Georgia – Month of November

During the month of November we stayed in two campgrounds in Georgia.  The first was located in Perry off of I75, about 45 minutes south of Macon.  One of the first places we checked out while there was the Museum of Aviation located outside the Robins Air Force Base.  This is the second largest aerospace museum in the US.  The mission of this museum is to portray the history of Robins Air Force Base as part of the heritage of the USAF, educate and inspire visitors, and recruit a future workforce.  They had some truly impressive aircraft!

 

We took a ride to Macon intending to see the Hay House but our timing for a tour was off.  We chose instead to tour the Cannonball House which a woman in Perry had recommended.  The house is a Greek revival mansion built in 1853.  It is called the cannonball house because it was the only house in Macon struck by a cannonball during Stoneman’s Raid on Macon in 1864.  It contained furnishings of the period along with a number of donated memorabilia from the civil war.

 

While over by Macon we took the dogs for a walk to the Ocmulgee National Monument.  It is a prehistoric American Indian site.  Indians have occupied the banks of the Ocmulgee River for thousands of years.  It is estimated that civilization had used these lands for over 17,000 years.  The site was valuable during the Paleo-Indian period for its bounty of Ice Age mammals.

 

Camp Sumter in Andersonville was a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp during the final 12 months of the Civil War.  The prison was overcrowded to four times its capacity, with an inadequate water supply, inadequate food rations, and unsanitary conditions.  Approximately 45,000 Union prisoners were held there and nearly 13,000 died.  It must have been so horrible an experience to be imprisoned there.  The National POW Memorial is also housed here.  This memorial covers the history of American POWs.  It was sad and moving to explore the grounds.  We were there during the day and then came back for an evening program.

 

Keeping with our interesting campgrounds, below were our neighbors to our campsite.

Stone Mountain, located near Atlanta, is a quartz monzonite dome monadnock.  It sits 825 feet above the surrounding area and is home to carving depicting three confederate figures.  Lee, Jackson, and Davis.  It is the site of Stone Mountain Park as well.  We were able to visit there just before Thanksgiving.  They had just started their Christmas program at that time.  We took the tram to the top of the mountain, which rides near the confederate carving. Walked around a bit up top and then explored the Christmas programs staged below.

 

We spent Thanksgiving visiting my Uncle and his family.  It had been over 30 years since we had spent a holiday together.  It was a truly wonderful time and one we were very glad we did.  Below are my cousins and Aunt and Uncle along with a Thanksgiving visitor and Tigger!

 

The second campground we stayed at was in Pine Mountain GA.  This was a really nice location which allowed us to continue to explore Georgia and take the dogs on a few hikes.

One of the first places we saw was Warm Springs, FDRs Little White House.  This is said to be the place where FDR found the strength to resume his political career and a positive outlet for his personal struggles with polio.  FDR spent time there almost every year and died there in 1945 suffering a stroke while getting his portrait painted.  The original pools do not appear to be used any longer but the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute nearby continues the rehabilitation work started in FDRs time.

 

Another place we toured while in Pine Mountain was the National Infantry Museum.  This was a really great experience.  It was done to honor the legacy and valor of the US Army Infantryman.  It is located on Columbus GA adjacent to Fort Benning and chronicles the history of the US Army Infantryman from the American Revolution to Afghanistan. It emphasizes the values meant to define the Infantryman as well as the nation: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage.

 

Calloway Gardens reminded me a bit of Longwood Gardens.  During the holidays they have a light show they call ‘Fantasy in Lights’.  It takes about 45 minutes to an hour to drive through the lighted displays.  (Pardon some of the pictures was both driving and taking the pics at the same time).

 

Some campground pictures.

 

Next we are onto Florida for some much needed rest and relaxation (maybe?!).