It's Just a Gentle Zephyr

We/ve been concerned about the effects of Hurricane Florence as she comes ashore just a few hundred miles from us. After running to mid-Georgia, we were told to expect 1-2" of rain and up to 40 mph winds over this weekend. As we approached the weekend, the forecast continued to reduce the weather impact here, and now, on Saturday night, we're only getting a bit of a breeze and only a sprinkle or two. The overall track of the now tropical storm has gone well to the north. How disappointing! We were prepared to be felt sorry for, but now have nothing to complain about! Oh, wait....there is one thing....yesterday the temp was 100 degrees F and combined with the humidity head a "feels like" index of 105! Macon, Georgia, set a new temperature record yesterday, and they're only a few miles south! Like they say around here....Air you can see is air you can trust...

The Milledgeville Visitors Center operates a Trolley that tours the city for the benefit of tourists. We decided to climb aboard this morning. There were twenty-three of us aboard, including the tour guide, who is a retired Chemistry professor at the local Georgia College. He has lived here for more than thirty years, and has a passion for local history. His narration was awesome!

Donna and I went straight to the back of the bus, where we could do some people watching. It turns out that most of the riders were from the east, escaping the hurricane. we endured some good natured kidding for being from the west and running into a hurricane zone!

In the Visitors Center we learned that in May of 1539 Hernando de Soto landed in Florida with a grant from the King of Spain to explore and govern the southeast United States. He arrived in the Milledgeville area in April of 1540 on a mission that would cost him four years and eventually, his life in 1542. This marked the first noted European exploration of the southeast interior.

The first stop on our trolley tour was at the Old Georgia Capitol. As I've said, it is now part of the campus of Georgia Military College, but is open tor tours. The exterior is completely built of brick, and plastered to look like large blocks of stone.

In the large room now used for dramatic performances (and the occasional Christmas party), we noticed that the original Southern Pine floor had an unusual mark. When the tree that this plank was cut from was small, an iron spike was driven into it, and eventually covered up by the healing action of the tree. When that spike hit the saw blade back in the day it must have caused quite a problem!

 Our second stop was St. Stephens Episcopal Church. This 1841 church was built by two Scandinavian ship builders, and resembles the upside down interior of a wooden ship from the floor inside. It's built completely of Southern Pine, painted on the outside, and varnished on the interior.

When Sherman rolled through Milledgeville during the Civil War, hh requested that his troops only destroy military targets. An arsenal adjacent to the church was dynamited, causing some damage to the windows, and the pews were used for firewood. Once opened up by the removal of pews, the church became a perfect place to quarter horses and it's said that under the carpet marks from the horses hooves remain to this day. As an additional insult, the Union troops poured Molasses into the organ pipes to make them sound "sweeter". After the war, the pipes were replaced by a New York benefactor who was disgusted at the damage his New York Volumteers had done to the church.

Additional organ pipes on the other side of the room.

Again, the pine that was used in the church's construction has darkened over time, as varnished wood is known to do. This panel, near the entry door on the interior, shows the beautiful color of the wood. Hard to believe that it's 170 odd years old!

Then we stopped at the Brown-Stetson-Sanford House, one of the best examples of the Federal style in town. Two chimneys at either end provide heat to the four rooms on each floor.

The entry door and foyer are slightly shifted to the north so that the rooms on the south side could be a bit larger than on the other side. It's almost impossible to detect, but was architect John Merlor's subtle nod to the south when it was built in 1825. The curved, original stairs are an elegant sight upon entry.

After a nice three hour tour of historical downtown, we cruised back home to check in on the latest weather forecast. Incredible clouds had begun to arrive, driven by high winds aloft, but we still don't have much wind or rain at our motorhome. I think we'll survive!