on the road in ga

on the road

the gadlfy in...

georgia

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notes on places

last contact: 12/28/2009

first contact: 7/9/2006

GA Trip Stats (6/10):

Counties visited: 32

Best county: Chatham Co.

Town visited most: Savannah

Places slept in: Cartersville, Macon

Most impressive town: Atlanta

Least impressive town: Brunswick

Biggest town: Atlanta

Most scenic area: Sumter County's rural roads

Most scenic spot: the main city park in Savannah

State animal: armadillo roadkill

State plant: Spanish moss... sorry peach trees

Most ignorant spot: Andersonville's city square... where stands a monument to a war criminal

Three words: history, pecans, heart of Dixie

Road Trips: Honeymoon (7/2006), Florida Tour (6/09), Winter Edge (12/2009)

Neighboring States: TN, SC, AL, FL, NC

Major Passes: Vertical. Passed north to south from Savannah to St. Marys along I-95. A few days later passed south to north along I-75 Corridor, taking one side trip, from Melrose to Rossville.

Comments: Georgia leaves quite an impression. It is rife with contradictions. beautiful Savannah exudes charm, while busy, stupid suburban Brunswick irritates the nerves. Andersonville pays homage to a war-mongering murderer while nearby Plains celebrates the peacemaking efforts of resident Jimmy Carter. Pretty, little towns made up of primarily whites stand down the road from impovrished towns made up mostly of blacks. Georgia is a stew for sure and each spoonfull brings about a different taste.

Heroes: Georgia recognizes its place in history and is a place where history is not taken lightly. Many of its notable heroes were leaders of the Confederacy, like Henry Wirz who ran the Camp Sumter prison where the modern concentration camp found its inspiration. A monument to him stands smack-dab in the middle of Andersonville. Hatred of General Sherman is palpable. Other heroes include James Oglethorpe, the founder of the Georgia colony, and anything having to do with Bulldogs football. Former president and Camp David moderator Jimmy Carter is memorialized in Atlanta and his hometown of Plains.

Georgia.jpg (20762 bytes)

First Contact: I entered the perplexing state of Georgia when I crossed the Savannah River on I-95 on 7/9/06 while taking the scenic route from the Smokies to St. Augustine while on my honeymoon. The final destination was the Bahamas. I needed to rest after passing through the nothingness of South Carolina and found great peace in the balmy city park of Savannah, Georgia's first city. The port city was everything you would imagine of a proper Southern city with its Spanish moss and huge front porches. Nothing else in the state compared as I ventured south along the Atlantic.

Chatham Co. (7/9/06)

Savannah. One of the most beautiful small cities in America. Everyone seemed so happy (even those in the projects), save for the monument to the Confederate dead protected by a fence. The city parks, squares, and streets are draped with Spanish moss and dotted with palms, evoking the city's importance to the sea and to the Old South. The riverfront and historic district are places where history is alive. The city plan is colonial in nature as this was the location of the penal colony founded by Oglethorpe in 1733. Huge porches with ceiling fans... people taking strolls and playing in the park... ahhh... Tybee Island. Fort Pulaski NHP. Riverside.

Liberty Co. (7/9/06)

Passed through the seaside county on the way from the Smokies to St. Augustine.

McIntosh Co. (7/9/06)

Passed through the seaside county on the way from the Smokies to St. Augustine.

Glynn Co. (7/9/06)

Brunswick. Horrible restaurant here. The town seemed like it would rather be at the beach or in the mental hospital. On another visit, took a detour from hell through this God-forsaken city.

Camden Co. (7/9/06)

Passed through the seaside county on the way from the Smokies to St. Augustine.

.Lowndes Co. (7/18/06)

Valdosta. Ate dinner here. Surrounded by peach and pecan stands.

Cook Co. (7/18/06)

Passed through the forested, farming county on the way from Ocala to Chattanooga. Adel.

Tift Co. (7/18/06)

Passed through the on the way from Ocala to Chattanooga. Tifton.

Turner Co. (7/18/06)

Passed through the on the way from Ocala to Chattanooga.

Crisp Co. (7/18/06)

Passed through the forested, farming county on the way from Ocala to Chattanooga. Cordele.

Dooly Co. (7/18/06)

Drayton. Vienna. Left I-75 here in search of the true Georgia.

Sumter Co. (7/18/06)

And here is where I found the true Georgia, more or less. Hilly roads wind through farm and forest. Andersonville. The devil once ruled here and the town is still full of ghosts from old Camp Sumter. The town is a small, insular place that tries in vain to pull visitors from the main road. It is full of old buildings and state-built memorials that beg you to consider that the Confederates were "only doing their duty." It seems a response to the nearby national park that chronicles the town's murderous past. Andersonville NHP. Site of Camp Sumter. Americus. The crossroads of the county. A neat, tidy Southern town. Plains. The home of President Jimmy Carter and proud of it. Quite a contrast to Andersonville! The president's brother has a gas station named for him. The local high school is now a visitor's center to what is turning into a fake historical park. What once was a living, breathing town is slowly evolving into a monument to its greatest citizen.

Schley Co. (7/18/06)

Ellaville. Murrays Crossroads. Hilly farming country. The backroads are a joy.

Taylor Co. (7/18/06)

Rupert. Butler. Areas of this rural county seemed to have majority black populations, something not seen in the rural Midwest. Forests and double-wides fill the hills.

Crawford Co. (7/18/06)

Roberta. An interesting little town and main drag. Knoxille. The Old South lives in Knoxville. Prisoners walking aorund courthouse with black and white striped uniforms.

Bibb Co. (7/18/06)

Macon. The sun was going down on rural Georgia so we joined the Interstate again in Macon after passing through thick forests to its west near Lizella.

Monroe Co. (7/18/06)

Passed through the on the way from Ocala to Chattanooga.

Lamar Co. (7/18/06)

Passed through the on the way from Ocala to Chattanooga.

Butts Co. (7/18/06)

Passed through in the night the on the way from Ocala to Chattanooga.

Spalding Co. (7/18/06)

Passed through in the night the on the way from Ocala to Chattanooga.

Henry Co. (7/18/06)

Passed through in the night the on the way from Ocala to Chattanooga.

Clayton Co. (7/18/06)

Passed through the suburns in the night the on the way from Ocala to Chattanooga.

Fulton Co. (7/18/06)

Passed through in the night the on the way from Ocala to Chattanooga. Atlanta. I did not stop even though I was almost out of gas. I don't regret it much. Decent skyline.

Cobb Co. (7/18/06)

Passed through the hilly suburbs in the night the on the way from Ocala to Chattanooga. Marietta. Acworth.

Cherokee Co. (7/18/06)

Passed through in the night the on the way from Ocala to Chattanooga

Bartow Co. (7/18/06)

Forested hills interrupted by views of the vast Lake Allatoona. Cartersville. Slept here in the hills and among bluffs of Appalachia after a long day of driving.

Gordon Co. (7/19/06)

Passed through on the way from Cartersville to Paducah.

Whitfield Co. (7/19/06)

Fort Oglethorpe. Suburb of Chattanooga and home to the battlefield national historical park of Chickamauga & Chattanooga NMP. The park and town are dotted with gravestones of local regiments. The Illinois boys seemed to be in the business of artillery for U.S. Grant during the battle. Chicago is even remembered for delivering munitions to the battlefield. The battlefield is now a graveyard and peaceful park. It is hard to imagine shells and blood once littered the glades and hills. Rossville. Unimpressive, backward suburb of Chattanooga.

Dade Co. (7/19/06)

Passed through the on the way from Cartersville to Paducah.

Savannah.jpg (19269 bytes)

Front porch surrounded by Spanish moss from Savannah's city park. (2006)

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A giant Carter looking peanut in Plains. (2006)

savannah2.jpg (14869 bytes)

The centerpiece of Savannah's beautiful park. (2006)

carter2.jpg (11314 bytes)

Plains is like any other small Georgia town, except for that one person who puts it on the map. (2006)

andville.jpg (16131 bytes)

If the train station in ghost town Andersonville could talk it would have quite a tale to tell and one surely different than those told by state memorials. (2006)