Georgia Traveler; 513

This week on Georgia Traveler, it's the best of season five. We begin with the ESI Ironman competition with Ashley and Augusta. We're off to the Wild West and Carter'sville, the Booth Western Art Museum. Meet up with Chef Marvin Woods for some first -class Southern cuisine at Empire State, South. Then join Michelle at Beautiful Gibbs Garden, setting the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains. Turn back to the clock with Ricky at Fort Kalaski and impressive Civil War era feat of engineering. We continue with Bruce who enjoys a walk through the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site with Dr. King's older sister. Take a tour of historic Macon, a walkable city that boasts a rich music and architectural history. And journey to the pristine sandy beaches and stunning historic district of Jekyll Island. All that more on the best of Georgia Traveler season five. We begin this episode with Ashley at Augusta's ESI Ironman. Nestled in Richmond County along the Georgia South Carolina border, Augusta is well -known for so many reasons, as host city of the master's tournament, as the

birthplace of the legendary singer James Brown. But Augusta is gaining new ground with the annual ESI Ironman 70 .3. Men and women of all ages, ordinary and all extraordinary. Mayor, I can think of a thousand other things you could be doing today. Yeah, here you are for the second year of the ESI Ironman. What compels you to compete? Well, I'm a naturally competitive person and this is such a great event for the city. I want to help promote it. It's so great to be able to speak to people from all over America saying you've got such a great city. It's such a great great. And the number is 70 .3. Actually means something. This is Ironman and Ironman. That's the Ironman. That's the very two -way bike and one that combines 70 .3 miles. Such a distance can seem downright daunting so it helps that Augusta's course is charted with competitors and spectators in mind. A 1 .2 mile

swim in the Savannah River with the current is followed by a hilly and scenic 56 mile bike into South Carolina. And the final 13 .1 mile leg of this race is a flat run through downtown Augusta. We designed the course, the run course, so it's really spectator friendly. The spectator can stand in one spot and see their athlete at least four times. Spectators fill the Augusta Commons and surrounding restaurants to support the nearly 3 ,000 competitors representing 44 states and 19 countries. And they show their love. Seeing your picture right there. There really is a place for everyone in the annual ESI Ironman. How about this? Relay teams? I'm Peggy Stigler and I'm the cyclist. I'm in Mad Hill and I'm the swimmer. And I'm Katrina Holen and I am the runner and we are team visiting Augusta. We are now

swimming in the pool. Forget about that. That's like survival. They say that while pain is temporary, Ironman is forever. Once you've done one, most of people are hooked. I'm about to go into my next age group 70 to 74 and I'm still hooked. Good way to stay in shape. Good way to get old. I don't know where your plans take you next fall, but for an inspiring good time, I hope you'll go the distance for Augusta's ESI Ironman 70 .3. Thank you, Ironbraster. Let's venture to the Wild West and Carter's Villa at the Booth Western Art Museum. The Wild West has come to Georgia. Carter's Villa to be specific.

It's the Booth Western Art Museum home to the country's largest permanent exhibit for Western Art. Located just 30 miles north of Atlanta, the Booth is actually the second largest art museum in the state and it's nothing short of impressive. In a word, it's wild. Seth Hopkins is the museum's executive director with the job of watching over the 120 ,000 square foot facility. It became an affiliate of the Smithsonian in 2006 and is the only museum of its kind in the southeast. So with that designation in mind, what defines Western Art? It's going to be the things you first think of, Cowboys and Indians, amounting men in the landscape of the West. But it can be an idea or a state of mind or a state of being or a mythological place even. Much of the movie inspired imagery that some of the contemporary artists deal with is very much the myth of the West, the gunman, the cavalry, the mythic battles, and

just the idea of what happened in the West, whether it has any basis in reality or not. There are nine permanent galleries and several temporary ones that will change through the seasons. Stop by the massive two -story sculpture court with its centerpiece, the Eagle Catcher. The American West Gallery presents a 100 -year overview of early Western Art, including the work of more familiar artists like Frederick Remington. Galleries ranging from the days of settlers heading west to the 30 -year heyday of Cowboys and Cowgirls in the Wild West. You have paintings and everything from watercolor to acrylic to pastel to oils. You have sculpture that are done very traditionally with traditional bronze -style patinas, but we also have a lot of painted sculpture that brings in a lot of color. We have some very cutting edge art in our contemporary sculpture gallery. Inside this Wild West Museum that you wouldn't expect to find in Georgia is an impressive presidential gallery that you wouldn't expect to find in a

Wild West Museum. We have a one -page sign letter and a photograph of every president that's ever been from the beginning of time, and they can encounter something that they wrote or at the very least that they signed along with a photograph. So it's really an opportunity to go around and meet each of the people who've been present in the United States. This massive museum sure is unexpected, but it does not fail to impress. So saddle up the family wagon, head to the booth, and enjoy the glory of the west and the heart of the southeast. Next we're joining Chef Marvin Woods at Atlanta's Empire State South. Nestled in the heart of Midtown, Atlanta, sits Empire State South. Its location, 999 -P3, was originally a cabin and its interiors were constructed with remnants from one of the loose oldest estates. Everything about this home away from home was carefully crafted by its owner, Hugh Atchison, one of Georgia's culinary superstars. I visited Chef

Atchison's Atlanta outpost to see what his third restaurant has to offer. Welcome to Empire State South. Thank you. I wanted to have a lot of different focus points because it's all these services, restaurant function dinner. Sure. So I wanted this huge bar, and everybody thought it was crazy, but it's beautiful bar, so this is all Georgia Granite. It's all recycled, wood, local, poultry. Chef Atchison grew up in Canada, but his distinction as a five -time James Beard nominee for Best Chef in the South East and his appearance as contestant and judge on top chef should put your mind at ease. This Canadian gets how Georgia's eat and how we live. Everybody calls and asks what the dress code is, and we're like, anything from a spito to a texito, you'll be fine. This is a more northern French type style, but this is a Cote Madame, a city ham that we do in house. This is a portcaba, so beautiful, the whole belly, trust up, and slow roasted, then sliced, and sort of rebrazed. I like to know the name of that guy coming in the back door, or that woman bringing eggs, or that person who's raised this and that, so we start the community food conversation. And it's also very southern.

The restaurant also boasts executive chef Ryan Smith, who has worked in Atlanta's most celebrated kitchens. Chef Jacket's on, bandana's on, now it's time to go to the kitchen. We're just going to assemble a really simple little tiffin, and tiffins are Indian lunch boxes, so I've got a little hanger steak. I'm just going to put a little bread down in the base, and just arrange a little hanger steak much like we had for the super food earlier on. I've got a really simple vinaigrette here, got just blanched breastless press and a little shaved fennel, and I'm going to add a little bit of salt to just limp that out just a little bit, and a little bit of this is just chili flake. Then simply made two different types of cookies. Okay, so I've got a sugar cookie and a chocolate chip cookie, and to me, you know, that's the type of meal that I want to eat in my desk. So then we just build it up, when we nestle that in, you'll like that, then you put the top on, seal that up, and then you just go like that. So chef, what's we dinner tonight? Tonight we have some really awesome nantucket -based scallops. We got some really cool cauliflower puree, some dinoine greens, and we're making like a

savory pistachio strusel. Another great feature at Empire State South is the bachi ball court. So you play? I don't. Are you wanna? You gonna teach me? I mean a little, I'm not gonna show you all the tricks. All right, so the white ball is the objective ball. Right, you just throw it out, and then we'll alternate. Okay, you just try to get your ball close to the white ball. That was easy. But in reality, bachi is trickier than it looks. My loss to chef Smith gave me one more reason to return to Empire State South, where you'll want to stay all day, tucked in the shadows of Midtown Skyline. Time to tour the enchanting Gibbs Gardens and Ball Ground with Michelle. This property is among the most exquisite public gardens in the country. 40 years in the making and open to all Georgians as of spring 2012. Come join me as we tour Gibbs Gardens, a 300 acre estate of

artistically designed gardens nestled in the foothills of the North Georgia mountains. Here Jim gives invites you into his dream garden and takes you inside the mind of a master gardener. When you visit the gardens, you'll enter through an iron gate, and you would meander and wind down to the pool, where we have the reflecting waterfalls. As you leave the pool, you wind gently down to the perennial and annual gardens, which overlook the rose arbors, pass through the rhododendron and the hydrangea gardens, move on by the coy fish pool, and as you wind on down, you'll go through the wooden shade gardens, and you make your way through the green and white and sharp truce gardens. As you wind on down, you would finally arrive at the water lily gardens, the grandchildren sculpture gardens, the Japanese gardens. This garden is the most difficult garden I have ever designed. It has taken me 15 years digging out the ponds, putting in the stones, putting in all the plant material,

knowing that I wanted to design a garden, which would be visited by the public. The effortless beauty of the garden belies the diligent care Jim invests into all of its elements. So I want you to reach in here and prune that plant there deep enough, and don't be afraid. So when you prune it, you're going to force everything to fill out laterally, and that's what we're trying to do. Now the lights in, and that's the way you prune a bonsai plant. The manor house sits on one of the highest peaks in Cherokee County, 150 feet above the water lily gardens. Our water lily gardens are the largest this play of water lilies in a natural environment in the nation. Jim traveled to Monet's garden outside of Paris, and returned to build a replica with the exact dimensions. But for Jim, a more meaningful tribute is the one to his mother. These rolling hills blanket it in daffodils. We have the largest this play of daffodils in the nation. We have planted over

3 ,500 ,000 daffodils. They cover over 50 acres of property, and we have over 60 varieties of daffodils that come into bloom. A gardener's garden is never complete. Every year provides new seasons, and every year I will continue to design new plant collections to compliment nature. This is my legacy. It's a journey for me, and I'm just having the best time of my life, and I'm going to continue to enjoy it. Let's now join Ricky at Fort Polaski, the site of a defining civil war confrontation. The origins of Fort Polaski, just off Taibi Island, are international. The British invasion of 1812 prompted the federal government to build it and other forts along the nation's east coast. A French engineer designed it, and it's named for a Polish revolutionary war hero. But the one time Fort Polaski saw

battle was in a wholly American dispute. It was one year into the civil war in April 1862. April 10th in the morning. We hours in the morning. Fort Polaski is surrounded. Just on the other side of those trees, you have the south channel of the Savannah River in Taibi Island, and you have 11 cannon batteries with 36 guns and mortars that have been set up. Those cannons and guns are manned by thousands of Union soldiers intent on seizing Polaski from Confederate hands. As Park Ranger Joel Kadoff explains, the 385 southerners inside had to choose where to point their guns toward Taibi to the southeast. Or should they anticipate a northern attack by sea? There were about 20 guns out of the 48 that could fire on Taibi, but they were more concerned about the ocean approach. So coming down on the north side of Fort. With walls 5 to 11 feet thick, Confederate commanders weren't worried about cannons more than 1 ,600 yards away. The

general idea is cannon can't really be effective beyond 600 yards, maybe even 1 ,000 yards. The closest point of Taibi at 1 ,650 yards away. That should be too far. It was a fatal assumption. After only 30 hours, the guns got through the wall. After several hours of fighting, Confederate forces here defending Fort Polaski could already see twilight coming through the cracks. By early the next afternoon, they were astonished. To see a 20 foot gap in this wall, they thought was impenetrable. And the reason for that is this cannon right here. This is a 30 pounder, a parrot rifle. 30 pounds because it fires a 30 pound projectile that comes out of the muzzle, but because of those rifle grooves inside, it's coming out spinning. And that gave it great speed, great distance, most importantly, great accuracy. And it was able to smash and

shatter the brick walls of Fort Polaski. Today, Fort Polaski is a much more welcoming national park, greeting more than 400 ,000 visitors a year. You can join a guided tour or pick up a map of the visitor center to explore on your own. When you climb to the top of the fort, look for the famous Taibi Island lighthouse, which was here at the time of battle. After all, exploring American courage, engineering prowess, and military achievement is what a visit to Fort Polaski is all about. Let's now join Bruce at the Martin Luther King Junior

National Historic Site in Atlanta. In 1929, Atlanta's Auburn Avenue was a thriving center of Black cultural and economic life, and it was in that year and on this street, the Dr. Martin Luther King Junior was born. Back then, no one could have predicted that a couple of blocks in this street would eventually become a national park, the Martin Luther King Junior National Historic Site. We try to educate about the significance of that time period and the actual happenings that were taken place that cried out for an individual like Martin Luther King. In the visitor center, a series of displays recounts the remarkable life and times of Martin Luther King Junior. Here, the old dilapidated wagon that was used to carry his casket down Auburn Avenue. The reason they wanted to find this wagon, a case on, was because it symbolizes the poor. This park's superintendent, Judy Fortay, oversees not just a museum or

a building, but a living, breathing place, a neighborhood. A way to experience Dr. King not just as this larger -than -life historical figure, but as a human being. It's where he was born, lived, worked, and is now buried. This is the house where Dr. King was born in 1929 and lived the first ten years of his life. We're going to go in and take a look, and our tour guide is uniquely qualified to show us around. Is this pretty much how it was? Oh, yes. As Martin Luther King Junior's older sister, Dr. Christine King Ferris knew her kid brother and away a few others did. This picture over here, it was taken right after Christmas over by the window. Martin is here. This was where all three of us were born. My dad, when my brother Martin came, he was so happy that it was a boy and said he jumped to the top of that ceiling

and hit that. With a guide like Dr. Ferris, it's easy to forget that there's much more to this historic site than the birth home. Like the restored firehouse, just down the street, manned by all white firemen during King's youth, but later became one of the first integrated firehouses in the city. And of course, the church, Ebenezer Baptist. Dr. King was a reverend before he was doctor, so in order for us to tell the whole story of Dr. King, we have to start from this sanctuary. This sanctuary is very important for us. It is where he gave his first sermon and his last only two months before he died. They played back his prophetic words during his funeral, and visitors here can still hear them. We all think about it, and every now and then I think about my own death, and I think about my own funeral, and I don't think of it in a morbid sense. It's called the Dr. King made the instinct, so that was pretty powerful. In fact, this whole historic site is pretty powerful, when one

considers how a couple of blocks of Auburn Avenue came to have such a profound impact on who we are today. Let's now head to the heart of Middle Georgia. This is Historic Macon. Macon has grown beside the Oak Moghi River. People were living along it 17 ,000 years ago. Incorporated in 1823, the town grew around Fort Hawkins, whose replica faces across the river where the Piedmont meets the coastal plain. The river was a commercial artery. Cotton was the money crop, but when it comes to most of its history, Macon has reminders wherever you look, and you don't have to look far. This is a walkable city. More than 5 ,000 buildings in Macon are on the national register of historic places. Many of them are homes. The Sydney Lanier cottage where the poet and musician spent his childhood is now a museum. The Woodruff House, now owned by Mercer University, is a beautifully restored 1835

Greek revival mansion. The reigns Carmichael House has been occupied continually since it was built in 1848. It's one of two making homes that are national historic landmarks. The other is the Hay House, begun in 1855. The 24 room 18 ,000 square foot Italian Renaissance revival style mansion was filled with treasures its newly wet owners bought on their years long honey moon. And from its cupola at the top of a dizzying spiral staircase, you see a lot of other houses, including three houses of worship. It's been claimed to make and has more churches per capita than any other southern city. More than 250 congregations, the most sumptuous sanctuary is St. Joseph Catholic Church. The first Catholics in the area were Franciscan friars with the Spanish explorer De Soto in 1540. Among the saints honored here Cecilia, patron saint of musicians. Macon has been blessed with some amazing ones. The almond brothers, the violinist Robert McDuffie,

countries Jason Alding, rock and roll legend little Richard, and the king of soul Otis Reddy. They appeared early in their careers at Macon's Douglas Theater, a showcase for black talent in the segregated south. After being closed for 25 years, it reopened in 1997 after total renovation. The Grand Opera House originally opened in 1884. In 1908, crowds marveled to see Ben Hurr's chariot race run live on stage thanks to a giant treadmill. During the 60s, the grand closed. The same civic spirit that has kept so many Macon buildings from being demolished saved the grand. In 2005, it underwent renovation that included a new color scheme and twinkling stars and ceiling. History means many things to people. There's a very good chance that whatever it means to you, you'll find it in Macon. Now off to the golden shores of Jekyll Island, a secluded coastal

getaway. It began as the richest, most exclusive club in the world. The Jekyll Island club hotel once a getaway for Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, and JP Morgan is still as beautiful as ever. It's an American castle, very romantic, makes you charge your batteries, makes you breathe. It's just a pretty magical place. The best way to see the island is on a bike and there's 25 miles of walking, biking, and jogging trails. You're going to see a lot. If you just slow down and take a peek, it makes you do that. In 1985, the Jekyll Island club hotel opened its doors offering this beautiful historic district as a backdrop for all to enjoy. You can take a carriage ride through the historic district. You can take one of their scheduled tours on their tram from the history center. They also have a little booklet you can take a walking tour of the historic district. The

historic district is located on the inner side of the island, but Jekyll isn't much more than a mile wide anywhere, meaning beautiful beaches are never more than a walk away, no matter where you are in the island. Something special about Jekyll Island is it's ever -changing coastline. Beautiful trees that are implanted in the sand. There's not a lot of traffic here. Even in the highest of high seasons, you'll feel like you have it to yourself, which is kind of lovely. It's a perfect mix of luxury relaxation and warm hospitality that makes Jekyll Island a special Georgia getaway where the island can, at times, feel like you're very own. That's all for the best of season five, until next time, Flesan Journeys. You want to turn around for this one? All right, let's try it. Camera man's over there. There we go. Thank you.

You do want some Georgia Puck? Wait, I'll be right. This is actually like the whole crew, yeah. Hey, you bugged me. I could never be a scientist. I'm doing like a figure eight or something. I want you to know I'm here to win. And David Segway, Dan, Dan, what? Georgia Traveler is produced in partnership with the Georgia Department of Economic Development. This is a GPB Original Production.