This Civil Rights Tour was planned in Matt's mind over the last few years, but never followed through on. Matt looked at the dates of Spring Break and after some rearranging (7 misc. appointments for the kids!) and persuasion (I really wasn't looking forward to this trip. So much driving, lots of history and hard lessons, big cities, just to name a few things!) , we booked our hotels and started making plans on paper.
We left after school on March 23rd (Alex's Birthday). Our goal was to drive to Clarksville, TN for the night. It rained most of the drive south.
The rain cleared up enough for us to stretch our legs in Metropolis, IL -- the birthday girl was asleep in the van when we arrived, but that didn't stop the rest of us from getting out and seeing some Superman stuff!
One of the few remaining Phone Booths in America, Ha!
Our next quick stop was across the border in Paducah, KY. Whitehaven was lit up beautifully - a little different than we'd seen it 18 years before.
We found our hotel well after midnight and hit the beds hard - knowing that we'd be up early for a full day on the 24th.
We started out Saturday morning with two quick State Sign Photos. We've been in Kentucky a couple of times but missed each opportunity to snag a picture. First time for Tennessee for all of the kids.
Nashville, TN -
"Student leaders confronted Nashville's mayor on the steps of the courthouse after months of lunch counter sit-ins and economic boycotts to protest segregation. Witness Walls is inspired by these events and people."
There was an anti-gun protest going on just a block away from here when we arrived. There wasn't any parking to be had, and some roads were blocked off altogether. Matt dropped us off and the kids and I walked up to Witness Walls. It was a moving tribute to the sit-ins performed in Nashville.
We walked back to the corner, looking for Matt to come around the block to pick us up. Maddie enjoyed the flowers while we waited.
Our first of MANY Historical Markers. The Fifth Avenue Woolworth, where a number of successful sit-ins happened. They served as a model for later demonstrations that happened throughout the South
We left Nashville and headed south towards Chattanooga to see Lookout Mountain.
Along the way, we passed this rest area - a piece of Barman history! When we traveled to Florida (when I was in high school), we stopped at this rest stop for a quick break. Thanks to one of our family members (they know who they are!!) locking the keys in the car, our quick break turned in to a long stop! Don't worry though, it all worked out!
We drove to Lookout Mountain - enjoying the mountains as we headed south from Nashville.
It was cloudy/overcast and hard to truly enjoy the view. Matt had visited Lookout Mtn with his mom when he was the kids' age. He was able to share the history of the importance of Lookout Mountain during the Civil War with us. It is hard to imagine a battle being fought - the fear of those coming up the mountain as they hear the cannons being shot at them.
Matt wanted to re-enact a picture from his first visit...
Will had fun stepping in to the frame...
The three are trying hard to hide the "museum" sign...evidently they didn't want to see the museum! We ended up walking down that path for a while though.
The kids loved jumping around on the rocks - of course we asked them to pose for some pictures...
We found
Umbrella Rock. Matt's Great-Grandfather, Frank Hiram Hart, had his picture taken with a couple of other men perched on top of this rock back in the 1930's/40's.
It doesn't look too scary from this angle (and it is impossible to get a good shot of it, as there is now a stone/brick wall right next to Umbrella Rock).
I've included two older pictures (taken before the fence was put up to keep people away from climbing on the rock). The first one is of Frank (middle) with two friends. Notice the river underneath. The second picture is one I found online - absolutely nuts!!!
We asked the kids to sit on this rock outcropping for a quick picture...and then they had some fun!
Lion King (when Scar kills Mufasa)
And Titanic...
We hadn't laughed that hard in a long time.
We drove down the mountain and headed for lunch - next stop Georgia! (Ironically, we had already driven in and out of Georgia on Interstate 24). We found the Georgia sign - probably one of the scariest stops yet. The stop itself was fine. Getting back in to traffic, not so fine!
Welcome to Atlanta!
We drove around Atlanta to Stone Mountain Park - another spot Matt visited with his mom during that same trip to Lookout Mountain (back in the mid-1990's). We arrived just after 5:00 - the park was still open but the attractions were shut down. It was nice not having the option as we still felt we had a lot to do before calling it a day.
We drove into the heart of Atlanta to visit the Jimmy Carter Library/Museum (closed for the night). We were blessed with an open parking lot and grounds that we could walk around and enjoy. It was in the middle of the city - but so peaceful and serene.
We saw lots of these bushes/trees - completely pruned back for the season. We found them interesting - maybe someone can clue us in on the name of these (I tried to Google it, but no luck).
I took a series of pictures of the kids standing on the steps in front of the library. Unfortunately, there were a few bees enjoying their evening meal and the kids kept freaking out. Here's a shot to prove it! Rather funny if you ask me!
Our itinerary for the trip was always "shifting". We held loosely to our plans as we knew that some of the places were only open for a few hours. When we hit Atlanta after 5:00, we knew that everything we planned for Saturday would need to be moved to Sunday. We didn't mind walking around the Carter Presidential Center (and not going inside), but we were fearful that we would lose out on a lot of time because of a late start on Sunday (The MLK Center was already closed and wouldn't open again until 10 the next morning). We didn't want to scratch that one off of our list, but we knew that waiting until Sunday would really hurt the rest of our trip. We decided to drive to the Martin Luther King National Historical Park in hopes that we could walk around and see some of the buildings. God blessed this decision - even gave us an open parking lot to park in! We walked the tour and thoroughly enjoyed our time of learning and reflection.
Ebenezer Baptist Church - where MLK and his father both pastored.
Totally unplanned, we were visiting many of these sites on or near anniversaries. MLK was shot and killed on April 4th, 1968. Many places we visited were preparing for ceremonies and events to honor his life and legacy - 50 years later.
Martin Luther & Coretta Scott King's Final Resting Place - Including an Eternal Flame.
Fire Station #6 - just a few doors down from MLK's house. He would often play basketball with his friends behind the station. At that time, only white men were allowed to be firemen. The Atlanta Fire Department was integrated in 1963 when sixteen blacks were hired.
The kids in front of MLK's Childhood Home
While our initial plan had included touring the home and Ebenezer Church (as well as the Visitor's Center), we were thrilled to see what we did see. We left the MLK National Historic Site and headed downtown to visit Centennial Park.
One can't go to Atlanta without snapping a few pictures of "World of Coca-Cola"!
Like Nashville, it was chaos downtown Atlanta (no parking spots, streets closed, people, officers)! We drove around Centennial Olympic Park a few times, all the while looking for a parking place. We knew that we would only be there for a few minutes (just long enough to walk through the park and take some pictures). We really didn't want to find a parking garage or pay a lot to park. We saw a sign while driving around, advertising the Final Four NCAA Basketball Tournament. The Final Four Games were being held in Atlanta - right at the time we were driving around! So, once again, Matt dropped me and the kids at the park entrance and told us he'd meet us on the other side of the park. We kept our focus but enjoyed the park while we walked through. It is a beautiful city park!
On the other side of the park is a huge Ferris Wheel. Matt called to tell me where he was parked - right behind the Ferris Wheel! We walked by the wheel and snapped a picture of the "smaller wheel - from Las Vegas" (Despicable Me quote).
By now, we are pretty tired and VERY hungry. Maddie kept mentioning Chick-fil-A throughout the day. She wanted cheese sauce. I also promised the kids some ice cream for being such great troopers all day. Matt and I looked at all the CFAs in the Atlanta area (yeah, there are a few...) and then I had a light bulb moment. I knew of the Dwarf House (Truett Cathy's first restaurant) and thought that would be fun to visit/eat at. We looked it up, assuming it would be out of our way and would not work out for us. We were surprised and delighted when we found out that the Dwarf House was just miles away from our hotel! It was a fun way to end our night. And by the way, the southern CFAs don't carry Cheese Sauce. The cashier and manager looked at me like I had a 3rd eye when I ordered it! Maddie was a bit disappointed. Luckily, ice cream helped a bit!
Here I am, sitting with Truett Cathy - Founder of Chick-fil-A
A full day of traveling, history and site-seeing was in the books...We would get to our hotel and again crash when our heads hit the pillow! Tomorrow we head West to Alabama.
