My Brother was a Rock Star in Atlanta

I just returned from a trip to Atlanta for the trade show of the National Association for Foodservice Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM). I do believe I'm the first person to have ever written that sentence in a blog! NAFEM is similar to the National Restaurant Association show held each spring in Chicago, but with far fewer food samples. Which makes it less fun, but still good for business.

My family makes a niche software product that has quite a following among architects and designers of restaurants and other industrial kitchens facilities. Many people who only know my brother as the long-distance tech support guy stopped by our booth just for the chance to meet him in person. Whenever my brother started to do a demo, he'd draw a huge crowd at our NAFEM booth. Customers would line up to talk to him, sometimes just to say hi, or thanks. He was a total rock star.

I, however, was more like the anonymous roadie. Until I ran into a mom from my boys' school. All the way down in Atlanta! Who'da thunk?

I don't normally let my boys drink Coke, but I couldn't resist these cute 8 oz. aluminum colas cast in the classic Coke bottle mold. So we're saving them for a special occasion, like when Smartypants is over his mono and finally goes back to school (his illness was my little welcome home gift--ugh).

A friend from the South told me that Zapp's are the region's best potato chips and that I *had* to try the Spicy Cajun Crawtators. I leave anything with the s-word to DH and he's yet to open the package. So no report on that.

I barely made it out of the convention center on my quick business trip, but I did get a peek inside the new Georgia Aquarium. More than a peek really, I touched a bonnethead shark and a type of ray! Billed as the world's largest aquarium, it's must-see and has some very child-friendly exhibits. The New World of Coca-Cola, dedicated to all things Coke, is adjacent to the aquarium. And the nearby children's museum looks good from the outside. Atlanta might just be a great place for your next family vacation. Or ours.