Harold's Blog

Hi everyone... I'm going to try to catch up on our trip to date...I'll do a little more each day and maybe sometime I will become current...maybe?

May 11 8:40 AM
Full tank of gas...full of optimism...we are off!...on an adventure to pay off a debt of gratitude to all the Founders of this great country and all the leaders following.

Speedometer reading- 45,594

Arrived at Americus, Georgia at about 5:30 PM which is about 10 miles from Plains..
Uneventful, easy drive only being plagued twice by swarms of Lovebugs which smeared the windshield and front of the van..Had to clean both before commencing again...Just about 20 miles from Georgia border ran into dense smoke, as thick as fog due to Forest fires opposite the Osceola State Park..had to drive slower with headlights on...cleared as we reached the Georgia line where Daras and I had our usual "Hi-Five" celebration! As we drove north from the border we almost immediately noted the Red clay soil characteristic of Georgia..
We found a nice Jameson Inn..had dinner and looked foward to visiting Plains next morning..

Saturday, May 12
After breakfast drove to Plains...as we drove the scening became more and more farmland and obviously more rural...and then we were in town and drove directly to the High School which Jimmy Carter had attended and graduated as "Salutorian"...It is now used as a Visitor Center and Museum and it was a re-visit to our Old World in it's appearance...Old creaking wood floors, classrooms with "old-fashioned" blackboards and student one piece seat and desks and posters of geography and history of yesteryear.

The walls in the halls were adorned with photos of Jimmy and his classmates in all the expected situations..posing in class pictures..partaking in sports..school dances and other functions etc..it was very sentimental and then there were many quotations attributed to the President stating how much the school and education received there had influenced his life.
In particular he paid great homage to the Principal of the school who was also his English teacher...She was referred to as "Miss Julia", and when later becoming President he returned to the school and bestowed some type of Honor Ceremonnial to her!
In the customary School Auditorium we were then shown a documentary film narrated by Charles Kurault that presented a biography of his entire boyhood in this farming community...It stirred the emotions.

Next, we drove a short distance somewhat on the edge of town where there appeared to be a white frame house within a high metal fenced in area that was more formally landscaped than the rural area adjacent...It was the secret service residence which serves to protect his personal residence which is beyond it. It is located on 160 acres of farmed land and he built the modest one story ranch house there in 1965 which affords he and Rosalyn to apparently live a reasonable quiet life-style in these familiar surroundings....Entrance was not permitted here..
As we continued our drive a short distance we came upon the only Traffic Light in Plains which was a "blinker"....and we noted a sign in a somewhat dilapidated gas station which was labelled as " Billy Carter's Gas Station"!

( I must dress for our today's Adventure" now..and continue to catch up a little later...)