September 28, 2013
September 28, 2013
We got up early to beat the Atlanta traffic headed downtown. Despite it being early and dark and Saturday, the highway was still crowded. Our first stop was Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site. We had breakfast waiting for the sun to show up. When it finally made an appearance, we walked around the historic district of Auburn Ave. where King was born and spent his developmental years.
Since the Visitor Center doesn’t open till 9am, we decide to walk the 1.5-mile Freedom Trail to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library. This is Library number eleven on our list. We only have the two Bush Presidential Libraries in Texas to go. The cashier decided not to show up for work, so the guard let us in for free. The Carter Library was interesting but is not as good as most of the others. Nor is it as good as his Carter National Historic Site in Plains, GA. Carter was pretty conservative as Democrats go. He would have no chance of getting elected today. Unfortunately for him, a lot of bad luck occurred during his presidency, much of it out of his control. The Iranian Crisis probably sealed his fate.
After speeding through the museum, we take a break and walk back to the King Site. We look at some of the exhibits in the museum but both of us feel we have seen this material several times now at other sites. Instead we take a guided tour of his birth home. Aimee and I are both surprised to learn that his birth name was Michael. He and his father both changed it to Martin when he was five. King grew up in an affluent black middle class neighborhood where he had many strong role models that steered his development. It wouldn’t happen today. With today’s misguided social welfare programs, we incent mothers to raise their children in single households devoid of male role models.
It is still early so we head east of Atlanta to Stone Mountain Park where we get a campsite and relax the rest of the afternoon at a site facing the mountain. When we went to Australia last summer to see Ayers Rock, I didn’t know I didn’t need to leave the US. Stone Mountain looks exactly like a white version of that Australian monolith. This barren hunk of smooth granite rises over 800 feet above the flat surroundings.
We got up early to beat the Atlanta traffic headed downtown. Despite it being early and dark and Saturday, the highway was still crowded. Our first stop was Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site. We had breakfast waiting for the sun to show up. When it finally made an appearance, we walked around the historic district of Auburn Ave. where King was born and spent his developmental years.
Since the Visitor Center doesn’t open till 9am, we decide to walk the 1.5-mile Freedom Trail to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library. This is Library number eleven on our list. We only have the two Bush Presidential Libraries in Texas to go. The cashier decided not to show up for work, so the guard let us in for free. The Carter Library was interesting but is not as good as most of the others. Nor is it as good as his Carter National Historic Site in Plains, GA. Carter was pretty conservative as Democrats go. He would have no chance of getting elected today. Unfortunately for him, a lot of bad luck occurred during his presidency, much of it out of his control. The Iranian Crisis probably sealed his fate.
After speeding through the museum, we take a break and walk back to the King Site. We look at some of the exhibits in the museum but both of us feel we have seen this material several times now at other sites. Instead we take a guided tour of his birth home. Aimee and I are both surprised to learn that his birth name was Michael. He and his father both changed it to Martin when he was five. King grew up in an affluent black middle class neighborhood where he had many strong role models that steered his development. It wouldn’t happen today. With today’s misguided social welfare programs, we incent mothers to raise their children in single households devoid of male role models.
Down the block we walk inside the Ebenezer Baptist Church where King and his father preached. Next door is the King Center that displays some of King’s personal items.
The King Site is very busy today because it is National Public Lands Day. Lots of volunteers are on hand painting and doing cleanup of the trail. The new Secretary of Interior, Sally Jewell, is also here. Her former company, REI, is handing out free t-shirts.
It is still early so we head east of Atlanta to Stone Mountain Park where we get a campsite and relax the rest of the afternoon at a site facing the mountain. When we went to Australia last summer to see Ayers Rock, I didn’t know I didn’t need to leave the US. Stone Mountain looks exactly like a white version of that Australian monolith. This barren hunk of smooth granite rises over 800 feet above the flat surroundings.
posted by Mike and Aimee at 7:45 AM
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