Macon, GA

Thursday, April 18

Today we planned to drive from Eufaula, Alabama to Macon, Georgia. Without much of a plan, we had the whole day to get there. As Andi drove the RV through the rolling countryside, I researched places we might stop & see along the way and realized we’d be driving through Plains, Georgia — the birthplace and hometown of former United States president, Jimmy Carter. This small farm town was just a dot on the map until Jimmy Carter became the 39th president in 1976, and is now home to the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site. Why not stop?

I’ll be honest that I knew very little about Jimmy Carter, other than the fact he was a former president, until we visited the National Historic Site. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by a friend park ranger who provided the kids with Junior Ranger packets to complete. We toured the museum and answered the questions in the packet to learn more about the life and history of Jimmy Carter. The kids took turns sitting at a life-size replica of the Oval Office desk.

After a few subtle comments from the park ranger about not letting Aden rip through the museum like a wild maniac, Andi took Aden outside to a nearby playground while Tory received her Junior Ranger badge.

Back in the RV and on the road again, Tory and I finished up her school work for the day. We put our knowledge about Jimmy Carter to good use and wrote a biography about him. Sure, we could have read about Jimmy Carter in a textbook, but it’s much more meaningful to see & experience the subject in the flesh. It wasn’t just the kids who learned something new today either. One of my favorite things about traveling is talking with Andi afterward about the things we’ve experienced.

We stopped in the nearby town of Americus for lunch at Sweet Georgia Baking Co. Andi ordered a pot roast sandwich and I had chicken salad with greens. The kids split a piece of banana nut bread.

As we sat at the outdoor patio table for lunch and watched the town’s hustle and bustle take place around us, I couldn’t help but smile about our experience today. Never in a million years would I have planned to visit this area in Georgia, but here our family was today doing just that.

From Americus, we continued onward to Macon, Georgia where we’d stay the night. Andi had a work friend named Cliff who lives in Macon, so we planned to have dinner with Cliff and his wife Linda that evening. On our way, we stopped in Andersonvile, GA at a POW memorial. There is so much history in this area of the country.

Cliff and Linda live on Lake Tobosokee in Macon which also has a campground, so after we stopped by their house to say hello, we headed over to the campground to find a site for our RV. Cliff picked Andi, Tory, Aden and I up in his car about an hour later and took us to a restaurant on the lake called Fish & Pig for dinner. It was a southern meal of many firsts! Andi and I tried boiled peanuts (which were warm, wet and tasted like peas), hushpuppies and cheesy grits. Andi also had ribs for his dinner which were excellent and I had barbecued pork. After traveling for two months by ourselves in Costa Rica, it was really fun to have dinner and conversation with friends.

Tomorrow, we’ll say good-bye to Macon and continue on our journey toward Atlanta.