Spring Break Trip - Day 6

Mollie woke up this morning (0645) almost feeling herself and was feeling ready for a big agenda! We ate breakfast at the Navy Lodge and then packed up the car. Before Morning Colors, we spent some time at Manatee Point but didn't find any wildlife. We then got on I-295 and drove to 103rd Street. Mollie indulged my own nostalgia seeking during a stop at the Chapel of the High Speed Pass at Cecil Field - there was a new POW/MIA memorial being built there and I showed Mollie where I used to work. After a few brief stops at the old Navy base, we used Mollie’s GPS and back roads (some of which weren’t on the map because they were so new) to reach I-10 and then drove west to I-75. We then headed north and got gas in Jasper (Georgia) at 1000. The weather was great again in the morning - very few clouds and in the mid 70s. We made our first visit to a National Historic Site (for another NPS Passport) in Plains, home of the 39th President. We toured the old high school (now a museum) and I "took care of business" in a mock-up of the Oval Office. It started raining pretty hard while we were there but we quickly saw everything in the museum. Mollie asked me to drive her around town (we had a park map) and we spent some time locating important sites related to the President. We eventually drove northeast to Americus, where we ate a relaxing lunch (Wendy's) at 1315. During our meal, we did some Summer Vacation planning. We next drove a short distance to the Andersonville Prison National Memorial. I'd been to this somber spot a little more than 20 years ago but a brand new POW/MIA museum had been built there in the meantime. Mollie got another NPS Passport stamp and we walked around the grounds, almost alone. Mollie understood the significance and somber nature of the park. Still, she found it hard to fathom how around 13000 prisoners could die under horrible conditions. She commented that the dramatic documentary in the park theater really brought the story to life. Since the weather had improved by this point, we visited the Providence Spring, a near miraculous source of clear water that saved many lives and lessened the suffering of the dying men. An NPS Engineering Crew was repairing the fountain after more than a 100 years of underground erosion. Before leaving, we also stopped to see the National Cemetery, where all the numbered burials were eventually replaced with stones with the names and origins of the dead (a list smuggled out by a camp doctor provided the clues). It was a very moving experience. Mollie asked me to make an attempt to reach another National Park before 1700 and we were able to reach (via I-75 again) the Ocmulgee Mounds in Macon by 1615. Mollie got her Passport stamp and I walked around the grounds where people from the Mississippian Period (900-1200) lived and worked. Mollie eventually joined me with news that the park gates were going to close soon. We didn’t leave right away, though, and were able to go inside a reconstructed mound with the form of lodge with room for around 50 council elders. I noticed a lot of people were still in the park so we started a short driving tour towards other mound formations. The weather was still holding steady. We managed to walk/climb around few more places and learned that the ancestors of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation was connected with the site. Mollie was impressed that, despite destruction of the site caused by the railroad, the remaining mounds were amazingly preserved. As our time ran out, we found the tallest mound and raced to the top for some amazing views. We exited the park exactly as the gates were being secured. Both of us talked about how impressive mounds like these were and recalled our visit a few years earlier to Cahokia. The weather had started threatening again and I wasn’t sure if we’d easily find a good place to stay right away so I asked Mollie if I could check out Robins AFB (we’d passed it earlier). She agreed and we drove a short distance south (through rush hour traffic) until we arrived in Warner Robins. I checked at the Lodging Office and found they had a nice (inexpensive) place for us to stay (Pine Oaks Lodge). When we went in the room, Mollie was very excited to tell me that there were two bedrooms, several bathrooms, a living room and a mini-kitchen. She asked me if we could eat in the room, so I drove her to the nearby Class 6 / Shopette to pick up dinner (macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, fruit, chips, candy). While Mollie was eating, I took a long walk around the golf course. I arrived back in the room and found Mollie happily resting in her “own” room. Soon, it started pouring, with big thunder and lightning. Mollie told me she felt snug and comfortable. I headed to bed at 2245 but Mollie fell asleep much later.