We had one more event left in our Atlanta City Pass, so we took advantage of it and visited the Atlanta History Center. We were also going to go to the Atlanta Underground, but Zuri fell asleep in the car within thirty seconds after leaving the History Center and we spent more time there than we expected, so we opted out this week--but it is on our
to-see list.
The Atlanta History Center was different than I expected. It had the museum part which is what I thought it would be, but it also contained 38 acres of gardens, trails, a mansion, and a farm (complete with real livestock and crops).
We started out in the museum part, where they had huge room as a tribute to the 1996 Olympics. Georgia is sure proud of its Olympic heritage. It would be really neat to see Salt Lake do something like what Atlanta has.
As you enter, you can read up on all the Olympics through the Atlanta 1996 Olympics. The floor was a runner's track. It was all really cool--had all the torches, balls, statistics, interactive stations, etc.
The next room was the Civil War room. Again it had interactive stations, real letters, guns, swords, clothing, etc from the war, as well as detailed sections throughout the different rooms on the war.
They had a section for the Native Americans--primarily the Cherokee
A section for "folk life" which had all sorts of interesting things from metal working, carving, pottery, quilting, even songs and dance.
The last section was devoted to Bobby Jones, a professional golf player
We spent most of our time outdoors. We were able to escape the heat and humidity for tours of the Swan House and the Tullie Smith farm house.
The Swan House was completed in 1928 and is just amazing inside and out. We couldn't take pictures inside, but it has a floating staircase and solid marble floors. The grounds are just as amazing as well. It is hard to believe that the mansion was originally designed to be a retirement home for just two people!
The front....stairs leading down to the front of the mansion. The top of the stairs winds around the house to the fountain and gardens, eventually leading to a kids playhouse and the back
If you look at the picture closely, you can see that both J and Zuri are stepping with their left foot!
This is the back of the house. What you can't see in the picture are the two fountains on either side of where the picture was taken.
The next tour was the Tullie Smith Farm house. Pictured below is the main farm house. If you look on the porch on the left, you will see an open door to a room that is not "connected" with the rest of the main house. That is the guest bedroom. In the old south, the door would be left open, and anyone, day or night, could come and sleep there. It had no connection with the interior of the house for the safety of the occupants. It was expected that if you slept in the guest bedroom, you would stay for breakfast in the morning and share stories of the outside world. It was often how farmers learned of events out in the world.
This farm also had the traditional kitchen outside the main house, as well as a barn, a smaller cabin/slave quarters, and more. They had a few workers dressed up in costumes as well!
Next we wandered the trails and the gardens! It is so green out here, and there was plenty to see
Along the way, Zuri found a large stick and created her own walking stick! I don't know if she has ever actual seen anyone using one, but she did it all on her own!
Have I mentioned that Zuri's favorite thing (sometimes I think even surpassing dogs) is a ball? When we got back into the car, she saw her ball on the seat, grabbed it, and fell right asleep, but she wouldn't let go of the ball even in her sleep!
It was raining as we were headed toward the Atlanta Underground. I was playing with J's camera while we were driving and I thought this was a cool shot of the city.
