Day 9 of Eastbound, with the Hammer Down … Not Really! – Florida, our last day!

We had a restful night at Homosassa River RV Resort. We stopped in the office as we departed, to say hello to Kim and Leigha. It was not the same stopping in Homosassa and not being able to see our friends, Bette and Terry. Oh well, time changes everything!









We headed toward home on US 19 S. In Homosassa, there is the Homosassa Wildlife Park. The official name is the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State park. It has been a tourist attraction since the early 1900s. The 50-acre site and surrounding 100 acres was purchased in the 1940s and was operated as a small attraction. In 1964, the Norris Development Company bought the property and expanded it as Homosassa Springs "Nature's Own Attraction," with an emphasis on entertainment and with a variety of exotic animals and some native species. Ivan Tors Animal Actors housed their trained animals at Homosassa Springs Attraction for several years.

These animals were trained for television shows and movies. One of the most popular of these animals was Buck who was stand-in for Gentle Ben in the famous television series. Lu, a hippopotamus, was one of the Ivan Tors animals and still resides at the park after being declared an honorary citizen of the State of Florida by then Governor Lawton Chiles. The hippopotamus is still one of the favorite attractions, after the manatees. Norris owned the attraction until 1978. From 1978 until 1984, the land went through several changes in ownership. The Citrus County Commission purchased the attraction to protect it as an environmentally sensitive area until the State of Florida could purchase the property as a Florida State Park. Modern thinking about captive wildlife has influenced how the park is now managed.

We turned off US 19 S onto US 98 S. If we wanted to continue down the gulf coast, we could have stayed on 19. On US 98 S, just outside Brooksville, there is a large sign that says "World Woods." What is it? It is a place for those who enjoy golf, World Woods are courses you must play. Designed by Tom Fazio, the Pine Barrens and Rolling Oaks Golf Courses are two of the ‘top 10’ public access golf courses in Florida. With them both on the same property, it is a golfers paradise. World Woods Golf Club was developed in 1991 by World Woods Corporation and opened in April 1993. World Woods Corporation purchased its land from Florida Crush Stone, Punta Gorda Isles and several privately held properties for a total accumulation of 2,100 acres. The pristine forestry with ample vegetation was a natural setting for two World Class Championship Golf Courses accompanied by the finest practice facility in the world. World Woods' name came from the concept of providing world class golf available for all to play. The first phase of World Woods Golf Club includes Two World Class Championship Golf Courses ( Pine Barrens and Rolling Oaks), a Nine Hole Short Course, Three Hole Practice Course, the Practice Park featuring the circular 23 Acre Practice Range, a 36 hole Two Acre Putting Course and an Iron Range and Putting Greens strategically located near the #1 tee of each Championship Course for last minute warm up shots. There is a plan for phase two, including a Third 18 Hole Championship Golf Course and On-Site Accommodations and Corporate Meetings Rooms that compliment the current facility.

We usually go right through Brooksville, but we decided to take the Truck Route for US 98 S. A significant portion of this truck route is within the Brooksville city limits, it still avoids historic downtown by traveling to the south and the west. The route exists in concurrency with two State Routes and one County Route, and never independently.

Papa Joe's Italian Restaurant is on the other side of Brooksville. It is a great family owned place. It is always busy, but recently had it's share of bad luck. The restaurant is located at the corner of State Road 98 and Spring Lake Highway. The 33-year-old landmark met a fiery demise. The owner, Joe Giarratana, emigrated from Italy to New York with broken English and an assumption that the restaurant business was the best option to make his way. He wound up in Brooksville because his in-laws lived there. He and his wife, Donna, started in 1981 with a pizza parlor at the end of a tiny strip mall.

Back then, the couple stood at the window wondering if anyone would realize they were there. Customers came. The Giarratanas bought out their neighboring tenant and then expanded the restaurant, which included a deli. The crowd on busy weekend nights could reach 300. The couple launched a catering business and opened Capricci Gifts in an existing building next door. The fire destroyed the 5,000-square-foot restaurant. To help the restaurateurs, other restaurants hired Papa Joe's employees, they held a yard sale that raised $15,000 and they printed and sold T-shirts to raise money. Rebuilding began after months of delay, but the restaurant rose quickly now and it reopened 15 months after the fire. The building is slightly larger, but longtime customers can breathe easily, it is the same family restaurant.

Between Brooksville and Ridge Manor is the Croom Tract at Withlacoochee State Forest. We passed several parts of the Withlacoochee, along this route. There are seven portions of this forest; Two-Mile Prairie, Homosassa, Citrus, Headquarters, Jumper Creek, Croom and Richloam. The Croom Tract has more than 20,000 acres of cypress and long leaf pine forests and includes 13 winding miles of the Withlacoochee River, which reaches its widest expanse and forms Silver Lake, a prime recreation spot. That is where Silver Lake Campground is located. We have never tried it, but the campsites are spread out under the open shade of large oak trees. Located on the northern end of Silver Lake on a gently sloping grassy area, most sites have a view of the water. We will have to check it out this year! Maybe it is somewhere the Carefree Sams, Good Sam Camping Club can go?

On Route 98, you skirt the town of Trilby. Did you know a Trilby is a soft felt hat with a narrow brim and indented crown. The history of this town is fascinating, as well as turbulent. Trilby once held an extremely promising future. It was the largest city in Pasco County and boasted the third largest railroad yard in Florida … until tragedy struck. It all began as a farm owned by Elijah McLeod.  McLeod obtained his 160-acre farm from the US Government. The area became known as McLeod Settlement and a post office was established there in 1885.  Soon afterward the name was changed to Macon. Henry B. Plant, the Florida railroad icon, renamed Macon while laying tracks here. Mrs. Plant supposedly encouraged her husband to rename the village after one of her favorite novels, "Trilby," a bestseller by George DuMaurier. When Plant platted Trilby, he named the streets after characters in the DuMaurier novel. In. 1902, Atlantic Coast line took over the Plant Railroad Systems. A freight depot, as well as a passenger station, was built.

Later, a water tower and coal chute were constructed. Trilby grew into a literally booming town with shootouts and "moon-shining." Once a group of troublemakers started a ruckus and shot out all of the street lights. Once two officers were ordered to search a two-story house in which area residents thought moonshine whiskey was being sold. The policemen searched the house and found nothing.  After stepping out on the back porch they noticed ropes going down into the water. They pulled the ropes to find jugs of moonshine whiskey. An asset to the growing community was the Trilby State Bank. Once while the whole town, was waiting at the depot for the mail train, a couple of robbers held up the bank. They forced the teller to open the vault and then locked her inside it, to insure their getaway. In May of 1925, at about 1:00 in the afternoon, a fire started upstairs in Bradham's Dry Goods Store, and the whole town, on the west side of the tracks, went up in smoke.  Bucket brigades were formed, but the stores were already gutted.  The Dade City Fire Department raced to Trilby in a Model-T fire truck to put our the fire. When they arrived, they found all the water hose had unreeled and had been left alongside the road. The fire was finally extinguished around 5:00 in the evening. GH Mills tried to start another store in the Masonic Temple and the post office was moved into the bank building, but it was useless.  Trilby would never again be the same. In about 1927, the Trilby State Bank closed because of bankruptcy and never opened again. It burned a few years later. The Trilby Depot was discontinued in January of 1976 and conveyed to the Pioneer Florida Museum Association. Trilby is now a quiet little community. There is still a post office and a modern convenience store was built a few years ago. Old homes and ruins give hints of Trilby's glorious past and a stroll through the Trilby Cemetery will take you back in time to a village known as Macon.

US 98 merged onto US 301 and headed toward Dade City. As you enter Dade City, you pass the Pioneer Museum. Pioneer Florida Museum and Village is an open-air museum that holds many events. The museum complex includes Overstreet House, a one-room schoolhouse, a church, a train depot (that was removed from Trilby and relocated here), a train engine, and a museum exhibition of tools, household items, antiques and farm equipment. One of our favorite events at the Pioneer Museum is the annual horse pulls!

We bypassed downtown Dade City and took Old Lakeland Highway, which turns into Chancey Road and takes us right to our home! On Old Lakeland Highway, you pass through a small town of Richland. Their biggest claim to fame, is the Richland Baptist Church. Each December, visitors to Richland Baptist Church can travel back in time at the church’s annual presentation of “The Walk through Bethlehem.” Each year volunteers transform a patch of land near the church into a city that feels like it is part of the first century town where the baby Jesus was born. When you take the tour, you will be guided through the reconstructed city, where they will see a census taker, city people of all ages, shopkeepers and Roman guards all in period costumes. As you make your way through the city, you’ll hear a conversation between their guide and the various shopkeepers, as the story of the birth of Christ is told, and then they will see a live Nativity scene.

We passed the Zephyrhills Airport, which is a public use airport. It is owned by the City of Zephyrhills. This airport is categorized as a general aviation facility. It was opened in January 1942. Back then the airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces, specifically the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics (AAFSAT) tactical combat simulation school headquartered at Orlando Army Air Base. The military use of the airport ended in 1944, and in 1947 the airport was deeded to the city. The airport covers an area of over 800 acres. It has two runways and no manned tower. This airport has a long history of skydiving, possibly the longest continuous history of skydiving at any U.S. airport. Skydive City, was founded in 1990, operates a skydiving center, or drop zone, on the southeast side of the airport. We can enjoy watching sky divers from our front porch almost 365 days a year!

Oh, the beauty of seeing Majestic Oaks .... home! It has been a great trip, but 117 days away from home is enough! Not seeing the "Carefree" on the sign is a bit sad, but we will see how it is to be a "Sun Community."

Day 8 of Eastbound, with the Hammer Down … Not Really! – Georgia to Florida

Where we stayed last night, was in front of the US 19 Dragway. US 19 Dragway is an 1/8 mile all concrete strip. It is under new management. Bobby Childs, known in the racing circuit as "The Wild Child" along with his wife, daughter, son and other family members have stepped up to the plate to manage the racing facility. US 19 Dragway has been a well known landmark in South Georgia for a number of years and according to Bobby, we want to continue the tradition and take it to a higher and more competitive level. Bobby is family

oriented and Drag Racing should be a family oriented sport. US 19 Dragway offers a competitive race schedule on weekends throughout the season, attracting racers from all over the state and out of state areas. As an extra incentive to racers, attractive cash pay outs are offered to winners. Friday Nights event was a "Test-N-Tune" and Street Drag. We stood by the fence and watched for a while, but we are near the end of the track and the gnats were out in force!

Along US 19 between Albany Georgia and Camilla Georgia there was a lone battle flag flying. The Confederate States of America went through three different flags during the Civil War, but the battle flag wasn’t one of them. Instead, the flag that most people associate with the Confederacy was the battle flag of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Designed by the Confederate politician William Porcher Miles, the flag was rejected for use as the Confederacy’s official emblem, although it was incorporated into the two later flags as a canton. It only came to be the flag most prominently associated with the Confederacy after the South lost the war.

Vann Farms is along US 19, outside of Camilla, Georgia. This family farm does more than just grow and harvest hundreds of acres of traditional row crops. During the spring season, they offer guided field trips of their strawberry farm, peach orchard, bee hives, tomato, watermelon and cantaloupe patches, as well as their flower and herb gardens. During the fall harvest season, they offer guided educational field trips of their peanut and cotton harvest. They also have a sugar cane mill which has been set up for observation of the process. Their vegetable and fruit farming operation is adjacent to a beautiful pond site, with ducks, turtles, and fish. The pond is used for crop irrigation. All tours offer a wonderful opportunity to observe a working farm in action. It is great to see a small family business willing to share with the community!

The city of Camilla, Georgia was incorporated in 1858. The name Camilla was chosen in honor of the granddaughter of Henry Mitchell, an American Revolutionary War general for whom Mitchell County was named. Their city slogan is "growing toward tomorrow." They do a great deal for their citizens and their youth. They still have medians lined with flowering trees. 




This community has been named "Tree City USA" for 11 years. The first weekend in May the City of Camilla Celebrates a not-so adorable pest with one of the best festivals in the South “Gnat Days”. Gnat Days begin on Friday with a 5-K Fun Run. Saturday starts with the Gnat Days Bike Race, Taster’s Luncheon, Gnat Market, and Gnat Merchant’s Sale. The day concludes with the “Under the Oaks with the Gnats” dance on Saturday night. Wow, for an unappealing insect, they certainly have a big part in this event!

Pelham, Georgia has a community slogan of "A Special Place." Pelham was named for Major Pelham of Civil War renown, has a grand history as a commercial epicenter of the Southwest Georgia agricultural community. During its heyday the Hand Trading Company attracted shoppers throughout Southwestern Georgia. The building was built in 1916 by J. L. Hand the father of Virginia Hand Callaway of Callaway Gardens fame. This beautiful building has been well maintained and has been restored.The City of Pelham is a Better

Hometown Community. Each year, thousands of people gather in Pelham to experience the best in local food, photography, arts and crafts, and educational vendors. The Wildlife Festival was originally named the "Gold Leaf Festival" as an ode to one of the largest agriculturally produced crops in the region - tobacco.  The name was changed to the Wildlife Festival and that's what it has remained for over 20 years. Although visitors come for the festival, they also enjoy touring our local downtown area and the shops located within our historic district.  Many local merchants are open throughout the day of the festival and offer unique, quality items.  The store owners offer a taste of Southern hospitality and true customer service. It is also home to the Pelham Jamboree held every Saturday night. It is a growing musical phenomenon at the Pelham Jamboree building. Musicians play a variety of music with country, bluegrass, and gospel as the predominant favorites. Bring your pickin’ instrument, admission is free.  Other events such as a “Slice of Summer” and the Pelham Wildlife Art Auction complete the warm community feel present here. 

Thomasville, Georgia both the city and county are believed to have been named for Major General Jett Thomas, a member of the State Militia during the war of 1812. Without a railroad until 1861, Thomas County residents became largely self-sufficient. Agriculture was diversified and business methods were modernized. With the advent of the Civil War, Thomasville played an important role in the Confederate cause by supplying goods and men. The war itself touched the county only briefly when Federal prisoners were sent to Thomasville from Andersonville in late 1864. During the late 1800s, Thomasville became known as the “Winter Resort of the South.” In the beginning of this era, Northerners and other visitors came to Thomasville for their health, breathing the pine-scented air as a curative

for pulmonary ailments. They were soon joined by friends to enjoy hunting, fishing, and an active social life, including golf, horse racing, and bicycling. Thomasville came to represent the best of Southern hospitality with the lavishness of the resort lifestyle. Thomasville’s luxurious hotels regularly hosted America’s wealthiest families as their guests.

Once discovered that it cost less to purchase land than rent hotel rooms, these wealthy families bought property and built grand Victorian mansions and plantation homes. Many of these plantations are still owned by the families who built them and are visited year round. Many of the “winter cottages” built during the 1880s have been restored. There is a rich heritage in Thomas County, and the community works hard to guard and preserve its history and tradition. In January 2016, Thomasville was officially designated as the state’s “Rose City” during Tourism Day at the Capitol.   

Oh, getting closer to home! We crossed from Georgia into Florida along US 19! Just inside the border of Florida we found the Sunnyside Convenience Center, they are not selling much sunshine anymore! There were some nice picnic tables with covers, but they were overgrown with the weeds too!

This is the first time I noticed Gulf Hammock, Florida on US 19. The sign for Gulf Hammock, sitting alone on U.S. 19 between a defunct convenience store and a tiny post office serving a couple of hundred residents, is at the last flashing light before the one where you turn off to Cedar Key. On of our favorite Florida Folk Artists, Will McLean, wrote about Gulf Hammock. Gulf Hammock, Florida the place where Florida time has still stood still. "Wild Hog" is a song written by the Florida legend Will McLean. Will, the ultimate literary constructionist, was speaking to a college class when a student brought up Wild Hog and asked an extremely convoluted question about whether the hog was a symbol for evil and whether the use of brown and yellow sand meant there was opportunity for redemption ... and. ... "Son," Will interrupted him, "it's just a song about a pig."

We came into Crystal River, known as the Gem of Florida's beautiful Nature Coast is designated as an Outstanding Florida Waterway and offering ample opportunities for boating, diving, swimming, fishing as well as a variety of Manatee viewing. The attractions, the warm and welcoming folks and a relaxing way of life, makes coming and staying at Crystal River easy to do Enjoy the history, parks, and natural beauty of Crystal River.

We decided to stay at an old favorite for the night. Homosassa River RV Resort, it used to be a Carefree sister park. We did get to see our friends daughter, Leigha. This is our temporary home for one night. Duey Does It, should have our home opened tomorrow, so we will head for our home in the morning! 

Day 7 of Eastbound, with the Hammer Down … Not Really! – Alabama to Georgia

There was a light rain last night and it made going to sleep a breeze ... to bad staying asleep was more difficult, we both awake at 3:30am, but much too early to get up ... we did manage to get back to sleep! 

We departed Kountry Air RV Park and headed east on ... you guessed it ... US 82 .... we should be on it all day ... we might reach US 19 today and turn south ... only time will tell!

In 1833, a New Hampshire industrialist named Daniel Pratt moved south. Pratt established the largest cotton gin factory in the world and, with it, a town known fittingly as Prattville. Soon this humble hamlet outside Montgomery became an industrial hub, fueling Alabama’s antebellum cotton production. Prattville weathered the Civil War and recovered faster than any other Alabama town, as Pratt collected on debts owed from his Northern accounts. Since then, Prattville has continued to grow in important ways, gradually shifting from an industrial epicenter to a forward-looking city and a beloved hometown. Through floods, tornadoes, damaging fires and shifting economic conditions, Prattville and its townspeople endured. 

US 82 joined I-65 and the was a sign indicating "Hank Williams Memorial Highway." In 1997, The Alabama State Legislature voted to name a portion of Interstate I-65 the "Hank Williams Memorial Lost Highway" The stretch of highway begins in his boyhood home of Georgiana, Alabama and runs north to Montgomery, Al where he spent most of his better days and where he was buried after his death on January 1, 1953. The often-reported Williams' claim that alcohol and a woman's lies started him "rolling down that lost highway" is now enshrined along with the entertainer's name as an official part of Alabama history.

Prior to 1814, the present site of the city of Montgomery was in the center of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. A large Indian mound and other traces of an important prehistoric center can still be seen today at Fort Toulouse - Fort Jackson park north of town. Most scholars agree that Hernando de Soto passed through the area in 1540, encountering the ancestors of the Creeks. Other European explorers followed, but it was the French who established the first permanent settlement - Fort Toulouse - in 1717. They remained until 1763.

There are few cities that have affected the flow of American history as much as the state capital city of Montgomery, Alabama. Standing on the front portico of the state capitol building and look down Dexter Avenue is an awe inspiring experience. Men and women who dramatically impacted the course of our nation did so within view of the capitol steps. It was here that Jefferson Davis took the oath of office as President of the Confederate States of America. The capitol building in Montgomery was the first capitol of the Confederacy and the orders to open fire on Fort Sumter and inaugurate the Civil War were sent by telegraph from a building just down the hill. Were the view not blocked by buildings, you would also be able to see the bus stop where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in 1955, sparking a movement that shook the nation. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was organized within sight of the capitol at the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, then served by a young minister named Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1965, one of the most powerful marches of the Civil Rights movement came up Dexter Avenue to the capitol. The marchers had come from Selma, joined by others along the way, to demand their right to vote from Governor George C. Wallace, then known for his "segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!" declaration. The march on Montgomery is now commemorated by the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail, a national park area. The trail incorporates U.S. Highway 80 from Selma to Montgomery and introduces visitors to the significance of the march and its impact on American culture.

In Montgomery, we found Maxwell Air Force Base. It's history dates back to the Wright Brothers' flying school of 1910. Today, Maxwell is home to the 42nd Air Base Wing is the host installation for Maxwell Air Force Base and Gunter Annex. The wing mission is to develop mission-ready Airmen and operate a world-class installation. The wing is responsible for providing all base operating support, infrastructure, and services support for active-duty, reserve, civilian, and contractor personnel, students and families at Maxwell and Gunter-Annex in direct support of Air University, the 908th Airlift Wing, Air Force Material Command and Air Force Space Command units, the Defense Information Systems Agency and more than 40 other tenant units. 

We crossed over the Alabama River as we departed Montgomery.The Alabama River is formed by the Tallapoosa and Coosa rivers, which join about 6 miles north of Montgomery. It flows west to Selma, then southwest until, about 45 miles from Mobile, where it joins with the Tombigbee, forming the Mobile and Tensaw rivers, which discharge into Mobile Bay.

I-65 and US 82 split and we are back on US 82 east, yet again. We passed by a large farm market. How big you ask? Just look at the size of the cattle ... is that big? It is the Sweet Creek Farm Market, a farmers market with a cafe. The vegetables are awesome, the southern food is excellent. There are huge cookies in the dessert case, and homemade ice-cream. A great place to take a break, to shop, eat, shop more, and use the super clean facilities!

Here is a glimpse at the Saturday morning traffic on our route today. Another reason we love our two lane roads ... awesome and beautiful!

Union Springs, a small historic town, we passed through on US 82. The picturesque downtown and the surrounding residential streets show what makes it uniquely and genuinely Southern. 

From antebellum homes to one of the oldest jails in the state to cemeteries dating back nearly 200 years, Union Springs is a showplace of Southern history, architecture, and charm. Naturally, I had to take a picture of the purple house! 

We found two beautiful 
murals, one is on the 82 Seafood 
restaurant 
and another is on the side of a downtown building. 

We came through a small town of Three Notch. We saw this wayside marker about Three Notch Road. It was built by U.S. Army Engineers over the summer of 1824. It served as Bullock County’s major transportation route throughout its history. It was constructed to facilitate military communication between Pensacola in Florida and Ft. Mitchell in Alabama near the Georgia border. The 233-mile path through a virtual wilderness was known as Road No. 6 in official reports, but was known and named locally for the distinctive horizontal notches blazed into trees by advancing surveyors as they marked the route for the builders who followed. Capt. Daniel Burch oversaw construction of the road which was wide enough to allow “carriages, carts, wagons, &c.” and included “substantial wooden bridges” over those streams which were not so wide as to require ferries to cross. Three Notch Road was the major thoroughfare for those coming from Georgia into present-day Bullock County when eastern Alabama was opened to American settlement with the removal of the Indians. The road entered the county from the north near Guerryton, crossed the Chunnenuggee Ridge at Enon, and continued south to Ft. Watson, as the community of Three Notch was named before the Central of Georgia Railroad came through. From there the road continued southwest through the communities of Ox Level (by Mallard Chapel), Indian Creek, Blues Old Stand, and Sellers Crossroads before exiting the county on present-day Bullock County Road 19, near the Sandfield community in Pike County.

 We went through Midway on US 82. The earliest settler in Midway, was likely Samuel Feagin, who became a land broker and the first postmaster. He also built a small inn, ran a store, and operated a stage coach stop. Feagin's son, James Madison Feagin organized the Midway Guards during the Second Creek War, when many homes in the area were burned and settlers were driven off their land by the Creeks. The outfit would become the Midway Southern Guards and join the Fifteenth Alabama Infantry Regiment, which fought in many important Civil War battles in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia. By 1838, the first post office had been established, and the area apparently was already called Midway. The Battle of Pea River, a conflict during the Second Creek War, took place in the area in 1837. By 1855, the town had grown enough to support four physicians, three churches, and a school. The town became part of Bullock County when it was formed in 1866. In 1870, the town incorporated, and the Montgomery and Eufaula Railroad came through in the early 1870s. In the mid-1870s, much of the business district was destroyed by fire, but the area was rebuilt by 1878. 

The most historic building remaining in Midway is the Old Merritt School. Mrs. Margaret Elizabeth Merritt of Midway sold two acres for $5 to the State of Alabama in 1921 as a site for an elementary school for African-American children. Built in 1922 with matching Rosenwald funds, the Midway Colored Public School featured oak and pine construction and two classrooms divided by a partition. The building is one of the few surviving of the more than 5,000 rural black schools built with contributions for the Julius Rosenwald Fund. The building was enlarged twice then renovated in 1978. It is now used as a community center. It was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in 1990 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

Our last town in Alabama was Eufaula. It is nestled high upon a bluff overlooking the beautiful 45,000-acre Lake Eufaula, along the Alabama-Georgia border. Along the main street in Eusaula is a Confederate Monument. The shaft is of Georgia granite, beautifully polished so as to produce two shades of gray, and is thirty-five feet high.  On top of this, exquisitely carved in Italian marble, is the statue of a private Confederate soldier, with his accouterments, standing  "at rest".  The presentation of the monument to the city, in the name of the Barbour County Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, was made by Miss Mary Clayton, the organizer of the Chapter and a daughter of Gen. H. D. Clayton.  

On US 82, when you leave Alabama and cross over into Georgia, you cross over Walter F George Reservoir and onto the Ernest Vandiver causeway. 
It was a beautiful day to be on the water, we even saw a few jet skis enjoying the day!

The first town in Georgia is Georgetown. Originally called "Tobanana" after a nearby creek, the city takes its current name from the historic community in Washington, D.C. There was this beautiful church, with a beautiful sky! 








The Quitman County Jail, with 12-inch thick brick walls, is on the National Register of Historic Places. Another historical city landmark is the Harrison-Brannon-McKenzie antebellum cottage. 

Cuthbert is home to Andrew College (formerly Andrew Female College), a two-year private liberal arts college. The Fletcher Henderson Museum is in Cuthbert in honor of the 20th-century jazz musician and orchestra arranger, Fletcher Henderson. The city has notable sites such as a Confederate Army cemetery, historical houses built in the 1800s, and the Fletcher Henderson home. In 2007 an announcement was made of a museum to be dedicated to late resident Lena Baker and issues of racial justice. Baker was an African-American maid who was convicted of capital murder in 1945 in the death of a white man; she was the only woman in Georgia to be executed by electric chair. She had claimed self-defense, and in 2005 the state posthumously pardoned her. She was the subject of a 2001 biography and a 2008 feature film of the same name, The Lena Baker Story. (It was later re-titled Hope and Redemption: The Lena Baker Story.)

The Charter of Andrew College, granted in 1854 by the Georgia Legislature, is the second oldest charter in the United States giving an educational institution the right to confer degrees upon women. Originally named Andrew Female College, Andrew operated as a women’s four-year college for 63 years. In 1917 Andrew became a junior college and in 1956 the institution became co-educational. During the Civil War, classes were stopped and the College served as a hospital for wounded confederate soldiers. When classes resumed in 1866, a physical education course was added to the College’s curriculum, the first such course to be required of women in the South. In 1892, Andrew’s buildings burnt to the ground. However, the people of Cuthbert raised the funds necessary to build Old Main, the College’s landmark building, that very same year. Only a handful of colleges in Georgia are older than Andrew and few possess such a rich and celebrated history. Andrew College is recently celebrated the culmination of its Sesquicentennial (150 years of service) and a progressive Campus Master Plan was recently approved by Andrew’s Board of Trustees.     

Glennville Georgia is the hometown of Cole Swindell. We were not lucky enough to see him walking the streets. Oh well! US 19 joined with US 82 as we arrived in Albany Georgia. US 82, continues further east, so we stayed on us 19 south, heading toward Florida. We stopped just outside of Albany Georgia for the night at Devencrest Travel Park. This will be our home for one night.