Catch of the trip - fishing in LaGrange, GA

Guide extraordinaire Keith Poche. Photo © by Debi Lander.

Bass fishing in LaGrange? Definitely, the Good Girls decided, especially when we saw photos of our guide, top bass fishing tournament pro Keith Poche (Poe-shay).

When we launched Good Girls in the Badlands for our trek through South and North Dakota last year, we laughingly referred ourselves as Thelma and Louise without a death wish searching for adventure and Brad Pitt.

We found adventure but no Brad Pitt candidates.

Should have invaded Georgia sooner. Keith was not only Brad Pitt cute, he was gracious, good-natured, gentlemanly, extremely patient and one heckuvva fisherman. Born in Louisiana, living in Alabama but adopted by LaGrange, GA, he's an Elite Class pro with 5 top 10 finishes in B.A.S.S. tournaments. To say he was stepping down in class spending the morning with us novices is not only a vast understatement but a testament to his good nature and patience.

We drove from Callaway Gardens to LaGrange and met our local fairy godmother, LaGrange Troup County Tourism Director Laura Jennings, who led the way to West Point Lake where Keith and his cool and colorful competition bass boat were waiting.

Other fishermen watched to see where we went. Photo © by Debi Lander.

Once aboard he asked should he take it slow or did we like speed. Duh. That boat started on plane and was soon skimming across the giant (25,900-acre) lake at 60 mph. When other fisher folk saw who was driving, every eye followed us noting where we went.

The day was overcast, good for comfort but not so good for finding bass. According to Keith, bass congregate together tucked under their shoreline hidey holes when it's sunny and hot which means a lure dropped in the area will attract a lot of attention. On cooler, cloudy days, the fish swim out into the lake.

Not that it bothered Keith; everywhere we stopped our plastic worms were nibbled and bitten. Novices that we were, hooking and landing were another matter.

"Reel it up! Reel it up," urged Keith as I jerked at a good bite.

Aha. The light went on. You need to start reeling in the fish to hook it after that first bite. Then Keith pulled out the magic potion from one of the under deck storage spaces. He dunked the tail of my worm into a tiny jar of liquid and pulled it out, showing me the bright chartreuse green tip. "That ought to do it," he said.

Got one! Photo © by Debi Lander.

Boy, did it. With the first cast, bright green-tailed worm saw action. I jerked, reeled in and finally hooked one, a 12-14-inch striped bass.

Keith shows off my striped bass. Photo © by Debi Lander.

"It's a keeper," Keith proclaimed.

Well, not really. I wanted it thrown back for someone else to have the fun of catching.

Debi lands one Keith hooked. Photo © by Judy Wells.

We moved to perhaps a half-dozen spots around the lake. The closer to the dam we got, the rockier the bottom became. Let's just say the Good Girls caught a lot of rocks. Watching Keith get us unhooked and maneuver the boat using one foot on the bow motor was almost worth it. The man is a master multi-tasker.

Finally, it was time to stow our gear and head back to the boat launch. With a guide like Keith, the combination of speed and bass fishing could be addictive.

Callaway Gardens

Mountain Creek Lake at the Virginia Hand Callaway Discovery Center. Photo© by Debi Lander.

Is something for everyone too much? We began to wonder that during a whirlwind but inclusive tour of Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA.

Watching the carp at Sibley Horticultural Center. Photo © by Debi Lander.

 Horticultural, Butterfly and Discovery Centers, Azalea Bowl, Chapel, vegetable garden, pioneer log cabin, bicycling and nature trails, are natural fits.

Succulents have replaced many of the orchids in the Horticultural Center.

Golf and tennis, fishing and boating, spa, sure, make it a full resort. The Fantasy of Lights display during the Christmas season has become an institution, but balloon festivals, beach with Masters Water skiing, Florida State University Flying Circus, laser tag, Birds of Prey show, triathlons, USA Wake Surfing National Championships, zip-lining and tree-top challenge course?

Entrance to Day Butterfly Center. Photo © Debi Lander.

Between them all you are surrounded by mobs of people, so many that the beauty of the gardens themselves seem in danger of being trampled. They aren't - most of the hordes congregate at the beach, restaurants and Inn lobby - but they could be.

Butterfly friendly plant. Photo © by Debi Lander.

I suspect it's the timing thing again. As travelers who gravitate away from crowds,  the dead of summer with whooping and squealing family reunions around every corner and area residents looking to cool off or entertain the kids is not the best time for us to contemplate the beauty of nature in blissful isolation and silence.

Photo © by Debi Lander.

If you like frolicking with the multitudes, you are going to love summer at Callaway Gardens. And if this is what it takes to ensure the continued existence of the plum leaf azalea, one of the reasons Cason and Virginia Hand Callaway bought the land in the first place and its symbol, so be it.

 

You never know where a butterfly will land. Photos © by Judy Wells.

 

 

 

Plum leaf azalea, the Callaway Gardens symbol. Photo © by Debi Lander.

From Raw to Awe

After generations of farming had left much of its soil eroded and sterile, the southernmost foothills of the Appalachian Mountains needed some TLC, which succeeding generations of Callaways have applied. From the summer of 1928, when Textile magnate Cason Callaway and wife Virginia picnicked with friends at a clear spring, Cason began buying land in the area, including the spring which he named Blue Springs. When brother Fuller married Virginia's sister, the couples built homes there and the weekend retreat became a home.

When Fuller took over management of the mills, Cason turned to reclaiming his 2,500 acres by developing better farming techniques. Not surprisingly, he excelled, becoming one of Georgia's leading agricultural experts. After a heart attack in 1947 at age 53, he turned to something the less stressful, gardening. To keep it so, he divided land among family members and a foundation named for his mother. Since his death in 1961, wife Virginia and a succession of Callaways have continued sculpting and developing what we now know as Callaway Gardens.

Virginia Callaway. Photo © by Debi Lander.

Education is still a policy and the variety and number of seminars held at the gardens attracts hobbyists year-round.

Blue Morpho butterfly. Photo courtesy Callaway Gardens.

Something is always blooming at Callaway, but the gardens are a riot of color in the spring, late March to early April, during azalea season. Only one color will be flitting around the Butterfly Center in September when the Blue Morpho butterflies hatch. According to a Callaway spokesperson, they corner the market on morphos. "Every one in the world we can find and buy."

Generations of Georgians have spent weeks there annually; summer family rates - two adults, two children - start at $99 a night. Accommodations are pretty basic. The Inn is a thinly disguised former Holiday Inn and a cabin's amenities and decor depends on the owner. Wherever they stay, overnight guests have unlimited access to the gardens, beach and Aqua Island and all of the other activities. That makes it a real bargain considering gardens admission alone is $18 per adult, $15 senior and $9 children ages 6-12 (AARP and AAA members also get discounts).

The crowds of summer may not have been our cup of tea, but they might be your root beer float.

Plum leaf azaleas grow only in this area. Photo © by Judy Wells.

Warm Springs: Home of FDR's Little White House

I've visited Ford Theater in Washington, DC, site of the Lincoln assassination, and seen the limousine JFK was riding in when he was shot. I've toured many historic homes claiming George Washington slept there, but I'd never visited Warm Springs, site of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Little White House.

FDR Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia   @Debi Lander

Before our tour, I never realized that President Roosevelt died there. That fact alone makes it all the more memorable (in a macabre sort of way) and a must- see.

FDR Mannequin at Welcome Center

Warm Springs is a bit off the main drag, near Roosevelt State Park and Callaway Gardens or about 80 miles south from Atlanta. The tiny town (current population approximately 500) was a resort area before Roosevelt started visiting. Today you can stop by the Welcome Center to pick up brochures or obtain information on the area.

Roosevelt arrived on October 3, 1924, to what was then called Bullochville, hoping to find a cure for polio which he contracted in 1921. The next day, he began swimming and immediately felt an improvement. For the first time in three years, he was able to move his right leg. By his return in 1925, other patients were coming in the hope of a cure.  In 1926, he bought the resort property and 1,200 acres from George Peabody for about $200,000.  Seeking medical advice and contributions from his friends, he organized the nonprofit Warms Springs Foundation in 1927, turning property over to the foundation.


FDR visited every year except 1942, during WWII. He always came at Thanksgiving and celebrated the meal with the polio patients at the Foundation. In 1932 he built a small retreat: a Greek Revival style house with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen and living/dining room. There is a wooden sundeck off the back that overlooks the woods.


When he became the 32nd President of the United States, the getaway became known as the Little White House as it is indeed white. The cottage is more like a rustic cabin on the inside with a casual and cozy feel. We entered through the kitchen, saw his wheel chair (rarely used in public), the living area, his and Eleanor's bedrooms and that of his secretary (or shall we say mistress?). I counted three old black dial telephones.

FDR's Bedroom in the Little White House

We also peeked inside the servants and guest quarters, just steps from from the Little White House.

In addition to touring the house, the Park Service maintains a small museum with FDR memorabilia. First stop for us Good Girls (and highly recommended) was the short movie narrated by Walter Cronkite. Judy and I both learned of FDR's Rural Electrification Administration which grew out of his exorbitant electric bill at Warm Springs. The Warm Springs bill was much higher than that of his Hyde Park, NY, property. This program became instrumental in bringing electricity to rural areas at affordable prices.

Canes

Stamp collections at FDR Museum, Warm Springs

The museum contains a timeline of FDR's life and number of his personal articles, like canes, stamp collections and his 1938 Ford. He personally designed hand controls so he could drive the vehicle.  He also designed the cottage's "bump gate" which swings open when the car's fender bumps into it. It closes by itself!

FDR's 1938 Ford  @ Debi Lander

Roosevelt returned to Warm Springs for the last time near the end of the war in 1945. Just back from the Yalta Conference, he planned to work on his address for the United Nations Conference. On Thursday, April 12, he posed in a favorite chair near the fireplace for a portrait by Madame Elizabeth Shoumatoff. Suddenly, he suffered a massive stroke. He was carried from the room into his bedroom where he died later that same afternoon. The “Unfinished Portrait” is on exhibit at the historic site, along with a finished copy.

Unfinished Portrait of FDR

Today, the Roosevelt’s Little White House remains the same as it was the day the president died.

Copy of Portrait

Note: 
Sad news. Bulloch House burned to the ground June 9, 2015.
After perusing the gift shop, we drove to lunch at the cutesy Bulloch House which offers southern hospitality and southern cooking. Pick from a buffet of fried chicken (very moist) to fried green tomatoes, black-eyed peas, squash, greens, cornbread, biscuits, and salads. The price is very reasonable.  Of course, we had to finish with peach cobbler. Our waitress was none other than the mayor of Warm Springs! I said it was a small town, but worth a visit.

Peach Cobbler at the Bulloch House

Mayor Sheila Lee @ Judy Wells

Down Home Southern Cookin'  @ Judy Wells

The Bulloch House Restaurant  @ Judy Wells

Providence Canyon? Canyon? Where?

Canyon? What canyon? Photo © by Judy Wells.

If timing is all-important, the Good Girls - OK, I -  flunked with our stops near Lumpkin to see Westville Village and Providence Canyon.

Westville was the vision of John West, who wanted the young to learn about the handicrafts - woodworking, cloth-making, open-hearth cooking, shoe-making - of early Georgians. This high school and college teacher, a fan of John D. Rockefeller's Colonial Williamsburg and Henry Ford's Greenfield Village, in 1928 he opened "The Fair of 1850" in Jonesboro, GA. When he died in 1961, Stewart County residents created a new industry, heritage tourism. As circumstances changed, the displays and re-creations moved until "Gates to the Past" permanently opened  on April 2, 1970, making it the third-oldest living-history project in the country.

I'd seen it once before and knew it was a time-worthy stop. Except for one thing, it is open only on weekends.

Canyons stay put, tree leaves don't. Photo © by Judy Wells.

You can't close a canyon so we pushed on to Providence Canyon State Park, where you can close the visitors center except on weekends.

I had first seen the canyon, a testament to bad farming practices in the 1800s, during December. Then, Georgia's "Little Grand Canyon" evoked a Good Grief, how did that get here? response with its 150 feet deep gullies and horizontal hues of cream, red, orange, pink and purple. That all of this, some 1,000 acres, had been created in less than 200 years by erosion was a revelation.

Trees, trees and more trees. Photo © by Judy Wells.

"Canyon? What canyon? Where? was the reaction as we pulled into the park parking lot. 

Taken from the trail. Photo © by Debi Lander.

Everything was green and leafy; trees and underbrush blocked the view. It was a little better around the bend or down the trail but not enough to warrant the time or effort.

Another effort from the trail. Photo © by Debi Lander.

Only one thing saved the day. Pie.

Our last stop that morning in Albany had been Pearly's,  a family owned and operated 50-year institution for breakfast and lunch. Just before we waddled out, they delivered a bag. They had heard the Good Girls were on the look-out for good pie and wanted us to try theirs. "You're gonna get hungry."

This isn't Pearly's buttermilk pie - we were too busy eating to take photos - but enlarge and eliminate the whipped topping and it's close. Photo by Debi Lander.

The aroma of buttermilk pie wafting from the back seat had beguiled us all morning. As we returned to the car, Debi said, "I think it's time for pie."

It was. And so we sat there, overlooking trees and murmuring between bites, "Good pie," "Mmmm good," "That's a good crust," "Good," "Wish we had more."

Canyon, shmanyon. Who needs one when you have a piece of good pie?

Moral: Don't miss Pearly's and come to Westville Village and Providence Canyon on a winter weekend. Otherwise, bring a whole pie from Pearly's.

- Post by Judy Wells.

Columbus, GA - Infantry Museum Yanks on the Heartstrings

National Infantry Museum. Photo © by Debi Lander.

I thought the Andersonville experience was a heart-tugger, but if you don't tear up at least twice while a guide walks you through "The Last 100 Yards," you've mislaid your feelings.

Follow me. Photo © by Debi Lander.

Granted, it was a special day at the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center in Columbus, GA. According to Jim Talley, who toured us through the high spots, it was change of command for the 75th Ranger Division and new inductions into the Ranger Hall of Fame.

A Merril's Marauder MSG Vincent Melillo. Photo © by Judy Wells.

We met one, MSG Vincent Melillo, 95 years young, who served with Merrill's Marauders in World War II and in Korea. It was moments like this that added extra punch to the emotional impact.

The first punch, walking into the "Last 100 Yards" exhibit, was a doozy. One hesitates to call it an "exhibit." The museum is filled with exhibits. This was a catharsis.

The infantry "owns" the last 100 yards of any battlefield; their job is to charge and engage the enemy, to defeat the enemy and to take and hold the ground. A circular opening symbolizing a drum leads to a gently sloping ramp.

Follow Me

Battle of Yorktown. Photo © by Debi Lander.

The words "I am the Infantry. Follow me" rings in your ears as you enter the dark passage. The sounds of battle are heard as the Revolutionary War's Battle of Yorktown tableau is seen.
 

Heads and bodies are those of today's Infantrymen. Photos © by Judy Wells.

These aren't ordinary figures in uniform; they bear the faces of today's soldiers. Planners took 30 infantrymen, battle veterans all, to New York where their faces and bodies were cast. The tableaux come alive as you stare into the eyes of men who may be in Iraq or Afghanistan as you gaze.

Battle of Antietam, Civil War. Photo © by Debi Lander.

Next is a segment of the Battle of Antietam which gave President Lincoln the win he needed to make the Emancipation Proclamation. It wasn't a cheap victory; the scene is of a stone bridge over Antietam Creek where 427 Confederates held off 10,000-12,000 Union soldiers for three hours. It also brings that war home. It was a pyrrhic victory for the Union thanks to the men of Col. Henry Benning, a resident of Columbus for whom the nearby Fort Benning is named. Most of his men had been his neighbors.

Battle of Soissons tableau. Photo © by Debi Lander.

Look overhead as you move on in time to the World War I Battle of Soissons. That's a rare WWII troop glider. This battle was the first American-led, planned offensive against the Germans.

The 5th Ranger Battalion had to climb a 100-foot tall wall of stone to defeat the German artillery unit at Pointe du Hoc on Omaha Beach. Photo © by Debi Lander.

World War II gets two tableaux, one of the D-Day landing on Omaha Beach and the other of Manilla Bay in the Pacific, payback for Japanese atrocities such as the Corregidor Death March. D-Day features German footage of the landing while the Manilla action was shot by two photographers who parachuted onto the island with the Infantry.

Millett's bayonet attack. Photo © by Judy Wells.

Korea is represented by Millett's bayonet attack,

Assault on Landing Zone X-ray. Photo © by Debi Lander.

Vietnam by Air Assault on Landing Zone X-ray.

Desert warfare. Photo © by Debi Lander.

and Desert warfare by an assault by a Bradley Fighting Vehicle that had been blown apart by a roadside bomb. It was later reassembled for the museum whose walls were built around it.


By this point the anecdotes began taking their toll.  One day a group from Officers Candidate School came through, said Jim, and one tapped him on the shoulder.  “I need to tell you something,” the man said, adding that he had been a medic on the battlefield that day. “I was the one who pulled them out and patched them up.” He began to tear up looking at the figure atop the Bradley. “The commander, he was a good friend. I couldn’t save him; he was too far gone.”

We were pretty far gone too when Jim told another about a class of fifth graders who came through. At this point a little girl began to cry loudly. “I didn’t know there were bad people in the world who wanted to hurt me, hurt my family,” she said between sobs. Two soldiers had been following the group and one came up to the girl, dropped on his knee, hugged her and said, “Honey, don’t worry. We are trained and we are here to protect you.”

Teary-eyed? You bet.

The parade ground and home of Sacred Soil. Photo © by Judy Wells.

Sacred Soil

Leaving those last 100 yards you can see the Parade Grounds where new recruits graduate to infantrymen. You can't distinguish the Sacred Soil but it's there. 

March 19, 2009, descendants of soldiers who fought and died in the Army's battles scattered soil from those wars onto the parade grounds. 

First to add Sacred Soil to the parade ground was Douglas Hamilton, a fifth generation descendant of Alexander Hamilton. He scattered soil from the Battle of Yorktown where Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton served.

Theodore Roosevelt IV could have participated twice in the ceremony - as great-grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt, who was awarded the Medal of Honor after the battle of San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War, and as grandson of Theodore Roosevelt Jr., who earned the medal on D-Day - but he represented the veterans of the World War II European Theater with sand from the beaches of Normandy. The Pacific theater was represented by Kirk Davis, who earned the Medal of Honor with the infantry at Guadalcanal. 

Honors for the Battle of Antietam in the Civil War were shared by Henry Benning Pease Jr., a descendant of Henry Lewis Benning, who commanded the Confederates at Burnside Bridge, and former Secretary of  Interior Dirk Kempthorne, whose great-grandfather was a Union soldier wounded at Antietam.

Soil from Soissons, France, a major battle of World War I, was spread by Samuel Parker Moss whose grandfather, Samuel Parker, earned the Medal of Honor with the 28th Infantry and became that war's most decorated officer. He was joined by George York, son of Sgt. Alvin York.

Spreading soil from Korea were Medal of Honor winner Col. Ola Lee Mize, who fought at Outpost Harry, and Gen. Paik Sun-Yup, South Korea's most decorated veteran.

Adding soil from Vietnam were Gen. Hal Moore and Command Sgt. Major Basil Plumley, who fought in the first major battle there. Representing our current conflicts with soil from Iraq and Afghanistan was Command Sgt. Major Marvin Hill, senior enlisted adviser to Gen. David Petraeus.

From that day on, new infantrymen have marched over the soil of lands where their forefathers fought and died.

 Shoot 'Em

The Good Girls NEVER pass up a costume opportunity like this one in the Family Gallery.

We skimmed the galleries at best - do hit the Family Gallery and the kids' dress up area - and, with time disappearing, we headed for the Battle Simulator to take a working ride on a Humvee. We were on a mission and everyone was our enemy until we reached the Red Cross truck.

We "fought" through a simulated battle.

It was sweaty and harrowing even though we knew it was a simulated experience. You try riding shotgun and aiming a dash-mounted gun at enemies popping up and swooping down while the vehicle beneath you is jerking and bumping and veering. Only problem, no one falls down or crashes so you never know if you hit or were hit.

It would take you at least 16 hours to see everything here so the Good Girls figure we need three more be-back days. It would be well worth it.

- Post by Judy Wells