My sister who lives outside Charlotte had a barbecue over the weekend. Since the Yankees were in Atlanta and I'm a glutton for punishment, I took that as an opportunity to go to Atlanta first and turn it into a little mini vacation. Cross another ballpark off the list. Truist Park is now the fifth active visiting stadium in which I've seen the Yankees play. Only 24 to go.
In addition to the game, I went to the College Football Hall of Fame and Centennial Olympic Park, which also included a side trip to the 1996 Olympic cauldron (and the Hank Aaron 715 marker in the parking lot that used to be Fulton County Stadium). Then it was off to Charlotte, where I made a stop at the NASCAR Hall of Fame before heading to my sister's.
Inside was a very impressive Braves Hall of Fame/history area. The most significant part is the tribute to Hank Aaron. There's a Hank Aaron statue, and behind it is a "755" made out of 755 bats (obviously one for each home run). They also have all of their National League and World Series championship trophies on display, and I also liked the Braves' uniform evolution. Outside, there's a statue of Bobby Cox. (All of my photos from Truist Park are in a Facebook gallery here.)
Stop 2: College Football Hall of Fame-Right when you enter is the helmet wall, which includes all 775 Division I, II and III programs. I actually could've spent all day trying to figure out where everybody is and figure out who's who when teams have similar helmets. I didn't spend the whole day at the helmet wall, though. I checked out the rest of the Hall of Fame, too. And there was plenty to see!
They really did a good job of capturing the history, with plenty of footballs, jerseys, etc., from the 1800s and early 1900s. The equipment evolution exhibit is particularly interesting. They also have sections highlighting great rivalries and the three Division I service academies. My favorite part, though, (other than the helmets) was seeing all of the different annual trophies, including the Heisman and CFP National Championship trophy. And, of course, there's the Hall of Fame itself. (Here's the College Football Hall of Fame gallery on Facebook.)
They really did a good job of capturing the history, with plenty of footballs, jerseys, etc., from the 1800s and early 1900s. The equipment evolution exhibit is particularly interesting. They also have sections highlighting great rivalries and the three Division I service academies. My favorite part, though, (other than the helmets) was seeing all of the different annual trophies, including the Heisman and CFP National Championship trophy. And, of course, there's the Hall of Fame itself. (Here's the College Football Hall of Fame gallery on Facebook.)
Stop 3: World of Coca-Cola-Why am I including the World of Coca-Cola? Because they've got a whole section of the museum dedicated to Coke's sponsorship of high-profile sporting events. That includes the Olympic Torch Relay, and they've got a torch from pretty much all of them. Then you turn around and see all the pins for World Cups, Super Bowls and Olympics. (Here's my World of Coca-Cola Facebook gallery.)
Stop 4: Centennial Olympic Park-It should come as a surprise to absolutely no one that one of the things I wanted to make sure I visited while in Atlanta was Centennial Olympic Park. Can you believe it's been 27 years since Atlanta hosted the Olympics?! Well, Centennial Park is the legacy project of those Games, and it took me right back to the summer of 1996.
There's so much in Centennial Park that I can't even begin to list it all or possibly pick a favorite. There's the fountains, the Olympic rings, the list of every medalist in Atlanta, the Pierre de Coubertin statue, the beautiful memorial where the bombing took place, the area dedicated to the 1996 Paralympics, and so much more (all of it's here). Not to mention the fact that it's also a beautiful public park right in the middle of downtown in a major city. You can see all of the other downtown Atlanta attractions from inside Centennial Park.
Stop 5A: 1996 Olympic Cauldron-Towering high above the city is the cauldron from the 1996 Olympics. It's about a 25-minute walk from the Olympic Park area, but I had to see it. And as soon as I did, I was immediately overtaken by the memory of Muhammad Ali emerging through the darkness to light the Olympic flame. It's become a trend for host cities to have a smaller cauldron inside the stadium that is gone as soon as the Olympics are over. I'm so glad that Atlanta kept and proudly displays theirs! Because not too many cities in the world have hosted an Olympics, so Atlanta should rightly brag that they have!
Stop 5B: Hank Aaron 715 Marker: When the Braves turned Olympic Stadium into Turner Field, Fulton County Stadium was demolished and turned into a parking lot. One thing they did not touch was the marker indicating where Hank Aaron's 715th home run landed. It's still in its original spot. And they actually have the outline of the field on the surface of the parking lot, so you can stand at home plate and see it from there. The marker has also become a makeshift memorial since Aaron's passing.
Stop 6: NASCAR Hall of Fame-I landed in Charlotte, then went immediately to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. And, oh man, was it something else! To say they've got everything would be an understatement. Want proof? Check out all of my photos. I spent almost an hour just on the first level, which has cars going all the way back from the beginning of NASCAR to today, as well as blurbs about different tracks, some of which have a sample of the asphalt (which are all completely different).
Upstairs is the Hall of Honor, the actual gallery honoring the Hall of Famers. I think I did spend at least an hour in that room alone, reading each individual plaque. Then, once I finally left, I checked out the wide variety artifacts from NASCAR's history going all the way back to racing on the hard sand of Daytona Beach. It's not just a history museum, though. I actually thought one of the coolest things was the side-by-side cars which show the differences between the racing version and the passenger version of the same model vehicle. If you haven't been, it's definitely worthwhile. Even if you're not the biggest NASCAR or racing fan, you'll enjoy it and appreciate the history.
While I'd been wanting to check out the NASCAR Hall of Fame pretty much since it opened, I didn't even know where the College Football Hall of Fame was until I was looking for something to do in Atlanta on that day between the Yankees-Braves game and leaving for Charlotte. I'm glad I was able to get to both. And, of course, I'll take any opportunity I can get to geek out about the Olympics! So, all in all, I'd say it was a pretty enjoyable trip, even if there was only one good team involved in the baseball game.
Upstairs is the Hall of Honor, the actual gallery honoring the Hall of Famers. I think I did spend at least an hour in that room alone, reading each individual plaque. Then, once I finally left, I checked out the wide variety artifacts from NASCAR's history going all the way back to racing on the hard sand of Daytona Beach. It's not just a history museum, though. I actually thought one of the coolest things was the side-by-side cars which show the differences between the racing version and the passenger version of the same model vehicle. If you haven't been, it's definitely worthwhile. Even if you're not the biggest NASCAR or racing fan, you'll enjoy it and appreciate the history.
While I'd been wanting to check out the NASCAR Hall of Fame pretty much since it opened, I didn't even know where the College Football Hall of Fame was until I was looking for something to do in Atlanta on that day between the Yankees-Braves game and leaving for Charlotte. I'm glad I was able to get to both. And, of course, I'll take any opportunity I can get to geek out about the Olympics! So, all in all, I'd say it was a pretty enjoyable trip, even if there was only one good team involved in the baseball game.
No comments:
Post a Comment