Category: Georgia

Tour of Tennessee

Tour of Tennessee

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Hey Guys!!

I’m going to smash the rest of our time in Tennessee into one post. We were able to visit two more battlefields and a cave…and while they’re all really interesting and important places in our history…none of them are really big enough for their own post. I mean, I could go into detail about each battle, but Guys…I’m not here to give y’all an in-depth history lesson. I’m hear to entice you to go visit these places for yourself!

Lets get started!

In September of 1889, close to ten-thousand Union and Confederate Veterans went back to the Chickamauga Battlefield…this time as united countrymen under one flag. This meeting (the Blue & Grey BBQ) led to the creation of the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park in 1890…the nation’s very first official Military Park. Originally, the park was managed by the War Department but was turned over to the National Park Service in 1933.

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park is the oldest and largest National Military Park. We spent hours going through the various museums that can be found on park property.

Chattanooga, the gateway to the Deep South, was considered vital to both the Union and Confederate armies. Very little went as planned for either side and thousands of soldiers lost their lives. In the end, the battle at Chickamauga was the last major Confederate victory of the Civil War.

The park service was tasked with preserving the history and telling the stories of the battles that took place during the Chickamauga/Chattanooga battles by giving equal attention to both the Confederate and Union. We’ve always felt like the NPS has done an extraordinary job of staying neutral. They give you the facts that they know from every angle and let you make up your own mind.

While we drove the tour route through the park, we kept seeing acorns on many of the monuments. Being the curious nerds that we are…we learned that the acorn represents General George Henry Thomas’s 14th Army Corps because they stood “like an oak tree” on Snodgrass Hill during the conclusion of the battle. Most corps at this time didn’t have an individual identifying symbol but some did. Later, when Thomas was traveling with General Daniel Butterfield, Thomas asked Butterfield if he would suggest an emblem to represent the 14th Army Corps. Butterfield said, “If I had command of the Fourteenth Corps, which stood firm as an oak at Chickamauga, I would give it the acorn for a badge in honor of its bravery.” As the Union and Confederate Veterans started placing monument within the park, the acorn started to appear.

Russell Cave National Monument preserves an archeological site that represents over 10,000 years of use starting with prehistoric cultures around 6500 BCE and running through 1650 CE. There’s a small museum that has artifacts and reproductions of things found within the cave that show the life and tools used by the people who’ve called the cave home over the years. We really enjoyed the short walk to the mouth of the cave. There are some signs that talk about the different layers of time the archeologist have uncovered. The cave has 7.1 miles of mapped cave system and is considered the 3rd longest mapped cave in Alabama. And…if you go…watch for danger noodles. There were signs everywhere warning about venomous snakes.

The last National Park Unit we explored while we were in Tennessee was the Stones River National Battlefield. Stones River is the site of one of the most bloodiest battles of the Civil War with nearly 24,000 casualties. The battle lasted from December 31, 1862 to January 2, 1863 and is considered a strategic Union victory that bolstered support for the Emancipation Proclamation.

The park preserves only a fifth of the nearly 3,000 acres of the original battlefield and includes a National Cemetery. You’ll also find the Hazen Brigade Monument (1863), the oldest surviving American Civil War monument still standing in its original location. The monument was built by surviving members of William Babcock Hazen’s Brigade to commemorate the battle.

One of the coolest things we found while we were park hopping in Tennessee is the Junior Civil War Historian patch. We’d never heard of it before, but one of the Ranger’s in the visitor center told us about it after he saw Alex in his vest with all of his badges. Usually, you have to ask about any special patches or badges…so it was really nice that this Ranger told us about this hard to get/not made anymore patch. The boys were super excited to add this special patch to their collection.

We didn’t just visit NPS units…we had a lovely Easter and played some new games as well as…

eat ourselves silly. I admit it…we stayed in a couple places purely to eat. What can I say? Foodies are a huge part of our travels. #willtravelforfood

Well, I think that’s it for our tour of Tennessee. We’ll actually be back in Tennessee for a month later this year and we’re excited to get back! We really enjoy the area.

See Y’all down the road!

#NationalParkTour

Brunswick, GA

Brunswick, GA

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The Brunswick area of Georgia consists of a bunch of little islands all hooked together. I’d been looking forward to this stop for awhile!

One of the main reasons I scheduled this stop was to see the sea turtles. We went during the off season, but we found the Georgia Sea Turtle Center where we could learn all about sea turtles and even get to see some of them. The main focus of the GSTC is to rehabilitate the turtles and get them back into their natural habitat. They also take in any straggler hatchlings and keep them until they’re big enough to head out to sea the next year. You can go in and look at the tanks with their patients. There are charts for each patient that tells why they’re there and the steps being taken to help them. We got there right before their last tour and got to see them feed the turtles!

We found another fort to mosey through. Forts are becoming one of our things. We’ve really enjoyed them this year! This one is Fort Frederica National Monument.

It was worth the trip just to see all of the old oaks and Spanish moss. The fort itself is mostly gone, but they’ve got a few foundations they’ve found and there are records that tell them where everything was and who owned what. We enjoyed walking through the grounds. I would definitely recommend it!

The Junior Ranger program here was one of the boys’ favorites so far. In the pic above you can see them with the bag the NPS gives out with the Junior Ranger booklets. The bag contained various items and instruments used to complete the booklet. It was more hands-on and the boys really enjoyed it!

We also got to play some pub games that would’ve been found during the 1700s. We’ve decided we need to make one of these. It reminded us of a pinball machine! It was pretty fun to see the ingenuity of the past and connect it to games they boys play today.

The boys earned four badges and one patch. I somehow missed getting one of the badges in the picture. Of course, it was the coolest one…because it was a little different. I’ll try to get a picture of them together again and post it up on our Instagram.

We also went to Tidelands Nature Center where we got to touch an alligator. The boys were impressed with the set of chompers on this guy. I wasn’t sure all three boys would actually touch the gator, but they did! Several times!

We also got to see this little stingray up close! Never thought I’d say a stingray is cute…but Guys, he’s kind of cute!

We found two very cool beaches! The first one is Driftwood Beach (pic on the right) on Jekyll Island. It was so fun to climb around on all of the driftwood. It was also a great picture place. We got some good family shots at this beach. I’m pretty sure we got our Christmas picture here! The other beach also happened to be on Jekyll Island, but for the life of me…I can’t remember the name of it. It was a great beach…and the best part was that not too many people there.

So…it doesn’t look like much. It’s called Brunswick Stew. I’ve seen it on menus since Maine, but I didn’t try it until North Carolina and I’ve been hooked ever since. I thought it only fitting that I had a bowl of Brunswick stew while in Brunswick, Georgia! It starts with smoked meat. I’ve had chicken, pork, and beef…any and all combinations of the three. It always has corn and usually lima beans. From there it varies. The best I’ve had was from High Cotton in Kitty Hawk, NC. Hands down the best. I’m going to have to try to make my own version of Brunswick stew!

We stayed at a great little park called Blythe Island Regional Park. It was awesome! Nice big spot, pull through, full hookups…they even offered cable at no extra cost! We would totally stay there again. This park also had a healthy community of squirrels. And boy howdy…those squirrels loved to tease our cats!! Magnus spent most of the day just watching the squirrels and “chasing” them from tree to tree all while he was safely in the RV! Sadie tried to charm them through the windows. It was extremely entertaining!

I even found a few pretties! Love these pink flowers with the Spanish moss and the oaks!

That’s all we had time to do. We could have spent at least another week just exploring all the different beaches and forts in the area! Maybe one day we can come back to this area!

See y’all down the road!

#easternloop2016

Savannah, GA

Savannah, GA

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We spent a week in the Savannah area of Georgia. When I planned our loop this year, I was disappointed that there weren’t a lot of hiking opportunities. We’ve spent most of our time during this loop exploring cities (big and small). Cities aren’t really our thing. We prefer the wilds. But, when you’re trying to see all fifty states…well, there are states known for their great hiking and then there are states known more for their history. I’ve come to realize that most of our loop for this year has been spent on learning history and going to cities because we felt like we should see them. Savannah is one of those cities I felt like we should see.

Savannah is known for its beautiful parks (all 22 of them) and its cobblestoned historic district. We only went to two of the parks. They were both shaded with oak trees covered with Spanish moss and super picturesque. We enjoyed walking through them even thought they were really crowded. Savannah is smaller than I’d thought it would be. It had that small town, homey feel where time seems to slow down and suddenly everyone is addressed as “honey” or “sweetie” and no one’s a stranger. It made us feel welcome.

While we were wandering around the downtown area, we found the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. It was beautiful inside and out. One of the big touristy things to do in Savannah is take a carriage ride. We opted against it. I’m sure the history and info given during the tour is worth the price but we like to go at our own pace. I can’t be rushed when I’m taking pictures and we usually find something interesting we want to investigate.

We took a stroll down by the river where all of the shops are. I’d looked ahead of time and had two places I wanted to visit. Now, one of the questions we get asked all the time is about souvenirs. Do we get them? What do we get? Where do we keep them? How do we decide when to get one? We get a lot of questions about souvenirs. Honestly, we don’t really get many souvenirs. We simply don’t have room. And, I’m more interested in food anyway. If I get something it’s more than likely going to be something I can eat. Or we opt for experiences. We do get a shot glass from each state and I pick up postcards and stickers from the various places we go.

It may come as no surprise to y’all that one of the souvenirs I’d already decided I was going to get from Savannah was some pralines. They were soooo good! I’ll be making my own over the holiday season sometime. Jerl got something called a gopher. It reminded me of a Texas millionaire. It must have been good…his eyes kind of slid up to the back of his head and glazed over during his first bite.

We also hit up the Peanut Shop where we sampled all of the various flavors of peanuts before making our decision on which to buy. There were soooo many flavors! And we definitely bought several flavors.

The best thing we did in Savannah was visit Fort Pulaski National Monument. The boys snagged another Junior Ranger badge here. Fort Pulaski was damaged during hurricane Mathew so we couldn’t just wander around it. We had to stick with a guided tour. Y’all know how I feel about having to hurry up. I was at the end of the line trying my hardest to take my sweet little time without holding everyone else up. Fort Pulaski was great! Seriously, if you have the chance to go…do it. It’s been set up to represent what it would have looked like while it was occupied so there are several rooms with furnishings. During one of the times the fort was in the hands of the Union, some of the soldiers decided to leave a little…graffiti. It’s still there. I like that the NPS doesn’t make everything completely shiny and new. I like to see the old stuff too. The proof that life was really lived in these spaces.

While most of the fort has been reconstructed and restored, some of it is has been left in ruins. The wall was left to show the damage a cannon could do. More proof of life. The boys were impressed with the amount of damage a single cannon ball could cause. We would have liked to spend more time poking around, but we had to stick with the tour and the tour had to be out before the next one could go in.

Let’s talk food. I’d initially planned on eating at Lady & Sons…because…well…Paula Deen is the queen of southern comfort food, right?  But, when I looked up the reviews and then the price. If I’m going to pay that much to eat, the reviews had better be outstanding and not just mediocre. So, we drove by it and waved at all the people inside eating what we can only assume to be an overpriced, ok meal designed to bring in all of the tourists. Sorry Paula.

We ended up going to a place the locals go. Sandfly BBQ. Everything we had was great and the price was very reasonable. Now, I will admit, the meat was fantastic, but the sides were super sweet and very salty. But the meat was spot on!

We enjoyed our time in Savannah more that we thought we would! We almost passed on it because we felt like it was one of those spots we were stopping at just because everyone else does, but we learned a lot of history and found some foodie favorites!

See y’all down the road!

#easternloop2016

Atlanta, GA

Atlanta, GA

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We spent one week just south of the Atlanta, GA area.

The main reason we stayed here was to make it to the State Capitol Building. It was impressive! Check out that golden dome with the Miss Freedom standing so proudly on top!

And since we’re talking about the dome…I’ll go ahead and show you the inside of it. Now, my favorite domes have stained glass or a mural on it, but this one with the windows all around it was very nice too. Simple and elegant.

Georgia makes State Capitol Building number 31 for us. That’s a lot of SCBs! Some of my favorite things about SBCs (besides the dome) are the staircases. I’m not an architect. I don’t know anything about what style this is…I just know it’s pleasing to the eye. It’s nice and orderly. Check out the statue made of pink marble! This SCB had tons of pink marble that had been mined from Georgia. We like it when the state uses materials gathered from their state to showcase while building the SCB. On the fourth floor there was a small museum we moseyed through. I think it’s a nice touch to include a museum in the SCB that tells some of the state’s history and points out some of the highlights found within the state. We enjoyed this SCB.

Out of thirty one SBCs this was a first for us. We got to go into the Governor’s Office! One of the secretaries offered to take a photo of us behind the desk. We took her up on the offer! It was so nice of her to offer! The boys even got to hold this WWE belt. It was heavier than we thought it would be! I have to mention how nice everyone that we came into contact with at the Georgia State Capitol Building was! We’ve toured some SCBs where we were basically ignored so it was such a nice touch to have everyone we came into contact with treat us as if we weren’t an inconvenience. Perhaps we were getting a taste of that southern hospitality you hear about?!

While we were in Atlanta, we stopped by The Varsity to grab lunch. The Varsity is the world’s largest drive-in. When we were there it was packed! The menu isn’t that big. They’ve got burgers, hotdogs, fries, and onion rings. Oh… and fried pies. Between the five of us, I think we tried everything on the menu. The food was what you would expect. I enjoyed my chili dog with coleslaw on top of it and I really loved the onion rings! Now, would I go back? Um, probably not. lol! Sorry. Once was kind of enough. Not because the food was super bad…it just wasn’t the best. It was your typical fast food. We really prefer to try the mom and pop places and steer clear of chain stores.

I know…it’s a metal fence. But, guys…it’s The Walking Dead metal fence! You’re looking at Alexandria…well, it’s actually in a town called Senoia…but still!! We couldn’t get any closer because all the roads were blocked and guarded because they were filming. Which kind of made it cooler for me. To know they were just…right…there…….filming!!! Sorry. Fan girl moment. I’m ok now.

We did actually get some hiking in this time! We love hiking and there hasn’t been as many opportunities to get some miles in during this year’s loop. We stopped by the High Falls State Park for a quick mile or so to see the falls. Georgia has been in a pretty bad drought since June, so the falls weren’t full and rushing, but they were still enjoyable.

We made our way to Covington, GA…you might recognize it as Mystic Falls from the show The Vampire Diaries. I didn’t realize how many shows/films are filmed in the Atlanta area. We didn’t bump into any of the stars, but it was neat to walk around a town I’d seen on a television show.

We even made it to another hike! This one was at the Arabia Mountain A.W.A.R.E. area. We were rewarded with an awesome view! The weather was perfect for hiking while we were in the Atlanta area. And the opportunity to be outside hiking was appreciated by all of us.

We found this street sign and I had to snap a pic. There’s a big Gone With The Wind theme in the area. I don’t know anything about it…just fan girling again.

When we went to the B.A.P.S. Shri Swaminarayan Mandir while we were in the Houston area we learned that there are actually a few of them sprinkled around different states in the US. We made it to the one in Atlanta. It’s just as gorgeous! And just like the one in Houston, photography isn’t permitted inside or even close to the inside. If you ever find yourself near one of these go in. It’s truly breath taking. The amount of detail on all of the hand carved marble is astounding.

That’s it for the Atlanta area! We didn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what there is to do here so I imagine we will have to visit again.

See y’all down the road!

#easternloop2016