Right now, for the second year in a row, the family and I are in Atlanta. The Geek has to come for work, for the First Robotics competition. The kids I just come for the sightseeing and the room service. (That’s my one requirement if the Geek wants us to travel with him. I’ll haul the kids anywhere for unlimited room service.)

So here’s my brief list of things to love about Atlanta:

• The Georgia Aquarium — I know this isn’t a fair comparison, but it’s *so* much nicer than Sea World. Sea World is about two hours from my house. Yeah, it’s cool, but it’s packed and to see things, you have to walk for miles past ice cream stands, plushie animals and commemorative water bottles. The Georgia Aquarium is laid out so you can easily see it all and they have an amazing variety wildlife. True, you won’t get splashed by Shamu, but they do have program where you can snorkel or scuba dive with whale sharks. Haven’t done it yet, but it’s definitely on my list of must-dos.
• A fantastic Children’s Museum — It’s just around the corner from the Aquarium and a few blocks away from the hotel. The kids have a blast and I do too. There’s something very therapeutic about playing with Moon Sand.
• Pandas at the Zoo — Zoos are always great fun kids. And let’s face it, who doesn’t have a weakness for Pandas? Last year, when I showed my daughter pictures, she asked if we could get one as a pet if we got rid of our dogs.

Now here’s my short list of things I don’t love about Atlanta:

• Everything has Peachtree in the name. Malls, Marta stops, buildings. And there are about fifteen streets named Peachtree. As a tourist, it makes navigating very confusing. You look something up on-line and think, “Hey, that’s on Peachtree too. That must be right across the street from the hotel. Nope, it’s on the other side of town.” Seriously, even our cab driver was confused about where our hotel was.

But other than the Peachtree thing, this is a fantastic city. What’s your favorite city to visit?