From the Past to the Very Present

Beginning each day with a good breakfast took on a new meaning today....

Breakfast is done right in the Embassy Suites.  Beginning the day with grits, bacon, and eggs--along with Atlanta's favorite soft drink--proved just the ticket for a gal who was going to venture into the past and into the present, all in one day.

The past took the form of the Atlanta History Center (AHC).  Rain falling lightly led to the decision to journey to the AHC via taxi-cab.  Our driver, Malore, hailed from Ethiopia and had only been in the U.S. for just over a year.  His English was not so good, but he was very friendly.  He delivered us to the cobblestone driveway of the AHC in short order, and we were soon stepping into the first gallery, a look at Atlanta through the ages.

To their credit, the AHC did not try to sugar-coat Atlanta's past.  Original bills of sale for slaves were on display early in the exhibit, not hidden away in some corner but right there, front and center.  Thought-provoking and more than a little gut-wrenching. 

The girls take their history in slow, easy bites.

Still, the real emphasis of the exhibit focused on Atlanta's rise as part of the New South.  The recovery from the war, the aggressive business growth, and an enthusiastic re-entry into the nationwide economy brought Atlanta to the center of Georgian life and also led to the move of the state capital from Milledgeville to Atlanta.  World War II brought new opportunities for growth, including the establishment of a huge airplane factory in nearby Marietta.  Film footage showed Margaret Mitchell (a leftover from yesterday's history lesson) christening the battleship Atlanta.  When it was sunk at Guadalcanal, the citizens of Atlanta, led by the city's mayor, Hartsfield, and the indomitable Miss Mitchell, raised enough money to build a new battleship--and a spare.  Pretty impressive!

What a ride!

Leaving the exhibit on Atlanta, we meandered over to the exhibit dedicated to the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Summer Games.  Remember that annoying little gymnast who broke her ankle but hopped over the vault anyway?  Ugh!  But there were lots of interesting things to see from the games, and a trivia contest that included a question about Johnny Weismuller.  And, yes, I know who Johnny Weismuller was!

Yvette takes the GOLD!

The next exhibit tackled the touchy subject of the Civil War.  The exhibit structure followed the course of the war year by year, with the initial portion focusing on the causes of the war.  I could see that the museum curators were careful in presenting a balanced perspective, presenting the views of each side, but really not acknowledging too strongly that Confederate leaders fought to preserve their slave labor system.  The only jarring note was the language used to explain Lincoln's war measures during the first two years of the conflict, including conscription, emancipation, and the imprisonment of political dissidents.  The way the exhibit used these terms made them sound like terribly harsh actions, taken only because the U.S. wanted to win the war at all costs.  Never mind that Jefferson Davis initiated the draft in the South--and this in direct opposition to what he later claimed to be his reason for leaving the Union, the cause of state sovereignty over that of a federal government.  Damn, I'm such a Yankee!

The Civil War exhibit included an amazing number of artifacts, including lots and lots of guns, canteens, and uniforms.  Those nineteenth-century people impress me with their dedication to preserving history.  They knew they were in a life-altering time, and they did all they could to preserve their memories of it for themselves and for us.

I'm thinking about bringing some of these back
into everyday language

An understatement, but at least it got a mention

Me and my research interest!

I took exception to the "amateur historian" from California
who wanted to see more in the museum about battle
tactics of Generals Johnston and Jackson.  I should have
added that I graduated summa cum laude!  I'm such a snob.

Once we finished with the Civil War exhibit, we passed by the Bobby Jones golf exhibit with a mere nod in Bobby's direction.  Out the doors and into the garden went Yvette and I, far behind Maddie and Heidi who, by this point, had explored all over the gardens and other buildings in the AHC complex.  We grown-ups walked to the Inman house, enjoying the deep, lush, forest that separates the actual museum from the several other buildings.

Yvette and I look just right in this setting, don't we?

The Inman house was built in the late 1920's for a wealthy Atlanta capitalist.  The house was moved from its original location to its current site on the grounds of the AHC; a lot of the original furnishings came with the house as well. 

Now, I know what I'm about to write will astonish some of my history friends, but there were docents engaged in "living history" in the Inman house.  Shocking, I know, but I have to say that I enjoy these actors.  There was a butler and a cook on the first floor of the Inman home, and the house's architect greeted us at the top of the stairs on the second floor.

Heidi found a copy of Heidi

The home truly was beautiful--so very early 1930s that I could have lived there happily myself.  Intricate Italian plastered ceilings, shiny appliances in the kitchen, and, of course, a library full of books.  I enjoyed the kitchen and butler's pantry the most, especially when the cook said that Mrs. Inman did not let the children eat at the dining room table because of their poor manners; they have to eat in the butler's pantry.  Shades of Mr. Carson!

At this point in my blog, I must discuss my BFF Yvette and her case of Min-Min Disease.  Our old cat, Minnie, is frightened by everything.  So is Yvette--recall, if you will, her shouting yesterday at the World of Coca Cola 4-D movie.  Today, Yvette's Min-Min Disease came on her as we walked through the forest from the Inman house to another location on the AHC property.  Stepping into a particularly slushy part of the dirt (mud!) pathway, Yvette could feel herself sinking.  Startled, she shouted out that she had stepped in....

Quick Sand!

Seriously, this Min-Min Disease is potentially dangerous--you could die laughing!

Also on the AHC property was the Tullie Smith house. This little frame home, circa 1845, was also one removed from its original location to the AHC.  It, too, had "living history" people, although I didn't interact with them. It sported a separate kitchen, a blacksmith shop, a lumber shop, some chickens in a coop, a working vegetable garden, a corn crop, and some noisy sheep. Also among the outbuildings of the Tullie Smith farm was a little house for the slaves, whitewashed inside, simple, and not very big for a farm that had 12 slaves at one point.

Maddie and Blackjack

Back into the grounds, we stumbled upon a little statue of an elephant.  These pics are obviously for Grandma....

By this point, my grits-eggs-bacon breakfast was beginning to wear off.  Happily, the Swan Coach House was nearby.  This proved to be something of an upscale venue, and we definitely looked like the country cousins come to visit. 

Mrs. Inman would have made Madeline eat in the butler's pantry

The dainty little lunch, though, was absolute perfection.  I had wonderful chicken noodle soup with little tea sandwiches.  For dessert, the treat pictured below:

Meringue on the bottom, chocolate mousse in the
middle, covered with Chantilly cream, and shaped like a swan--heaven!

After lunch, it was a quick stop at the gift shop (where I purchased an autographed edition of H. W. Brands biography of U.S. Grant!!), then back into a cab for the return to downtown.

Now, I have heard that the MARTA system has been referred to as "Moving Africans Rapidly Through Atlanta."  Having gone to-and-from the AHC in cabs, I believe that what actually happens is that "Africans Moved Us Rapidly Through Atlanta."  This cab driver was from Kenya and his name was Yamore.  Again, a very nice fellow. 

Our next stop was the world headquarters of CNN for the Inside CNN tour.  Now, while the tour was interesting, it certainly wasn't "inside."  We saw none of the famous CNN anchors or reporters, and the main studio was not even in use as Wolf and Anderson were reporting from Washington and New York respectively.  Still, I'm glad we did it.  The lay-out of the place was worth going in, if nothing else.

The inside of the building is one giant round room that reaches up at least ten stories.  All of the offices and studios are built on the sides and the entire bottom is one never-ending food court.  The girls managed to locate the one and only Taco Bell we've seen since our arrival--and they committed sacrilege by partaking of....don't repeat this...shhhh....Pepsi products!  I was mortified!

Back to the hotel after the Taco Bell was consumed, just in time for Happy Hour in the lobby.

   

I'm tuckered out tonight and running out of patience.  I made the mistake of looking at work emails, and that has bummed me a bit.  I'll need an evening to get back in the vacation mood, to get back in the  moment, before we take off for Stone Mountain tomorrow.  We're back in the room now, all snuggled in and watching (gasp!) Say Yes to the Dress.  Yvette is having quite the detrimental effect on us.

Enough for tonight.  My hair is weighing me down....