Whitwell Holocaust Memorial -- A Beacon Of Tolerance In The Tennessee Mountains

A friend of ours lives in Whitwell, TN -- about 45 minutes outside of Chattanooga up in the mountains. When Matt and I told her that we were coming to visit, she seemed surprised that we would drive all that way for a town whose Dairy Queen is closed on Sundays. But we had an ulterior motive -- we also wanted to see the Children's Holocaust Memorial that is set up at the local middle school.

Bodies -- Gross, Educational, And Possibly Scandalous

As we've traveled across the country, there has been a Bodies exhibition in nearly every major city -- I saw it for the first time while we still lived in D.C., but I thought that exhibiting Bodies at the Luxor in Vegas seemed particularly appropriate, considering the Egyptian mummy theme! Lover of anatomy that I am, I find the exhibit fascinating -- however, the show has been plagued with controversy and criticism from the start.

Dialogue In The Dark -- What Would It Be Like To Live Without Sight?

When Matt and I landed in Atlanta this time around, we kept seeing billboards for something called Dialogue In The Dark. I had no idea what this was, so of course I was intrigued and we bought tickets. This innovative "blind experience" turned out to be one of the most eye-opening (pun entirely intended) exhibitions I've ever been to -- fascinating and educational and powerful, all minus your sense of sight.

Theme Parks In Atlanta -- Skip The Coasters And Get Wet Instead

Some cities are built for theme-parking -- Orlando, Anaheim, Tampa -- but not Atlanta. The only amusement options in the Big Peach are Six-Flags related -- and park snob that I am, I've always considered them to be a step below the rest. We never visited their water park the entire 10 years we lived in the ATL, because we were afraid of getting typhoid from tainted swimming pool water. Then, on one of our visits back, we hit WhiteWater for the first time, and discovered a new favorite.

Dragon*Con -- Getting My Geek On ATL Style

We're staying in Atlanta for the next couple of months, and just happened to be here when Dragon*Con was going on. In the 10 years we lived in this city, we never actually attended the big annual sci-fi festival -- saw the freaks and geeks running around in costume, but hadn't fully experienced it first-hand. And since we had friends in town who are regular "con" folks, we decided to check things out...

Your Dekalb Farmers Market -- The Biggest And Bestest Grocery Store In The South

When we lived in Atlanta, one of Matt's any my greatest weekly pleasures was going to the Dekalb Farmers Market (pardon me -- YOUR Dekalb Farmers Market) to shop. And every time we make a trip to the ATL, we go out of our way to hit the market at least once. If that sounds pedestrian and boring, you've clearly never been there!

Harrison Brothers Hardware -- Huntsville Landmark Since 1879

When I told my sister that Matt and I were going 40 miles out of our way to visit a hardware store in Huntsville, she thought we were nuts! What I couldn't adequately explain was that is isn't just any hardware store -- it's a leftover slice of southern small-town life, sitting in the middle of a modern and growing city. But I can show you what I mean, both in words and pictures...

Scottsboro -- Bats, Caves, And Unclaimed Baggage

In 1931, the 9 black "Scottsboro Boys" were accused of raping 2 white women (a capital offense in Alabama at the time). In a landmark reversal, the Supreme Court ruled that jurors could not be excluded because of race -- and that defendants must be provided with not just counsel, but EFFECTIVE counsel. Groundbreaking jurisprudence aside, this little town would never have been more than a wide spot in the road, had they not decided to start reselling people's misplaced suitcases...

Vulcan -- The Largest Cast Iron Butt-Cheeks In The World

I've driven by Vulcan a hundred times or more, and I even had a small statuette of it as a child (did I mention that I spent the first 4 years of my life in Birmingham?)But it's been a long while since I visited the sculpture in person -- since before they renovated it and finished the new museum. So Matt and I made a special trek over to Vulcan park to check things out...