We drank too much Coke and couldn't hold it.

Here are some other highlights from our drive from Atlanta to Memphis:

-Shady as hell strip joint in rural Alabama: "Willie's Boobie Trap"
-Bugs the size of flying saucers
-Flying saucers
-Three deer, a fox, and some unidentifiable predatory quadriped (are there hyenas in 'Bama?)
-Can someone please explain the fascination with Bingo in northern Alabama?  We passed about 10 bingo joints in as many minutes, each with a huge yet overflowing parking lot.

We felt the need to wash down our unsavory lunch with Coke. Lots of Coke. So we headed to the Coke factory.

It was an interesting walk. We swung by Centennial Olympic Park, where half of Beijing seemed to turn out in support of the Olympics. Major rally, and almost a major fight between some crazy religious radical and about 5000 Chinese marchers.

We swung by the CNN headquarters, which, like much of Atlanta, was pockmarked with tornado damage. The convention center, major hotels, and assorted skyscrapers were missing windows, doors, and various ornamental architecture. The Westin looked like Frankenstein after a shaving accident.

The political activism got confusing. There was also a small faction protesting against the Olympics, and an even more sorry display of ragamuffins protesting on behalf of Darfur, outside the Coke Factory. Sadly, I'm sure few took note, as even the protesters themselves seemed to forget what they were doing there.

The Coke tour was surprisingly cool. It began with a little intro and then the making of their recent digitally animated Superbowl commercial, which was a funny and very Pixar-esque short film. After that, we split from the claustrophobia-inducing herd.

Inside the factory, you can see the machines that prep, blend, and bottle Coke. You can check out tons of advertisements and memorabilia, and take a kind of boring walk down Coke memory lane. You can also drink assloads of Coke from around the world. Which is awesome.

The tasting room has 48 different kinds of Coke products from 5 different continents. We tried them all.

Some taste like pineapple, others like cough syrup. Of particular note is Beverly, an italian soda. In my experience, Italians have some trustworthy and discerning taste buds. So I don't know what the hell is going on with Beverly.

On the spectrum of flavors, it falls somewhere between ear wax flavored cough syrup and bitter dandelion juice laced with nutrasweet. No one inside the tasting room can figure out how this stuff sells, and shrieks of pain are often heard emanating from the vicinity of the Beverly fountain.

Sorry to go on so long about Coke, but you get really hopped up on the stuff after trying 50 sodas in 15 minutes. And at the end, they even give you a free bottle!

COKE! COKE! COKE!

Saturday was all Atlanta.

After some vicious rock n' bowling Friday night (with $8 pitchers of Miller lite!) Chris, Jay and I woke up lazily and headed downtown.

We'd heard that The Varsity was a must-see must-eat kinda thing, so we did just that. For the uninitiated, the downtown location of The Varsity is situated on over 2 acres, making it the world's largest fast food drive-in. Some other colossal facts from their website: "two miles of hot dogs, a ton of onions, 2500 pounds of potatoes, 5000 fried pies and 300 gallons of chili are made from scratch daily."

In my opinion, the food was decent, at best.

We shared and sampled a bunch. The wings were ok, but the buffalo sauce was uninspired and loose. The fries fall squarely in the 'fair' category, mainly because of their lack of crispiness. I did like that you can tell they use actual potatoes with skin and everything. The onion rings were crispy, but nothing stands out there. The burgers were average fast food fare, and the 'chili' dog was a cheap knockoff of what Rhode Islanders affectionately call "hot weinies." No joke. I'll take a NY system dog over the Varsity's any day of the week.

We were quite looking forward to these homemade peach pies, especially being in Georgia and all. Split decision there: Jay thought it was alright, and mine pretty much made me angry. You know those waxy, unperishable fruit pies that you can get at any gas station?  I like THOSE things better. The Varsity pie was warm, but in my eyes, that's the only pro. The crust wasn't delicious or flaky, and the filling was some crappy canned syrupy gel with peach bits in it.

But hey, when you make 5000 of anything every day, I guess your quality control is bound to slip. Perhaps my expectations were too high. The stop was worthwhile for the experience, not the food.

Last night's Braves game was awesome.

Since we got there early, we took in batting practice and watched people scramble over empty seats for home run balls.

By the third inning, we'd seen a few stolen bases (Hanley Ramirez took second and third), a broken bat single which fueled a 5-run rally, a catch at the wall in center, an incredible play at the plate, and a Chipper Jones home run, on his birthday no less.

There was the run manufacturing you expect in an NL game, with plenty of high-powered offense, probably because the two starters were C. James and B. Badenhop, who (at the time of this post) have a 7.62 and 8.36 ERA, respectively.

On a different statistical note, there were just over 19,000 in attendance at Turner Field, which has a capacity of over 50,000, so there was plenty of room for everyone. Something I'm not used to living in Boston, where people camp outside and/or trade their first-born for decent seats.

Check out the pictures here!

After camping, we woke up and drove to Savannah, where we spent the better part of the day.

Savannah is a laid back and artsy place, with trees overhanging the streets, statued historic squares, and classic antebellum architecture. We had eggs with biscuits and grits at a local diner, then walked the waterfront on River Street. Met some friendly people including Lamont, a cool street vendor, and an artist from Rhode Island!

After that, we walked and drove around some of the historic areas of Savannah, including the park, bench, and church area where they shot the bus stop and feather scenes from Forrest Gump. Then we filled up the tank for $3.29 a gallon (our cheapest so far) and made for McDonough, where Chris lives.

Note: I should also mention that on our way to Savannah, we got some of the nastiest peanuts I've ever seen. If you ever get the chance to have boiled peanuts, don't take it. They're slimy, mushy, and gross.

So, we're in McDonough, GA.

On Tuesday morning, we left Wrightsville and headed for Skidaway Island State Park, in Savannah Georgia. Our first night of camping was...interesting. We arrived under the cover of dusk, and fought our way through clouds of insects until I reached my breaking point and went back to Kroger to get some Off! Upon returning with the most badass bugspray I could find, and a cool lantern to boot, Jay already had a baby fire going. We covered ourselves in deet, and began setting up our tent.

The tent went up quite easily, which is, I suppose, one of the perks of getting a better tent. With shelter and fire taken care of, we addressed the next bare necessity: food. Our "pudgy pie makers" aka "pie irons" did pretty well at getting us some hot pepperoni and cheese sandwich/calzones. In the first batch, one was raw and one was burnt, but our next two were nice n melty.

Sleeping was pretty comfortable, considering we were on the ground. Our pads and sleeping bags kept us more than warm enough, but our sleep wasn't too sound, mostly due to our own paranoia. The largest threatening animal we saw all night was a mosquito?, but it was roughly the size of a Cessna, so there's that.

We were fortunate enough to fall asleep to one of the most aurally stimulating thunderstorms I've ever heard in my life. I tried to capture it the best I could, but digital recordings fall short in emulating the experience.

Wrightsville Beach Thunder Storm

UPDATE: Here are some pics I was able to snap from tonight's storm.

The post title says it all.

Yesterday we woke up, packed the car, and hit the road. We began our first stretch of southern driving through Delaware. We crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel and had some lunch (albeit a late one) at Virginia Beach. We walked the beach for a bit, before getting back on the road.

Last leg of the journey brought us into Wrightsville Beach at about 10PM last night. We acclimated ourselves to the new digs (and extremely friendly cats) grabbed some dinner and crashed. We are staying at Rick's ex-boss's beach house and let me be the first to say: this place is sensational. I completely "get" what all the buzz is about here in the outer banks Cape Fear area of North Carolina.

Don't forget to check our progress here!

Ah, the age old debate. Which are cooler: pirates or ninjas?

While we can't weigh-in on the benefits of ruthless pillaging vs. the art of stealth, we can safely say that pirate chicks rule. There's something to be said for a woman who can sneak into your castle under the cover of night and kill all your guards without a sound, but there's just something about a seafaring babe who can kick ass AND carry a drink across the decks without spilling a drop. See for yourself.

Sorry Hattori Hanzo.

After our day in downtown Philadelphia, and the theatre after-party, we had a low key day yesterday.

Heather, Rick and I walked up the street into Wayne. Along the main line, Wayne is peppered with shops and eateries. We strolled into the Great Harvest Bread Company. Sampling some of their daily made breads (cinnamon burst was our favorite), we each chose a gourmet style sandwich for lunch. We walked back down the street and ate our lunch at the courtyard of the local Episcopal church.

The sandwiches were great, but after Rick and I missed out on our Italian ice/ice cream the other day we made sure to hit Aux Petits Delices. It was a tiny French bakery advertising gelato and sorbet. We tried Hazelnut, and Vanilla gelato and a coconut sorbet. Since the weather was a gorgeous mid-70's, the frozen snacks were a welcomed refreshment. As was the exquisite accent of le proprietor and head chef. Sadly, he was not sporting a toque.

The rest of the afternoon was devoted towards various odds and ends. Of note, you will find the video we put together on the previous post. A little rough going at first, we worked out all the kinks and managed to make a solid little video. We just about finished before it was time to head out to Villanova Theatre's performance of The Illusion.

The Illusion was originally a French play written by Pierre Corneille, but the more popular version has been "freely adapted" by Tony Kushner. Which basically means he removed erroneous parts, made up a bunch , and did whatever the hell he wanted to make it more 'structurally and comedically sound.' Whatever he did, it worked. The play was excellent, and so were all the aspects of the performance. Casting, costumes, lighting, and the set were all very well done within a tight budget and tighter theatre. Even the hard-nosed critics next to us could not help laughing aloud.