Beverly

Beverly isn't my new best friend. She is kind of disgusting.

Before anyone gets offended - especially anyone named Beverly - I must confess that Beverly was the name of a soft drink in the tasting room at the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta.

Beverly is a Coca-Cola soft drink sold in Italy. Evidently, taste buds are markedly different in Italy. It's the color of ... well, you can fill in the blank.


Randy gave it the famous Fritzemeier sniff test. It didn't pass. And it definitely didn't pass the taste test.

Beverly was one of 64 flavors of pop in the tasting room at the downtown Atlanta attraction.

Visitors could drink their fill of soda pops from around the world - regular and diet versions. I'm pretty sure we didn't drink $16 worth of pop to cover our admission price, but it was still a fun way to spend part of an afternoon.

I may not be a fan of Beverly, but I am a diet pop addict. There, I said it: That's the first step in overcoming addiction, right?

I'm not particularly picky when it comes to my diet pop. Store brand ... name brand: It doesn't matter much to me.

But if I were choosing between the Big Two in the diet cola wars, I'd have to choose Diet Coke over Diet Pepsi (though Diet Dr. Pepper is really my favorite).

The World of Coca-Cola traces the history of this fizzy drink. One afternoon in 1886, Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton stirred up a fragrant, caramel-colored liquid and, when it was done, he carried it a few doors down to Jacobs' Pharmacy. There, the mixture was combined with carbonated water and sampled by customers who all agreed: This new drink was something special. So Jacobs' Pharmacy put it on sale for five cents a glass.

This old bottle says it is for headache and exhaustion. I guess it still holds true for me today. If I don't have my diet pop, I probably will have those withdrawal symptoms.

Evidently, I'm not alone. Now operating in more than 200 countries and producing nearly 450 brands, Coca-Cola says it "provides a moment of refreshment -- a billion times a day." Yes, billion with a "B."

This Kansas farm wife was particularly intrigued by one document called "Project Kansas."

Project Kansas is a bold stroke attempt for total victory. It is a sweeping effort to redefine the selling proposition, not just for sugar colas, but for all soft drinks.

In its size, scope and boldness, it is not unlike the Allied invasion in 1944. This is not just another product improvement, not just a repositioning or new product introduction. Kansas, quite simply, can not, must not, fail.

You guessed it: It failed. So, unfortunately, our fair state of Kansas is associated with one of Coca-Cola's most colossal failures - the launch of New Coke in the 1980s. Less than three months after introducing New Coke in 1985, Coca-Cola executives announced the return of the original formula.

I guess it just shows it's tough bucking tradition.


The last stop on the tour was getting our "free" bottle of Coke, bottled right there at the World of Coca-Cola.

Well, it wasn't actually the last stop. Like most attractions, you have to walk through a gift shop to leave. We now are the proud owners of a Coke-logoed golf ball, refrigerator magnet and a Christmas ornament.

Is it any wonder these marketing gurus make you walk through the gift store?

Oklahoma! via Atlanta

We went to Oklahoma! via Atlanta - in more ways than one.

We saw the musical Oklahoma! at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center in Atlanta.

And we did eventually end up in the state of Oklahoma via Atlanta - with a snow delay thrown in for good measure.

We had started our journey to Columbia, S.C., in Manhattan, so we took the northern route on our way to help settle Brent into his new home. And during the winter, one would surmise a more southerly route would be optimal for the return trip back to Kansas.

But Mother Nature had other ideas. The South was struck with a major ice and snow storm last week. We did get a a day and a half in Atlanta to be tourists before we climbed back in the pickup and tried to beat the storm.

We didn't avoid the storm all together, but at least we got out of Atlanta before the downtown was crippled by ice and snow. My brother-in-law wasn't as lucky. He arrived about the same time we were departing and says the southern capital was paralyzed by their bout with winter weather.

But, back to Oklahoma! While I love the music from this classic Rodgers and Hammerstein show, I really think Music Theatre of Wichita's productions are far superior. The singers were talented, but there was no live orchestra, and the sets were not nearly as elaborate as Wichita's summer offerings. Still, you can't quarrel with the beauty of songs like "Oh What a Beautiful Mornin' " "People Will Say We're in Love" and "Out of My Dreams."

We packed a lot of tourist stops into our short visit. We toured the CNN headquarters.

I'm not a big CNN watcher. And no, I didn't see Anderson Cooper or Robin Meade or Nancy Grace in the hallways.

Even though I have a degree in journalism, I don't think I have much in common with the CNN news anchors who end up in living rooms all across the nation. Still, it was interesting to hear the producers talking to the anchors while they were on the air. I'm not sure I would be able to think - much less talk - if someone was whispering in my ear at the same time.

Another of our tourist stops was Turner Field.

We stayed at a motel just down the street from the baseball field and its Hall of Fame.

Turner Field is home to the Atlanta Braves, but the Braves have a long history before they ever arrived in Georgia. In existence for more than 125 years, it is the oldest continuous franchise, though not under the same name. They have been the Boston Red Stockings (not to be confused with the Red Sox), Boston Beaneaters, Boston Doves, Boston Rustlers, Boston Braves and the Boston Bees.

In 1941, the Braves name finally stuck for good. In 1953, they moved to Milwaukee. Their first season in Atlanta was 1966. The team's tenure in Atlanta is famous for Hank Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's career home run record in 1974.

They've been playing at Turner Field since 1997, when the 1996 Olympic stadium was remodeled to become the permanent home for the Braves.


Inside of every grown man, there's a little boy who dreams of being in a dugout. Randy got "warmed up" for his dugout stint while we were waiting on the tour in the museum.

Then we both got to take our turn in the stadium dugout.

Next stop on our whirlwind Atlanta tour was the Georgia Aquarium. I had to text Jill to let her know we were there, since she's always loved aquariums and zoos.

I took plenty of photos at the aquarium. There just weren't many worth sharing. The lion fish was ready for his close-up.

So was a seahorse ...


And a sea dragon ...

Tomorrow ... a flavorful stop in downtown Atlanta!