July 9th - Day 27
When we started talking and thinking about a potential road trip a couple of years ago, Aubrey was very quick to say that we needed to go to the King Center in Atlanta, GA. It was one of the very first pins that we put on the map as we began to plan and dream about different sites around the country that we wanted to see. Well, today we made it to Downtown Atlanta and the King Center.
Not wanting to drive the RV into downtown Atlanta (and very unsure if I would even be able to park anywhere), I started the day by renting a mini-van for us to navigate in. It felt so small after driving my bus for the last month, but was significantly easier to maneuver in the city.
A few highlights from our day:
We were able to see Martin Luther King Jr’s childhood home, walk through the King Center and Freedom Hall, see Ebenezer Baptist Church, and visit the National Park Service’s visitor center. As we walked through these sites, we encouraged our kids to think about MLK’s childhood, the people in his life, and the different experiences that shaped the person that became. It was a powerful experience remembering the great man that MLK Jr was and reflecting on what he was able to accomplish is his short time on earth.
Once again, because this site is also ran by the Nation Park Service, Ilena and Obadiah were able to become Junior Rangers (#7 of the trip). Both Obadiah and Ilena have been taking the workbooks that they need to complete at each site very seriously in order to become Junior Rangers.
Following our visit at the King Center, on the recommendation of a friend, we walked over to Krog Street Market for a late lunch. Krog Street Market is a food hall that was built in the 1920’s. Great choice for quality for the parents and variety for the kids.
With having some additional time in Atlanta this afternoon, we decided to make our way to the World of Coke. We don’t have any die hard coke fans in our household, but this was still a great experience learning the history of one of America’s beloved beverages. The favorite part of this for all of the kids was certainly the fact that they got to taste coke from all over the world. I’m pretty sure though that the floor in this room had a permanent stickiness to it as hundreds of people helped themselves to fountain drink machines daily tasting sodas from around the world.
A few pictures from the day:
