Over Christmas Break, the Beavers had planned a trip down to Tallahassee with Tiffany’s mom. We had tentatively planned to drive through Plains on our way back, but those plans were cemented upon the news breaking of Pres. Carter’s death while we were in Florida.
I’ll ultimately share about our trip to Plains, but first, I’d love to share a quick run-down of what we did in Tallahassee, and part of it does tie into the NPS. If you want to skip to our visit to Jimmy Carter NHP, click here.
We again chose to visit Florida because of Teagan’s fourth grade project on the state. Tallahassee was a logical place to visit, being the capital and a reasonable distance away from Tiffany’s mom in Atlanta, since she was coming with us.
On our way down, we drove through the beautiful countryside of rural southwestern Georgia, taking US-27 much of the way. We stopped at a cute little general store in the small town of Bluffton, where they raise cattle and even make leather objects for sale with the hide.
Our first full day in Tallahassee, we drove around the university (FSU) for a few minutes, stopping at the stadium and at the school of music, which is where my maternal grandfather got his PhD. (My mom lived and went to first grade in Tallahassee.)
We also visited the Grove Museum, home to two former governors of Florida, located right next to the current Governor’s Mansion. This museum tells the story of these governors and their role in slavery and civil rights. It was nice to start learning here about how Tallahassee, which in 2024 celebrated its bicentennial, became the capital. In a nutshell, Florida, from the time of the British in 1763, was actually divided into West and East Florida, with a capital in Pensacola and St. Augustine, respectively. Wanting to consolidate, the US established Tallahassee in 1824 as a halfway point.
Finally, we visited Mission San Luis, a wonderful open-air museum telling the story of the Spanish and the Appalachee, who lived in this mission during the late 17th century. It was neat to see reconstructions of these missions, as in other places that we’ve visited in the area have no remaining structures. There was also a museum with some great artifacts. It struck me how big the structures were, both the Spanish and the Appalachee, as I’ve always imagined something much more primitive.
(I could mention the unfortunate plumbing issue at our AirBnB that caused a plumber to be there at the house from 9:30 pm until midnight, but I’ll focus on the positives.) (Click on any of these pictures for the full version.)
It rained the next day, so we enjoyed the opportunity to watch a movie, rest, and go make a few Christmas exchanges.
The following day, we visited the Tallahassee Museum, which is a great outdoor museum with native Florida animals, a 19th-century farm, and some other historical buildings from the 19th and early 20th centuries. We enjoyed a picnic there (the weather was perfect!) before moving on.
The one direct tie-in to the NPS is at a random building that I’m sure most people don’t know about. Tucked behind some of FSU and FAMU’s research buildings is the NPS’s Southeastern Archaeological Center, which is the center out of which they perform lots of research for the NPS sites in the southeast. There’s a passport stamping station in the lobby (even with a message like ‘Congrats! You’re one of the few people that knows about this.’) and a Junior Ranger booklet, which the girls can work on now. We talked with someone there that indicated that perhaps you could get a tour in the facility, but with it being close to the holidays, they were short-staffed.
Finally, we headed to the Florida Capitol. This was interesting, as it’s the first capitol building we’ve visited besides SC’s, so it was neat to compare. They have their working building, built in the 1970s. The historical capitol is right behind it, but it has been repurposed as a museum. (They were actually going to tear it down, but the citizens called for its restoration.) Whereas our State House in Columbia is heavy on monuments to the Confederacy and to leaders during the reinstitution of white supremacy, the Florida Capitol is different. The museum told a more inclusive story, the modern building primarily highlights things like the state symbols, and the main statue out front is simply some dolphins.
Our last morning in Tallahassee, we packed up and hit the road. Our first stop was Thomasville, GA, just across the state line. I mentioned earlier that my granddad studied at FSU. On Sundays, he would drive about an hour up the road to Thomasville, where he worked at Dawson Street Baptist Church. It was cool to make that same trip like he took years ago.
From there, it was US-19 for lots of miles through beautiful countryside. We stopped at Gladys’ Kitchen in Americus for a delicious country-style lunch. From there, it was just a few miles down the road to Plains, home of Jimmy Carter, and the reason you probably are reading this post.
From the looks of it, Plains could be any small town in the rural south. We passed what I presume to be acres of peanut fields. A peanut truck drove down the road. General stores line the historic downtown district. An old church or two are located in the town center as well. But this town is different, and this day that we visited, it was different even still.
Jimmy Carter was a man of humble beginnings. He grew up on a farm right outside of town in a primarily African-American area called Archery. He didn’t have running water or electricity initially. But you know how this story then proceeds.
He goes on to enter politics, being a senator and governor in Georgia before being our 39th president. He went on to be the longest-lived US president, celebrating his 100th birthday back in October. Well into his 90s, he continued to teach Sunday School at the local Maranatha Baptist Church, which again, could be any small Baptist church anywhere.
As fate would have it, he died while we were in Tallahassee. Our tentative plans to visit Plains turned into must-do plans. What I presume to be the sleepy town of Plains was anything but. I’m not sure what had already happened, but I know in the coming days, much will be happening.
Barriers were put up. News trucks were parked behind buildings. Cameramen were set up in various places. Given a picture on the official site, I think there must have already been a processional, potentially of his body initially passing through the town, and there will be much more to come as the official state funeral begins on the 4th. The service station where news reporters once set up camp to cover his campaign in 1976 now will (or might) serve as the place where they will cover his death. (Again, any of these pictures below can be clicked on for the full/uncropped version.)
Red bows on Christmas wreaths had been replaced with black ones. His official portrait had a black sash draped around the top. All park rangers had a black stripe placed across their badges. American flags flew downtown with a black ribbon flying on top. Messages to Carter were written on the sandwich boards of the businesses downtown. Some flowers had been left at the monument to him downtown. (Tiffany had got some to leave as well.) A wreath made out of cotton graced his boyhood home.
I’ll confess to not knowing a lot about President Carter, and if we had had much more time, I would have read more at the places we visited; however, I will push that up towards the top of my to-learn list. My mom said that my granddad would probably list him as one of his Top 5 most respected people. I know his tenure as president doesn’t get as glowing as reviews as his post-presidency, but I want to dive in more, including how he rose to prominence to begin with.
We visited the visitor center, located in the old Plains High School, where he went to school. They have a model resolute desk (which unfortunately does not contain any National Treasure clues), one of the three Grammy awards he won (side note: did you know he had won three Grammies, and is currently nominated for another? It’s for Best Audio Book), and a replica of his Nobel Peace Prize.
We also visited the Depot downtown, which was his campaign headquarters in 1976. (Why? Because it was the only building with enough capacity that also had a bathroom.)
Driving to his boyhood home out of town, we passed by where he and Rosalynn lived and are/will be buried, which is simply a house right on the main drag (albeit a little removed from the street and behind some trees). The Secret Service has lived next door, and I am curious as to what will happen now to that house.
Before leaving, we spent some time downtown. We got some peanut butter ice cream at a cute little general store. Signed copies of his books were displayed at a store nearby, but I imagine all of those will be snatched up as people (presumably) will flock to Plains in the coming days.
Overall, it was somber and moving experience. Very grateful to have gotten to go when we did. I look forward to learning more.
Beavers in the Park 