Day 16 - Bluegrass Special - Alison Krauss Bound

On Tuesday 9/23, we departed Buford Georgia heading to General Coffee State Park in Nicholls, Georgia. We had an awesome visit with Jackie Sperring. My last morning walk in this campground I started out early, when it was still dusky, but by the end of my early walk, there was a beautiful sunrise. Oh, God is so good!

Shoal Creek campground offers a serene escape with spacious wooded sites on the edge of Lake Lanier. Lake Lanier is a large, man-made reservoir in North Georgia, created in 1956 by the Buford Dam on the Chattahoochee River. It is named after poet Sidney Lanier. It serves as a major source of drinking water for Atlanta, a popular recreational spot for activities like boating and swimming, and a significant driver of tourism and real estate in the region. The lake has nearly 700 miles of shoreline and features various parks and resorts, although its vastness can pose navigational hazards due to submerged debris from the former town of Oscarville.  

I saw the green hues along the banks of Lake Lanier from Shoal Creek Campground. It is not the green hues from an algae bloom, being from Florida, I know what those look like. It is the seasonal mixing of sediments and falling pollen from surrounding foliage that can tint the water a greener color.

We headed out and the first town we came to was Lawrenceville, Georgia. It is known for being Metro Atlanta's second oldest city, its historic downtown with the Gwinnett Historic Courthouse. It is home of the Atlanta Braves' AAA team, the Gwinnett Stripers. The Lawrenceville Arts Center is highly popular. The arts are evident in the beautiful murals along the highway.

The next town was Monroe, Georgia. It is known as the "Antiques Capital of Georgia" and the "City of Governors." It boasts the largest concentration of antique stores. Monroe Georgia has provided Georgia with seven governors for the state. The city features a historic downtown with redeveloped mills now serving as event spaces and antique markets.

I found the most unique statues as we drove through the town. If there was a place to park our big rig, I would have stopped! The first one we saw was a policeman. I learned it is called "Times Up." 

The ladies on the bench are called "Crossing Paths." With the support of Monroe's Main Street Program and collaboration with The Seward Johnson Atelier, Inc. the town of Monroe has 10 remarkable sculptures on display until February 2026. 

The last sculpture we found is called "Body Music." These sculptures are on loan, thanks to the generous funding from the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the collaboration between The Eulalia Group and the City of Monroe, these sculptures , valued at over $1.5 million.

Madison, Georgia is the next town we came to. It is known for its exceptionally well-preserved antebellum architecture and historic charm, earning it a reputation as one of the prettiest towns in America. The city was spared during the Civil War, leaving behind a National Register-listed historic district with numerous historic homes, pristine gardens, and quaint, independent shops and restaurants. Built at the turn of the twentieth century, the Livery Stable in Madison Georgia was one of four stables along that street that provided horses or mules for hire. 

In 1978, the building transformed into the Madison and Hardware Supply store, which was a mainstay for over 30 years before being sold in 2014. It is home to the Amici Café now. The stable that once fed and housed horses now feeds hungry patrons who dine within the walls of the historic structure. 

The Chero-Cola mural in Madison, GA, is a restored "ghost sign" located on the former Swords building, which housed the Chero-Cola bottling plant in the early 20th century. The project was a collaboration between the Morgan County Landmarks Society, Main Street Madison, and the Lamar Dodd School of Art at UGA, with the student mural group restoring the historic sign in 2018.

In Eatonton Georgia, you can find the Uncle Remus Museum. Who is Uncle Remus and why does he have a museum? Uncle Remus is the fictional character and narrator of a collection of African-American folktales adapted and compiled by Joel Chandler Harris, published in book form in 1881. The Uncle Remus Museum strives to educate visitors about the life and work of Joel Chandler Harris using historic storytelling, period artifacts, and dioramas of the more famous Uncle Remus character. Other characters include Brer Rabbit, a trickster who succeeds by his speed and wits rather than by brawn. Br'er Fox considers himself the smartest animal despite being duped continuously. Br'er Wolf is Brer Rabbit's second-most common antagonist. Brer Tarrypin is a friend of Brer Rabbit who joins him in his mischief and even outdoes him at times. Br'er Bear considers himself the strongest of the animals even though he is frequently duped by smaller creatures. Aunt Tempy, referred to by Uncle Remus as Sis Tempy is a housekeeper of equal authority with Uncle Remus who is elected to accompany the boy on his visits to Uncle Remus. If you have never read Joel Chandler Harris stories, you should.

Have you ever been to Small Grove Georgia? If you say yes, you would be mistaken! Henry Lee “Baby Doll” Gorham (1951-2020) was a professionally trained artist who earned a degree from the Art Institute of Atlanta in 1984. With roots in Telfair County, he returned to the community after his time in Atlanta. He became an accomplished folk artist, gaining recognition for his paintings of Small Grove, Georgia. "Small Grove, Georgia" refers to a fictional town created by Henry to depict the experiences of African Americans in the rural South, as seen in a series of paintings. It is not a real town but a conceptual representation of a place and time.  

Located at the intersection of Hwy 341 and Hwy 441 in downtown McRae-Helena is Liberty Square, home of a Statue of Liberty replica that is 35 feet tall and one-sixteenth the original's actual size.  In 1886, France gave the­ United States the Statue of Liberty. In 1986, the local Lions Club chapter in McRae, Georgia, commemorated Lady Liberty's centennial by fashioning a scale model out of Styrofoam, a tree stump, and other objects normally considered rubbish. Her arm is made from styrofoam and the hand holding the torch is an electrician lineman's glove. Also in Liberty Square is their version of the Liberty Bell (the town's old fire bell was taken down and a crack put in) and a marble memorial to Telfair County residents who died in service.

In McRae-Helena there is also a mural that shares the unique aspects of this town. It’s a Purple Heart City, City of Distinction and the 6th safest city in Georgia.

One of my favorite murals is the one that Dylan Ross painted on the side of an unoccupied house on Highway 441 in Broxton. He completed it in 2016, the mural has become one of the most popular tourist sites in Coffee County and has been photographed and shared thousands of times across social media platforms.

Dylan is a native of Coffee County and he has four murals in Douglas and Coffee County. The mural depicts The Andy Griffith Show’s Deputy Barney Fife, displaying one of his most common — and humorous — facial expressions — along with another smaller scene of Sheriff Andy Taylor and Opie walking together superimposed over Barney’s right shoulder. 

In September of 2023 there was vandalism to this infamous mural. The vandals splashed white paint over the main section of the painting. When the vandalism was reported, the white paint hadn’t completely dried, leading officers to believe that it happened overnight. Ross fixed the damage and restored the mural to its original condition. The Barney mural came about almost haphazardly. In 2016, he threw it out on social media that he was looking for a place upon which to paint a mural. The property owner responded and said he could use that old house as his canvas. It was Ross’s first mural and he did it completely free of charge. He didn’t know he was going to paint Barney until he got there; it was a spontaneous, on-the-fly decision that ended up becoming one of Coffee County’s calling cards. 

The town of Broxton is after the Barney Fife mural. There is a beautiful "Welcome to Broxton GA mural" on the side of a vacant building. It is a colorful mural! Broxton was Chartered in 1904 and incorporated on January 1, 1932. It's a very small town with a population of just over 1,000. The actual town is only 3-miles square.

In Braxton, I found the perfect festival for Joe Weston! It is the Broxton Chicken Livers & Gizzards Festival, held annually in November. When we went to Champy's Chicken in Chattanooga with them, Joe got a HUGE plate of fried chicken livers!

We arrived at General Coffee State Park in Nicholls, Georgia. It may have a Nicholls mailing address, but it is closer to Douglas.

Stay tuned for more #TwoLaneAdventures