Florida - Georgia
Savannah to Atlanta off the beaten track
Take a drive from Savannah to Atlanta and see interesting sites off the beaten track.
Savannah represents the south as only Savannah can do with its lovely squares surrounded by antebellum homes. During the Civil War, Savannah was spared from the wrath of Sherman as he made his march across Georgia burning everything in sight in 1864.
The place most people head to first in Savannah is the revived lively riverfront and its shops and restaurants. The trolley tours with the full-of-Savannah-stories guides are popular and well worth doing. Of course the Paula Deen restaurant (Lady & Sons) is a highlight of any visit to Savannah.
I recommend reading "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" by John Berendt for a wonderful introduction to the social culture in Savannah. The story is based on a real event. Seeing the Mercer House and then heading out to Bonaventure Cemetery becomes a highlight. The cemetery, on a river with moss hanging from every tree, is worth a visit even if you haven't read the book. Many famous people are buried there. You can get a map from the friendly staff in the office at the front gate. Johnny Mercer (composer of Moon River and other golden oldies) has a bench with his image and songs carved on it. Author Conrad Aikens' epitaph says Cosmos Mariner, Destination Unknown.
Moving on from Savannah towards Atlanta, take 16 to 441 north and go through the pretty countryside dotted with cotton fields. If you read the book above, you could stop in Gordon and see Jim William's gravesite (on hwy 57 by Ramah Church).
Just bit north on 441 is Milledgeville, the first capital of Georgia. Most of Milledgeville was burned by Sherman, but the the old Governor's mansion (1839) was spared. With the film introduction and the knowledgeable guides, this house is a particularly wonderful one to visit. From the outside it looks like a regular Greek Revival style of architecture - fairly square looking with columns, without a hit of a round room with a dome inside. Off the entrance foyer is a rotunda that has a very high gilded dome. The second floor rooms, one is octagonal, have doors into it too. It was fully restored in 2001 and everything in the house is from the mid 1800s. The carpet in the main living room was recreated in the same mill in England that created the first one. Lots more to see in Milledgeville, the home to three colleges.
Heading north you will come to Eatonton where three famous authors were born. Joel Chandler Harris (Uncle Remus stories), Flannery O'Connor (Wise Blood, A Good Man is Hard to Find) and Alice Walker (The Color Purple) all have places to see regarding their stories and their lives. My favourite was the little Uncle Remus Museum. It is made up of small log cabins and has memorabilia related to the stories. Books and CDs with the famous stories are there. Alas the movie is in the Disney archives and isn't available.
Heading north on 441 you come to Madison. Head for the visitor centre and they will give you a map of the town showing the location of all the lovely pre-Civil War and Victorian homes. Pro-Union Senator Joshua Hill lived there during the civil war, so the town was spared from Sherman's forces. An 1845 guide to Georgia calls it "The most cultured and aristocratic town on the stagecoach route from Charlestown to New Orleans." You can walk, drive, or take a horse-drawn carriage ride and follow the route where some museums are open to visit.
Heading west towards Atlanta on I-20, go into Atlanta and exit at Boulevard and follow the signs to the Cyclorama in Grant Park next to the Zoo. Atlanta has many, many interesting sites to visit - Martin Luther King Jr. memorial gravesite, Underground Atlanta, a new Aquarium, etc. etc. However, Atlanta's Cyclorama is a unique historical depiction of the famous battle of Atlanta in July 1864.
If you saw Gone with the Wind you know what happened to Atlanta when Sherman went through - totally burned. The painting circles you. The seating revolves around and a narrator tells the story (along with music and sound effects) and points out interesting spots in the painting. It was painted just 20 years after the end of the battle. There is a 3 dimensional panorama in front of the painting. It is difficult to determine where the 3 dimensional ends and the painting begins. It is quite an experience for all ages!