Winter Trip 2016-Eufaula, AL 2

Sunday, March 6 Carol, Marv, and I (Macel passed on this) got up at 6:15 and climbed in our truck to drive to Plains, Georgia, home of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. We had to leave early because Georgia is Eastern Time Zone and Alabama is Central Time Zone but we wanted to attend the 10:00 Bible Study that President Carter leads most Sundays when he is home. The drive is a pretty hour or so through rolling hills of pines and not much else. There are a couple of small, old, decaying towns along the way. Plains is untouched by modernity and as modest as it was when Jimmy was born there over 90 years ago. Time has truly stood still and there are no McDonald’s or Wendy’s or Walmarts or anything else. There is a one side of one block “downtown” and the old depot that was his campaign headquarters has been restored across the street from the old hotel and a general store. We found Maranatha Baptist Church, where the parking lot was overflowing and a Secret Service man walked a sniffer dog around the truck before we could park. The church members are allowed in the main door to the sanctuary while the visitors go in a different door and are again checked by Secret Service. The sanctuary was full by then and we had to sit separately in the overflow seating in the social hall with a TV monitor of the sanctuary (some people were turned away when it was full). Women were giving instructions of how the morning would go. The Church Service would follow the Bible Study and one could have ones picture taken with the Carters after the Church Service. But we had already decided we wouldn’t stay for that. Jimmy came into our area first to greet us, ask where people came from, and answer some questions. He is smaller with age but still sharp as a tack with a gentle sense of humor. 

When asked, he announced that his cancer has responded so well to the experimental treatment he received that his doctors have said there is no sign of cancer and that he doesn’t need more treatment. Then he went to the sanctuary, where we watched on the TV as he again asked where people had come from and then began his Bible Study with a lesson on The Last Supper and what it means to humbly offer oneself to God. He is so thoughtful and so humble himself that it was wonderful to listen to him and feel his inspiration. In the midst of this crazy, crazy Presidential race he makes me wish the candidates would emulate his moral humility. Just down the road is the high school building that Rosalynn and Jimmy both attended and is now a National Park museum about their life up to and beyond the White House. The three of us spent a long time there, perusing the exhibits and learning about the campaigns and their Foundation and the wonderful service they have given, not only to Habitat for Humanity, but even more so to world health efforts. 

Renovated classroom in the High School Museum

More than 70 countries have been impacted by the Carter Center Foundation

The Plains High School National Historic Site Museum

Finally, we drove out to the National Park Historic Site that has been established to preserve and maintain the farm where Jimmy grew up, restored to its 1930s appearance. In about 5 or 6 places throughout the house and barns there are recordings of Jimmy reminiscing about what it was like to grow up and farm during that time. We had to return to the campground so we didn’t stay as long as we might have wished but it was a very nice, quiet spot and the sun was shining brightly with temperatures in the low 70s. 

Carol and Peggy listening to one of Jimmy Carter's reminiscences of his boyhood home

Looking back at the house and the Farm General Store  

Inside the Carter Farm store

Carriage/Wagon house

Carriage House and barn. Note the cane syrup pan in the foreground

As we drove out of town we realized we passed right by the very understated compound that surrounds the Carters’ modest brick home, which they built in 1960, is the only house they have owned, and remains their home today, surrounded by furniture that Jimmy made in his workshop in the garage. On the way back to the campground we would have liked a bite to eat but there is NO Fast Food or deli or anything in any of the tiny villages, so we settled for some cheese crackers from a convenience store with not much else. When we got back I helped Carol make a fruit salad and all four of us piled into their truck to drive far outside of town and deep into the woods on a rough two track that leads up a hill to the Pine Ridge Hunting Lodge. Mike (the friend of a friend of the Ezells from the “Michigan Circle” at the State Park) is a banker of some sort in Birmingham. To relax, he raises bird dogs and hunts, and built, almost entirely from wood from his hundreds of acres, a three bedroom lodge with a large loft that sleeps several more, where he hosts hunting parties. The walls of the Great Room are hung with heads of his trophies from all over the world and the ribbons his champion dogs have won. Now, he helicopters from Birmingham to Eufaula, but he and his wife are retiring in a couple of years when their two daughters have both graduated, so he is building a home on the hill on the other side of the dog kennels. He invited the 20 or so members of the Michigan Circle (which includes some Canadians and Wisconsinites) to have a Fish Fry and Potluck at the lodge. Unfortunately, as we arrived we were told that one of the dogs had gotten out and caught in a coyote trap in the woods so Mike was in Auburn at the Veterinary School getting the dog taken care of, and wouldn’t be there for the party. One couple had caught and cleaned all the catfish and were using a turkey fryer outdoors to cook it as we arrived. People gathered around in chairs on the lawn or around the log fire burning in the giant cane syrup iron pot that serves as a fire circle, chatting and enjoying the magnificent views in every direction. When five dishes/platters were heaped with fish chunks, the rest of the food was put out on tables on the wrap-around porch and we sat at picnic tables on the porch and had a FEAST!!! Everyone was friendly and welcoming, the food and fish were delicious, and the day couldn’t have been nicer. Having gotten lost in the wilderness the only other time they had been to the Lodge, Ezells wanted to be sure to leave in the day light, along with the rest of the crowd. As we drove out the main gate at the paved road, Mike was just turning into the drive. We said hello and thanks through the windows as he told us the dog would be fine. We got back to the campsites in time to watch the MSU Women lose the Tourney Final to Maryland.

Pine Ridge Hunting Lodge from the parking area

Panoramic from the lodge porch

Frying dough balls after the fish were cooked

Cane syrup pan fire circle

Monday Marv and I spent some time, after it warmed up, biking around the other three loops of the campground. The first is only used for storage for trailers that get left there all summer, the second has water and electricity but no sewer and had only four campers, the third isn’t open until summer when the park gets more use, and the fourth, called Deer Court, is the one where we are staying and was about hall full over the weekend, but less during the week. In general, the park is underused and not well kept up.  The Alabama legislature voted to stop all support for State Parks but the governor vetoed it. In the meantime, they closed the golf course that was a big draw for Snow Birds, including the Ezells. The huge park also includes a big Marina on the lake with a store and snack grill, a large Lodge with two restaurants, an outdoor pool (closed in the winter) and three clusters of one, two, and three bedroom cabins. This spring the Ezells are selling their trailer and next year will be using one of the cabins. The cabins are available from Nov. 1 to Feb. 28 for long term rental but the rest of the year the park can make nearly as much money for each weekend rental as they do the monthly rentals in the winter! After lunch Macel, Marv and I went to the Country Club Macel has had to settle for since the park closed its course to play golf with a friend of Carol’s named Marsha. The course is challenging and nine holes, even with a cart, was plenty for me, especially because the front nine ended with three of the longest, toughest holes. Marsha turned out to be a better golfer than Macel had said, but everyone was very kind and tolerant of my crummy game. We got back in time for me to make a chicken stir fry and fruit salad for dinner at our camper. After we cleaned up and did the dishes, we went back to Ezells’ and watched “Young@Heart”, a cute documentary about senior citizens who sing rock music to stay young. We had had a wonderful time in Alabama and the Ezells were wonderful hosts who had filled our time there and helped us forget that our trip was drawing to an end.

Marv sizing up his next shot

Our campsite at Lakepoint