Had an absolute blast at ISTE 2014! More info about the conference on my school blog.

Took the MARTA from the airport to our hotel. Cost $2.50 to ride. Transportation is really efficient in Atlanta.

Stayed at the Hilton Atlanta. Being a last-minute add-on, my intention was to crash with Tim & Lance. Fortunately, we ran into Yasin from IT in the lobby who didn’t have a roommate.

For dinner, we went to Pittypat’s Porch for some southern food. The ambiance was awesome.

And the food was amazing! Had the fried chicken & ribs combo.

Here’s the peach cobbler with cinnamon ice cream. So good….

Had some time to enjoy the sights on Saturday. It was extremely hot at the Centennial Olympic Park.

Met up with the gang at the Georgia Aquarium, the world’s largest. The lobby looked like a multiplex theater.

What was most impressive were the large tanks with the whale sharks and the Beluga whales. The workers there complimented me on my shoes, “Man, I love your NYKES….”

The conference itself was great. There were 15,000 educators in attendance.

Whenever there was a free moment, we would try to get to the Taco Mac across the street to catch up on the World Cup. Fútbol Fever and amazing buffalo wings!

For dinner on Saturday, Kimble took us to his hometown of Decatur. It was great! The town was charming with a church, courthouse, sycamore trees, and cafés. We had a late dinner at an awesome place called the Brick Store Pub. Had a meatloaf sandwich and delicious appetizers. It was special visiting Kimble’s hometown.

Spent much of Sunday in poster sessions and vendor workshops. I preferred the interactivity of this format over traditional breakout presentations.

On Sunday night, we had dinner at Legal Sea Foods. It was great. Only thing is that I worry about a seafood restaurant being so close to an aquarium.

On Monday, our KSEdTech team rocked the Coaches Playground. It was a great time of learning, sharing, and connecting with educators from all over the country. Mahalo to Lynne for coordinating this movement.

We celebrated with lunch at the Hudson Grille. I ate a whole lotta fried chicken on this trip.

That evening, we caught a Braves vs. Mets game at Turner Field. It was hot. Enjoyed a Georgia Dog and a SweetWater 420.

Here are the screaming faithful doing the “tomahawk.” We left in the 8th inning (to beat the traffic) and missed an amazing come-from-behind victory.

At the conclusion of the conference, our entire KS contingent (nearly 80 of us) gathered at historic Paschal’s Restaurant. A few of us got there early to catch the USA World Cup match.

The highlight was listening to a gentleman tell stories about this special place. (Notice “Hawai’i” on the banner in the background.)

Met up with friends later in the evening at the Juke Joint. The absolute best fried chicken….
Ended this great experience by riding the SkyView Atlanta with Lynne. What a treat!

Had a great time of learning, sharing, and team building. Mahalo e Ke Ali’i Pauahi.