Stamp and Run Revisit, Chattahoochie NRA- Atlanta

This was a quick revisit to Chattahoochie River, so I could get a missing 25th stamp, which I was able to get.  They also had a new issue pin, so I got that, and a hiking medallion as well.  Score!!

Park Revisit- Kenesaw Mountain NBP

This was a stop/revisit for the Metro Atlanta sites so I could pick up the missing 25th anniversary stamp, which I was able to get-  This is a heavily visited park, we had to go through the parking lot twice to snag a space!  I now have all the stamps and pin for this park, and got a hiking medallion as well. 

Park Revisit: Martin Luther King NHS- Atlanta Ga.

As part of a planned visit to Metro Atlanta Sites, my brother Bill and I got to the Martin Luther King NHS in downtown. 

 I had been here in 2010, with Brandon, but as before, I had missed parts of the park, and also, 4 stamps.  So, that was accomplished.  I got to the BirthHome, which I had missed  before, and the Fire Station, which I had missed before also. 

You needed a ticket to get into the birthhome, so we passed on that, but I did get the stamp for this location at the bookstore next to the home, also got the 25th stamp I was missing.  Score!

Then to the Fire House, which was built in 1894, and had a big American LaFrance restored 1927 pumper in it- 

In the main VC, got my stamp there, and also saw the actual cart that they used during the funeral, very moving, and there were lots of other displays. 

Across the street from the Main VC is the Memorial Center, and there you will find the tombs of both Dr and Ms King:

I  got a new for me pin for this site, which replaces one I got last time- It follows the new entrance sign theme for the park....

The Ebenezer Baptist Church is a part of the site also- This is where "Daddy" King and Martin both preached. 

On the way out, there is a very large Mural that tells the King story-  very well done:

This has always been a moving site for me-  I'm glad I got to spend a proper amount of time here today and see the rest of the park I had previously missed- I have now completed all the stamps listed for this park, there was a site stamp in 3 different locations, and a 25th anniversary stamp also. 

Trail of Tears -

This is a multi- site trail that commemorates the suffering of the various Indian tribes that were affected by the policies of President Andrew Jackson in 1830 and later to remove the Native Americans from their homeland to the "promised lands" of Oklahoma. 

Here is an explanation from Wikipaedia:
The Trail of Tears is a name given to the forced relocation and movement of Native American nations from southeastern parts of the United States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The removal included many members of the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations, among others in the United States, from their homelands to Indian Territory (eastern sections of the present-day state of Oklahoma). The phrase originated from a description of the removal of the Choctaw Nation in 1831.^[1] Many Native Americans suffered from exposure, disease and starvation en route to their destinations. Many died, including 4,000 of the 15,000 relocated Cherokee.<sup>[2]


The site I visited today ( May 23) was the site called The Chieftan's Home, which was in Rome, Georgia. 

This was the ancestral home of a Major Ridge, who was instrumental in helping seal the doom of the Cherokee Indians in Northern Georgia.  He believed that the government would be true to their word, which of course, they were not.  Ridge ultimately paid for his act of approving the treaty with his life.</sup> 

The original house was much smaller, and the wings were added in the 1920's

The site has an interesting history as well, the home was used for many years as a "bosses" house for the senior executive for the Celanese Corporation, which was across the street and owned the property. 

Major Ridge

There are two other sites in Northern Georgia, but I couldn't get to them, since we had to leave this morning to get to South Carolina-  We'll revisit those sites in September on our return home, and also get up to Chattanooga. 

Revisit- Andersonville National

This too was a third visit to Andersonville.  Seems if you go to Jimmy Carter, you go to Andersonville- They are just 19 miles or so apart.  After visiting Jimmy Carter earlier in the day, I came up here to secure two stamps that I had previously missed because I wasn't paying attention. 

Andersonville is the site of a rather notorious Confederate Civil War prison camp-  notorious in that the conditions were brutal, and several thousands of the prisoners died in captivity. 

Here is the Wiki site for Andersonville that gives you the "rest of the story"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andersonville_National_Historic_Site

Here is the body copy from the NPS site that more fully explains the story of the Site:

Here were the missing 2 stamps:

So now, after 3 visits, Andersonville is now complete!  I also got a 150th anniversary of the Civil War pin and a hiking staff medallion here today.

Park Revisit - Jimmy Carter National Historic Site

Date of visit:  Saturday, May 19, 2012

This is actually my third visit to this park-  The first visit was actually a little before I was actively into collecting stamps, so it was a visit to the town pretty much, I didn't actually visit the actual site of the Visitor's Center, the old Plains High School, because we didn't know about it.  We did drive by the old train depot, which isn't a part of the park, and also drove by the Carter's actual home, which is just off the main street of town.  Also in town is the "Billy Carter Gas Station Museum," which deals with the President's famous or infamous brother.

On our next visit, which was April 22nd of last year, I did manage to get to the high school part, but didn't get to the farm portion of the park, and missed two stamps as a result. 

For this visit, I decided to add it to the trip, and "do it right."  So, we left St Augustine just before 8 in the morning, and arrived at Plains High School VC about 1 in the afternoon.

We did a quick visit here, since I had been here previously, and had all the stamps from this location.  We then headed about 5 miles or so to the Carter Boyhood Farm Site, and got the missing 2 stamps from the set here.
The site stamp is a duplicate, the other is a bonus.

So for now, Jimmy Carter is complete.  All sites have been visited, and all stamps are in.

We also spent about an hour grazing up and down the block long main street of town, antiquing, and Bette got an ice cream cone. 

Then, we headed the 19 miles up the road to Andersonville.