Our Love for Travel is Born

We first began to travel during Spring Break 1999, the year before we were married. We had taken short day trips into Louisiana so Tommy could show me the town and neighborhood where he grew up. He was born in Mississippi but lived in Texas and Louisiana for a short time when he was young. I was amazed that he could still remember how to get to his Louisiana neighborhood seeing as how he only lived there until second grade. I mean, unless I actually drive the route, I can never remember how to get there. Somehow he knew exactly where to go and I got to see where my future husband watched the trains go by as a child.

Our first overnight trip was to Atlanta, Georgia. We were very excited as this would be our first big trip together. I had never been to a theme park. The closest I ever came to a thrill ride is what you see at your local state or county fair. I was excited and just hoped that the roller coasters would not make me nauseated.

We were so excited being on the road together and discovering the world, that we must have stopped at half a dozen towns and every state welcome center. We loved seeing what other cities and towns looked like. During one of those stops, we went to the local WalMart and purchased the Forrest Gump soundtrack because of course, you need a great traveling soundtrack right?

We finally get there later that evening and get checked in to our hotel. We stayed at a Sleep Inn in Douglasville just west of Atlanta. After an exciting day of travel we were ready to rest our eyes. The next day our adventure would continue.

Driving into Atlanta with Tommy was very exciting for me. I was born and raised in central Mississippi and the biggest city I had been to so far was the state capital, Jackson, which is not saying much, I know. Driving on Interstate 20 and suddenly at the top of a hill, we see the skyline. This small town girl from Mississippi had butterflies.

We arrive at Six Flags super early and I couldn’t help but hear Clark Griswold in my head say “first ones here, first ones here”. Luckily we didn’t find a moose out front telling us that Six Flags was closed. Haha!

As we were waiting in line, we saw the first roller coaster, Georgia Cyclone start up. It was a wooden coaster that opened in 1990. This would be the first roller coaster I had ever ridden and I was excited. We get secured into our seat in the middle of the coaster and start up the first incline. With my heart pounding and my stomach in knots, we took the first plunge. It was such a thrill. I loved feeling the wind in my face and those milliseconds of zero gravity when topping the hills. After that, I was hooked.

After exiting the Georgia Cyclone, we head over to the Batman area of the park. I am feeling somewhat confident at this point and am ready to try a more intense coaster. We chose Batman: The Ride.

The first time we rode it, I was nervous and chose a set in the middle of the coaster. One of the things I will always remember about this coaster is the view of the rest of the park and swinging my feet with everyone else as we chugged to the top of the first plunge. This is an inverted coaster, meaning your seat essentially hangs from the ride allowing you to view the park more easily than a traditional coaster. The ride was super intense as we plunged up and down, upside down and in and out of barrel rolls. It was such a great experience that I couldn’t wait to ride it again. After getting off, we immediately got back in line. At this point, I was super confident in my ability to handle these intense coasters so I made the decision to stretch this new found ability and ride in the first seat. Up and down, upside down and in and out of barrel rolls again. After we got off, let’s just say that I was glad there was a restroom right next to the exit. The breakfast I had eaten earlier didn’t seem to like the ride and made a violent exit.

Tommy had no trouble at all riding any of the coasters during that adventure and to this day is able to enjoy all types of rides.

I tried a few more of the coasters that day after my stomach was back in its proper place inside my body and discovered that my equilibrium does not enjoy barrel rolls no matter how much I want it to. I love the big plunges, the feel of zero gravity and going upside down but a barrel roll will make me run for the nearest restroom, garbage can or bush.

Tommy and I enjoyed the rest of Six Flags, taking in the live entertainment and enjoying some of the food. This was my first experience with theme parks and only having my local state fair as a reference, I was pleasantly surprised at the cleanliness of the park and facilities and the professionalism of the park staff and performers. We had a great time on the first day of our adventure together.

The next day on our first adventure together, we visited the Coca Cola Museum. We had a good time reading all the history of Coke and enjoying the different flavors from around the world. We highly recommend the Beverly flavor if you decide to visit.

Our next day was a sight seeing day around Atlanta. We enjoyed looking at all of the buildings in the downtown area and the seeing site of the 1996 Summer Olympics. As we were driving along near Turner Field, the then home of the Atlanta Braves baseball team, there was a man flagging us down to enter a parking lot. We began to wonder if they had a game scheduled for that day. As we were not in the greatest of areas, we decided to drive closer to the stadium to see if the Braves were in town. They were at home and indeed about to play. We decide to park in the stadium parking lot and began to walk towards the stadium. Being unsure of where to go to purchase tickets, we saw a man in a blue Atlanta Braves blazer and approached him. He was very polite as we struck up a conversation. He asked us where we were from and if we were enjoying our trip. We told him that we were having a great time and excited to see that the Braves were having a home game. We told him that we had not planned on going to a game and were needing to buy two tickets. To our great surprise, he pulls two tickets out of his jacket pocket and says as long as we promise to have a good time, those two tickets were ours. We were beyond excited and so thankful for this Atlanta Braves employee. We made it to our seats which were about thirteen or so rows back from home plate. It was a very exciting atmosphere as we were only a couple of years later from their World Series win. The stadium was very impressive and the game was exciting. We felt very thankful that we were able to be part of it. The Braves won that game and it provided the perfect ending to our first adventure together.

If you would love to begin your own travel adventures but are not sure how to start, reach out to Tommy here. He is certified in Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Adventures By Disney, Disney Cruise Lines, Universal Studios and Royal Caribbean Cruises.