The final stop on our Southeastern journey was Atlanta, but before we got there, we made a little detour to Royston, GA - population 2,493.
My favorite part - and Ava's too - were the touch tanks. Ava especially liked the main tank where little sharks and fishes swam side by side and didn't mind all the teens and tweens trying (unsuccessfully) to grab them.
We decided to forego the World of Coca-Cola because Ava would've had to have skipped a nap, and went back to the hotel to check in. It's the cylindrical tower on the left - all the strange colored windows are actually boarded up windows due to the tornado that hit in March.
Our room was ready, and we were happy that we would soon be able to unpack and freshen up. Unfortunately, we opened the door of our 48th floor room only to be greeted by a musty smell. Exploring the room further, we found a wet spot on the ground next to the desk. Unacceptable! So we kindly called the front desk (ok, so maybe not so kindly) and demanded that we get another room, which they eventually gave us. As the bellman helped us with our bags and we headed down to the 27th floor, we couldn't help but notice two poor souls trying to enter the room we just vacated. Apparently the Westin couldn't be bothered to even check to see if our complaint had any validity. Shame on Westin. Even if I'm getting a free hotel room, I still expect a basic level of customer service and room quality which certainly wasn't met here. Although I must say the concierge was fantastic with directions, maps, and a rubber duck for Ava.
There's not much in Royston (although they do have a Bojangles), but it was the home of baseball great Ty Cobb, and is now the home of the Ty Cobb Museum. Interestingly, the Ty Cobb Museum is located in a medical building. In addition to his financial riches earned from a long baseball career, Cobb also made a ton of money through his investments, including early investments in Coke and Ford, and he was very generous with his wealth, donating money to build the first hospital in Royston. Most observers probably wouldn't think of charity as one of Cobb's virtues given that he was more well known for his aggressive playing style and for being a racist (although some sources claim that his racism has been greatly overstated). In any event, he was one of the greatest ballplayers of all time, and earned more votes than Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson in the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame class. The museum showed off a nice selection of his baseball memoribilia. It was definitely worth a side trip (thanks to ESPN's article on the 10 best baseball museums), and gave us a chance to drive down some meandering country roads. 
We arrived at our hotel - the Westin Peachtree Plaza - in the late morning hoping to check in. Abby had called a couple days earlier to confirm that we could have an early check in, but upon arrival they told us we'd have to come back at 2pm because no rooms were available and the hotel was at 102% capacity for Robotics (apparently a competition of high school aged kids from around the world who build robots). Unable to check in, we headed to grab a bit to eat and then to the Georgia Aquarium - the world's largest. After getting lost we ate outside at Corner Bakery where Ava entertained herself with a spoon (that we accidentally put in our stroller - meaning we accidentally stole it). The aquarium was just a few short blocks away in downtown's tourism hub - next to the New World of Coca-Cola and across the street from the Centennial Olympic Park (a nice park in the middle of downtown with fountains that kids can run through, but not really all that exciting). 
The aquarium lived up to expectations. It is divided into five different areas (or as I like to think of it "lands"), and we started off with the Ocean Voyager and immediately walked through its glass tunnel where we were surrounded by fish and sharks.
Continuing through our ocean voyage, we came to a massive wall of fish, with a very well laid-out viewing area, where we sat and watched the schools of fish swim underneath two enormous whale sharks. Since we were able to sit down we fed Ava a bottle in what I'm sure will be one of the most exciting places Ava ever eats.
Continuing through our ocean voyage, we came to a massive wall of fish, with a very well laid-out viewing area, where we sat and watched the schools of fish swim underneath two enormous whale sharks. Since we were able to sit down we fed Ava a bottle in what I'm sure will be one of the most exciting places Ava ever eats.
The aquarium's lands were devoted just to giant sea creatures, and we explored cold water climates, rivers, and animals that live off Georgia's coast, including sea turtles.
My favorite part - and Ava's too - were the touch tanks. Ava especially liked the main tank where little sharks and fishes swam side by side and didn't mind all the teens and tweens trying (unsuccessfully) to grab them.
We decided to forego the World of Coca-Cola because Ava would've had to have skipped a nap, and went back to the hotel to check in. It's the cylindrical tower on the left - all the strange colored windows are actually boarded up windows due to the tornado that hit in March.
Our room was ready, and we were happy that we would soon be able to unpack and freshen up. Unfortunately, we opened the door of our 48th floor room only to be greeted by a musty smell. Exploring the room further, we found a wet spot on the ground next to the desk. Unacceptable! So we kindly called the front desk (ok, so maybe not so kindly) and demanded that we get another room, which they eventually gave us. As the bellman helped us with our bags and we headed down to the 27th floor, we couldn't help but notice two poor souls trying to enter the room we just vacated. Apparently the Westin couldn't be bothered to even check to see if our complaint had any validity. Shame on Westin. Even if I'm getting a free hotel room, I still expect a basic level of customer service and room quality which certainly wasn't met here. Although I must say the concierge was fantastic with directions, maps, and a rubber duck for Ava.We eventually got settled in and were able to enjoy the rest of our stay, our view of the city, and a nice southern dinner at Pitty Pat's Porch (named after Scarlett O'Hara's aunt in Gone With The Wind, who Scarlett visited in Atlanta). Again we got lost, which was super embarrassing since the restaurant was directly across the street from the hotel - although we can blame some construction for blocking the sign and entry).
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