Georgia

Georgia. home of the peaches, pecans and some of the sweetest onions in the world. Also, probably my second favorite state in the USA, because you know WV is #1.

Savannah
The first time I made it to this town was a stop on my family's drive to Disney World in Florida. I fell in love with how beautiful everything was!

Horse and Buggy Ride
There are multiple companies that offer these horse and buggy rides through Savannah and I highly recommend it. It is a wonderful way to see the city!

Olde Pink House
Built in 1771, it is now a restaurant and tavern! It is also included in the ghost tours :)

Jones Street
voted the prettiest street from Better Homes and Gardens and I completely agree.

City Market 
Where all the best souvenirs can be found! Dated back to 1755, this is where fishermen and farmers would come sell their wares.

Waterfront 
The waterfront area used to be cotton exchanges and old factories but has now been transformed into hotels, bars, and various stores. What a great way to use history and make it something unique now!

Tybee Island
Just a short car ride away is this wonderful island! Complete with beaches, a pier and a lighthouse/museum what more do you need?



Atlanta
The capital of Georgia and one of the biggest cities in America. Also home of the 1996 Summer Olympic games!

Centennial Olympic Park
Right in between the CNN Center and The Georgia Aquarium/World of Coca-Cola, is the sight where the 1996 Summer Olympic Games were held! Various monuments including the flame from the games are in this park and is a must see!

World of Coca-Cola
Filled with all kinds of exhibits including a walk-through history of Coca-Cola. You can also taste various Coca-Cola products from all over the world. For $17, I think this is a must-do activity.

Coca-Cola Museum

A bar-back in a pharmacy

Hey WV! :) 

Braves Baseball Game

Now the last time I was there, it was Turner Field, which is now gone and SunTrust Park is where they play! Since I am a baseball fan! This is always a must-do when I'm in town!

Stone Mountain

Outside of Atlanta is Stone Mountain. Stone Mountain has Confederate Civil War Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson as well as President Jefferson Davis. It is a huge park complete with trails and a trolley that will take you up the mountain. I did not go inside the park the last time because I was a broke college student and refused to pay to get in! 

Macon 

Believe it or not, Macon is known as the Cherry Blossom capitol of the World. It has WAY more than D.C. does and hosts its own Cherry Blossom Festival! The festival is normally in the middle of March, but as Mother Nature is super unpredictable there could be trees blooming anytime throughout the spring! 

Macon is also a stop on the Antebellum trail! It runs from Athens, Georiga to Macon and shows what some of the southern life was like before the Civil war and Sherman got to it. 

Athens

Home of the Georgia Bulldogs and where I spent 5 weeks living during pharmacy school rotations. I really fell in love with this town and could picture myself living here if it wasn't for all the college students. 

Firstly, it is the start of the Antebellum Trail, which was quite possibly my favorite thing about Georgia. 

Secondly, it has a tree that owns itself. Yes, you read that correctly. The story goes that this man loved this tree and had great memories of it and decided to deed it to itself so no one could ever chop it down or anything. THE ENTIRE TOWN WENT ALONG WITH THIS. 

Then a big storm came and the tree was knocked down. Another man saved an acorn and planted it where the original tree was. 

SO NOW: the son of the original tree is living and the town decided that the son of the tree had inherited this land so it's his too. 

There is also the Georgia state Botanical garden that is a beautiful place for an afternoon. 

Other Places in Georgia

Juliette, Georgia
If anyone has ever seen the movies Fried Green Tomatoes or read the book then this is a place you must see! I actually found this by accident while driving the Antebellum trail (pre-civil war).
Where the Whistle Stop Cafe is and where you can get fried green tomatoes (spoiler, they are so gross).

Eatonton, Georgia
If you've ever seen the Disney movie Song of the South, then you know who Uncle Remus is! It's an adorable little museum on the side of the road!

That is everything for Georgia!!
let me know if you have any questions!!
graceparsons2023@gmail.com

Virginia

Virginia is right beside of me (WV), but in all honesty, we don't make this our travel destination often. It's a pass-through on the way to Disney or Myrtle Beach. But over Thanksgiving, my Dad and I did a road trip to see all the national parks in this state!!! #stampies Here's what we did!!


Charlottesville

Downtown Charlottesville

Home of Thomas Jefferson's pride and joy - University of Virginia. While we didn't tour the campus, we did go to James Madison's Highland (his home) and Thomas Jefferson's Monticello (his home).
Prior to getting to both Monticello and Highland (they are right beside each other basically), you will come to Michie Tavern. There are a lot of shops and the tavern is a functional restaurant. If it's open when you are there, I would definitely make a stop!

We just drove up to James Madison's house, we didn't go in because it didn't open until 11am, and we had other things to go see.

The Drive to Highland  - I just thought it was so beautiful.

Monticello is an impressive display of architecture and European beauty. Not to mention the number of books he had, made me pea green with envy. It's about $20 to view the 1st floor of the home and the grounds. There is a hill to climb, but they offer a shuttle service that runs about every 5-10 minutes. 

Monticello

Thomas Jefferson

No photos are allowed in the house, but the tour takes about 40 minutes and you learn a good bit about Thomas Jefferson and his life after Presidency. Obviously, Thomas Jefferson is a little controversial since he definitely fathered 4 (more like 7, but only 4 have DNA evidence) children with one of his slaves.Make sure to walk through Mulberry Row, which is where the Slaves lived. 

Mulberry Row

Vegetable Garden

Old Chimney

Finally, if you take the path from Mulberry Row down towards the Visitors Center, you will walk to Thomas Jefferson's Grave, you can't get into the cemetery but you can see the huge obelisk that marks his grave. 

Food - Bluegrass Grill and Bakery -- best breakfast we have had in a long long time!!! 

Appomattox Court House

Fun Fact: This is the actual name of the town. NOT a courthouse in the town of Appomattox, like I had originally thought! 

This is where the Confederates and General Lee surrendered to General Grant and the Union. 

The actual town was destroyed and the owners of the surrender house tore it down to take it to D.C. to make a Civil War Museum out of it. So everything there is a replication, and most of the artifacts are replications since the Union soldiers took everything they could get their hands on (a sign of times to come for the South). 

McLeod House - the surrender house

McLeod House - surrender house

a table in the room where the surrender happened

a table in the room where the surrender happened

If you drive little ways into the town of Appomattox, there is a Battlefield Park. This park is Appomattox Station Battlefield and is the last battle of the Civil War. It is actually where two of my ancestors fought - so we loved it! 

Food - Babcock Inn Restuarant is really good food!! 

Petersburg 

Ok, we stopped here to see the battlefield but honestly, if you aren't a history buff (or have done research and know of ancestors that fought here) I wouldn't make this a stop. BUT there is a house built out of Union tombstones! 

No joke. In the Great Depression, the Union cemetery decided to save some money on mowing. They cut the tombstones in half, kept the half with the names and sold the bottom halves. 

The Tombstone house builder bought 2,200 of them for $45 dollars. This is the result.

Tombstone House

Richmond

So again, unless you are a history buff then going around to the battlefields is not necessary, but I would totally go to Tredegar Iron Works. This was the largest ironworks in 1860 and serviced the Confederates with guns and ammunition for the Civil WarThis is right on the canal. I would definitely go to the bridge that goes right by the falls and explains the night that Richmond was taken by the Union. 

Tredegar Iron Works

Tredegar Iron Works

Richmond Falls 

Richmond has almost obliterated its heritage. We found the White House of the Confederacy right beside of an ER. John Marshall House is barely on the map. And monument avenue is beautiful, but I can rightfully see how African Americans would be upset (and they have every right to be). Not one Union monument to be found. I personally think that is horrific and if you want to honor history, you should make sure you do it correctly.

White House of the Confederacy 

John Marshall House

J.E.B. Stuart Monument

Robert E. Lee Monument

Jefferson Davis Monument

Stonewall Jackson Monument

Fredericksburg

We made the stop here for the battlefield, but the town is actually really cute and worth a drive through. 

Memorial to the Confederate that went over the stone wall to give water to the fallen Union soldiers

The original stone wall from the 1862 Battle

Mount Vernon 

George Washington's home. It is absolutely stunning and is only about 10 miles outside of D.C. This is worth dedicating at least 2 hours to explore it fully! Make sure you see inside the house and his grave for sure! I was lucky enough to see some reenactors while we were there. That was definitely cool! 

Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon

George and Martha's Graves

The old vault where they were first buried

Reenactment

Reenactment

George and Martha

George and Martha on their back porch overlooking the Potomac River

Alexandria

Old town Alexandria is beautiful and definitely worth going to see! Not only are there all kinds of shops and food places but none of the houses have been changed since they were built in the early 1700's. 

Arlington

So I already touched on this in my D.C. blog post, but just for completeness, I'll put it here as well. Make sure you visit the Arlington Cemetery where the tomb of the unknown soldier is as well as JFK's grave. 

Any questions let me know!!! :)

graceparsons2023@gmail.com