Atlanta, Georgia is a great area to visit. You have the CNN building and the Coca Cola buildings you can tour, Stone Mountain, Underground Atlanta, Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site and the nearby church he pastored, the Cyclorama, Margaret Mitchell (writer of Gone With The Wind) House and Museum, and Jonesboro Clayton County.

Jonesboro is just a few minutes from downtown Atlanta and houses the great Road to Tara Museum, www.visitscarlett.com, that displays more artifacts from the movie of Gone With The Wind than you ever dreamed existed after all these years. You travel from I-75 north or south and continue 4 miles to the train depot which is the home of the museum.

I highly recommend the Historical and Hysterical Tours of Peter Bonner at $15 per person that last 90 minutes. The tours may be arranged by calling 770 477-8864. Peter Bonner dresses in Civil War clothes of the period and is an excellent humorist and lecturer. Peter may be reached at bonners@bellsouth.net.

One of the really great places to eat is Harold's Barbecue for lunch (notice the walls lined with famous people who have eaten there). I must say that on a scale of 1 to10 their fried half-ear-of-corn would rate a full 12! Directions would be 265 Highway 54, Jonesboro, Georgia (770 478-5880). There are other locations, but this is the real one! I can also recommend the Thomas' Marketplace Restaurant at Atlanta State Farmers' Market.

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While in the area of Jonesboro I had the honor of having lunch with the founder and owner of the "more than 1,000" Chick-fil-A stores in America. Truett Cathy had just come from Washington, D.C., speaking to Congress about what it take to be a successful business person in America. He told Congress to honor Sunday and keep it holy (all his stores are closed on Sunday all over America), go to church and honor God (he teaches Sunday School each Sunday in his church though he is in his 80's), and build your life around the 10 Commandments. While in the elegant and lovely historic Greenhouse House in Jonesboro we had a meal of Ö. of course, Chick-fil-A.  He had it catered to the lovely historic house.

Mr. Cathy has written a motivating book, Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People Doing Business the Chick-fil-A Way , which he gave me an autographed copy of with a personal reference to Proverb 22:1. He sponsors a summer camp for more than 21,000 children, has provided scholarships for more than 16,500 students, and operates a foster home for over 120 children. One of his business theories based on scripture is Proverbs 14:4, "Where no oxen are, the stable is clean, but much increase is by strength of the ox." Or, as Mr. Cathy puts it, "If your oxen increase you better be prepared to shovel manure." One of his "prayers" was that his oxen (Chick-fil-A stores) would increase so much he would need a front end loader to shovel manure as he prayed and hope to be swamped with business." He has also written, The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits and Lasting Value, as well as, Loyalty Rules! Today's Leaders Build Lasting Relationship.

 Jonesboro was the site of an important Civil War battle and you can visit the graveyard on the Peter Bonner tour and also see the Cyclorama (in-the-round three dimensional panorama with the battle of Atlanta of July 1864).  Call 404 624-1071 or go I-20 to exit 59a and follow signs to Cyclorama or the Atlanta Zoo in Grant Park which it is located next to. More information is at www.bcaatlanta.org. Trust me, there is plenty to do in and around Atlanta, Georgia when you include Jonesboro. Happy traveling.

Helpful Links

http://www.jonesboroga.com

http://aolsvc.digitalcity.com/atlanta

http://www.jimmycarterlibrary.org

http://www.thekingcenter.org

hhttp://www.jimmycarterlibrary.org/ttp://www.jimmycarterlibrary.org/http://www.jonesboroga.com/

"To the ends of the earth and then some."

You may e-mail travel questions free of charge, to me at jones@photoandtravel.com