Taking a Coca-Cola® Vacation

One of the best parts of an All-American vacation is loading up a cooler with icecold Coca-Cola® for the long trip ahead in the family car, van or SUV. And for the Coca-Cola lover, the fun doesn't have to stop there. It's easier than ever to take a Coca-Cola flavored vacation.

From museums devoted to Coca-Cola, to cities with special historic links to the soft drink, to annual conventions for the serious Coke® collector, the Coca-Cola traveler can find something fun to do in many parts of the United States

Ted Oswalt, a Coca-Cola collector in Lafayette, Indiana, not only took a vacation trip to the World of Coca-Cola, but he also married his wife Ruth at the exhibit in 1997. The company has a traveling exhibit - World of Coca-Cola on Tour - that gives the public the chance to see, touch and feel firsthand the excitement and unique heritage of Coca-Cola. Watch for locations and dates.

Karleen Buchholz of Atlanta, past president of The Coca-Cola Collectors Club, often works in a Coca-Cola visit on vacation trips. She's visited the Everything Coca-Cola Store in Las Vegas, Nevada, which features the world's largest glass Coca- Cola contour bottle.
One of Karleen's favorite stops is the Biedenharn Candy Company and Museum of Coca-Cola Memorabilia in Vicksburg, Mississippi, located in the restored 1890 building where Coca-Cola was bottled for the first time anywhere in 1894. (www.preservevicksburg.com)

Travelers in the South can also visit:

• Schmidt Museum of Coca-Cola Memorabilia at the Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Tourism and Convention Bureau. (270-234-1100).
• Pemberton Historic House Museum, Columbus, Georgia, a four-room Victorian cottage once owned by John Stith Pemberton, the inventor of Coca-Cola.
• The Museum of Arts and Sciences, Daytona Beach, Florida. A wing will open in October 2001 featuring the collection of Chapman Root, which includes Coca- Cola memorabilia. (www.moas.org)

Vacationers in many parts of the country can visit towns and cities with special
historic links to The Coca-Cola Company, including:

Atlanta, Georgia: Hometown of Coca-Cola, created in 1886, as well as headquarters for The Coca-Cola Company and home of the World of Coca-Cola.

• Charlotte, North Carolina: Home of one of the hottest races on the NASCAR circuit - The Coca-Cola 600.
• Chattanooga, Tennessee: Home to the world's first Coca-Cola bottling company, which celebrated its centennial in 1999.
• Dallas, Texas: The first plant outside Atlanta to produce the special syrup used to make Coca-Cola was built here in 1894.

• New York, New York: The first giant electronic Coca-Cola sign was erected in Times Square in 1929. Today, a giant neon sign featuring a 42-foot-tall Coca-Cola bottle helps illuminate the heart of New York.

• Quincy, Florida: Hometown of the largest number of people made millionaires through the purchase of shares of Coca-Cola stock.
• Rome, Georgia: The citizens of this north Georgia town historically drink more Coca-Cola per person, per year, than any other place in the world.
• Terre Haute, Indiana: The Root Glass Company of Terre Haute created the design of the famous Coca-Cola bottle, based on a drawing of a cocoa bean, in 1915.

For Coca-Cola collectors, there are conventions throughout the country all year round. For up-to-date information, check The Coca-Cola Collectors Club web page (www.cocacolaclub.org).
Some events may require club membership. Here is a sample of events:

• 34th Annual National Convention
Grapevine, TX, July 1-5, 2008

Whether you take a trip especially for a Coca-Cola visit or decide to make a quick stop on the way to someplace else, we wish you a safe and happy journey on your Coca-Cola Vacation!