The Hollywood Cemetery is a primarily confederate and two US presidents burial site. 18,000 confederate soldiers are buried here. The cemetery is like a garden and well-maintained. It was established in 1849 and runs along the James River. The variety of tombstones and crypts were really fascinating.
40th College Reunion. I don’t necessarily recommend going from 0 to 40 without any intervals of visits. But, that’s what I did given that my school was on the opposite coast of where I was living.
This weekend I spent celebrating my 40th college reunion for my AA degree. I was lucky enough to attend Oxford College of Emory, a small, intimate campus about 30 miles southeast of Atlanta. It was the perfect size given that my high school graduating class was 28 students! Most kids went on to Emory in Atlanta for their last two years of college, I actually transferred to University of Florida because I was required to take care of my brother.
The weekend started with happy hour in a hip part of midtown Atlanta on Friday night. It was an intimate way to start the festivities and some folks did not attend the actual reunion on Saturday, so it was good to be able to attend both the happy hour and the reunion the next day.
It was fun to walk the campus and go on a tour and have memories drop into my brain randomly. And even though the campus has changed and grown a lot, the original campus was alive and well, in my mind. The tour guides were students, and I loved their energy and enthusiasm. They enjoyed asking us questions about what campus was like when we were here. I told our tour guides to watch our reactions as we wandered campus because in 40 years they would be in our place going through the same thing and that 40 years happens quicker than you can imagine.
The day started with lunch at nearby Covington, which apparently is the town of Mystic in the Vampire Diaries series, which I have not watched. In college, I did not have a car so rarely left campus, except to visit TCBY in Conyers. Oh, the simple times.
I then spent the rest of the day on campus in a variety of activities. I think the best thing I visited was Dooley’s Tavern. So many memories of drinking, dancing and hanging out in that dilapidated, musty basement. So sad that it is now closed. As I walked through it, there were three current students asking me all kinds of questions of what it was like in it’s heyday.
It was fun to reconnect with old classmates, although many that I truly remember were not there. I wonder what happened to them. Overall, everyone looked great and seemed to have found happiness in their lives. I am so glad I was able to attend.
Just five minutes over a beautiful bridge from Savannah pops me into South Carolina. And an hour drive (about 38 miles) lands me in the surreal, charming town of Beaufort. Beaufort is the second oldest city in South Carolina with its downtown considered a historic district filled with mansions with Victorian, Greek Revival, Neo Classical and federal styles. Wealth came from cotton and indigo plantations and trading. Beaufort has quite a history and was one of the first areas captured by the Union in the Civil War. I visited the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park which shared the history of how freed slaves grew wealth and prosperity in Beaufort, too.
After wandering the historical downtown with its shops and homes, I drove over the Woods Memorial Bridge to Lady’s Island. I wandered Whitehall Park and viewed Beaufort from afar across the marshlands. I returned to Beaufort for lunch and met a man who has lived in Beaufort for 45 years. He told me it is the place to live and he invited me to stay with him and his wife to experience the real Beaufort. Even crazier, his kids live in Bend. It truly is a small world. We exchanged numbers. For lunch I enjoyed a Lowcountry shrimp melt. Pete managed to eat about half of my fries!
Once lunch was done, I got into the car and headed to Bluffton about an hour away. It was another picturesque town on the May River dating from the 1820’s. The Union burned the town on June 4,1863. 13 houses and two churches survived and the town grew once again. Although no longer a center for trade, many summer homes and a bustling historic area continue.
After Bluffton, I drove another hour to the Savannah National Wildlife Reserve. This protected land has a four-mile drive-only loop with beautiful marshland, birds and alligators. I saw several alligators and was more than happy to stay in the car!
The beauty of this area astounds me. The green, lush foliage coupled with all the water make this area stunning and although hot and humid in the summer, I would definitely return!
I’ve been in Atlanta less than three weeks and it feels like months. Granted, I’ve been busy cleaning, organizing and running errands. But a routine is forming, too. I joined a gym for the next three months and it offers a bevvy of activities such as open play Pickleball, Barre, Pilates, Yoga and even trivia night (which we placed third – amazingly – given my lack of erroneous knowledge).
My day starts (and ends) with walking three dogs…wowzah! Anyone watching must be waiting for a catastrophe to happen. All three dogs sleep with me nightly, too. I am wedged in the corner of the bed – the dogs sleep comfortably.
Being in one place means being able to cook again. Yesterday at the grocery store, I felt a tap on my shoulder. When I turned, someone kindly said, “You are beautiful”. Whoa, that hasn’t happened in 30 years!
I’ve met several Turkish people. That never happens. I recognized the language immediately and one of them is helping me reinvigorate my lacking command of the language.
I survived the ice storm. We lost power for four hours and ice coated the roads. The daytime highs range from 16 to 28 degrees…not exactly the warm, Southern weather I anticipated. Snow is forecasted again for this Saturday but should not be as debilitating as the ice.
I am getting braver about driving here. Yes, I drove across the country but am timid in Atlanta due to the myriad of the spiderweb tangle of I-285, I-20, I-75 and I-85 and the smaller side roads like 140. It’s intimidating but I will figure it out since next week my car is being serviced. I will drive the farthest distance, yet, in the city.
This weekend we are renting a U-Haul to move belongings from an assisted living unit to the storage unit. Once this happens, I should have more time to explore Atlanta and beyond. My immediate exploration list includes Asheville (scheduled for February 26-March 1), Charleston, New Orleans and Montgomery (to see The Legacy Museum).
Life is not flawless (even if social media tries to convince us otherwise) and my experimental journey stretches me on a daily basis. But I know that I am lucky to have this freedom and am enjoying this unburdened time. Having a stopping point for three months is a great break from being in a different location nightly. I have a temporary address so I can complete some larger tasks. Come visit me.
This morning I left Camden (goodbye!) and headed to Gee’s Bend. Gee’s Bend refers to the area historically known as Gee’s Bend (but currently listed as Boykin, AL on maps). This is an extremely remote area with not even a coffee shop. I did drive by an assembly of double wide trailers with a Hunting Club sign. Private. Keep out. Clearly hunters outweigh coffee drinkers here.
My friend told me about this area a couple of years ago and I was intrigued. The quilters of Gee’s Bend are currently residing in the area or are descendants of folks from that area. The Quilters Collective is located within Boykin. These quilts have received worldwide acclaim.
https://www.geesbend.org/history-of-gees-bend
My plan was to complete the self-guided tour and then meet up with one of the quilters. The signage isn’t great so it took me a bit to find it (and a few phone calls to my friend). Unfortunately, the person I was supposed to meet did not show up so I drove around and read the panels and looked at the beautiful photos of the quilts. I had forgotten that Sundays in the South are extremely quiet. I am sure my quilting meeting would have happened if it were not a Sunday.
My plan was to move on to Selma and I secured a short-term rental for the night. It was about a 45 minute drive and I arrived around noon in Selma. The perimeter of the city was lovely so I was really surprised when I drove down Broad Street. Buildings were empty, boarded up and some were falling down. Glass was everywhere. I couldn’t imagine leaving my rental at night (even during the day was sketchy). I decided to walk Pete over the famous Edmund Pettus Bridge. As I was walking over the bridge I realized I did not feel comfortable enough to stay the night.
My dilemma became what to do next. The three museums I wanted to see in Montgomery are closed Monday and Tuesday, which meant Sunday until Wednesday I would need to figure out how to fill the time. I looked at the map and realized a drive to Atlanta would only be about 3.5 hours. And so that is what I did.
With travel, flexibility is key and with a car I can pivot easily. Pete is thrilled to be out of the car and running around in a large backyard. I look forward to creating a routine and digging deeper into Atlanta. I can visit Montgomery during a day trip or a quick overnighter while I am here.
The night was filled with thunder, lightening and rain. So much rain that the hotel’s kitchen flooded so breakfast was a minimal affair. There was even a tornado watch, but fortunately it did not materialize. I drove 235 miles today which took me from Vicksburg to Jackson and then Camden (yes, I crossed the Alabama line).
Jackson was on my list because I wanted to visit the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. I got a bonus of visiting the Museum of Mississippi History since they are housed in the same modern, architecturally-interesting building. The focus of the museum is the civil rights movement in Mississippi from 1945-1970. There were eight galleries that each focused on a topic. In the middle was a beautiful, colorful rotunda that highlighted the names of Blacks killed (as opposed to lynched which was in one of the galleries). The amount of information presented was overwhelming at times but the photos, films and multimedia presentations helped make the concepts more digestible.
I was fortunate to meet Hezekiah Watkins while I was in the museum. He shared his story of being arrested at the age of 13 because he entered the bus station entrance that was for whites only. In reality his friend pushed him but that detail was irrelevant to the police. He was sent to prison without a trial or even informing his mother. He was later released because JFK got involved with the Mississippi governor at the time. Mr. Watkins joined the Freedom Riders and was arrested 109 times! Watkins was nonchalant and humble and we talked openly about the state of the country today as racism continues. He wrote a book, “Pushing Forward” and I cannot wait to read it.
The Museum of Mississippi History shared nine galleries beginning with13,000 BC to joining the U.S., the cotton era and so much more. Although not as riveting as the Civil Rights Museum, it was interesting and the displays were informative.
I then drove around downtown Jackson. It was quiet and spotless and had a lot of beautiful buildings. I was surprised how quiet it was on a Saturday morning – truly not a soul around.
At 3 p.m. I landed in Camden, AL, which is truly in the middle of nowhere. But it is the jumping off point for tomorrow’s adventure: Gee’s Bend to see the Heritage Trail and Heritage Builders.
Today I drove about an hour and forty-five minutes to Tulsa. I went to the Greenwood Rising Black Wall Street History Center in Tulsa. It shared the story of Greenwood as a successful enclave of Black business until the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921. This museum created an immersive experience. My favorite was the barbershop where I was able to sit in the barbershop chair and watch holographic barbers talk about early dreams for Greenwood.
The museum shared examples of systemic oppression and asks visitors to commit to racial reconciliation. I loved the message of the museum through media, stories, pictures and interactive displays. The museum does not shy away from the work that still needs to be done by all of us.
http://www.greenwoodrisong.org
I then drove down Route 66.
Afterwards I wandered the downtown area to see the many churches, examples of art deco and numerous murals. Tulsa was very clean but few people are out and about on the streets.
I head out tomorrow to begin my journey to Georgia. I have a lot of stops on the way but today I visited the Old Courthouse Museum in downtown Tucson, walked the Presidio and stopped at Estrella Bakery. Last night I revisited El Charro (yes, it’s that good!).
This spectacular park has an east and a west location. The entry fee is good for a week so we visited the west today. We will visit the east on another day.
The cloud formations added to the amazing cactus and I bet sunrise and sunset is amazing to see.
We were fortunate enough to stay at the Loews resort the week of Christmas. The grounds were beautiful and well-maintained. A short trail led to this amazing natural waterfall (yes, in the desert). Apparently when the resort was built in 1984 it was a priority to leave intact all the saguaro cactus in their original locations and so the resort built around all the natural fauna.
The service and food were great and Carli and I visited the gym daily and even attended a group fitness class – the instructor was excellent. We also took advantage of a tennis class. Prosecco and Pickleball on Friday night was a hit!
A large Koi pond was next to the check-in desk and food to feed the fish was provided. The koi know exactly when someone shows up to feed them and wait patiently for the food to be tossed.
As usual, Pete received a lot of attention wherever we went and Pete was quick to uncover where he would receive treats and directed his daily walks on the routes that were guaranteed for treats!
seniyegroff 