A Georgia Story

The seventh day of our virtual road trip takes us north from Florida to Georgia. It’s a good thing we aren’t on an actual road trip in that part of the country right now, what with Hurricane Matthew and all!

I only remember being in Georgia a couple of times when I had a layover in the Atlanta airport. I remember taking a red-eye flight to my MawMaw’s funeral from Spokane, Washington to New Orleans in 2009. The girls and I had 4 different flights and were in a total of 5 airports that night. The last stop before New Orleans was Atlanta at about 5:00 in the morning. I was so tired that I wasn’t even sure where we were when got off the plane. I was just hunting for the nearest coffee shop. Then a voice came over the loudspeaker: “Welcome to Atlanta!” Even if he hadn’t said so, I think I would’ve known we were in Georgia because he sounded just like Jimmy Carter!

Since that’s the extent of my story for Georgia, I asked my friend Michael Ann if she would share a little about her home state with us.

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Karla: Thank you so much for helping out with my state series, Michael Ann.

Michael Ann: Thanks for inviting me to help!  I’m looking forward to your series!

Karla: How long have you lived in Georgia?

Michael Ann: All of my growing up years were here in Georgia.  I then got married to my sweet Air Force man, and we lived away from Georgia for over 20 years.  We came back to  Georgia in 2010 for our final assignment and then retired here.  Do the math, and I’ve lived in Georgia for about 26 years!

Karla: What do you like about living in Georgia?

Michael Ann: I like that I can get to the mountains, the beach, or swamps in just a few hours.  Georgia offers a lot itself and is central to a lot of other places.  The toughest part about living in Georgia is the brutal summertime heat and humidity.

Karla: What’s your favorite memory in Georgia?

Michael Ann: An old favorite memory is going to the Okefenokee Swamp Park with my family over and over and over again!  We knew the names of several of the alligators, and we had the boat tour memorized.  The Okefenokee is a beautiful, fascinating place.

A new favorite memory is kayaking at George L. Smith State Park.  It features a cypress-filled lake that looks just like a post card!  I had never heard of kayak trails, but this place has THREE!

I’ve also enjoyed getting to know my new home, Savannah.  The houses are gorgeous, and the FOOD!  Oh, the FOOD!

Karla: If I were to visit you, what would you take me to see?

Michael Ann: We’d begin with seeing Savannah since it’s right here.  We’d take the Architecture (Walking) Tour because it’s fascinating and includes a lot of Savannah’s history.

If you had more time, we’d go to the beach, George L. Smith State Park, or the Okefenokee Swamp Park.  And if you could stay for a while, we could do a little road trip to Macon or Atlanta.

Karla: Sounds lovely! I might take that as an invitation and just show up on your doorstep one of these days. (Not really. I’d call first.)

Michael Ann is a Georgia native, Air Force wife & mom, retired homeschool teacher, and lover of books and sweet tea.  Her natural habitat is in the kitchen or on the sofa, but she enjoys being outside once she gets there.  She and her husband travel as often as they can, and they enjoy camping, hiking, and kayaking. You may remember that she guest-posted for me last fall telling about her work with the USO. She blogs at outandback.live. Her Write 31 Days series is Michael Ann’s Kitchen.

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Have you been to Georgia? If so, please share a memory in the comments! That will make this series even more fun!