Travels in the South

Welcome back friends to another edition of Travels in the South.  We have been talking about our visit with our great friends Bill and Jean from Canadian Cats.  If you have missed the previous editions, please check them out here:  Red Lobster; Fogo de Chao; Stately Oaks; Spa Day. World of Coca-Cola Part I, World of Coca-Cola Part II.

 Today we finish up our tour of the World of Coca-Cola here in Atlanta, Georgia.  Last week, I left you with us visiting the awesome polar bear in residence.  He was such a hoot and so friendly!  We all had a blast playing with him – and I think he took a great liking to Jean.  I also think with enough soft whispers in his little polar bear ear, Jean might have been able to take him back home with her.  Then again, that would be a hard one to explain to Customs… you think?

After we finished with the polar bear, we went to explore a 4-D Theater.   The title of the film was The Search for the Secret Formula.  You got these really neat glasses to wear while watching the film.  Now remember we said 4-D. Thankfully, we went with Bill and Jean and got in the line of the non-moving section seats.  That was a most excellent move because let me tell you something, once you watch something in 4-D you will be astonished.  The seats moved and rocked like you wouldn’t believe to the
movie.  At one time, water was lightly sprayed on the audience.  And with the glasses on watching the movie, people were ducking and dodging the things coming from the film.  You can’t miss this movie – you have to watch it and experience the 4-D effects.  Way to go World of Coca-Cola for this awesome show.

After the film, we were thirsty.  The bottles of free coke they gave us at the beginning of the tour were starting to wear off.  And hey, this was the best of time.  Now we were going to the Taste It part of the tour – something my mom couldn’t wait to try.  They had freestyle drink machines set up all over this room with over 100 different Coca-Cola drinks from all over the world.  You could taste as many as you wanted from anywhere – Africa, Asia, Latin America, North America.  Some of the drinks were:

• Beverly. Introduced in Italy in 1969, Beverly is a non-alcoholic aperitif that is typically consumed before meals. Because of its distinctive taste, it is one of our most popular, must-try drinks.  This was a high consensus in our group of no thank you.
• Bibo Candy Pine-Nut. This African favorite is part of a fruit-flavored line of drinks. Bibo Pine-Nut tastes of pineapple and coconut.  This one wasn’t too bad.  Daddy really liked it.
• Fanta Pineapple. This sparkling beverage from Greece imparts a sweet and juicy pineapple taste. The pineapple (commonly known to Grecians as “ananás”) is quite a treat for Europeans, often imported from tropical regions.  This one was mom’s favorite.
• Guaraná Kuat. Introduced in Brazil in 1997, the beverage was named after an Amazonian Indian sun god. Guaraná Kuat (pronounced “Kwatch”) tastes of fruity guaraná berries, similar to ginger ale with a mild berry twist.  Um… no.

So you see this was just a few of the different flavors from around the world that you could try.  Some tasted fantastic while others were like how do they drink this?  Afterwards, on the way out of the tour going into the store, you got a souvenir glass bottle of coke.

Now, the Coca-Cola store.  Some peeps – cough cough – had way too much fun in the store.  Bill was trying to find a good hat to wear for those cold snowy days and nights in Canada.  What do you think about this one my friends?

Do you think it would keep him warm?

Of all the hats to choose, this one was his favorite.  I kind of dig the polar look and the nose on this hat though.  I think it brings character – a fun aspect if you will.

On the other paw, all of the kids in the neighborhood would be screaming for cover when they see daddy outside.  Look at the get up he went with – shaking my head.  These two.  What will we do with them?

So my friends, that concludes the tour of the World of Coca-Cola.  Did you have fun?  Did you learn anything (other than Jim and Bill are crazy?) that you didn’t know?

Stay tuned for next week to find out where these crazy peeps went to eat… and the GPS hang out that had everyone laughing.

 

Journey with Friends

Welcome my friends to our weekly issue of Journey with Friends.  This is a time that we come together for support, for encouragement, for fellowship – all with one single goal in mind – to live better.  Welcome to our journey to share our goals and our accomplishments and our disappointments and frustrations.

Together we can do this!

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Hey friends – how did you do last week?  Did you stand strong?  Any bumps in the road?  Any mountains you climbed?

Since I’ve been sick with the flu, I’ve lost a little over 10 pounds.  Okay, it’s not the best way to lose weight but I’ll take it, right?  I am doing better with the flu; however, I’m still not 100% yet.  The doctor assures me this is normal and it takes weeks – sometimes months – to get back to where you were.  Shaking my head – this is something I never want to go through again and don’t wish it upon any one.  Everything tastes ‘funny’ and certain foods I’ve loved before, I can’t stand at the moment.  For instance, I’ve been having a hard time with soda – you know the real stuff.  Especially being here in Atlanta, we live for Coca Cola.  Well I’m happy to report that since my illness, I can’t stand it.  I guess that’s a good way to kick it to the side huh?  And food wise, I can eat just a little bit – maybe 15% of what I was eating before and I’m done.  My tummy just swells too much from still being sick.  But on the other hand where I once craved everything, lately I’m just craving good old southern food – greens, mac & cheese, fried chicken – you know southern dinner stuff.  We went out yesterday to a local restaurant that serves this kind of food.  I couldn’t even finish my plate.  Weird.

And you want to hear another strange thing that has happened since I’ve been sick?  A remarkable overwhelming calmness has overtaken my body.  Things are just shrugged off my shoulders and my pulse rate has been ‘below normal’… well below normal for me.  When I was giving plasma, it was a struggle for my pulse rate to be 100-112 bpm.  Here lately, it’s been hanging around 94-99 bpm which is totally awesome.  Weird too huh?

Well friends – hope your week was marvelous and your scales were kind to you.  ❤

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Journey to Israel – Part II

Welcome my friends to my second installment of Journey to Israel.  This is a trip that my Aunt made over the Christmas holidays.  If you missed the first part of getting to Israel, check it out here.  Part of the adventure was getting there.  Today, I bring you some pictures of Israel and the journey my Aunt took.

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For some reason when I pictured where we would be staying while we were in Israel, I never thought modern or updated – LOL.  Go figure huh?  Well, I was happily impressed with our lodging. This is the building with balconies that overlook the city.  See the beautiful clouds – the temperature during our stay at Christmas time was around the 70’s – perfect weather for exploring the lands.

This is another picture overlooking where we stayed – you can see more of the city in it.  You feel old country – you kind of settle into a different world from what you have been accustomed all of your life.  Such an adventure that we couldn’t wait to go exploring in the city.  And you hear nightmare stories of safety.  Personally, we didn’t feel at all afraid of anywhere we went.  The people were open and friendly – always there with suggestions of what to eat or what to see.

One of the first adventures we went on, it had been raining and we stumbled upon the glorious rainbow picture showing a bus coming down the street.  What better way to say welcome to Israel?  And as you can imagine, there are a lot of ‘touristy’ areas but there are also a lot of areas that showed how old the land really was, how mountainous and vast some areas are.

Here are some pictures of some food that we tried and a coke can – do you recognize anything?

 

 

Shopping Around the World

My friend Fozzie and I have scheduled a group posting today of Shopping Around the World.   We thought it would be interesting to see the differences between different countries all over.

Here are our prices for the following from our area – Georgia USA:

• Price of internet for one month.  We are pretty fortunate here at the Hotel Thompson.  Our monthly internet service runs us around $15.00 a month.  We run my laptop, dad’s i-pad, mom’s computer and mom’s i-phone off of it.
• A pint of Ben & Jerry’s.  If you don’t have Ben & Jerry’s, post what you do have.  Ben & Jerry’s is right up there with Häägen Dazs here.  It runs about $4.00 a pint.
• A six pack of Coca Cola.  Mom just bought some at the market last week on sale.  On sale, they run about $1.99 – off sale $2.99 each
• Coffee.  Whatever brand you buy, just be sure to list the brand and size.  Mom and dad usually get Eight O’Clock coffee.  It runs $6.00 for a 12 ounce bag.  If they are lucky, sometimes they can get it buy one get one free.
• A regular sized Snickers candy bar.  $0.80 each
• Grooming.  🙂 Most of us anipals get groomed.  How much does it normally cost you to go to the spa?  Snorts.  The last time Mouse Girl (one of the purr things here) went, it cost $40.00 – :O  This was for a wash, cut, groom and dry.  She’s girly like that – PLOL (piggy laughing out loud).  The last time I went, I cost $25.00.  There’s not much to fluffing a pig – snorts.

Are you surprised at any of the prices above?  Do tell.  If you have suggestions for the next Shopping Around the World – please email them to me at baconthompson@gmail.com

 

Shopping Around the World – Don’t Forget

Me and my pal Fozzie started Shopping Around the World last month.  We asked for all of you to post prices on certain items in your part of town.  If you missed the posting, check it out here.  It went over so well, that we are going to do it again this month on Wednesday, May 28, 2014.

Do a posting on your blog linked back to mine.  That way we can keep track of all of the different prices.

It should be interesting to see the differences between different countries all over.  Mark your calendar so you can do a posting with us.  These are some of the suggestions that were made – show your prices for the following:

• Price of internet for one month.
• A pint of Ben & Jerry’s.  If you don’t have Ben & Jerry’s, post what you do have.
• A six pack of Coca Cola.
• Coffee.  Whatever brand you buy, just be sure to list the brand and size.
• A regular sized Snickers candy bar.
• Grooming.  🙂 Most of us anipals get groomed.  How much does it normally cost you to go to the spa?

Come join the fun of Shopping Around the World – mark your calendars Wednesday, May 28, 2014!

 

Shopping Around the World – Mark Your Calendars

Me and my pal Fozzie started Shopping Around the World last month.  We asked for all of you to post prices on certain items in your part of town.  If you missed the posting, check it out here.  It went over so well, that we are going to do it again this month on Wednesday, May 28, 2014.

Do a posting on your blog linked back to mine.  That way we can keep track of all of the different prices.

It should be interesting to see the differences between different countries all over.  Mark your calendar so you can do a posting with us.  These are some of the suggestions that were made – show your prices for the following:

• Price of internet for one month.
• A pint of Ben & Jerry’s.  If you don’t have Ben & Jerry’s, post what you do have.
• A six pack of Coca Cola.
• Coffee.  Whatever brand you buy, just be sure to list the brand and size.
• A regular sized Snickers candy bar.
• Grooming.  🙂 Most of us anipals get groomed.  How much does it normally cost you to go to the spa?

Come join the fun of Shopping Around the World – mark your calendars Wednesday, May 28, 2014!