There are many luxurious hotels around Georgia www.luxuryhotelsgeorgia.com to stay in while you are searching out the history of the state and our country. Being one of the first states of the union, Georgia has a rich history of people and events that happened there. During the Revolutionary War, British troops invaded the state in 1778 and most of it was lost to them but a few years later the situation would change and the settlers of Georgia started to fight back regaining their homeland.

The next wave of battles came out of the Civil War eighty years later. Some of the bloodiest battles fought in the war were fought in Georgia. The battle at Chickamauga was a really bad one. Visitors can visit the Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park to see the memorial and hear the battle story that happened there. General Leonidas Polk lead his men into battle here against George Thomas by the end of the fight here 18,000 Confederate soldiers and 16,000 Union soldiers were killed and the area was named Chickamauga which means River of Blood in Cherokee.

There was a great battle for the railroad in the Allatoona Pass Battlefield. General John Bell Hood led his army in to take back the Western and Atlantic Railroad that ran between Chattanooga and Atlanta. The best area they thought to accomplish their goal was in the Allatoona Mountains which were east of  Cartersville. Visitors can see the path of the Confederate assault moving up the hill to the star fort. It is interesting at the star fort to see how the camp was run and were things were stored. There is also the grave of the unknown soldier by itself and also another grave for 21 Confederate soldiers who were killed in the battle.

We wanted to spend our Valentine’s Day in Austin, so we booked a night at a luxury hotel in Austin and drove over on Saturday. A friend of ours told us about a local Mexican restaurant called Polvo’s. She told me that it was a bit of a hole-in-the-wall eatery, but that the food was really authentic and would I bring her back a taco?

After we checked into our hotel, which was really a luxury hotel (my first time staying at one) and we were treated like royalty, the staff really spoiled us. We took a taxi to the recommended restaurant. Polvo’s was brightly painted on the outside, even the name was painted across the outside wall. Inside, they strung Christmas lights everywhere they could. All the tables and chairs were mismatched and the paint was chipping and pealing off the walls, but it did appear to be clean and the wait staff were very friendly, they actually seemed to be having fun!

Polvo’s was the first Mexican restaurant that we’ve been to that had a salsa bar! We sampled many different types of salsa and the wait staff kept our chip bowl full. We were becoming full on the chips alone! I ordered the chili rellenos and my husband ordered the vegetable enchiladas. I scarfed my dish down, but my husband wasn’t too impressed with his enchiladas. He did like the cheese sauce on top. We also had several margaritas and we were feeling pretty frisky.

We wanted to see a bit of downtown Austin before we headed back to our hotel room, but being February, it was bitter cold outside, plus we found out that most of Austin closes on Sunday, which is nice, I guess, for Austin, but not for tourists! We managed to find a coffee shop open not far from the restaurant. I ordered a mocha and my husband pointed to the sign saying the coffee shop closes at 7pm, it was 7pm. So, I downed my mocha and we called up a taxi to take us back to our sweet luxury hotel. Needless to say, our Valentine’s day turned into a great Valentine’s evening.

After my visit to Snoqualmie Falls, which is located about 40 minutes away from Seattle by bus, I wanted to go see the Jimi Hendrix memorial. Getting there took a lot longer than expected, I had to change buses 3 times, but it was well worth the trouble. (Thank goodness for the travel directory!) The memorial, which is located in Renton, is very impressive. I could see lip marks on Jimi Hendrix’s image of his face. There were a lot of messages written around the monument commending Jimi for his work to promote peace, love and freedom; it seems that a lot of people not only loved him for his music, but for his beliefs.

I returned back to downtown Seattle and headed to some bars. I really like how many Microbreweries are here, their pub like qualities made me feel at home. I stopped off at the Pike Brewhouse, which is located underneath the Pike Fish Market, it was just like being in an English pub and the beer was really good. I walked back to my hotel, which I booked online just before I arrived here, I found my Seattle hotel, at this site and I got a great deal on my room because I booked it online. I took a quick shower and grabbed a short nap, then headed back out to Seattle Central.

There are a few museums there, the Space Needle and the Experience Music Project. I bought tickets for the EMP and that place is wicked cool, I loved it. Especially the Jimi Hendrix exhibit, which was very extensive and informative. Plus, they had a great collection of Hendrix memorabilia, like the costumes he actually wore on stage, his smashed guitars and many other items. I also liked the exhibit that showed the evolution of the guitar, there were hundreds of models showing the changes since its inception.

My ticket to the EMP also got me into the Science Fiction museum, which is right next door, but I’m not much for science fiction, so I wasn’t to interested in the exhibits. Needless to say, I didn’t stay long. The Space Needle was next to that, so I thought I’d check it out and maybe get some lunch. The revolving restaurant is at the top of the Space Needle and since I purchased a ticket for the observation deck, I also got to have lunch. The view would have been amazing, I’m sure, but it was a pretty cloudy and foggy day, so I really couldn’t see much. My lunch was good though.

It was time to go back to my hotel and pack, I’ll be catching a flight to San Diego at 7pm.

I know that most people associate the city of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania with that incredibly destructive battle that occurred during the Civil War and of course also with the famous Gettysburg Address that was delivered by President Lincoln following the battle to honor the fallen soldiers, however from now on I will have to associate the city with falling in love. That’s a pretty odd combination of associations I know, but hey Pat Benatar said it best, love is a battlefield. Anyway, it all happened in one of the Gettysburg hotels, oh wow, did that add a certain element of intrigue to the whole story? Well, it shouldn’t that’s not actually the most significant part, though I will say that it was a great hotel and the accommodations and additional offerings were fabulous.

It turns out that I was in Gettysburg as part of a special field trip for school that some of the honor school students were able to take part in. Oddly enough while we were there I noticed that Travis, another student in the program, was looking particularly attractive and I started to develop a slight crush. The reason this was odd is because I had never thought of Travis in the romantic sense, nor had I ever thought he was particularly attractive. So, naturally when I started to feel and think that he was I wondered what on earth was going on in my head.

Then, on our last day in town we were having lunch at a place called Dunlap’s Restaurant, and Travis and I ended up sitting right next to each other. Oh, on side note, it’s actually a great restaurant. I had the grilled chicken sandwich and Travis had a mushroom and Swiss hamburger. I think everyone really liked their food and it was a super friendly atmosphere. Anyway, we started talking about some of the things we had seen and we just started making jokes and laughing and then suddenly it felt like we were the only two there. Afterward my friend Rene told me that everyone noticed the connection that happened between us and they all thought it was surprising. Travis and I started hanging out a lot after that and it just seemed natural that we started dating. I still don’t understand it, but I don’t’ really care.

The words, “Roadside Attraction”, make me think of a book I read years ago, by Tom Robbins –”Another Roadside Attraction”.  It was a book that left me feeling a bit strange, as though I had walked through a carnival of freaky things, but for some reason those “freaky things” felt normal.  It was the normalcy that made me feel strange.  Well, that is the feeling I left with after visiting what is known as the original “Roadside Attraction of Florida”, Gatorama.  This is a trip I was not intending to take, but a friend of mine had come to my hotel in Tampa,  and offered a road trip that I would never forget.  How can you possibly say no to an offer like that?

So we headed out, just a short trip from Tampa actually, took about an hour.  And when we pulled into the parking lot I had to question just what it was that I had gotten myself into.  Alligators?  Come on…I mean I know they are all over the swamp lands of Florida, and so to have a park dedicated to them made sense.  But the truth is that they scare the life out of me.  They are too prehistoric and have too many teeth for my comfort.  However, the park was crowded with naturalists and photographers, so I decided to push those fears away and enjoy this day…I was “in Rome” and I was fulling prepared to “do as the Romans do”.  This is the largest breeding facility for captive ‘gators’, and there where many shows throughout the day, with alligators performing in their own ways with their trainers, much scarier than the seals bumping beach balls in Sea World, but fascinating none the less.

There are also many other animals throughout the park such as peacocks, bobcats, and crocodiles.  The love of the animals is all around.  We stopped for a bit of lunch, some Florida barbecue.  I had made my way through my second rib when my friend asked how it was…I said, “Delicious!”…he said, “BBQ Alligator ribs!”  This is where the strange kicked in.  It was a bit like going to the zoo and then eating a lion or an orangutang for lunch.  Images of brightly faded carnival paint and dancing elephants popped into my head.  I mean, it was a park for ‘gators’ and I had just eaten a ‘gator’.  It was bizarre, and yet it was so normal.  So if you’re the type that cherishes the bizarrely normal, or the normally bizarre, take a little drive outside of Tampa on your next trip.  You will not be disappointed in this…another roadside attraction…

“Have you ever been to Irvine, California?” That was actually the first thing my husband ever said to me. And since he’s now my husband and we didn’t know each other when he said it at a club one night, I guess that makes it one of the greatest pickup lines in history. Oh, well I guess that also depends on what you consider to be the point of a pick up line. If it’s to gain the ultimate commitment and introduce you to the love of your life well than it wins. However, if the point is to meet as many women as possible on the no strings attached agenda, well than this line is definitely a flop. At any rate, it worked for us and we are now happily married.

And the reason he asked about Irvine is actually kind of simple and came about honestly. He went to UC Irvine and swore I looked exactly like a girl in his biology class. Of course that’s when I thought it was a total line but six months later when we were dating I happened to be at his house and he showed me his yearbook. He remembered the girl’s name and found a picture of her. It’s true, we were total ringers. Oh well, the whole thing still could have been made up I guess, but in that case I guess it makes it one of the most elaborate pick up lines, right? Well, my husband is nothing if not committed to detail and thoroughness.

That’s partially why he also made me take a trip to Irvine with him to tour the campus, and yes, of course a visit to the science building where he had the fateful biology class was part of the agenda. It’s actually a beautiful campus and I had a great time there. We stayed in a really cute little hotel near the campus and walked over to it in the morning. You can find information here on places to stay in Irvine if you’re planning a trip. It happened to be in October when we visited and the Global Village Festival was going on. This was a really cool festival and there were performers from all over. There was also great food and a lot of arts and crafts and other merchandise. I had never heard of it before but had a great time at the festival.

Fifteen miles to the Northwest of Atlanta and South of the North Georgia mountains, you’ll find the town of Marietta.  Founded in 1834, one hundred and seventy-six years ago, the town enables travelers to take a look at the Civil War and the Confederacy through a number of sites, such as the Marietta Confederate Cemetery, the Marietta Museum of History, and the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park.  However, a quick check of the area will show any prospective visitor that Marietta is also the home of a number of amusement theme parks, such as Six Flags White Water and American Adventures Park and Mountasia Family Funcenter.  For classic movie lovers, though, one of the most interesting places to see in Marietta must be the Gone with the Wind Museum.

Most people have seen the film, Gone with the Wind, and some have even read the Margaret Mitchell novel.  James Cameron’s Avatar may now be the record holder for the most money ever made by a film (somewhere in the range of two billion and climbing, at the time of this writing); however, Gone with the Wind still holds the record for the most tickets sold; in a time of inflation and recession, isn’t that a more reliable method of determining the success or popularity of any given film?  In 2003, the Gone with the Wind Museum was established to give people a place to celebrate this beloved work of fiction.  It features primarily the collection of one man, Dr. Chris Sullivan.

Sullivan saw the film when he was in sixth grade and from that moment on he began collecting artifacts, such as a 1936 printing of the book signed by the author.  He’s collection hundreds of items related to the film and book, including the bengaline gown that Vivien Leigh wore as Scarlett O’Hara.  Sullivan decided to display his collection in order to share the items with the rest of the world.  The museum draws in international patronage, with visitors from all fifty states and forty-one countries finding their way to the museum.  In the last seven years, the passion of this endocrinologist from Akron, Ohio, has given the fans of one of the great movies of the twentieth century a place to call home.  To experience it yourself, come to Marietta, stay a few days and see all that the town offers.  For the best places to stay, click here.

Tommy wanted to be a pilot from the time he was ten years old and he received a small glider for his birthday. It was basically a toy and never really got off the ground but it felt like to Tommy that he was soaring through the sky and wanted to be on that thing from the moment he woke up until the moment he went to bed. It was his uncle that gave him the gift and at first his mother thought he was a hero because it was an excellent tool for occupying the active boy that Tommy was. However, once it became nearly impossible to remove him from the glider and he threw fits every time he had to leave it, Tommy’s mother was no longer a fan of his uncle. This was all in good humor and they were actually all rather amazed with the amount of attention and love little Tommy gave his glider. It was actually the glider that taught him how to properly care for his belongings.

Naturally, when Tommy entered Junior high and his friends and teachers began talking about career decisions Tommy didn’t have to wonder about his possibilities. Without hesitation he announced that he would be a pilot when the class survey came around to him. When Tommy was fifteen his uncle invited him to go with him on a business trip he was taking to Dayton, Ohio. They would stay in the hotel room provided by his company and explore some special features of the town when he was off work. Tommy and his uncle were close so he accepted without question. The true reason for the invitation, however, was so his uncle could take him to the home where the Wright Brother’s grew up. In addition to flying Tommy had a fascination with history and loved to tour museums and various historical sites. He also planned to take him to the Dayton Aviation Heritage, a National Historic Park dedicated to the accomplishments of the Wright Brothers and other early aeronautic pioneers.