What: Lunch with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Elephants
When: Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011 at 12 noon
Where: Centennial Olympic Park
Cost: FREE (Bring Your Own Lunch)

It’s supposed to be a beautiful day today, the kind of day for a picnic. However, why just have any old ordinary picnic, why not lunch with elephants. And not just ordinary elephants, but the elephants from the Greatest Show on Earth. The elephants from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Circus will be enjoying the beautiful weather and a healthy spread at Centennial Olympic Park. The public is invited to join them at noon for a Pachyderm Picnic!

We went to this several years ago and it was a blast! I’ll admit that I actually took my son out of school for lunch and we went down to the park to see the elephants eat. It was probably a lot more educational than his school lunch room. It was fascinating to see the elephants pick up entire watermelons with their trucks and gulp down whole loaves of bread. The kids still remember it.

This year they’ll be noshing on more than 15 loaves of bread, 25 pounds of carrots, 25 heads of lettuce and 10 watermelons! It’s a relaxing afternoon before the opening performance of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey® Presents BARNUM 200, where the pachyderm superstars will be joined by more than 150 performers, 10 tigers, 6 miniature horses, 2 llamas, and 5 diamondback pythons! Tickets for the Circus are still available at Ticketmaster. This year you can see the show at Philips Arena downtown Feb. 17 – 21 or at the Arena at Gwinnett Feb. 24 – 27.

This morning was a fun one on CBS Better Mornings Atlanta, I met Shane, of Shane’s Rib Shack. Shane’s supports my son’s local baseball program, so it was nice to have the opportunity to say thanks in person. In addition, I had a delicious breakfast of ribs. You can get your own free ribs too! Be one of the first 100 people to visit Shane’s Rib Shack on Sat. May 15 and receive a 1/2 rack of ribs, large beverage and a Shaniac t-shirt.

But what about the Field Trips with Sue segment this morning on CBS Better Mornings Atlanta? Here’s what I highlighted:

Albany Georgia and the Flint Riverquarium
Durhamtown Plantation
Buy One, Get One Free tickets to the Georgia Aquarium

Shrek Fest at Atlantic Station
Julie Andrews Book Signing at Little Shop of Stories
The Georgia Kite Festival
Dora The Explorer Appearances

I love being in studio at CBS Better Mornings Atlanta when they have fun guests. This morning I got to meet Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat! I love Curious George.  You can see them too this week at the Fox Theatre.

If you missed this morning’s Field Trips with Sue segments on BMA, we announced the winner of the tickets to see South Pacific at the Fox Theatre. Our winner is Gail! Congratulations.

If you missed it, here’s a wrap up of the segment that featured posts from this week:

Stone Mountain Fun Break Deals
North Georgia Eco Canopy Tour (aka ziplining) deal
BOGO Offer to see South Pacific at the Fox Theatre
$5 Tickets for the Braves vs. White Sox exhibition game this weekend

And here’s a preview of the posts we have for you next week:

FREE Golf Lessons  and More FREE Golf Lessons
Spring Football at the University of Georgia
FREE Concerts at Centennial Olympic Park (look for a post next week)

Drawing winner Jackson Roche and his mom Shawn McDaniel

Field Trips with Sue’s first birthday bash, held at Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta was a fabulous time. The museum’s awesome birthday party room was a great location for our get-together. It was fun to see old friends and new faces. I met a lot of folks that follow the blog and several who just learned about it. For pictures of the event, visit our Facebook page. While you’re there, become a fan and feel free to tag yourself in the photos from the event. There are more photos coming, so check back. Thanks to Diane Maicon for snapping the shindig.

Don’t put your party hats away yet. It’s time for our online party and….presents. The first present we’re giving away is 4 tickets to go ice skating at Centennial Olympic Park. To win, become a subscriber to Field Trips with Sue (it’s FREE) and leave a comment on this post that you are interested in winning. We’ll choose a winner on Thursday morning. Stick around the rest of the week too. We’ve got more presents each day. Want an extra shot at winning? Follow @suerodman on twitter and tweet this: I want to win a present in the Field Trips with Sue #FTWS Birthday Bash http://bit.ly/53XBco. Make sure you include the link.

What: Field Trips with Sue’s First Birthday
Where: Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta
When: Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 3:30 – 4:00 pm
Cost: FREE – It’s Target Free Day from 1 – 7 pm

Like a 5-year-old, I’ve been excited about Field Trips with Sue’s first birthday party for a couple of months. Just like a 5-year-old, we’re going to celebrate for more than a week. Join us on Jan. 12 for an offline party at Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta. We’ll have cake and lots of fun. Please RSVP to the party so we have an idea of who is coming. It is Target Free Day, so you don’t have to pay, but if the museum is at capacity, you may have to wait to enter.

Starting on Jan. 13, we’ll continue with an online party – and you get the presents! Our first present to giveaway: 4 tickets to skate at the Centennial Olympic Park’s Ice Skating Rink. Here’s how to win: Register as a subscriber of Field Trips with Sue via email. Registering is FREE and you’ll receive a confirmation email. You must confirm your registration by clicking the link in the email. Then, tell all your friends to register as well. Each day, starting on Wed., Jan. 13, we’ll give away a prize. Post a comment to let us know you are interested in winning that day and we’ll randomly pick a winner (you must be a subscriber via email. Sorry, but I don’t know how to confirm reader subscribers).

Wanna peek at the presents? Go ahead. A HUGE thank you to these folks for donating items for the party.

Family 4-packs to Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta (and our FABULOUS host for the offline party!)
A family membership to the High Museum
Family 4-packs to the High Museum of Art (sooo excited about the upcoming Car exhibit)
Family 4-packs to Callaway Gardens (Wonderful butterfly house)
Family 4-packs to an upcoming Center for Puppetry Arts Puppet Show (My 5 year old LOVED the Shoemakers Elves)
Family 4 -packs to The World of Coca-Cola (try the Beverly…. really)
Family 4-pack to the National Museum of Patriotism (The Olympic Pin collection really brings back memories)
Family 4-pack to the Centennial Park Ice Skating Rink (The rink is actually open until Jan. 31!)
Family 4-packs to the Georgia Aquarium (Can’t wait to meet the dolphins)
A Thomas the Tank Engine Hero of the Rails/Thomas Wooden Railway Prize Pack (We know you all LOVE Thomas)
A Jekyll Island Package (Don’t miss Boneyard beach, or Tidelands Nature Center, or the Turtle Center — well everything.)

So brighten up your dark, cold January by joining us for a great party. Tell all your friends, neighbors, your preschool, church groups, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. to join us for the fun. Remember, you must be a verified Field Trips with Sue blog subscriber to be eligible to win a prize, so register today – it’s free! How do you know you are verified? You’ll receive an email every time we post, generally Tues. through Thurs. each week.

What: Centennial Park Outdoor Ice Rink
When: Nov. 14 – Jan. 31
Where: Centennial Olympic Park
Cost: $7 to skate and $2 for skate rental, Click here for discounts and see how you could win tickets.

Ice skating at the Centennial Olympic Park ice rink is a holiday tradition in my family. I recently asked Nicole Rateau, public relations specialist at Centennial Olympic Park to give FTWS the Inside Scoop on skating at the rink.

1. What is the best time to skate at the rink? There is no bad time to come to the rink But if you want to feel like you own the ice, come early in the week (M – W) or early in the mornings. Also just an FYI, groups that have 50+ or more skaters and pre-purchase tickets, we will open the rink privately outside of regular operating hours at no additional cost.

2. Sometimes we’ve been to the rink and the ice is a bit mushy. When is the ice the smoothest and most frozen? The ice rink does have a miniature Zamboni to smooth out the ice but the ice is the most fresh first thing in the morning and the most solid on cold, winter days.

3. What if I have small children? What is the best time for them to come? The best time for small children is in the mornings.

4. How long is the skating? Skating sessions are 90 minutes, but most people don’t spend 90 minutes on the ice. They are essentially going around in circles

5. What other holiday events are there at Centennial Park? Holiday in Lights opens Nov. 14 as well (but ends Jan. 3). 4250 individual strands of lights have been installed around the Park, (each 25 ft. long) that’s approximately 20 miles of lights!

What: Centennial Park Ice Skating Rink

Image by hoyasmeg via Flickr

Where: Centennial Olympic Park
When: Begins Sat., Nov. 14
Cost: $7 per person for 90 mins. of skate time, Skate rental is $2 (see below for discounts) or win tickets

One of our holiday traditions is ice skating at the Centennial Olympic Park outdoor ice rink. There’s just something about skating outside and this is Atlanta’s only outdoor rink. Centennial Park’s Holiday in Lights also opens on Saturday. It’s a nice winter evening to let the kids skate and then run around the park looking at the bright displays.

Want to win tickets for four to the Centennial Park Ice Skating Rink? Upload a photo of your favorite Centennial Park activity at www.facebook.com/fieldtripswithsue. Haven’t been to Centennial Park? Take a look at the site www.centennialpark.com and let me know what sounds like fun to you. You can leave a comment below, or on the FTWS Facebook wall.

If you don’t win tickets, there are lots of discounts available for those who want to skate. In conjunction with the Georgia Aquarium, the Ice Fishing Pass (love this name!) is a joint ticket for the Aquarium and ice skating. The cost is $29.99 for adults and $24.50 for children 3 – 12. You can also find coupons for skating at the Center for Puppetry Arts, Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta and Inside CNN Studio Tour. The coupons are good for a free skate rental Monday through Thursday.

This mornings Field Trips with Sue segment featured lots of upcoming freebies including:

• Target Free Day at Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta
• Free Admission times at the Center for Puppetry Arts Museum
• Free skate rental at the Centennial Olympic Park Ice Rink (this post will be up next week, so stay tuned)
• Bank of America’s Museums on Us Weekend featuring: Fernbank Museum of Natural History and Zoo Atlanta (we also talked about the FREE Zoo Atlanta family pass available at all Fulton County Library branches)
• Free admission day at the Braves Museum and Hall of Fame (this post will be up next week, so stay tuned)

You can view the CBS Better Mornings segments here.

What: Peachtree TV’s Scream on the Green
Where: Centennial Olympic Park
When: Sat. Oct. 31 5:00 pm, movie starts at 6:30 pm
Cost: FREE

I love the name of this event. If Halloween wasn’t so much fun on our street, I think I’d consider attending, at least for the older boys. In addition to trick-or-treating, there are carnival games, a costume parade for kids and live music. The evening is topped off with a screening of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Part of the fun in doing Better Mornings Atlanta is the people you meet in the studio. This morning, I met folks from Netherworld. This creepy guy is the collector. He truly is spooky and has the eeriest voice. He must be a star; he has his own bobblehead. See him holding it? Love the bobblehead.

This mornings Field Trips with Sue segment featured much tamer Halloween happenings including:

• Georgia State Parks Haunted Hayrides
• Georgia Ballet’s A Sleepy Hollow Story – Don’t forget to enter our contest to win FREE tickets to this show. Read the post for rules. We’ll announce the winner on Friday.
• Oakland Cemetery’s Halloween Tours
• The Georgia Aquarium’s A-Scary-Um
• The Silver Scream Spookshow
• Peachtree TV’s Scream on the Green at Centennial Olympic Park (I’ll post something on this later)

You can view the CBS Better Mornings segments here.