Tag: georgia

Callaway Gardens – Day 4

May 19, 2021 – Riding with the Breeze in our Hair

So we’ve done a lot of walking this trip. Today we are going to ride. We wanted to get in as much riding as we could so we were up and out the door before 8:00, in order to get to the Country Kitchen when they opened. Got as far as the elevator and had to turn back. We both forgot our masks. Usually, one of us remembers before we leave the room. Oh well, let’s try this again.

We still ended up as the first customers this morning. We both chose the French Toast breakfast. I added a side of bacon. Chuck didn’t. He may have thought I was going to share but I snarfed down all 3 pieces with no remorse. I love my husband, but I really, really like bacon.

We drove over to the Golf pro shop to pick up our golf cart. Once we signed all the paperwork, they brought us the 6-seater. Wait. We reserved a 4-seater. Those were all gone so they gave us a 6-seater for the same price. As we drove around, we looked for people walking to offer them a ride but we never came upon anyone needing a ride. Only time I would have considered picking up a hitchhiker.

First place we drove to was the Virginia Hand Callaway Discovery Center. Inside the Center were a number of displays – mostly stuffed birds and animals that can be found in the area. There was also a nature movie about beavers showing in the auditorium. Around the corner and down the hall, there were displays of rare and endangered Georgia wildflowers. Those flowers were actual sculptures created by Mississippi artist Trailer McQuilkin. They were so delicate and life-like.

Another room held bird paintings by artist Athos Menaboni, an Italian artist who immigrated to the US after WW I.

I would have liked to have taken photos of the artwork but no video or photographs were allowed.

It was nearing 11:00 and we wanted to see the Birds of Prey show, so we walked outside to go to the amphitheater section. Met people coming up the sidewalk who said the show had been moved indoors because of the wind. Went back in the building. The “show” inside consisted of a woman talking about the birds and showing samples of wings and claws. We didn’t stay. There was to be another show with the live birds at 5:00 that might be outside if the wind died down. We didn’t think we would be here for it.

We walked back outside and turned right to go along the boardwalk next to the Mountain Creek Lake, the largest of all the lakes on the property. We saw one person fishing but he didn’t seem to be catching anything.

We also saw the entrance to the Tree Top Adventures & Ziplining. According to the signage, “TreeTop Adventure spans more than 3,000 feet horizontally and soars up to 70 feet above the forest floor. The base Discovery Course features five zip lines and 20 more challenges including ladders, wires, logs, discs, netting, and other suspended surfaces. The add-on Lake Course option features five additional zip lines, including several over the lake itself, and four obstacles.”

Chuck and I were fortunate to have ziplined in Roatan, Honduras one year. We passed on this adventure, but I am sure they are very busy in the Summer.

Around the corner from the TreeTop Adventure was the bicycle rental place if you didn’t bring your own bikes. We saw a number of people riding bikes in the Gardens. I thought the cutest set-ups were the adults pedalling the bikes while pulling their toddlers in a cart. Chuck wanted to rent a bike and cart so I could pull him around. I ushered him back to our golf cart.

We rode various paths and revisited the Memorial Chapel. Still so serene. Basically, if we saw a path to drive on, we took it. I’m not sure how many times we rode by Bluebird Lake going in and around the Gardens. Once, we accidentally got on an actual golf course path. We had to wait for some golfers to finish and they let us go on. We got off as soon as we could find another road exit. I’m glad we didn’t get hit with an errant ball.

We decided to have a picnic lunch by Robin Lake. We drove back to the Lodge to get our lunch items. Our room had a refrigerator, so we had packed some food in anticipation of a picnic. If you search for “picnic by the lake ideas,” you will find pictures of blankets on the ground, a large straw-woven basket, lanterns strung from trees, wine, gourmet cheeses, serrano ham, Galician bread, and Tiramisu for dessert. I thought our picnic came pretty close to those photos – cloth bag, picnic table with paper towels to cover the eating area, pimento cheese, canned chicken, beanie wienies, saltines, Dove chocolate, and Diet Cokes. But, we didn’t have any lanterns to string up so I will have to remember those for our next one.

We drove back to the lodge to deposit our bag in our room. We noticed that the personnel were putting up signs indicating that fully vaccinated guests have the option to not wear a mask indoors. That was great news. No more turning back at the elevator.

We drove through the cottages area of the resort. They looked like typical cottages you see at state parks – wood with screened-in porches. There were many streets of them. The area had its own swimming pool and restaurant. We also saw a disc golf course.

We drove through the Longleaf Community of Callaway Gardens. The houses and the landscapes were lovely, but they were so close together, it was a little claustrophobic feeling. According to their website, “The Longleaf Community was started in 2003. The Post Office, Library and meeting area was originally the Callaway sales office. The lands on which the community sits was an experimental nursery for the gardens for over 26 years.  Many of the trees, within the community, date back to when this area was a used to determine how the environment and the weather would affect certain tree growth. Today, some of the most beautiful trees are a product of that era.” The website didn’t state if it was an adult-only community but I didn’t see any signs of children like basketball goals, toys, etc. I think if you have to ask the price of the houses/lots, you probably can’t afford it.

We stopped to feed the fish in the two ponds we had discovered on our previous walk of Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Trail. In a car, you couldn’t really see the ponds but with the golf cart, you could see them and see a spot to pull over to walk to them. They really enjoyed the pieces of stale biscuit we had left over from the Country Kitchen.

Our very last stop was the Butterfly Exhibit again. It was a much different environment in the heat of the afternoon. The butterflies were very active but we didn’t stay very long at all because of the heat and humidity. We did see a family whose children were wearing butterfly wings from the gift shop. They were very cute running around with their sparkly wings.

We rode back to the caddy area of the Golf Pro shop and returned the golf cart. We only saw 2 other couples driving golf carts around today. Chuck and one guy decided it would be fun to race each other. Their passengers didn’t think it would be a good idea. They listened to their passengers but they looked disappointed.

We drove the car back to the Lodge. We debated about going back to the Fox’s Den for one of their sandwiches or wings but neither of us were that hungry. We decided that if we got hungry later, we would just walk over to Cason’s again. We ended up just finishing up our gourmet picnic food out on the balcony.

Check-out is tomorrow. We will just check-out and drive until we are ready for breakfast and to fill-up with gas. We have had a wonderful time.

Travel Trivia

When Athos Menaboni moved to Atlanta, he became friends with Robert Woodruff, one of the founders of Coca-Cola. Woodruff was said to have commissioned Menaboni to create numerous birds paintings, many of which were used for the Woodruff family Christmas cards between 1941 and 1984. In addition, the Menabonis were friends with Cason and Virginia Callaway, and upon the death of the Menabonis, their estate was willed to Callaway Gardens.

Virginia Hollis Hand was born on February 21, 1900. She attended the Lucy Cobb School in Athens, GA, and Merrill School in Mamaroneck, NY. She married Cason and they had 3 children.

With a mind for philanthropy, Virginia was involved in many endeavors, most of them focused on financial aid for the education of children and families. She was active in the Red Cross and initiated Red Cross swimming classes for area children at her Blue Springs pool. She frequently sponsored children at summer camps.

Cason had purchased thousands of acres of land in the area, and Cason and Virginia eventually decided to build a garden of incessant beauty to share with the world. This was an opportunity for her interest in botany to bloom. She was an active partner with Cason in planning and guiding the development of the Gardens and put much of her efforts into the horticultural side of the Gardens. Under her direction, azaleas and other native plants from the nurseries at Blue Springs were used to enhance the lakeside drive through the Gardens.

Virginia and Cason opened the Gardens to the public on May 20, 1952, and they worked together on it until his death in 1961. Following his death, she succeeded him as Chairman of the Board of the Ida Cason Callaway Foundation. In 1971, she founded the Cason J. Callaway Memorial Forest, preserving 3,000 acres of woodlands on the Pine Mountain Ridge that continue to serve as a conservation education site.

Virginia Callaway was recognized with many awards during her lifetime. She lived at Blue Springs until her death on February 11, 1995. Today, Her statue in front of the Discovery Center features her with her dog Rex, also known as MuddyNose. In her left hand, she holds a Plumleaf Azalea, a native plant saved by the Callaways from extinction and is the floral emblem of the Gardens.

*trivia provided by Callaway Gardens documents

Callaway Gardens – Day 3 (part 1)

May 18, 2021 – Butterflies and History

Don’t know why I had such a restless night last night. The bed and pillows are comfortable, but I tossed and turned a lot of the night. I just got on up at 5:30 and got the coffee started. The day was cooler than yesterday, and the sky was cloudier too.

We had planned to rent a golf cart, go to the Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center, and ride around the park. The cost of the 4-passenger golf cart (Callaway Cruiser) is a little pricey for one full day – $135 + tax. They don’t rent them for ½ day (4 hours) in the morning because of all the golfers they have on their two 18-hole courses. You can rent for ½ day if you want to get it at 2:00. They will rent a 6-passenger one for ½ day for $75 but we didn’t need one that large. The price per day goes down the longer you rent it, with 7 days being the max.

Knowing I was going to spend a lot of time watching butterflies, Chuck suggested we just go to the Butterfly Center and then ride over to the Franklin D Roosevelt State Park to hike. We would rent the golf cart for tomorrow and spend the whole day riding. Fine with me. We called the Golf Pro shop and reserved a 4-seater for tomorrow.

Went back to the Country Kitchen for breakfast. I had the two egg and bacon breakfast. Chuck had the ultimate omelet breakfast. It was colder in the restaurant than yesterday. I wish I had worn my blue jean shirt that I use as a light jacket.

Came back outside to find the wind was still up and the temperature hadn’t risen much. I said I needed my shirt so back to the Lodge we went. I have 3 blue jean shirts. I should just always keep one in the car.

We got to the Center at 10:15. It had only been open for 15 minutes but there were a few people already inside the center. We entered and looked at the displays and watched the video in the area right outside the conservatory doors. We even saw a couple of butterflies that were emerging from their cocoons. They will stay in that display area until their wings completely dry out, and then they will be placed into the live conservatory. We didn’t wait to see if they made it completely out because it can take up to three hours depending on the size of the butterfly.

Once we entered the conservatory, we got blasted with a strong wind from a large fan. They are designed to keep the butterflies away from the doors. It was still cool outside, so the butterflies were staying still on the plants inside the conservatory. Excellent for photographs because I am not a good enough photographer to capture sharply focused in-flight butterflies. I wish I had used some of that time to practice my action shots. Also made it nicer to walk around as I know these places are usually very hot and steamy during full sunlight.

There were so many different types of butterflies. My favorite is always the Blue Morpho. I first saw one at the Key West Butterfly Center. I was fortunate enough to see one in the wild on our tour in Costa Rica during our Panama Canal cruise. I could only get a video of it as it never landed long enough for me to get a picture. You just see flashes of blue among the green plants.

We stayed in the conservatory for an hour. In addition to the butterflies and beautiful plants, they also had turtles and green tree frogs. After checking that we didn’t have a butterfly hitch-hiking on our clothes, we exited the conservatory. We got blasted by the fans again. I wanted to go to the gift shop and buy a Christmas ornament. It was advertised to open at 11:00 but it wasn’t. The volunteer at the main door said she didn’t know why the person hadn’t arrived yet. Maybe she was on her way.

Hoping the gift shop would open shortly, we decided to look at the topiaries that surrounded the outside of the building and walk the 0.6 Rhododendron Trail that was near the Center. I especially liked the topiary of Hairy Dawg. They also had topiaries of other college mascots, but they were not picture-worthy.

Just like the azaleas, there were not many rhododendrons blooming but the ones that were blooming were very pretty. We also heard a very loud bird singing his heart out. I finally located the source. His song was bigger than he was. Normally, birds are too quick for my photography skills but this one was so intent on his song, I was able to snap a couple of pictures.

On the trail, I also discovered that my Fitbit watch would not track my exercise. On each trail yesterday, I would select Exercise, hike, and the Fitbit would record the hike length and heart rate. Today, when I chose Exercise, the Fitbit would just flash and go back to the home screen. So annoying. I would have to wait until I got back to the room to research the problem.

Once we got back from the trail, the gift shop was open, and I was able to purchase my Callaway Gardens butterfly ornament. Chuck was thrilled for me. 😊 Time to go to the FDR State Park.

Travel Trivia

Cecil B. Day was founder and chairman of the Board of Days Inn of America, Inc. and the Center was funded in his memory by his wife Deen.

The conservatory is 7300 square feet and over 40 feet high at its highest and completely enclosed by 1084 panes of glass. It opened to the public on September 25, 1988.

The conservatory is a USDA regulated containment facility where removal of butterflies is prohibited.  There is a penalty of $25,000 or up to 9 years in prison for removing butterflies from the center.

The butterflies come from farmers in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, Kenya, the Philippines, and Malaysia.  They represent all the major tropical regions of the world: Central/South America, Central Africa, and Southeast Asia/Australia.

The flora inside the conservatory consists of over 100 species of tropical plants mimicking a rain forest.

Surrounding the Day Butterfly Center are gardens containing plants especially chosen for their benefits to native butterflies. These gardens provide an example to guests wanting to create their own butterfly gardens and they provide an opportunity for guests to see butterfly eggs and larvae.

Butterflies have compound eyes, smell with their antennae, taste with their feet, feed with their tubular tongue, and weigh less than most flowers. Many are capable of flying thousands of miles.

*trivia provided by Callaway Gardens documents

Callaway Gardens – Day 2

May 17, 2021 – Hiking the Trails

Sunlight sneaking in around the black-out curtains made me ready to get up and have some coffee on the balcony. It was cooler than I expected but so nice to see the sun rise over the lake.

We were ready to leave the Lodge about 8:00. We decided to try the Country Kitchen for breakfast. It is a restaurant outside the grounds about 3 miles from the Lodge. It is owned by Callaway Gardens. According to its description, the Kitchen is one of the original buildings of Callaway Gardens and was converted to a restaurant and gift shop during one of the expansions. We could have had breakfast at the Piedmont, but they serve a buffet and we were not interested in that much food.

We made a good choice. The view from the restaurant was lovely and the food was very good. I had a vegetable omelet, hashbrowns, and rye toast. Chuck had the two-egg country ham breakfast. He quizzed the waitress on whether or not the grits could be eaten with a fork. She assured him they could. They couldn’t. We both like the Muscadine preserves that were served with the toast and biscuits. We were able to charge the meal to the room. Convenient.

After eating, we drove back about a mile to the main Garden entrance. You can, of course, visit the Gardens without staying at the Resort. The cost is $25.00 per person. The Lodge resort fee covers the admission each day of stay and the day of checkout. We also discovered that you can enter the Gardens from behind the Lodge near the Golf Course as long as you have your room keycard.

We drove around the perimeter first with the windows down enjoying the breeze and listening to the birds. We realized that the majority of the lakes in the property are named for birds (11 of the 14 lakes).

Our first stop was the Overlook Azalea Gardens Trail. We were the only car in the lot and the only people on the trail which I found unusual. Most of the azaleas had already bloomed but we still saw some nice ones. The trail was an easy 1.5 miles. It connected to the Whippoorwill Lake Trail so we took it back to the parking lot which was another .25 miles.

Our next stop was the Callaway Brothers Azalea Bowl. Again, we were the only car in the lot. We went through the entrance and I smelled my favorite flower – the gardenia. Huge bushes of them. The entrance was beautifully landscaped with numerous benches all around the flower beds. We walked the 1.2 mile azalea trail. Along this trail, we saw many chipmunks, birds, squirrels, turtles, and geese. We also heard rustling in the tall grasses that I convinced myself was just more chipmunks. We then took a spur trail to the Ida Cason Callaway Memorial Chapel which sits on the edge of the Lower Falls Creek Lake.

It was stunning in its simplicity – all wood, metal, and stone. The stained glass was designed to represent nature and the different seasons. We were the only ones in the chapel, so we were able to take our time and give thanks for all of our blessings. We knew we would definitely make a visit back here before our trip was over. It was just that peaceful.

When we got back to the Bowl entrance / parking lot, there were several people milling about. They asked about the trails and how far. They decided it was too far to walk and seemed disappointed that they were going to miss the chapel. We told them that they could drive to the chapel if they turned left out of this lot and went back about 1/2 mile. There was a small parking lot near the building. I was glad we are still in good shape to walk the trails. I hope they got to go.

Our last stop was the Pioneer Log Cabin. It was built in the 1830’s and moved from Troup County in 1959. It housed a 15-member family. The whole cabin didn’t look bigger than our hotel room. We hiked the 0.6 mile Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Trail. It is a sister trail to the one in Texas. Has only native plants. There were several small ponds with fish and turtles along the trail.

Once we got back to the parking lot, it was close to 2:00. We decided to call it a day and go back to the Lodge. It was warm so we went to the pool. There was only one other couple there. We got in the hot tub for a while. Chuck got in the pool but I thought it was too chilly. We enjoyed relaxing and listening to the music playing over the speakers. I thought “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” was an appropriate song for our day.

Afterwards, we spent happy hour on the balcony chatting with the neighbors again. We walked back to Cason’s. Neither of us were that hungry so we each ordered a glass of wine and an appetizer – a charcuterie board and chicken wings. We should have only ordered one appetizer to split. They were both large appetizers.

The restaurant cat was back. Found out from our waitress tonight that he was a she and her name is Callie. She came over to see what we were eating. We gave her some chicken and a little bit of cheese. She turned her nose up at both and decided a nap was in order instead. I hope she had better luck with later diners.

Tomorrow we are thinking we may rent one of the golf carts called the Callaway Cruisers to see more of the park that we can’t get to in the car and it is too far by foot.

Travel Trivia

What do azaleas, blueberries, cranberries, and mountain laurel have in common? They are all members of the Ericaceae or Heath family.

Azaleas are technically rhododendrons.

The Callaway Brothers Azalea Bowl feature both exotic Asian evergreen azaleas and North American deciduous azaleas.

Inspired by 16th century Gothic chapels, Cason Callaway designed the chapel in honor of his mother.

Today, the chapel is used for small weddings as well as a non-denominational service each Sunday at 9am throughout the Summer and during the Christmas season.  Organ concerts, featuring the chapel’s custom-built Möller pipe organ, are held each weekend – Saturday and Sunday afternoon, 2pm until 4 pm  – as well as during some holidays and special events.

*trivia provided by Callaway Gardens documents

Callaway Gardens – Day One

May 16, 2021

I was up as usual at 6:00 am. I’m always nervous on the first day of the trip. Did I get everything important packed? Will Pumpkin cooperate and be inside when we are ready to leave?

Today, everything went well. We got the car packed while Pumpkin was outside. He came in about 10:00 and knew something was up when we would not let him back outside when he went to the door. He got frustrated with us and went to take a nap. We were able to leave at 11:00 with no angst. I knew our cat sitter would come by at dinner time.

We drove down US 27S and stopped at Bremen for lunch at Wendy’s around 1:00. I was taken aback at the line of people waiting to order. There was also a number of cars in the drive-thru line. Just another example of more people on the move. We were two of the very few wearing masks inside.

As we got near to Pine Mountain, I activated the GPS. She tried to route us into the Cottages entrance and not the main Lodge entrance. I kept going. The main lodge entrance was obscured by large trees on the left and the only sign on the right said “Wildlife viewing” so I overshot the entrance and had to turn around. Need to trim the trees or install better signage on both sides of the road.

We got there at 3:00. We parked in the circle outside of the Lodge. Check-in was 4:00 but fortunately our room was ready. Couldn’t find a luggage cart so the kind desk attendant helped us take our luggage to the room. COVID restrictions were in place. There was no valet service, but we could park in the valet slots. There would be no daily housekeeping, but we could call and get anything we needed. Masks were required indoors in public areas.

The room was nice but not luxurious. King bed, two bedside tables, chair, lamp, and small table in the corner, desk and office chair, and dresser with a small refrigerator, a place for the coffee maker, drawers, and a 50” TV on top. The bathroom was nice. Had a large shower separate from the tub. Only one sink but it was okay. The best part about the room was the balcony. The maid was working on another room so we asked for more coffee as we knew we would need more packages of it.

Once unpacked, we fixed ourselves a cocktail and sat outside to listen to the fountain bubbling and look at Robin Lake. Shady and a nice breeze. Perfect. Wasn’t long before the people who had the room next door came out on their balcony. They were from Americus, Georgia, and come to Callaway Gardens quite often. We enjoyed chatting with them.

Eventually, we wandered down to look at the pool. The pool area had two hot tubs in addition to the 5-foot-deep pool. The area was open every day until dusk but there was no bar/food service at the small pavilion. I assume it will open after Memorial Day. They did have beach towels for use at the pool. Couldn’t get into the pool area without your room key.

We kept walking to the lake area. Very nice white sand beach. Lots of people enjoying the water and playing on the beach. I wasn’t surprised at seeing geese near the beach, but I was very surprised at seeing buzzards on the beach.

We didn’t walk far. Decided that it was time for dinner. We had the choice of Piedmont Dining Room or Cason’s Tap Room on the property. Didn’t realize until we got over there that the menu was the same for each. If you wanted to eat inside, you were in the Piedmont. If you wanted to sit outside or at the bar, you were in Cason’s. We chose to sit outside as it was shady and a pleasant temperature.

I ordered the Winter Strawberry Salad with grilled shrimp and a glass of water. Chuck ordered the fish and chips and a glass of wine. I thoroughly enjoyed my dinner. He was not impressed with the fish or the wine.

We noticed a large grey cat sitting on the wall giving himself a bath. He wasn’t bothering anyone. The people at the table below him finally looked up and noticed him. They gave him some of their food and he snapped it up. I asked the waitress and she said that she thought it belonged to one of the houses in the area. However, Callaway’s policies were not to trap or bother any animal on the property, so he was there most every day. Said that she witnessed customers who actually bought a restaurant meal specifically for the cat. He definitely didn’t look like he had missed any meal. No chasing squirrels for him.

Eventually, he caught our eye and trotted over to see what we had. We gave him some shrimp and fish. He seemed to enjoy it. I noticed that that he strolled from table to table but never jumped on any of them. Some people fed him. Some ignored him. Very polite cat. If it had been our Smoke, he would have jumped on every table and snatched whatever food he wanted. He had bad manners.

Came back to the room and sat on the balcony until nearly dark. Looking forward to hiking around the Gardens tomorrow.

Travel Trivia

Callaway Gardens was founded in 1952 by Cason J. and Virginia Hand Callaway to promote and protect native azalea species. Their dream began in 1930 when Cason discovered a rare azalea growing in the area. As the large farm area began to take shape as a Garden, they decided they wanted to share it with the public. Today Callaway Gardens is a non-profit organization that covers 2500 acres and offers numerous outdoor activities.

Callaway Gardens

May 15, 2021 – (pre-trip)

I am a trip planner. Even with the shutdown of COVID, I was looking to the future – re-booking cancelled trips and scheduling or thinking about new trips. Microsoft Notes, Microsoft One Calendar, Microsoft Excel, Google Maps, Google Flights, Accuweather, and TripAdvisor are my go-to assistants.

With cruising on hold until very end of 2021 or sometime in 2022, we’ve been reviewing our road trip list. We have had the Outer Banks on our travel list for quite a while. However, we have only been interested in going in April or May. We wanted to avoid the summer crowds and have been leery of the Fall hurricanes. We decided that this was the year. So, in January 2021, I booked a hotel for Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina – the middle of the Outer Banks.

We thought mid-May would be the perfect time for this year. Vaccines were beginning to become available, and we hoped to get one before May. Schools would still be in session so maybe the crowds would be low. Prices were still reasonable before Memorial Day. Restaurants were still available even if only for pick-up. Our hotel room had a full kitchen so we could bring back food with no issue. All our planned activities involved the outdoors so social distancing could be observed. The weather was predicted to be very pleasant.

Fast forward to May. Both vaccinated. Mask-wearing rules and social distancing relaxed. Weather predictions excellent. Restaurants allowing in-person dining. Bags packed. Looking good.

Then…Russian hackers? Pipeline shutdown in the Southeast? Gas hoarding? Brawls at the gas stations? Hummers, filled with extra gas tanks, blowing up and catching fire? What is happening?

Called the hotel front desk person to ask about the gas situation there – “We’ve got no gas around here.” Trip cancelled.

I’m a planner. Let’s review our travel list for places we want to see. What can we do that, worse case scenario, we can get home and back on one tank of gas? Callaway Gardens / Pine Mountain, rose to the top of the list. Added bonus – we can even avoid Atlanta by traveling there via US 27 – known in Georgia as the Martha Berry Highway and designated as a Scenic Hometown Highway.

According to their website, Callaway has over 2,500 acres of gardens and trails. There are walking trails and biking trails. There is a lake for fishing, swimming, and canoeing. There is a butterfly center. Ziplining is there for the adventurous. If you want more outdoor activities, the FDR state park is 4 miles away and the Animal Safari park is 8 miles away. We’ve booked a room with a balcony that overlooks the lake. Hope it is as nice as its picture. Doesn’t have a full kitchen but it does have a small refrigerator. There are several restaurants on property that are available. Bags already packed. Gas tank is full. Weather forecast looks decent. Leaving tomorrow. Hoping for the best.

Travel Trivia –

U.S. Route 27 (US 27) is a north–south United States Highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus is at US 1 in Miami, Florida. The northern terminus is at Interstate 69 (I-69) in Fort Wayne, Indiana. From Miami it goes up the center of Florida, then west to Tallahassee, Florida, and north through such cities and towns as Columbus, Georgia; Rome, Georgia; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Lexington, Kentucky; Cincinnati, Ohio; Oxford, Ohio; Richmond, Indiana; and Fort Wayne, Indiana. It once extended north through Lansing, Michigan, to Cheboygan, Mackinaw City, and for about three years as far as St. Ignace. US 27 was first signed in 1926, replacing what had been the western route of the Dixie Highway in many states.

Martha Berry (1865 – 1942) was the founder of the Berry Schools for academically able but economically poor children of the rural South—those who usually could not afford to go to other schools. These schools of the early 1900s grew within three decades into Berry College, a comprehensive liberal arts college in Rome Georgia. As a result of her work of forty years with the schools and college, Berry is among Georgia’s most prominent women of the first half of the twentieth century.