Five Fun Diversions in Atlanta, Including a Hike in the Sky

Southeastern cities--my stomping ground--are famous for history, stability and the comfort of visiting familiar places, but they´re also evolutionary organisms, ever changing and offering new experiences.

Atlanta proved that recently when for the first time in several years I did more than blaze through town headed elsewhere, stay in the burbs or connect through the world´s busiest airport.

My list of what´s (relatively) new to do in Atlanta has some biggies.

Certainly the biggest is the Georgia Aquarium, which turns five this November. So how big is it? Try eight million gallons big, with space for whale sharks (the biggest fish species in the world) and a tank that features Beluga whales performing ballet.

It is downtown next to Centennial Olympic Park and close to that tribute to all things fizzy and sweet, the World of Coca-Cola. The aquarium folks, by the way, have a subtle sense of humor. Their Web site list of prohibited items includes "guns, knives, matches, lighters, gum and fishing poles."

Across Baker Street from the aquarium is the unassuming, but powerful, National Museum of Patriotism (opened elsewhere in Atlanta in 2004 and relocated downtown in 2009).

Founder Nick Snider, a lifelong collector with an expertise in patriotic artifacts, fills every corner with reminders of what makes America special.

There are replicas of national symbols such as Mt. Rushmore, the Liberty Bell, the Lincoln Memorial and the Iwo Jima statue; tributes to heroes such as Bob Hope, Rosie the Riveter and Col. Charles Dryden of the Tuskegee Airmen; and a major display about the Americans´ duty and privilege to vote.

An eye-catching way to see big chunks of Atlanta is with City Segway Tours. The starting point is one level up from Underground Atlanta. Of course, you look a little dorky riding one of those two-wheeled gyroscopic balance machines, but it really is cool to glide along and see the sights from such an unusual perspective.

Fact-laden local tour guides provide details (the shimmering dome on the Georgia Capitol really is gold), and the guides on the nighttime ghosts and legends tour can get downright creepy.

A more action-oriented discovery is east of downtown at Stone Mountain Park, where Sky Hike challenges you to overcome your fear of heights.

This trek through the treetops is a ropes course that´s only a year old. Despite being safely harnessed in, it´s daunting to negotiate a narrow beam or walk on a single strand of rope 40 feet off the ground. That´s four stories up!

The High Museum of Art isn´t new (it´s actually more than a century old), but you always can count on a new experience there.

This summer (June 6-Sept. 23, 2009), the new reason to visit is "Monet Water Lilies," an exhibition of four masterpieces, including the renowned 42-foot-wide "Reflections of Clouds on the Water-Lily Pond." The exhibition launches a multi-year collaboration between the High and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

All of this activity is enough to start a restaurant search. My discovery this trip was Kyma, which may be as close as I get to Greece. Seeing all the fresh seafood at the Georgia Aquarium simply set the stage for Kyma´s Mediterranean menu that includes shrimp souvlaki, baby calamari, seared tuna, steamed mussels and grilled octopus.

Information about the diversions in this article are at the Web addresses below. Information about exploring the Southeast and a list of this month's Top 20 Events in the Southeast are at www.EscapeToTheSoutheast.com.

www.georgiaaquarium.com

www.worldofcoca-cola.com

www.museumofpatriotism.org

www.stonemountainpark.com

www.CitySegwayTours.com

www.high.org

www.buckheadrestaurants.com/kyma