FDRs Little White House Warm Springs, GA

You know I have been on a huge history/US Presidents kick for some time now.  So, on this trip, we tried to visit some of the presidential houses along the way.  We were excited when we realized that we wouldn't be passing far from Warm Springs, Georgia, home of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Little White House!

Though we were happy about the chance to visit here, we did not have any major expectations.  Well, this ended up being an unexpectedly amazing stop on our trip.

FDR first came to the Warm Springs area, before he was president, for polio treatment.  He liked the place so much that he built a cabin.  He ended up spending a lot of time here.  He also spent his final moments at his Warm Springs Little White House.

Before visiting the actual house, there is a very nice museum and movie.  The museum included many amazing artifacts directly linked to FDR.  Most impressive was a collection of canes that had been sent to the 32nd President by supporters.

After going through the museum, you make your way to the house.  There are several guest and secret service cabins.  The actual Little White House itself seems small but very cozy.  This would be a fun cabin to stay in.  There were friendly staff around to answer questions.  They let me know that the books on the shelf had belonged to FDR.  On display were his desk, and the bed he was in when he passed away.

As a dog lover I was touched by the scratch marks at the bottom of the main door.  In the glass, you could see them (my camera wasn't able to focus on them).  Still, you could see where Roosevelt's little dog Fala had scratched.

We loved the gift shop here.  They had plenty of Roosevelt books, buttons and other items.  There was a very sweet lady running the place (ALL of the staff we talked to here seemed to love their job, and working at the Little White House).

THEN, there is another small museum housing the last couple of painting of Roosevelt, including the very famous one that we being worked on just before it death (it remains unfinished).

Seeing the unfinished painting, the displays about his death and funeral, plus standing by his bed where he died, is VERY moving.

But, it makes it a bit of a downer when you leave.  LUCKILY, the actual springs where Franklin would swim are a very short drive from the home!

We stopped by the small visitor center/museum by the springs.  ANOTHER friendly staff person thanked us for stopping by (it seems that a lot of people who buy the ticket to visit the home SKIP coming to the springs, even though it is included in the main house admission).  Anyway, seeing the springs had a bit of an uplifting feeling to balance out the sadness of the home.

At the spring, you can buy a nice little bottle to take with you, to collect some water from the actual spring.

The "spring" was not exactly what I had in mind, though I had seen the pictures and video of FDR here previously.  It is really a nice, large pool with the spring in it to supply the water.  The pool is totally empty, but the spring is there.  You actually walk through the empty pool to the spring.

We were the only people there when we went.

It was very pleasant, getting our bottles filled with water.  I splashed a little bit of the water in my face.  You can feel so much of a personal, lively connection to Franklin, and the history of Warm Springs here.

Georgia Guidestones

OK, I really don't know what to say about the Georgia Guidestones, other than I really wanted to see them at some point.

I hate to generically suggest that you go to Wikipedia to read up on the basics, but that would be a good place to start.

The short story is..... in 1979 some guy commissioned a granite company in Elberton to build the Guidestones.  The Guidestones list 10 rules that society should go by, and they are noted in 8 different languages.  The Guidestones are almost 20 feet high.


Someone obviously felt strongly about the Guidestones.  A lot of time, work, and money has been invested in them.  Conspiracy theory types have had a lot to say about them.

Signs up note that the place is under surveillance.  The spot is a very popular roadside attraction.  There were a lot of people there when we went.

People were picnicking, kids were playing ball, and many people were reading and looking around.  This is a very curious place to stop.

Check out my photos.  It may be worth noting that we saw some odd, round shaped buildings nearby.  They seemed very appropriate.

Old Postcard of Bull Street at Night, in Savannah, Georgia

On the back of this old Savannah postcard:

Bull Street is named for the man who made the first plan for the town.  Surveyor Bull of Charleston.  It starts at the Bay and is the main artery along whose course the five main squares of Savannah are places.

Viaduct Approaching from the North at Night, Savannah, GA

I love the mysterious look of this great postcard showing Savannah, probably from the early 50s.

Asheville North Carolina

We made a quick stop in Asheville on our way home!  We didn't have much time to explore, but I did get a few photos. 

Congaree National Park, South Carolina

We were able to spend a few hours at Congaree National Park in South Carolina!  Unfortunately, we were there on a very cold day, and didn't get to see as much as we would have liked, but this is absolutely one of those places we will visit again.  This is an underrated, and underutilized park.

They have a main visitor center/museum, where we watch a short film on the history of the park.  The film talked about the very local effort to preserve the old growth land here.  Like other parks, we talked to some great rangers here who obviously love what they do, and they love the park.

We were told that feral pigs are sometimes sited here, along with alligators.  Pigs are definitely on my list of animals I have never seen in the wild!  Unfortunately, on this day we didn't see them.

We did see some woodpeckers, but they were gone before I could get a photo.

This is a big park, with a lot going for it.  I do look forward to another visit on a warmer, longer day.

James K. Polk Historic Site in Pineville, North Carolina

Pineville North Carolina was another stop for us on our trip.  We stopped here to visit the James K. Polk Historic Site.

At the site are a couple of reconstructed homestead buildings, and a very small museum about Polk.  Inside the museum/visitor center a short film is shown about Polk and his life.

An hour is more than sufficient time to visit.

Woodrow Wilson Family Home in Columbia South Carolina

We VERY briefly stopped by the Woodrow Wilson Family Home in Columbia South Carolina.

It is a bit odd the way things are set up here.  We parked near the home, but then saw a sign that we needed to go down a couple of blocks, to another home, to buy tickets for a tour.  There are actually several historic homes nearby, and the main office for all of them is operated out of one location.

So, we walked to the main building.  We asked about tickets and we were told that, on the day we showed up, school groups would be going through.  We could buy tickets for a tour, but we would be going in with the large school group tours, and we would be getting a very edited version of the tour.

You could tell that the person manning the ticket office felt bad about the situation.  He very kindly told us about some other events and sites in the area.

We decided that taking a few pictures form the outside would satisfy our need to see the Woodrow Wilson home in Columbia.

Photos from Florida

These are a couple more photos I acquired recently, most dated from the early 1970s.  I love both pictures.

I am pretty certain both are from the same trip, and the handwriting is the same on the back of each.

The one on the left notes that the subject, named "Roy" thought he was great.  "This is on the Gulf at St. Pete."  They note the sand was white, and there were many shells.

The back of the other photo showing the two cuties says that the picture was taken on Daytona Beach.

Melvins BBQ in South Carolina

After reading my pal The Carpetbagger's blog entry on the South Carolina BBQ Feud, I knew I had to visit at least one of the mentioned restaurants while in South Carolina!

We asked around a bit, and Melvin's was HIGHLY recommended by the locals.

We stopped by in the evening, after doing a lot of walking.  We each had a pretty big appetite.

We walked in to the sounds of Christian music, which was played the entire time we were there.  We also noticed later that the Ten Commandments were printed on our cups.  So, this is a business that is very open about their religious beliefs.

We ordered from the menu- I had a BBQ pork sandwich, with a side of greens.  My wife ordered the four sides meal.

When they brought our food out, we thought that surely the large tray was meant for a family of four seated somewhere else.  The sides were massive.  On most days one of their sides would have been a complete meal for me.  They must have weighted 8-10 ounces each if not more.

I did honestly feel some guilt about the piles of food we had here.  Luckily, our hotel had a fridge and microwave, so we were able to make a couple more meals out of this.

My sandwich was great too, and Melvin's had the standard tray of multiple sauces to choose from at each table.

You know I love BBQ in my neck of the woods.  I have watched several BBQ restaurants come and go in Kentucky.  I know one close to where I work lasted for about a year.  Me and a buddy went one day- but the place was very unsatisfying.  I think a lot of similar places have tried to skimp on quantity and quality.  Melvin's did not skimp on ANYTHING!

OH, and they have one of those great pepper bar areas.....  They had slices AND full peppers while I was there!  This alone was a huge treat!


This will be a place to visit again on my next trip to the area.  I would love to see Melvin's branch out more too.....  I would eat at Melvin's all the time if one was in my town!

Patriots Point- Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

I hope you won't hold it against me if I tell you that we briefly thought about passing on Patriot's Point.  It just seemed overwhelming.  We thought that maybe we should save this visit for another day.

Well, as we passed the USS Yorktown on our way to Fort Sumter, we knew we had to scrap some of our plans and make Patriot's Point a priority for this trip!

We arrived at Patriot's Point after buying our $20 tickets.  We decided to first explore the USS Clamagore, which was built during World War II.

Believe it or not, we have actually been on a few submarines.  They are cool as heck, but man are they hard to get around in!  If you are claustrophobic, you will certainly want to avoid them!  Plus, the "doors" are really just holes in walls that you must lift your legs high to squeeze through.  It is exciting checking one out, but be ready to contort your way through!

After exploring the submarine, we walked over to the destroyer, USS Laffey.  The Laffey also started her life in the mid-40s.  Like the Clamagore, you can pretty much explore every part of the Laffey.  We did.

After that, we decided to step on to the aircraft carrier, the USS Yorktown.  This is the main attraction here.  Sure, a destroyer and a submarine are mega cool, but an aircraft carrier makes anything else look miniature.

As we stepped on the Yorktown, we were greeted by the carrier's mascot, Scrappy!  Scrappy is named after a real life mascot that the Yorktown had in the 40s.

From there, we had a quick lunch on board at a Sticky Fingers restaurant.  They do have a more authentic cafeteria, but it was not open on the day we visited.


After a quick BBQ lunch, we explored the aircraft carrier.  As it is so big, they recommend that you do 1 of 6 tours.  We ended up doing 3 of the tours, and made our way, eventually, from bottom to top.  This was an exciting workout!  Our favorite stops while touring the Yorktown included information on the Yorktown's involvement in Apollo 8, and walking along the landing area and seeing the planes displayed.

After spending a long day here, we ended our time at Patriot's Point at the Vietnam Experience Exhibit.  This is literally a small area that has been made to look like (and sound like) an area in Vietnam during the Vietnam War.  It was effective.  We talked to a staff person there named Graves, who is a Vietnam War Veteran and he told us about his experiences.  I thought this was very nice, as I also talked to him about my dad, who was there too.  It always means a lot to me to talk to those guys.  It seemed that Graves was trying to talk to everyone who came through!  I love knowing that anyone who comes through there will have an opportunity to talk to someone who was there.  That really puts this part of Patriots Point over the top.  Elementary school kids that go there will get to see legendary watercraft used since World War II, AND they will be able to talk to a real Vietnam War veteran.

UK Basketball Cheerleaders 1970s

NOW seems like a good time to get some vintage UK Basketball pictures up!

This black and white photo came with some other photos from the early 70s.  This one is labeled simply "UK Basketball Game."

Random Thoughts on Friday

Man, it is a RAINY day in Lexington today!

Just a few thoughts.....

I just want all of my friends to know.....  You MAY NOT borrow my couch!

I always want to see UK win, and win big, but I get a little nervous most years around this time.  If the Cats win, we are all happy.....  but we are also scared that the town might be destroyed.

On another note.....

The Southern Kentucky Book Fest is in a couple of weeks in Bowling Green.  There are some interesting authors appearing.  Check that out!

There is a good stamp show in Lexington over April 11-12th.  Check that out too!

Fort Moultrie, Sullivan's Island, South Carolina

A day after visiting Fort Sumter, we went to Fort Moultrie, a fort that is really just as significant to the Civil War timeline.  AND, this site has a lot of other, non-Civil War history to it too!  In fact, the entire 171 year history of the defense of the American seacoast can be linked here.

We got to the visitor center as they opened.  The very cool staff (almost all National Parks have cool, knowledgeable staff) showed us a movie about the history of the Fort.  After that, we were free to walk around the actual site.

It was very odd, exploring this park with absolutely NO OTHER VISITORS!  We had the entire place to ourselves for some time.  The day before we saw Fort Sumter with lots of other people.

Fort Moultrie does have a bit of a second banana feel.  If you are going to Charleston, people say, you MUST see Fort Sumter.  Fort Moultrie doesn't have the same "National Park Rock Star Status" (I am so going to see about copywriting that phrase).

And that's sad, because it is awesome.

The site is hilly and cavernous (a perfect place to play lazer tag, or to serve as a real life Fort), and visitors are given a lot of free access.  A few rooms were glassed in, but otherwise you can kind of go wherever.

You can see Fort Sumter easily from here and visualize what the fighting would have been like in the first Civil War days.