Deep South

Aka Georgia and the Carolinas

From Tennessee we crossed the border into Georgia and stayed just west of Atlanta at a place called Stone Mountain, an 825ft monolith with a carving of two Confederate Generals (Robert E Lee and Stonewall Jackson) and President Jefferson Davis. There was a laser show that evening which was very good and included music from southern artists, e.g. Elvis, Willie Nelson, etc

The next day we went to the Atlanta Historic Center. It had an excellent exhibition on the Civil War and gave us a much better understanding of the whys and wherefores surrounding it.

In the grounds was Swann House, completed in 1928 and gave an insight into the servant-based lifestyle of Atlanta’s wealthy during the 1920’s and 1930’s. There was also a working farm and Tullie Smith House that had been relocated from what is now downtown Atlanta and was built c. 1845. It is typical of a southern rural property of that time. Over half the people that lived on the Smith farm in the 1850’s and 60’s were enslaved African American people.

From Atlanta we headed down to Savannah for a week over my birthday weekend J The city was nice and green with huge old oak trees hanging with Spanish moss in 22 leafy, shaded squares which was definitely needed when walking around in the heat and humidity. The movie Forrest Gump was filmed in and around Savannah. When he’s telling his story at the bus stop, it’s at one of these squares

We met a lovely couple from New Zealand (Glenda and Graham) who are travelling around the US in a 5^th Wheel. We swapped stories and they joined us for a few drinks and a posh dinner on my birthday. Then we watched the fireworks go off across the river – nice. We spent a couple of days at the beach on Tybee Island in an attempt to cool down. The water was still around 85F so not cool at all. In fact, the shower by the carpark was cooler!

We didn't visit any plantations in the area as rice was grown here, not cotton, so most of them have now gone.

On into South Carolina and while we had Badger serviced, we decided to have a few hours at the closest beach which was Hilton Head Island.

Charleston was our next stop. Not as pretty as Savannah and a visit to Fort Sumter (or rather, what’s left of it) was a must as this is where the first shot in the Civil War was fired.

The U.S.S Yorktown Aircraft Carrier, also known as The Fighting Lady of WWII, is now a museum and moored up in the harbour. It helped sink the Yamato and also recovered the Apollo 8 lunar spacecraft.

We also toured a battleship moored next to the carrier and a submarine

There was also a recreation called Vietnam War Experience. The weather was ideal

i.e. hot, humid and swampy so the exhibit was very authentic!

One of the bridges across the river, Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge, opened in 2005 and was the third longest cable-stayed bridge in the Western Hemisphere.

The following day we visited the McLeod Plantation where Sea Island cotton was grown which is much finer than ordinary cotton.

These small structures were homes to generations of enslaved African Americans. Now known as Transition Row, these stand as memorials to them and their transition from slavery to freedom.

On up to Charlotte in North Carolina. We met a couple of college students when we were in Yellowstone and one of them, Alyssa, is from around here. She has been acting as our guide and last night, her parents invited us over for dinner (thanks again Annamarie and John). We visited the Levine Museum of the New South which shows how the south has re-invented itself a number of times since 1865 and the end of the civil war. 

Today we visited the Freightliner factory as Mark wanted to see how Badger's chassis is made. It was quite interesting and I enjoyed it too.

Tomorrow we head down to Columbia (back in South Carolina) for some more Civil War history.

Incidentally, it has now been 4 years since we started travelling and what a ride it's been!