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AirTran Airways Flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to Atlanta (ATL)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on AirTran Airways, which operates 4 regularly scheduled daily non-stop flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to Atlanta (ATL), departing between 7:00am and 9:45pm. Usually a Boeing 737-700 is flown for this route. The average travel time from Los Angeles, CA to Atlanta, GA is 3 hours and 53 minutes.
During your Atlanta vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
High Museum of Art
Designed by architect Richard Meier, this facility -- part of the Woodruff Arts Center complex -- is itself a work of art. A dazzling white porcelain-tiled building with an equally pristine white interior, the museum houses four floors of galleries connected by semicircular pedestrian ramps girding a spacious, sun-filled, four-story atrium. A $130 million three-building expansion is scheduled for completion in 2005; the new additions will include additional gallery space for the museum's permanent collection, enlarged special exhibit space, a coffee bar, and a new retail shop.The permanent collection here includes more than 10,000 pieces, among them a significant group of 19th- and 20th-century American paintings. Hudson River School artists such as Thomas Cole and Frederic Church are featured, as are Thomas Sully, John Singer Sargent, and William Harnett. The Virginia Carroll Crawford Collection of American Decorative Arts comprehensively documents trends in decorative arts from 1825 to 1917. The Samuel H. Kress Foundation collection includes Italian paintings and sculpture from the 14th through the 18th centuries. The Uhry Print Collection contains important works by French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, German Expressionists, and 20th-century American artists. Also notable are collections of sub-Saharan African art, a folk art collection, and works by noted 19th- and 20th-century American and European photographers.In addition to the permanent collection, which is shown on a rotating basis, the museum hosts a number of major traveling exhibitions each year, complemented by films, lectures, workshops, gallery talks, concerts, and other cultural events. Ask at the desk about events during your stay. Free guided gallery tours of the High's permanent collection are offered every Friday and Saturday at 2pm; free guided family tours are given every Sunday at 2pm.The museum has a wonderful gift shop with an impressive stock of art books, prints, and interesting art-related objects. There's an excellent cafe run by Alon's, which has two other locations in town. It's a delightful space, accented with the same colors as the Calder mobile that is visible just outside the big glass windows. The cafe serves up sandwiches, soups, pastries, and desserts, plus fresh juices, teas, and specialty coffees. It's open Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm, Saturday 10am to 5pm, and Sunday noon to 5pm. You don't have to enter the museum to get to the cafe.As this book was going to press, it was announced that the photography and folk art collections of the High Museum's downtown branch will be moving to this branch. Stay tuned for details.
The King Center
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s commitment to nonviolent social change lives on at this memorial, museum, and educational center. A nongovernmental member of the United Nations, the center works with government agencies and the private sector to reduce violence within individual communities and among nations.The tour of the center, which is self-guided, begins in Freedom Hall, where memorabilia of King and the civil rights movement are displayed. Here, you can see King's Bible and clerical robe, a hand-written sermon, a photographic essay about his life and work, and, on a grim note, the suit he was wearing when a deranged woman stabbed him in New York City. Also on display is the key to his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was assassinated. In an alcove off the main exhibit area is a video about King's life and works. Additional exhibits include a room honoring Rosa Parks (whose refusal to give up her seat on a city bus led to the Montgomery bus boycott), and another honoring Gandhi.The center's library and archives house the world's largest collection of books and other materials documenting the civil rights movement, including Dr. King's personal papers and a rare 87-volume edition of The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, a gift from the government of India. The library is open by appointment only for scholarly research.In addition to serving as a museum and hub of social justice activity, the center is Martin Luther King, Jr.'s final resting place, a living memorial to this inspiring leader that is visited by tens of thousands each year. Dr. King's white marble crypt rests outside in the Freedom Plaza, surrounded by a beautiful five-tiered Reflecting Pool, a symbol of the life-giving nature of water. The tomb is inscribed with his words: "Free at Last. Free at Last. Thank God Almighty I'm Free at Last." An eternal flame burns in a small circular pavilion directly in front of the crypt. The Freedom Walkway, a vaulted colonnade paralleling the pool, will eventually be painted with murals depicting the civil rights struggle. Located at the end of Freedom Walkway is the Chapel of All Faiths, symbolizing the ecumenical nature of Dr. King's work and the universality of the basic tenets of the world's great religions.A store on the premises offers King memorabilia and a wide selection of books and cassettes. Ranger talks focusing on the community and the civil rights movement take place frequently on Freedom Plaza.
Center for Puppetry Arts
Don't miss this place if you're traveling with the kids. In fact, you might not want to miss it even without kids in tow. The center is dedicated to expanding public awareness of puppetry as a fine art and to presenting all of its international and historic forms. Opened in 1978, with Kermit the Frog cutting the official ribbon (he had a little help from the late Jim Henson), it contains a 300-seat theater, a smaller theater, gallery space, and a permanent museum. The puppet shows are marvelous -- sophisticated, riveting, full-stage productions with elaborate scenery. Some are family oriented; others, with nighttime showings, are geared to adults. Call ahead to find out what's on; reservations are essential. You can also call a week or so in advance to enroll yourself or your kids in a puppet-making workshop.The center's permanent exhibit, "Puppets, The Power of Wonder," is stunning, featuring one of the largest and finest puppet collections in North America. The exhibit includes such treasures as ritualistic African figures, Punch and Judy, Henson's Pigs in Space, turn-of-the-century Thai shadow puppets, Indonesian wayang golek puppets used to tell classic stories (a centuries-old tradition), Chinese hand puppets, rod-operated marionettes from all over Europe, original Muppets, pre-Colombian clay puppets that were used in religious ceremonies circa A.D. 1200, and Turkish shadow figures made of dried animal skins. Visitors have the opportunity to use joysticks to manipulate over 350 of these puppets. A video hosted by Jim Henson provides an overview of puppetry and takes visitors around the world to meet masters of the art. Another gallery features visiting exhibits from all over the world. Reservations are required for guided tours of "Puppets, The Power of Wonder"; the tour lasts about an hour.The gift shop is like no other, with oodles of marionettes, one-of-a-kind handmade puppets, masks, videos, and other related items.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
Atlanta area, including:
Stone Mountain Park Inn
This charming inn, across the street from the tennis venue built for the 1996 Olympics, is managed by Marriott and housed in a two-story, white-colonnaded brick building that wraps around a central courtyard. Rooms are lovely, featuring Chippendale-reproduction furnishings, and most have large vanity/dressing room areas and spacious parlors. Honeymoon suites offer king-size, four-poster beds. Almost all accommodations have courtyard-facing balconies or patios with rocking chairs. Five rooms are accessible to travelers with disabilities.
Amerisuites Buckhead
This rather plain-Jane all-suite hotel is the best bargain buy in the heart of Buckhead. Suites here are more like a studio or efficiency than a typical suite, with the "bedroom" separated from the rest of the room by a low wall. There is a pullout couch for some extra sleeping space. The bathrooms are standard.
Ansley Inn
This 1907 yellow brick Tudor mansion, the former estate of department-store magnate George Muse, is located in Ansley Park, one of the city's most beautiful residential areas. Rooms in the main house are nicely decorated with antique pieces and mahogany four-poster beds. Several rooms have oak floors, some adorned with Oriental rugs, and a few have lofty cathedral ceilings and working fireplaces. The Ansley Room, on the third floor, offers a canopy bed (which is unfortunately rather narrow) and an interestingly angled ceiling. The rooms in what is called the "corporate wing" (actually just an addition out back) are not nearly as charming (in fact, they resemble motel rooms). One room is wheelchair-accessible.A full hot southern breakfast is served in a dining room furnished with a long English Chippendale-style table and Empire sideboards. Guests enjoy a welcome cocktail upon arrival as well as a nightly wine and cheese social in the beautiful living room, which boasts an 8-foot ceramic tile fireplace.
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