2024 KLOVE Cruise USA Travel Itinerary Day 13: Finally Visiting the Billy Graham Library, Chick-Fil-A and Atlanta Attractions!

On day 13 of our KLOVE Cruise USA Travels, we finally got to visit the Billy Graham Library, try out Chick-Fil-A and travel to Atlanta – home of one of the most iconic beverage brands, Coca-Cola! This morning, we woke up at 7am and had breakfast at Hampton Inn & Suites Charlotte Arrowood Road…

Lobby of Hampton Inn & Suites Charlotte Arrowood Road

Hampton Inn & Suites Charlotte Arrowood Road Review - Hot Breakfast Buffet Waffles Machine with red velvet batter! — Hampton Inn & Suites Charlotte Arrowood Road Review – Hot Breakfast Buffet Waffles Machine with red velvet batter!

Hampton Inn & Suites Charlotte Arrowood Road Review - Hot Breakfast Buffet Sausage French Toast and Scrambled Eggs — Hampton Inn & Suites Charlotte Arrowood Road Review – Hot Breakfast Buffet Sausage French Toast and Scrambled Eggs

Breakfast at Hampton Inn & Suites Charlotte Arrowood Road

For breakfast, they had the red velvet waffles – something that we don’t normally see for breakfasts in American hotels and inns. The sausage was not too salty and they had cream cheese as well! Together with nuts, dried fruits, banana and yoghurt, we had a pretty nutritious breakfast this morning!

USA Trip 2024 Day 13 – Billy Graham Library Charlotte North Carolina

2bearbear at Billy Graham Library Charlotte

Graham Family Homeplace at Billy Graham Library Charlotte

It is actually quite cool to finally be able to visit The Billy Graham Library. Afterall, Billy Graham’s crusades in the 1970s did bring about a spiritual revival worldwide. The older generation would remember a time where more than 300,000 people would gather at the National Stadium over 3 days to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ in 1978. How cool was that?

Entrance of Billy Graham Library Charlotte

Passing the gates at Billy Graham Library

We arrived a little early at 9:15 this morning but the gates only opened at 9:30am. Hence, we parked outside for a bit and entered shortly. Once inside, there were volunteers on site that guided us from the carpark to the entrance to the Billy Graham Library for the Journey of Faith – a self-guided multimedia tour that takes visitors about 1.5 hours to complete.

Billy Graham's AI giving an overview of the Journey of Faith at the Billy Graham Library — Billy Graham’s AI giving an overview of the Journey of Faith at the Billy Graham Library

Hour of Decision Radio at Billy Graham Library Charlotte

Map to the Graham Family Homeplace next to the Billy Graham Library

Wooden cross inside Billy Graham Library Charlotte

Billy Graham speaking at conferences worldwide

Ruth's Attic Bookstore at Billy Graham Library Charlotte — Ruth’s Attic Bookstore at Billy Graham Library Charlotte

Inside, we learnt about his early life and how he met his wife Ruth, who went on to become a strong pillar of support in his life. Interestingly, Ruth’s parents were missionaries in China and she grew up in China, briefly studying in Pyongyang. Today, it is actually quite hard to believe that the gospel had, many years ago, been preached on the soil of North Korea. Thank the Lord! 🙂

The tour also shared how Billy recognised the importance of media when he produced “Hour of Decision” via radio where the gospel could reach many, who would otherwise, not have had the chance to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. We were really inspired by how the message was made to be so simple when Billy Graham shared.

“If you want to have a fulfilling life, live by the Bible and it’s the rule of life, just as you need rules for basketball, soccer etc. You cannot reason it out, you need to believe by faith.”

The Memorial Prayer Garden at Billy Graham Library

The Memorial Prayer Garden at Billy Graham Library Charlotte

We also stopped by the tombstones of Billy and Ruth. What is written on them are indeed meaningful. Glad to see the word “義” or righteousness, written on the tombstone of Ruth Graham. 義, if you deconstruct the word, has the word “羊” or lamb on top of the word “我” or me. This means that we can only have righteousness if we have the blood of the lamb (Jesus Christ), covering us. So cool that the tomb continues to point to Christ today.

Graham Family Homeplace next to Billy Graham Library - Dining Table — Graham Family Homeplace next to Billy Graham Library – Dining Table

Graham Family Homeplace next to Billy Graham Library - Kitchen — Graham Family Homeplace next to Billy Graham Library – Kitchen

Graham Family Homeplace next to Billy Graham Library - Living Room — Graham Family Homeplace next to Billy Graham Library – Living Room

Graham Family Homeplace next to Billy Graham Library - Work Desk — Graham Family Homeplace next to Billy Graham Library – Work Desk

Lastly, we also visited the house that Billy Graham grew up in. Of course, the version that we see, has been refurbished but we’re told that it was really close to how it would have looked like then. We also pointed to the volunteers that Billy’s mum had great taste in colours – tones that are still in fashion, even today.

We left The Billy Graham Library at about 11:30am, inspired to also share the gospel in our little way, in person and through this blog. At about 1:35pm, we arrived at Georgia and decided to refill at Exon for $20 (7 gallons) and check out Chick-Fil-A, which had its roots in Atlanta…

The orange that tells us that we have arrived at the state of Georgia

Trailers that transported whole apartments enroute from Charlotte North Carolina to Georgia Atlanta

Fuelling up at Exon Georgia ($20 for 7 gallons)

USA Trip 2024 Day 13 – Chick-Fil-A in Atlanta Georgia

Clean and white premise inside Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A Deluxe ($9.25), 8 pc Nuggets ($4.85), Chocolate Milk Shake ($4.45) at Chick-fil-A

Chick-Fil-A is known to have started with a really simple concept – to serve delicious sandwiches using a plump, juicy chicken breast. Hence, we decided to order the Chick-Fil-A deluxe meal ($9.25). For 70cents more, you’ll be able to get lettuce, tomato and cheese on your Chick-Fil-A burger which is a no-brainer. We must say that the burger itself was really delicious. Tender and juicy chicken breast as advertised. However, the 8 piece nuggets ($4.85) was disappointing. Though it was made of real meats (unlike nuggets that we see from the other fast food restaurants), the nuggets were really small and a tad too salty. We ended the meal with a chocolate milk shake ($4.45) which comes with whipped cream and cherry. Yum!

USA Trip 2024 Day 13 – Fernbank Museum of Natural History Atlanta Georgia

2bearbear at Fernbank Museum of Natural History Atlanta Georgia

Thanks to the great folks at Discover Atlanta, we were able to visit several attractions at Atlanta, including the Fernbank Museum of Natural History.

Giants of the Mesozoic Fernbank Museum of Natural History Atlanta Georgia Review

Wildwoods Forest in Fernbank Museum of Natural History Atlanta Georgia

Angkor - The Lost Empire of Cambodia shown at Fernbank Museum of Natural History Giant Screen Theater — Angkor – The Lost Empire of Cambodia shown at Fernbank Museum of Natural History Giant Screen Theater

Entering into Fernbank Museum, we were wowed by the live-sized dinosaur fossils. Really impressive to see the fossils put together to show how majestic these creatures really were. Yup, we believe that dinosaurs exited. Just like dragons in legends of so many cultures. However, they probably gone extinct due to over-hunting. Just like the Tasmanian Tiger, Mammoth and probably the Dodo. The other cool thing about the Fernbank Museum of Natural History is that it has a large outdoor forest walk known as Wildwoods Forest – perfect for the kids to play in the playgrounds outside.

Lastly, we enjoyed the show “Angkor – the lost empire of Cambodia” at the theatre in Fernbank Museum. Did you know that the entire Angkor, built in the 1100s was bigger than the present day LA?! 😮

USA Trip 2024 Day 13 – Darwin Hotel Atlanta

The Cozy Room at The Darwin Hotel Atlanta - King Sized Bed — The Cozy Room at The Darwin Hotel Atlanta – King Sized Bed

The Cozy Room at The Darwin Hotel Atlanta - Barn Door to the Toilet — The Cozy Room at The Darwin Hotel Atlanta – Barn Door to the Toilet

At about 5:30pm, we checked-in at the Darwin Hotel Atlanta, the most expensive hotel for us during this entire USA trip. Darwin Hotel is a boutique hotel that has been recently transformed from a motel, into this beautiful and instagrammable hotel. The interior decorations in the rooms were tastefully done as well. Especially love the barn door within.

USA Trip 2024 Day 13 – Dinner at Ponce City Market

Inside Minero Mexican Restaurant Ponce City Market

Minero Mexican Restaurant Ponce City Market - What 2bearbear had — Minero Mexican Restaurant Ponce City Market – What 2bearbear had

For dinner, we strolled from Darwin Hotel to the Ponce City Market where we had Mexican food at Minero for dinner. This even, we ordered the Al Pastor and Steak Tacos for $11 as well as the Guac and Chips for $12. For drinks, we had the Hazy IPA for $6 and the House Magarita for $11.5. We must say that the entire meal was delicious! The Al Pastor was slightly spicy and flavourful and the meat was so tender with a little bit of fattiness. The guacamole was also freshly made and you could taste the avocado in every scoop, nicely complimented with the cilantro. We also found that the chips were made in-house daily – slightly thicker and crunchier than usual taco chips too. The entire Ponce City Market is so cool, with the old structure yet new shops and restaurants. A very nice place to visit when you’re in Atlanta.

If you enjoyed our content, “Like” us on Facebook Today!

Back at the Darwin Hotel, we redeemed our welcome drinks. Champagne with a twist of freshly peeled lemon…