to me were "What do they want me to do about it?" RUDE, RUDE, RUDE - I tell you!

Day 2 - Friday, April 3
We spent the day doing Walmart store visits. That evening Jeff and his fiance, Emma, came out to visit me. They had a two hour drive and they didn't get into Atlanta until 7:30. There was a huge high school volleyball tournament going on, so every place was packed. We wanted to eat at Hard Rock Cafe, but the wait was too long. We ended up at Hooters because they could take us immediately. I have never eaten at Hooters, so Jeff really got a kick out of it. I just wanted to add some material to those poor girls' shorts. We had a wonderful visit and stayed there for close to 3 hours! I finally made them leave because the drive was so long and Jeff had to play TAPS at a funeral the next day. Jeff and Emma, thanks for a wonderful visit. I miss you.

Day 3 - Saturday, April 4

Saturday was spent setting up our booth at the Walmart doctor's meeting. After we finished setting up, we were lucky enough to do some sight-seeing. We walked around Olympic Park. Went inside the CNN building and had lunch - we didn't take the tour, though. Then we went to the Coca-Cola Museum. Parts of the museum were kind of silly and not worth the $15 that it cost to get in. Some of it was geared towards children. There is a room where you can sample Coke products from around the world. That was interesting. I was a cautious taster.

The next room was the most glorious place ever. I found the room where they had tons of fountain drinks. I hadn't had a sip of Coke since May 8, 2005. I used to be a hard-core Coke drinker. With shaking hands, I grabbed a cup and filled it halfway with Coke. Aahhh! It was the best thing I have tasted in years. I filled up my cup two more times deciding that it was okay for me to have Coke in the Coke Museum. Coke is truly the nectar of the gods. I was a little worried that I might have fallen off the wagon and I would start hitting the sauce again. I'm happy to report that I haven't touched a Coke since.


Day 4 - Sunday, April 5
Nothing exciting on Sunday. We worked the booth all day and visited with the Walmart doctor's.

Day 5 - Monday, April 6
The Supplier Fair continued and we spent some time in their General Session where we heard Lee Scott (former Walmart CEO) speak among others. Everything wrapped up around 2:00 p.m. and then we had to tear down our booth.

Later that evening, we wrapped up the trip by visiting the world's largest aquarium. Walmart hosted a dinner at the Georgia Aquarium. There were 3 whale sharks and 1 beluga whale - among many other huge fish tanks. (In 2010 they are adding a Dolphin tank.)

Other than the unfortunate fainting spell, it was a great trip that seemed almost like a vacation.

Beluga Whale

Whale Shark