December 28-30: Callaway Gardens, Ocmulgee Mounds National Monument and a Riverside Retreat in Uvalda, GA!

.

There's something about putting up Christmas lights that can bring up feelings of nostalgia. The same way Halloween doesn't feel complete without a pumpkin carving, and Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving until you trace your hand on a piece of paper and call it a turkey, Christmas lights complete the holiday spirit in December. They look pretty and give your environs a beautiful, warm glow. But even more than that, they symbolize the beauty of the holiday season every year. The Christmas light show at Callaway Gardens has been rated in the top 10 of US Christmas light displays by National Geographic (and who knew that they even did that?) But it is NOT why we came to Callaway Gardens. This year, COVID-19 has severely restricted our annual anniversary trip---and we are okay with that, because, let's face it , we are both ALIVE, employed, doing well and last but not least TOGETHER to celebrate anniversary #9 in about 1 day hence. So we aren't complaining. But the impetus for this visit is rooted in travel restrictions and a childhood memory for me of FDR's Little White House (see prior blog post) and a visit I made to Callaway Garden as a teen with all the gardens in bloom and a water ski show on the lake. Not exactly what we saw, but... We arrived and stayed at the Lodge which is pretty much a nice hotel room with a larger than average bath. The grounds are not really a flowering paradise in December, but who thought they would be. They have been decorated with all these lights which are absolutely impressive, if a bit of a Cade's Cove type follow-the-bumper-of-the-car-ahead-affair. But pretty, for sure! But we did highly enjoy our 9+ mile walk around the entire complex on hiking trails/bike trails. We also enjoyed a nice visit to the butterfly center. Who doesn't love butterflies?

Photographing them is a challenge though! Like birds they are alway flitting branch to branch, bush to bush. But beautiful! We managed to walk around the entire Callaway properties. What we missed in cultivated gardens in December, we made up in solitude and some of the nicer features such as the lakes and the Ida Cason Chapel. Mr. Cason Callaway constructed these lovely gardens particularly known for their azaleas, off the proceeds of his mills.

It was a really nice long walk with several lake views included. Probably much more impressive in azalea season, but we enjoyed it even more barren in December. We have to make a few dining comments. The Piedmont Room at the lodge was "okay." The fare wasn't anything particularly special but it sufficed as a meal and was tasty. The breakfast buffet at $32 per person (and the only option on the resort) was nice but expensive for what two older adults can eat at brekkie. We went the second night to a tiny gem of rural restaurant called Carriage and Horses run by a Lebanese immigrant who was so personable and served steaks cooked to perfection. Don't let the location fool you. Although it doesn't look like much from the outside, this place is awesome and has a great wine list!

For our second breakfast, we avoided the excessive charges and ate at a really nice local coffee shop, Unique Expressions. In addition to the sales of local craft items, they serve an "all day" breakfast (until at least 2pm), have beautiful handmade pastries and have nice coffee, paninis and such. And it was $20 for 2 people instead of $64! What's not to love? Today we ventured closer to the site of our 9th anniversary on Sea Island, Georgia, but tried to pick a spot in-between Callaway and Sea Island for an overnight. On the way, we visited Ocmulgee Mounds National Monument. This is a hidden gem of a park run by the National Park service and chronicles the local Native Americans from the paleolithic period until driven out on their own personal trail of tears in the 19th century. The Creek Indians of local flavor have inhabited this area since way back there BC and are descendants of the Athabascans who crossed the Siberian regions so long ago the muskox forgot.

Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park has 17,000 years of human history. The Paleo-Indians first came to Middle Georgia during the Ice Age. The first people to this area were nomadic hunters and gathers who occupied this area for thousands of years. Around 1000 B.C.E they settled down into small villages growing crops of corn, beans, squash, and sunflowers. Around 900 C.E a new culture arrived here known as the Mississippians. They were a complex society with a government and religious system. They constructed mounds here for their elite members of society. The Mississippian culture thrived here until Europeans arrived around 1600. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation today called this land their ancestral homeland "where they first settled down". There are numerous mounds throughout the park thought to be there for primarily ceremonial or practical purposes. PreCovid you could visit INSIDE the earthlodge, but now it's all external. There are about 8 miles of hiking trails around the earthlodge, the great mound and the funeral mound amongst others. The railroad actually destroyed some of the mounds when built in the 1800s and actually bisected one of the larger ceremonial structures. There are great walking trails through the mounds and beside the Ocmulgee River. They warned us about alligators on the trails, but in December, there were none.

From here it was off to our COVID conscious airbnb on the banks of the Oconee River in Uvalda, Georgia. Yep. We never heard of it either! But it is comfy and we are grateful. We highly recommend a visit to the Ocmulgee Mounds for anyone interested in Native AMerican culture and there is a nice visitor center which will likely reopen after the pandemic dies down.

When you are in doubt, be still, and wait; when doubt no longer exists for you, then go forward with courage. So long as mists envelop you, be still; be still until the sunlight pours through and dispels the mists -- as it surely will. Then act with courage." - Chief White Eagle 

Paul's Ponderings: We had a couple of great days at Callaway....particularly great weather versus home and we walked about 9-10 miles on our second day! I'd say the Piedmont dining room was "OK" but the place we went near Pine Mountain called "Carriage and Horses" was pretty darn great to be so rural! We had a Lebanese owner there with some excellent wine recommendations and a fine meal as part of it. The Indian mounds near Macon on the way to Uvalda were incredible....who knew? These are massive evidence of an ancient culture in this area and the monument area is nicely done. We spent the night in rural Georgia near Uvalde and finished up some excellent repurposed pasta from our experience a couple of nights ago with Luka in Atlanta. Salut!

December 24-29,2020: White Christmas, Hotlanta, and Points Forward

 

"I'm dreaming of a White Christmas..."

Paul and I trade out who plans our anniversary trip and this year...it's been a little wild. At first, I had plans for a foreign venue, but COVID made a big question mark that turned into a ZERO by fall. Then I planned a trip to Arizona (to help my hubby achieve his goal of having visited all 50 states), but COVID ixnayed that too. So instead, we are continuing our 2020 theme of car trips with lots of hiking, social distancing and visits to uncrowded spaces. And even that went a little haywire!  I got off work Christmas Eve and Paul and I planned to go to Chattanooga for the night, socially distant visit his sister and on to Atlanta. BUT it snowed and the road didn't get cleared and we ended up staying at home with our kitties. It was very beautiful in our yard. We didn't expect a white Christmas. The next morning, we were able to spend a little time with Paul's sister while on our way to Atlanta. 

And by the way, it was FREEZING. 25 degrees Fahrenheit when we reached Atlanta. We stayed in a nice midtown airbnb and literally walked in the garage/parking lot bundled up like Inuits because it was too danged cold to go anywhere else. For Christmas dinner, we had Indian food at Tabla. Not your usual fare, but tasty none the less!

Papadams and Chutneys

Paul toast everyone a Happy Christmas from our midtown airbnb

The next day, we were fortunate to do a civil rights tour of Atlanta with our guide, Runella. She is a transplant to Atlanta from Buffalo, NY but has family roots in the city. We went to the APEX museum (and were the only visitors), walked through Sweet Auburn, visited the outside of the Ebenezer Baptist Church and the outside of the MLK museum and his grave. We also saw the home he grew up in in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood. At that time, it was a very nice place and predominantly affluent and prominent blacks. This was during the Jim Crow era, and Sweet Auburn was a place where blacks owned businesses and could move freely about. Some of the Sweet Auburn neighborhood is in good condition, but much of it is sadly now in disrepair and there is a serious homeless problem as well. Our last stop on the tour was MLK's last home in another area of Atlanta. That home has been purchased by the park service and is undergoing renovation as a museum. It is not open to the public at present, and many place currently are closed that once were open. 

Martin Luther King's final home recently acquired by the park service

Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King's final resting place. 

The Municipal Market in Sweet Auburn. For the black community, they used to call this the "curb market"," because they couldn't go inside. 

We enjoyed a meal that night in Bacchanalia, a  perennial Atlanta favorite. The only reason it doesn't have a Michelin star is that Michelin doesn't come to Atlanta. If you are in Atlanta, go there. They are in a new location and it's very roomy. 

Same great food. New location. 

The next morning we were off to the High Museum. It's always on our favorites list. We saw a combination of European masters, contemporary art, sculpture, Persian works from the 19th and 20th century and the work of Julie Mehretu, an Ethiopian-American artist with extremely large and detailed works. 

Persian painting. I really like this painting from the very early 20th century. Big eyebrows are STILL all the rage. The amount of time the descendants from this period spend on their eye makeup is still astounding in the 20th century. 

Sculpture from Burkina Fossa

Julie Mehretu. These are large and multilayered works

Paul admires the work and gives you an idea of the scale. 

That night we had a private pasta class with Chef Luca in a midtown condo. We made pasta by hand and it was as fun as it was educational. 

Taglietelle. Handmade!

Paul Parris produces pasta!

Chef Luca is Ligurian and has worked in Atlanta and in Ethiopia. 

The next morning, we were off to the Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia. This modest home was a place of escape for Franklin Delano Roosevelt and also where he died. 

The Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia

FDR had his cars altered so he had hand controls. 

He came to "take the waters" of the 88 degree Fahrenheit springs and try to regain his strength after polio. He was a favorite of locals and was inspired to form the Rural Electric Administration and numerous other projects by seeing how local folks lived out in the rural and poor regions of this state.  

FDR looked for a cure from polio here, but didn't find it. He did however find better health and learned a lot about the rural poor. 

We are now staying at Callaway Gardens for a couple of days, and more on that later!

“Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.”
― Franklin D. Roosevelt

Paul's Ponderings:  Great trip so far.....we got a bit of a late start due to snow, but had a great time in Atlanta.   Besides some good food, we saw these fabulous works by Julie Mehretu at the High Museum.    I've never heard of her, but these were really interesting and the scale was huge.    We then drove on down to Warm Springs, which was new to me.....it's quite amazing how simple it is....no president would have a vacation home this simple these days.   By the time we got here, the weather was lovely and in the 60s.   Quite a change.    We ended the day by stopping at Calloway Gardens for a couple of nights.