Through My Lens - The Old Governor's Mansion, GA

I hope this Robbins was not a relative.

Milledgeville, GA - The Old Governor's Mansion

One last stop on our way north before the final push to reach home was in Milledgeville, Georgia. If not for a young cousin who was appointed Curator of Education and Public Engagement, we would not have known about this wonderful little town in Georgia and the beautiful mansion that is being preserved as part of Georgia's history.

The town at one time was the capital of Georgia and the mansion built in 1839 served as the residence for Georgia's governors for 30 years. The mansion's history threads throughout the Antebellum, Civil War and early Reconstruction phases of the state's history.


During the Civil War, the mansion headquartered General Sherman on November 22, 1864 in his "March to the Sea" from Atlanta.


After the war, Georgia's seat of government moved to Atlanta and  the mansion was abandoned but eventually was given over to what is now Georgia College in 1889. It served several college presidents and housed military women for a time.


In the late 1990s, a move was made to begin planning for the mansion's historical renovation which began in earnest in 2001. The interior has been restored and reconstructed to reflect the period when Georgia's governors were in residence. The furniture is from the period and some is original, obtained from the families of some of the governors.


Our tour was led by a lovely young lady who is a docent for the mansion. Our cousin was unfortunately out of town the day we stopped. The mansion was also exhibiting some men's and children's clothes from the period that were quite interesting.


The town of Milledgeville is a college town but is quaint and, at least on our visit, quiet. We found a parking spot a little closer to the center of town and had our pick of small shops and restaurants. Liking the name, The Local Yokel, we entered and had two delicious sandwiches for lunch before continuing on our trek north.

The only thing missing was sunshine but then we were heading north. It was time to get used to the idea that our sunny days were going to be fewer.

Does the Bucket List Ever Get Shorter?

I hope not!! There are still so many places to go and things to see. We haven't covered many of the places in our own country that need to be explored. The more people say it's a small world (ha! there it's in your head) the more I realize it's truly a big world and there is more to explore.

2017's big bucket list item is the European Christmas Markets. We chose to book a river cruise that begins in Vienna and cruises the Danube to several stops in Austria, Germany and Slovakia. Decorated booths and displays of arts and crafts, food and beverages will abound in the towns and cities we stop in. I'm not a big shopper but I'm great at looking and taking in the culture of the area through their Christmas tradition. We have begun to book some of our side tours including the Lippinzaner Stallions.

Our trip home from Florida this year will include a stop in Sarasota to check out the circus history of the city and the museums there. Further north we are planning to stop and check in on a young cousin who has begun a job as curator of education at the Old Governor's Mansion Museum in Milledgeville, GA. The mansion dates back to 1839 and is rich in history.

There's the annual scuba trip with our grandson and the hope of actually getting to check off the last dive site on our list to earn our green shorts.

There are a few niches in the calendar year that could hold several possibilities for travel to some of the states we have yet to check off our list--maybe Oregon or Colorado or a couple more of the big national parks we haven't been to.

Of course there are still things even in our backyard that have yet to be discovered and explored or experienced. No, the bucket list never gets shorter.

The Black Sea - Noah's Territory?

The Black Sea is next on our travel itinerary. In doing some research before we leave, I found an interesting story posted by National Geographic about an expedition by Robert Ballard that hoped to find evidence of ancient civilization on the floor of the Black Sea.

The theory is that when the Ice Age ended and glaciers melted, it sent a surge of water through the Mediterranean Sea eastward cutting what is now Turkey in half and causing the Black Sea to rise six inches per day thereby causing a catastrophic flood. It is from that flood that the explorers surmise came the story of Noah and his ark. An interesting assumption. From what I could glean of their dispatches from the 1999-2000 expedition, they didn't quite find what they were looking for.

There are six different countries that surround the Black Sea: Turkey, Russia, Georgia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Romania. The Black Sea area holds a lot of history. Biblical cities of Ephesus, newly discovered Laodicea,  Pergamum, Smyrna, Iconium, Lystra, and Tarsus (Paul's hometown) are among many in Turkey. Greek and Russian history date the area as well.

Culturally and historically it should be an interesting learning experience as well as an opportunity to see some beautiful scenery. And as always, I'll be posting our journey here.