Paradise Gardens - Part 3...

Yep, Howard Finster is still a big part of our interests as of late at Casa Keene-Carrington.  Brady just completed a class presentation on our trip there and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that someone will host the documentary film Paradise Gardens again soon since I missed it last time when it showed in Atlanta...

Other than that we've been busy at work (duh, the usual) but it feels different since every dime is going toward our upcoming trip.  I do promise to try to catch up on my old emails and get in touch with you lovely folks about places to see in Europe.  We're still taking recommendations!  Germany, France (tentatively), Barcelona, Switzerland, Prague, Austria, Budapest, the UK, Iceland, Belgium and maybe Copenhagen if we have time.  *happy dance*

And I've been culling the house goods like mad since our move is now days away.  *gulp*  I haven't been too stressed about it though since we are moving literally mere yards from our current location...

Brady graduates next weekend and we've got a lot going on between now and then so this blog will probably be radio silent for a while yet again.  I do hope all y'all have a lovely day!

Road Side Finds: Religious Iconography...

Here's a little back story about me.  When I was growing up it was very, very, very important to know where folks went to church.  I didn't know why, and still don't really, but that was the ways of the small southern town in which I lived.  Myself, I grew up without any real religion for the early years of my life and then my parents found Jesus and things changed.  Without delving too far into that past, let me just say that the churches I attended (or were forced to attend because I was too young to have a say in whether I wanted to go or not) were mighty heavy on the hell fire and brimstone instead of love and understanding.  Agape?  No way.  Not in any of those places. 

I left the church as time went on and instead became immersed in a completely different world where music was religion and the Grateful Dead my savior.  I almost didn't pass my Senior year in high school because I went on an adventure in a VW Van selling veggie bagels in the crowded, chaotic parking lots of various shows - the Dead, H.O.R.D.E., Widespread, Phish.  I was a hippie kid.  Totally.  Those interests faded with time, as did my love for much of that music except for some classic Dead, and I became a staunch but not overly vocal Atheist.  Yadiyadaya.  Today's Jennifer, after receiving that oh-so-used-in-the-bakery-business B.A. in Religious Studies years ago, is more of a Possibilitist (yes, I made that term up and you can read more here) with a great interest for the religious works found painted, printed or put up in lights in the towns, fields and back roads of rural Georgia.  Here are a few I found as of late...

Almost every trip we pass by at least two or three signs or paintings that I think 'hey, I need to come back here and take pictures'!  Yes, religious iconography is rampant in the south but the types of imagery found here seems to be waning in order to be replaced by a much angrier, divisive set of rules and depictions.  There's a whole set of billboards with an smiteful Jesus in front a pretty graphic worn torn background talking about the end being nigh due to religious tolerance aka accepting other faiths.  Has anyone seen them on the highways here in GA?  While I'm not a great believer in religion as a concept, I'm a firm believer that we could all use a little self-sacrifice and devotion to each other and a little less fear and anger and, well, yes, smiting.  Don't you?

I'm going to continue to try to capture images like these when I can and before they're gone...

Atlanta History Center...

Brady has an internship in Atlanta this semester and his first meeting was last week on a very stormy day.  A day that I decided to drive with him to explore the Atlanta History Center.  A day that will live in infamy as the day that I careened into what seemed to be a lake in the middle of the road near downtown Decatur...at 45mph...while other folks drove at 75mph and almost killed us all.  Needless to say, by the time I got to my final destination of the AHC I was thankful to be on solid, albeit flooded, ground that I wasn't driving on.  I was also thankful that there was an exhibit on folk art in the ever changing south.

The exhibit was extensive and I spent several hours in there listening to old stories including one about a talking ghost dog that was hilarious.  In the music section there was a whole faux chapel set up for shape note singing which is something I grew up with in my youth and despite my lack of religious affiliation I still find the hymns something beyond beautiful to hear...

Hand-in-hand with stories and singing go quilting and weaving and stitching.  Quilting bees and the motif of quilts often gave women a chance to mingle and to express themselves and commemorate events. The ladies in the picture above were from the Collins family, a big part of the weaving community in a small town here in GA and the possessors of some mighty fine hats.  They never sold their work (the blanket in the picture was gifted to AHC) but they did enter the occasional item in textile competitions in Atlanta where they inevitably won.

There were also exhibits on basket weaving (I dream of owning a sweetgrass basket), sun bonnets, net casting, embroidery, lace making and so much more.  Oh, and pottery!  I love folk art pottery.  My learnings from the The Folk Pottery Museum came in handy on this adventure and I tried to identify styles and makers without looking at the information plaques.  Alas, I didn't fair too well but I had fun refreshing my memory...

There was an excellent display on 'modern' folk art and it focused not only with innovators in the field as well as the controversies that arise from different factions of artists but also how the immigrating population has infused southern folk art with their own cultural art.  I loved this part!  And I loved the paper planes that were displayed as part of the changing faces of old traditions...

The torrential rain meant that some of the outside exhibits and interactions weren't really open to the public.  But when the weather let up for a minute I walked around the historical farm and snapped just a few shots before it began raining again.  I cannot wait to go back and explore some more!

If you're in Atlanta for the day I highly recommend that you stop by the AHC and spend a few hours looking around.  There are lots of exhibits I didn't feature in this post including an Olympic display, a Civil War piece, Native Americans in GA (which a bit lean but had a great collection of brief documentaries that played) and one on some famous golf guy.  I skipped all those but the Native American one because the museum closes at 5.30pm and between the rain and an out-of-the-way trip to Revolution Donuts, I was very limited on time.  But, hey, vegan vanilla bean DONUTS!  It was totally worth it...

Toccoa Falls...

After having to be very careful about lifting, moving and, well, almost everything for several weeks, I finally got clearance from the doctor to get back in the swing of things full force.  For me, that kind of talk means only one thing - road trip!  You'd never seen a happier person behind the wheel of a tiny Kia in all your life.  I knew that I wanted to go up to North Georgia where it was cooler (a bit) and see some waterfalls and hike and maybe have some pizza.  I did it all, y'all.  I did it all...

Can you believe this waterfall?  In Georgia?  Toccoa Falls are the tallest east of the Mississippi...even taller than Niagra Falls.  There's not much hiking to get to them.  In fact, you pay $2 at the Toccoa Falls College bookstore then mosey out back and then you're gawping at the falls.  Easy peasy and pretty for those looking for a relaxing hour or so.  For us it just whet our appetite to do some real moderate hiking before the rain rolled in.  Alas, our adventures took a different turn than expected but that's for another time...

We did relax and take it all in though...no doubt about that.  The flora and fauna were quite varied due to the mist from the falls.  And there was no one there but us!

The falls are only about 45 minutes from Athens but there is nothing else to see in Toccoa for the most part other than some Civil War sites (not my thing).  It's a great beginning stop if you're heading to Tallulah Gorge / Falls, Lake Rabun and Black Rock Mountain.

Road trips, y'all.  I love them so much!

Sawnee Mountain Preserve...

Brady and I had to severely curtail our traveling adventures for the last few weeks due to work and family obligations, and due to the fact that I've been ill for a while.  Luckily, we were able to get out of the house this week and not only kayak the Broad River again but also spend the day roadtrippin' about 1 1/2 hours northwest of Athens.  There was food - Persian/Greek hybrid attached to a sketchy gas station (awesome!) as well as donuts (oh my fucking god, they were so good after 2 weeks of almost nothing but coconut water and split pea soup) - and then some mild hiking to Sawnee Mountain Preserve...

Sawnee Mountain is named after a Native American Creek who lived in the area and made it a point to help the settlers, well, settle in.  Unfortunately, his kindness didn't do him any favors, and he and his family were eventually forced onto the Trail Of Tears where they perished like so many Native Americans during the time.  The mountain that bears his name is now home to spectacular views and a state of the art information center, and is the site of numerous Cherokee spiritual rituals that illustrate the history and heritage of the people that live/lived there.  It's both honoring and supporting a culture that has seen, and still sees, a good deal of tragedy, misunderstanding and misappropriation...

Once you get to the top of the mountain you find the Indian Seats where changes in the rock resemble chairs and you can sit out suspended over nothing.  They're also used in some of the Native American ceremonies.  See the outcropping in the above picture?  That's one of them...

I can't believe how I climbed all over this mountain and stood on wobbly rocks to take in the view.  For someone whose been terrified of heights for years now, I think I've made some vast improvements.  Maybe it was just the mountain/adventure itself since it was so quiet (we saw no one during our 1 hour+ hike) and serene and full of things to see like snake sheddings and brilliant bird feathers.  Oh, and huge ants.  Giant.  Scary.  Stay away from me.  Allergic!  Not serene.  But other than those, yes, just perfect.

Arabia Mountain, Atlanta...

It was a hot, blustery day about a week ago and we were at a bit of a loss as where to go for our roadtrip adventure.

Too lazy to drive far?  Check.

Broke and needed something free/cheap?  Check.

Quiet place without hordes of crowds?  Check.

The answer to our search was the lovely and desolate Arabia Mountain area...

Arabia Mountain is older than Stone Mountain, which is a major tourist attraction here in Georgia, and is considered somewhat of a secret.  I can see why since there isn't too much to do other than hike/bike but this kind of thing is just perfect for us.  The sky seemed huge up there on the mountain...reminding us of Montana and Wyoming just a bit.  I wish I was a better photographer so the picture would really tell the story of how big the view can be. 

Let is be said, however, that photos don't capture the sound of wind rushing through the brush and trees and that was something I won't forget.  It sounded like a cross between a burbling creek and a grade school recorder/flute.  It matched the vista just right...

We spent most of our time hiking the mountain but there were also several abandoned quarries that we spent just a few minutes in since they were too spooky and too hot, as well as an animal rehabilitation program that we were immediately denied entry to.  Turns out we wandered onto that property a bit by accident!  Oops!

Oh, and there is something that grows up on the mountain that is unique to Georgia, rare and only in rocky outcroppings - diamorpha!  Also known as elf opine, this plant is quickly becoming endangered and there were notices about being very careful when hiking as to not disturb the growths.  It appeared that most people have heeded the advice but we did some damage to areas where the diamorpha lay dormant.  *don't like*

And you may be wondering what the heck the dome/cairn things are in the first picture?  Arabia Mountain is pretty big and most areas really look similar so they have the piles of rock there as a guide.  Even with them there you can easily get turned around if you wander too far from them...

We ended up the day with a bit of sunburn and windburn but our tummies full of some seriously good Thai eats we found in a very out-of-the-way location.  Gah, that basil fried rice we had haunts my food dreams!

New Orleans - Metairie Cemetery...

This cemetery is one of my favorites ever in the whole entire world!  The first being Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, of course.  While St. Louis #1 had the history that caught my attention, this cemetery had the type of iconography and ornamentation that I absolutely love.  

With the sky overcast and threatening rain the few colors found around seemed to stand out in even more stark relief against the dark marble obelisks and tombstones.  The purple of the Vitex Bush.  The red of clay accents.  The stark white of a lingering bloom on a funeral bouquet.  The gold of a 70 year old display behind glass in a still used family tomb.  The green of tarnished copper...

You can find a brief history of how the cemetery came to be here.  From racetrack to grandiose graves.  Madams and dignitaries and heroes and the everyday average folks.  This place has it all...