Tag: Azaleas

State 8:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride!

I will be featuring the states alphabetically and the next state is my home state!

Georgia

Georgia was one of the original 13 colonies and became the 4th  state on January 2, 1788. The capital is Atlanta where the capital dome is covered in gold leaf from the Georgia Gold Rush in Dahlonega during the 1830’s.

I was born in Georgia but did not grow up here. When I was a child, our summer vacations were spent visiting relatives in middle Georgia where my mother grew up.  I first moved to Georgia as a freshman at the University of Georgia in Athens and I’ve lived in the state ever since. Even when we are wandering I always have Georgia on my mind.

I’m afraid I won’t be able to do our state justice. How I condense a lifetime of memories into one post?

With the city of Atlanta, the north Georgia mountains, National Wildlife Refuges and National Forests, The Okefenokee Swamp, peach and pecan groves, cotton fields, lakes and streams, the Grand Canyon of Georgia, Athens the Classic City, Stone Mountain, antebellum homes, historical lighthouses, salt marshes, barrier islands, beautiful beaches, friendly small towns, and many historic sites Georgia has much to offer. And did I mention the delicious sweet tea, barbeque, grits, fried green tomatoes, fried chicken, low country boil, fresh wild Georgia shrimp and blue crabs, peach cobbler, banana pudding, and all the other amazing food around the state?

Unfortunately I am missing photos from many places around the state. No matter where you go there are interesting things to see and do in the Peach State.

Georgia is the Peach State and Peach County produces many of those peaches. There is nothing in the world that’s better than a fresh Georgia peach plucked right from the tree when it is perfectly ripe in the summer time. You know it’s perfect when you bite into it and the nectar drips down your chin and all over your hands. And fresh peach cobbler is a staple around our house when the peaches are in season.

In Georgia, you can watch the sun rise over the Atlantic Ocean or watch the sunset over one of the Georgia’s many lakes.

Sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean

Sunset over Lake Seminole at Eastbank Campground

Nothing says springtime in Georgia like azaleas, peach blossoms,  and flowering dogwoods.

Peach Blossoms in Georgia

Wild Dogwoods

Georgia Azaleas under Live Oak Tree

With ancient live oak trees dripping with Spanish Moss, squares, a beautiful historic district, museums, historic forts, and one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the United States, Savannah is a popular vacation destination.

Forsyth Park Fountain in Savannah, Georgia

Steam Engine at the Georgia Railroad Museum

Ft. Puaski National Monument is a landmark visible from the highway as you travel east from Savannah to Tybee Island, GA

Historic stone steps leading to River Street

Three lighthouses protecting the Georgia Coast are accessible to the public. The Tybee Island Light Station is the tallest lighthouse in Georgia.

A trail at Fort Pulaski National Monument winds through palmettos for a close up view of the Cockspur Island Lighthouse.

The St. Simons Island Lighthouse was rebuilt after it was destroyed by the Union Army during the War between the States.

Joel Chandler Harris, Alice Walker, and Flannery O’Connor are just a few of the writers from Georgia. The Uncle Remus Museum in Eatonton celebrates the creator of Brer Rabbit, Joel Chandler Harris.

Georgia also has a close connection with the film industry. Many movies and tv shows have been filmed in Georgia. Oliver Hardy was one of the stars who was born in Georgia.

You know your shrimp is fresh when you see the shrimp boats that caught them.

Atlanta is the capital and the home to companies such as Coca Cola, UPS and Delta Airlines. Atlanta also hosted the Centennial Olympic Games in 1996.

The birds and other wildlife are abundant all over the state.

Great Egret with chicks

Wood Storks building a nest

Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin near Tybee Island, Georgia

Turtle in the Okefenokee Swamp

Baby Gator on Lilly Pad

Butterflies and Blooms Tiger Swallowtail

White Tail Deer

The Iron Horse was originally placed on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens and later moved to the middle of a field near Greensboro.

We Georgians love our sports teams! When we travel in our fifth wheel, there is no doubt which college team we support!  How bout them Dawgs!

As I put the finishing touches on this post the Atlanta Falcons are preparing to take on the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl in Houston.  Go Falcons!

To read previous posts about the states featured in this series just click on the state name: Alabama      Alaska      Arizona      Arkansas      California      Colorado     Florida