Sunday started off with Jansen's 3rd birthday party in Walterboro,
then off to Georgia for the six degrees of Macon. OK, I guess it was only two degrees, since we were staying with the parents of a friend of Angel's from Savannah. What a nice visit! The girls wanted to sit around and talk with the Prettyman's, but the road was calling, so we were off by 8 am on Monday.
Sunday's drive: 285 miles
State license plates spotted: 16 different states represented, plus Quebec
Monday's drive was supposed to take us straight west from Macon, via backroads, to Warm Springs, GA. Well, then Angel noticed a little, tiny dot on the map labeled "Lifsey Springs" and the route changed. And then the trip got interesting, because Angel got lost. Now, sock monkeys are not the type to stereotype, but bear with me for a minute. Like I said, Angel was lost. We were lost on roads that were not on the map, that's how 'in the country' we were. Serious boondocks. We pull into a little gas station in the middle of nowhere, and there are three people inside: white man, black man, Indian man (not the Native American kind). Guess which one was behind the counter. Guess which one was eating fried chicken with hot sauce (btw, you're wrong on that last one, it was the white guy). Angel tells them where we're trying to go, and the gas station owner starts telling me where we need to turn. She cannot understand a word. The black man seems to sense this, so he starts trying to tell her. He has a lovely, beautiful soft accent, similar to Isaac Leach (those of you familiar with Magnolia Gardens will understand this). Then the white guy jumps in, just as country as can be. You know, the kind that say "right" like "riiiiight." Angel is totally confused, but manages to get a few directions written down. We were back on the road in the right direction. Until she made another wrong turn. This time, however, it didn't take long to find another gas station, so we pulled in to ask. THEN we were headed in the right direction to Warm Springs.
If you don't know, Warm Springs was a home for FDR for over 20 years. He would come down from DC as often as possible to seek relief from polio in the warm springs of the area. In fact, he was in this house, having his portrait painted, when he died in April 1945. It's a really nice little site; you should stop by if/when you're in the area.
We drove from Warm Springs over to West Point, GA, the home of Angel's father's maternal grandparents. We crossed the Chattahoochie River (the same one we tubed down in Helen, GA last summer) and drove around the town, just checking out what it's like now, and imagining what it must have been like decades ago. We even went by the cemetery. Then we crossed the border (which is right at the edge of town) and drove to Langdale, AL to do the same for Angel's father's paternal grandparents. Are you following all that? Of course, you'd be hard pressed to find Langdale on a map, as several small towns were lumped together and renamed Valley.
Of course it would be that one of the first Alabamians we "meet" is a cashier at Wal-Mart, who not only has no bottom teeth, but also has no idea how to add money to the gas/gift card. While she taxes her brain, she's sucking her bottom lip in and opening her eyes really wide, as if these two motions will suddenly jump start her brain. Thankfully everyone else we've meet has been wonderful (and fully teethed, as far as I can tell). The man at the welcome center even gave me a new pin for my shirt. It says "Sweet Home Alabama," the new state slogan. I wonder if they had to get permission to use that, since it always makes me want to break out in song.
We then jumped on I-85 South and headed toward Montgomery. We took a pitstop at Tuskegee to check out the Tuskeegee Airmen National Historic Site, then drove over to Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site.
Airplane at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site
The Oaks, home of Booker T. Washington and his family.
Statue of Booker T. Washington on the campus of the Tuskegee Institute
We finally made it to Montgomery and checked into the hotel. If you ever in town, Angel recommends the Red Roof Inn on Carmichael Road. Very clean and excellently priced.
Monday's mileage: 278 miles (total: 580)
License Plates: Only saw 3 new states (total: 19)
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