This trip was my children's first venture into Alabama. Along the interstate, we saw exits for Tuskegee University, and this caused us to recall the contributions of George Washington Carver, and the research he did to help agricultural production in the south. We learned about him in Calvert's third grade this year. We also saw vast cotton fields, and peanut fields as well. There was another mystery crop we couldn't identify, and I don't know if I would recognize a soybean field if I saw one, so it remains a mystery to us. The plant looked tall and grassy with wide blades. Hmmm.

Other notable sites in Alabama had to be the casino and the fireworks stores we saw along the way. Can't remember much more about that drive across Alabama.

Once we entered Georgia, within two exits, we got off and we were in the Pine Mountain area. At once, the appearance of the area improved greatly. It was a lovely area. We again traveled across rural roads, but these were rolling, winding, and hilly, and the properties were quite picturesque, with lovely country homes set way back from the road. This was a nice place to live. Daddy was already telling me I had picked a good place to go. As we drove onto our next destination, F. D. Roosevelt State Park, the land got more wooded and secluded. The highway traced the ridge that is known as Pine Mountain, and the State Park is located at the top of this ridge. We followed the signs and pulled up to the ranger station, where we were dealt with professionally, if not warmly. Here, as in all Georgia state parks, they give you a small card with your name and departure date, and are told that you can go select your campsite from those that are available, placing your card in the little pedestal provided to distinguish occupied sites from vacant ones. Campsites are not reservable. So after checking out two of the campsite loops, we backed into one that was surrounded on three sides by woods. It was a great campsite, spacious and private, while not being isolated. This loop was about 30% filled, which was also nice. One side of the loop bordered the shore of Lake Delanor, and our side of the loop was higher elevation, and in the woods.

We really liked this campground, and this campsite. It is the closest place to our state where there is a feeling of being in the mountains. The woods are characterized by the trees of a temperate climate, not the semi-tropical climate of the vast coastal plain of the south. If I didn't speak to anyone, I could almost convince myself that I was back home somewhere in my home state of New Jersey. (here I insert a long, deep sigh). It was pleasant settling down here, and by the next morning, my DH said to me, "This is a great vacation", something that he never said the previous year when I made him traipse the entire length of Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway. So I felt good about that.

While at Pine Mountain, we spent one day at Callaway Gardens and one day at FDR's Little White House. Impressions and photos of those attractions will come in my next post.