I was just reading Nathan's blog, and for the longest time, I felt that I would never find a place as good as Athens was. As time has gone by and I have ended up living in the West Georgia (which for those who don't know, it's the area that reaches from Columbus to Rome, no further east than I-75 for the most part). I have actually now lived in towns in this area for almost 8 years so far. It breaks down like this:
1 year in Rome
5 years in Carrollton
1 1/2 years in Cartersville/Emerson
At first, I didn't like the region because of the people who lived here at the time. I still don't particularly like Rome, but it probably has more to do with the kind of people I met at Shorter (who are not Romans for the most part). In Carrollton, I liked the area that I lived in. It is beautiful country in that area of Georgia with the gently sloping hills that lead up to the Chatthoochee River. However, the area that I have come to clearly love is the area around Carterville, Acworth, and Emerson. This area has two major significant things that appeal to me. For one, it was Cherokee Land before 1832. There are many places in the rivers where you can still see fish traps, and also there are many different museums that deal specifically with Native American culture. Secondly, this is almost the exact route that Sherman marched to get to Atlanta. It's amazing to read books about Sherman's march and be able to drive to them within a few minutes. Just north of where Tasha and I live are the remains of the railroad bridge over the Etowah River, and also the Cooper Iron Works, where you can still see the blow marks from Yankee hammers on the brick. On the same exit as we live is the Allatoona Pass battlefield. Just today, we visited the Pine Log United Methodist Church and Camp Meeting site. It was founded at least before 1840, probably 1834. There are nuggets of information and sites like this scattered throughout the area, and it's just wonderful.
This is a place that I thought originally that I wouldn't be happy in, but now I don't want to leave it. Once you get this soil in your system, you don't want to leave!
more later! (Got to go to bed for real this time!)
2 comments:
i still think athens is a little bit of heaven on earth : ) i think that you are so happy b/c tasha baby is there, lol
I think it's cool that you have this real sense of 'place' now... I feel that way about Fannin County/Union County and the Gainesville/Cumming area due to family background.
But my 4 years in Rome helped me appreciate some of the things you mentioned.
Who knew when we went to the 135th anniversary of the Battle of Resaca that you'd be living (and OWNING A HOUSE!!!) right down the road.
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