Augusta, GA

A really beautiful day!  It reached 80 degrees with a nice breeze from the Savannah river.

The funny thing about the weather here .... it gets into the 80s during the day, but drops down to the 30s at night.  I'm use to that swing in the desert, but didn't expect it here.

The city of Augusta is divided by the Savannah river, forming the "Augusta, GA" that we all recognize, but there is a North Augusta on the South Carolina side as well.  Something I didn't know ....








The Riverwalk along the Savannah river is very pleasant.  There are two levels and lots of sitting areas, playgrounds, and picnic tables.  There are even some "porch" swings that looked very inviting.  These pictures were taken from the upper level.

After this walk I had lunch at the Boll Weevil Bakery.  The grilled steak on my salad was excellent and I tried a piece of Key Lime Pie with whipped cream and raspberry sauce.  It was good .... very rich and way too big a piece.  All I really wanted was a bite .... where was my son when I needed him?  ha.




Some of the sights I saw before lunch ....

 
The Confederate Monument -  soars 76 feet tall. It has a granite base topped by a shaft of pure Italian marble. The monument was commissioned by the Ladies Memorial Association of Augusta in 1875 at the cost of $17,331.35, a princely sum at that time.
Around the base of the monument are the life-size statues of four Southern generals in the War Between the States: Thomas R. R. Cobb, Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and William Henry Talbot. A Confederate private is depicted at the top of the shaft. The model for this statue was Private Berry Benson of Augusta. An inscription at the base reads, "In honor of the men of Richmond County who died in the cause of the Confederate States." A crowd of 10,000 people turned out for the dedication of the monument on Oct. 32, 1878.

The James Brown statue - The Godfather of Soul called Augusta home until his death in 2006.

I also drove by the Sibley MIll & Confederate Powder Works - built at the beginning of the Civil War because Confederate armies had a really hard time getting their hands on gunpowder supplies. Beginning in 1862, the powder works stretched for two miles and continued operations until 1865, producing nearly 3 million pounds of gunpowder.


  
There was a very interesting tour of the Boyhood Home of Woodrow Wilson. It turned out to be a private tour, as I was the only one taking it at the time.  I enjoy these lesser tours of the libraries and homes as I find out interesting things about famous people .... Woodrow Wilson's first name was actually Thomas.  He dropped it when he went away to school (the "school" is now Princeton, of which he was president) because his mother didn't think Thomas or Tommy was mature enough of a name.  Woodrow was actually her maiden name.  His father was minister of the First Presbyterian Church, which was used as a field hospital during the Civil War.  The house is across the street from the church, so starting at about age 4, Woodrow Wilson watched from the upstairs window the wounded solders laying in the yard of the church and hearing their screams.  Can you imagine?  It was the reason he was so reluctant to enter the US into the World War when he became president.

Let's see .... I had a nice (private again :)) tour of St. Paul's Episcopal Church.  They even gave me a copy of their church cookbook and a couple of CDs of their choir.  Built in 1750, Saint Paul's Church has been the site of many historical moments. The church has housed refugees during the French and Indian War, was used as a hospital during the American Revolution, and it was used for public meetings when Augusta was Georgia's capital. The original church building was destroyed and the current building was created in 1919 with a Georgian Colonial facade.

And the Great Fire of 1916 -

Sacred Heart Catholic Church was really beautiful - inside and out .... The cornerstone was set in place on February 20, 1898 and the first service was held on December 2, 1900.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church outside

 They nicknamed Augusta the city of churches and the name fits.  There seems to be one on every corner and in every block downtown.














On my way back to Dreher State Park, on I-20, traveling about 78 mph .... I look over at the vehicle in the lane on my passenger side and the driver is holding a can of beer.  Well, Dorothy, I guess this isn't Kansas.  ha.