It is a beautiful sunny, cool day (about 68 degrees with a nice breeze) so I set off to drive to McRae, about 60 miles away. Little did I know that Georgia was hosting the Peaches to Beaches yard sale ... OMG ... it runs all the way to Brunswick on the coast. The streets and highways are lined for 100 miles with tables, pop-ups and people ... masses of people and cars. It was slow going; at a stand-still several stops along the way.
I stated out on the Unadilla Highway 230 to see some of the back-road area of Georgia, but when I drove as far as Hawkinsville, the yard sale started. I didn't find out what was going on until I stopped for gas and asked the clerk. Apparently this is a much-anticipated annual event.
Anyway, I finally made it to McRae to see the Junk Statue of Liberty - created in 1986, a gift to the town from the Lions Club. It is approximately 35 feet from ground to torch ... made from polystyrene, a tree stump and other recycled materials covered in green paint. The statue's head was carved, using a chainsaw, from a tree stump.
No, I don't make this stuff up. ha.
Moving on to Ashburn and the World's Largest Peanut. The brainchild of A.R. Smith, Jr., this monstrous goober is a symbol of Georgia's position as the top peanut-producing state in the union. It is 20 feet and made of fiberglass.
And now Jimmy Carter - Plains, Georgia is VERY proud of their President. I stopped at the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site and got my passport stamp. This is actually located in the Plains High School where Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter both attended grammar and high school. There are exhibits on both of the Carter's life and career. Since I have already been to the site in Atlanta, some of this was duplicated.
You can also visit the Plains Depot, Carter boyhood farm and home, and the Carter home they built in 1960, among other sites, including Billy's gas station.And this beauty - created by Democrats in Indiana for a Jimmy carter visit during his presidential campaign, this 13 ft peanut pays homage to the former president's peanut farming background and toothy grin. It was subsequently given to the president.
Georgia has good roads and my GPS didn't send me on any wild goose-chases, so it was a good drive.
OK, so here is a "fun" story ... I pulled into my campsite about dusk and as I'm getting into my coach I hear a lady a couple rows over calling to me for help. She is laying on the ground butt-naked .... apparently she was changing her pants and fell out the door and couldn't get up. She had been there awhile. A garbage bag of trash helped break her fall (it came out the door with her). She said she weighed about 250 lbs and had both knees operated on, so wasn't much help in standing. What to do.
I don't know how long this took, but here's the sequence of events: I went into the coach and found her pants; by rolling this way and that, I was able to help get the pants up high enough to cover the important parts; the couple from the next row came over and the husband helped get her standing and into the coach; I picked up the trash scattered all over the ground and carried it to the dumpster. I'm sure she was grateful.
Just another day living the dream ....
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