Georgia On My Mind

What a wonderful time we have had in Georgia!

We arrived last night and settled into the The Social Goat, our adorable B&B.  It is aptly named, since it is home to numerous turkeys, chickens, and yes- three goats!  It is adorable, and we enjoyed the gorgeous grounds right in Atlanta.

My first impressions of driving through Atlanta- its BIG!  This is no country town, but a big, busy city! Six lane double highways and skyscrapers greeted our arrival.

 Our home in GA!

 Hank loved the turkeys

...and the goats!

We went out to a local restaurant in Atlanta.  Reaffirming the metropolitan impression of Atlanta was one of the hippest, most diverse crowds I have ever seen.  Gay, straight, black and white, and all ages, all sat together and enjoyed the amazing fare.  It was great to be a part of, and different from my expectations.  I think being in a hub of the South lends itself to being a more diverse, liberal environment.  I am eager to compare it to more rural places.

 After dinner (where we ate alligator bites!!!) we went across the street to explore the historic cemetery.  It was both amazing and awe inspiring....and a little spooky!  The graves were a mix of family plots, spanning generations, and confederate stones filling a whole block.

This morning we woke up to a delicious breakfast of eggs from our B&B and maple praline syrup on waffles.  YUM!

We then headed to MLK Jr's birthplace.  We saw a museum dedicated to his life and work, and then visited the Center for Non Violence.  We then went to his house and neighborhood.  Truly humbling and amazing.

 From the MLK Jr exhibit.

 MLK's resting place and reflecting pool.

 Shotgun houses, inhabited now, but from MLK's childhood.

 MLK's birthplace.

Next, we switched gears to learn about Margaret Mitchell and her interesting life before and after Gone With the Wind.  Walter has never seen it so we have planned a viewing!

 Mitchell's house, once a single family, then an apartment building, now restored.

Our next two stops followed the life and stories of Uncle Remus and Charles Harris.  Uncle Remus is an invented character that told folk tales and passed on hymns to slave children.  He was to be pictured as you wanted him to be in your mind.  Harris, working on a plantation at the age of 14, overheard these stories in their native dialect and later recorded them to share them.  Though they were recorded by others, he was the first, and he was the only to record them in their native dialect.  He went on to work with illustrators, including Beatrix Potter, to bring these stories to life.  Though he wrote many stories, he is most well known for these.  We visited his birthplace and the Uncle Remus museum as well as his home, Wren's Nest, in Atlanta.  When I look at the origins of stories and tales, this was an unexpected find that enriches my work so much!  Harris' work is the retelling of oral stories passed on from slave to slave.  The role of identity and race cannot be separated from these stories or from their recording.  

 A former slave cabin, now the Uncle Remus museum.

 From Harris' home.

 Harris' home in Atlanta.


Lastly we drove to Eatonton (where Uncle Remus' museum is) to further out in the county to visit an antique school house and to find Alice Walker's birthplace.

 This is a replica of Eantonton's original stores.

 And this is the classroom that white students attended in Eatonton in the 30's.

 This is Alice Walker's birthplace, now a functioning farm and store.

Driving down the country streets of Georgia is a wonderful experience.  A few country songs queued up on the ipod and this road ahead of you?  Who could ask for more?!

We even stopped for some Georgia peaches- which, spelling errors aside, were delicious!

Tomorrow we pack up and head for Alabama!