Spring Break - Atlanta: DECA ICDC and Charlotte, MLK National Historical Park, Zoo

 Charlotte (and thousands of other DECA competitors) arrived to Atlanta this weekend to kick off their ICDC competition. I had the pleasure of meeting Charlotte at Starbucks and buying her breakfast. Our hotels were just a couple blocks from each other. She was in high spirits after a couple days of downtime in between the Disneyland trip and this new school trip. I also ran into my fellow teacher and the DECA advisor, Cameron, on the hotel elevator of all places! Too funny! 

I visited the Martin Luther King Historical Park just east of downtown in Sweet Auburn. It was a vibrant, segregated neighborhood when he was born there. Visitors can see his childhood home as well as the Ebenezer Baptist Church where he was a pastor and also that was the root of the community in the area. This is also home to the tomb of MLK and Coretta Scott King and to the King Center for Justice. There are many chiseled quotes, works of art, etc. in support of non-violence and justice. It was a strong reminder to me to recommit to those principles myself.

We then went to the Atlanta Zoo. It wasn't enormous, but for the animals it featured, it was well done. We enjoyed seeing elephants, lions, rhinos, and gorillas. We were grateful for the opportunity to feed lettuce to a giraffe. The way they wrap their tongue around the leaf of lettuce is remarkable. It was fun to see Reed being a kid. 

This concluded our trip to Atlanta and we headed to the airport after this. I got upgraded to first class - again - and I am now officially spoiled. This wasn't a beach vacation to Hawaii, but it was a pretty darn great Spring Break and I was so happy to share it with Reed and see Charlotte on two of her big days!