Oakland Cemetery

 We actually stumbled across this cemetery quite by accident.  We had just finished with the botanical gardens and we were driving through Atlanta when J noticed how this cemetery (just kept going and going).  We decided to stop in and investigate.  It was absolutely amazing.  We couldn't get enough in the short time we had so we came back after the we went to Zoo Atlanta, just before Emily's flight on Monday.  The pictures shown are of both times we were there.  We also were unable to cover even half of the cemetery.  We never reached the Jewish, African American, or Union soldiers sections.  We could easily spend a full two days or more to really cover the entire place.  They do offer guided tours, but because of time constraints (and Zuri who doesn't do well with sitting in one place), we didn't opt for a tour.

 

There are dozens of mausoleums--complete with gargoyles, and when you peek inside they all have beautiful stained glass windows.  The windows are protected on the outside from the elements, so you can only see the beauty on the inside. 

 Here are some other stained glass windows from other mausoleums.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is sad to see the graves for the little ones.  There were some very ornate headstones even for the infants.

We found several Wallaces....hmmm, possible relation?  There was a whole family plot (in a different section) for Wallaces.

Confederate Section:

Zuri just plopped herself down on the grass.  It was really cute.  Zuri was trying to push her way past me at one point, and Emily told her to say "excuse me, Mom."  In a very adorable voice, Zuri said " 'scuse me, Mom."  It was so cute that we laughed so hard.

Many of the headstones have really interesting things written upon them.  Here are a couple examples (see above and below).

There are more recent graves as well.  We even saw a family plot for those who are still living at this time.  It had their names and dates of birth, just no death date.  I know people do it, but it just seems kinda creepy to me--to have your name already on a tombstone while you are still living...

What trip would be complete without a couple of disasters accidents?  We had two.  Both on the same day.  Saturday, when we first went to the Oakland cemetery, Zuri and Emily were sitting on a curb wall--J was headed over to the visitors center to get a map, and I was taking a picture a few feet away.  All of a sudden Zuri gave a little shriek and started pulling at her sandals.  I looked over and she was covered in ants.  Emily and I quickly got them all off of her and the worst damage was to her left foot.  She also had bites on her other foot, on her knees and up her legs. Luckily, she wasn't allergic, and luckily, the visitors center was close and had a first aid kit.

 Zuri was a champ about it all though.  She was back to running around just a few minutes later, and seemed to pay the bites little mind. 

The second accident was on our way home that night.  We were on the freeway and all of a sudden the car started to decelerate.  We couldn't get above 40 mph and we pulled off at the first exit.  We were able to make it to a Pep Boys, which luckily, was still open.  We had a broken radiator--had to get a new radiator and hoses.  Lovely.  At least it happened at the end of the day instead of the beginning.  Small blessings.

Having fun in the car while waiting for our ride back home.