May 17: Abbeville, Alabama to Plains, Georgia
What a fabulous day of riding! The wind was from the west, mostly, which meant it was mostly at my back as I travelled northeast and the country roads on today’s route had very little traffic. To top that off, Georgia, I discovered, tends to be about a foot more generous than it’s neighboring state to the west on road shoulders. I had a few miles on a busy U.S. highway (without a shoulder), but for the most part I was riding on lonely country roads that had shoulders too! I’m not sure if this is a general rule for Georgia, but I certainly enjoyed it today.
Here’s the sign on the road as you cross the Chattahoochie River at Fort Gaines.
When we left Abbeville this morning, we weren’t sure where we were going to end up this ride — Plains or Americus (10 miles further east). There’s one hotel in Plains and it’s office wasn’t yet open to find out if they had any rooms available, so Americus was our alternate destination.
About thirty miles into my ride today, Pat called me on the cellphone to tell me that there’s a room available at the hotel in Plains and we’re staying there. That was fortunate, because it gave us a chance to go see the sights. There’s a Jimmy Carter political history museum just across the street from us. It’s in the building (an old train depot) that served as the campaign headquarters for his 1976 presidential election campaign.
We also went out to Jimmy Carter’s boyhood home (it’s now a national park). Boy, talk about humble beginnings. On the way there, you pass Jimmy Carter’s current home. It’s fenced off, of course, and the only house you can see is actually the house for the secret service staff. At Jimmy Carter’s boyhood home, you can walk through the house and all the other buildings on the Carter farm. It was very interesting and, like I said, talk about humble beginnings!
The room we have at the hotel is on the second floor. At the end of the hall, you can walk outside onto the balcony. We bought a postcard in the lobby that has the President and First Lady standing on the balcony waving. Behind them is the window of the room we are staying in!
On the west edge of town, Pat got this photo of a giant peanut.
To view all the photos from today:
May 17th, 2006 at 11:18 pm
Hi Patti and Pete-
You are near some interesting places now in Plains and Americus. If you have a chance to stop and see Koinenia you might enjoy it. It’s a coop farm and Christian settlement started by a man named Clarence Jordon and Millard Fuller to help folks make a better life for all people —all colors. During high school several groups of young people, including Nancy, made trips to Koinneniato work with the farm or school or wherever they were needed as a volunteer project. They did stuff like build houses for folks who couldn’t afford one ,and they lived with thew group for a couple of weeks each summer. And K still sells some of the best fruit cakes anyplace plus other goodies that may or may not be good for cyclists.
Love reading your reports! And the pics are great! Good luck and God blessw you> Love, aunt Jean
May 18th, 2006 at 8:14 am
Interesting to hear about your visit to Plains, and the Carter home and museum. I’ve read a couple of Jimmy Carter’s books “An Hour Before Daylight” and “Christmas in Plains”. Short books about his early years on the plantation. Actually I listened to the CD’s which were recorded by the author. Very good read, even if you are not a fan of the President.