Georgia Traveler; 412

This week's Georgia Traveler launches from the historic railroad town of Blue Ridge, specially shops and orchards of sweet fruits set amongst the beauty of surrounding mountains. We probably would have never come that far. Had we not been blessed to be in such a cool place as Blue Ridge, Georgia. We then give a Georgia Traveler salute to infantrymen, past, present, and future at the National Infantry Museum in Columbus. We don't promote war here, we don't glorify war here, but we do honor those who've answered the call to go fight when necessary. Then it's seven days of relaxation on a floating vacation. It's time to paddle through Georgia. But it's a lot more than just paddling, we have a lot of fun out here. And we float from the river to the coast for the annual wild shrimp and grits festival in Jekyll Island. Everyone that comes to this festival is pleasantly surprised. Georgia Traveler is coming right up. All aboard the Blue Ridge

Railway in a small mountain town that showcases everything from fine dining and shopping to luscious, you pick orchards. A charming North Georgia town with a scenic backdrop, located just an hour and a half north of Atlanta, Blue Ridge, Georgia, and Fanon County is the perfect union of luxury and leisure. You have every kind of activity you could ever want and the specialty shops are the best. The old downtown Blue Ridge, charming shops featuring modern and antique furniture, home decor, excellent fine dining choices for you, and even a little fudge shop for both two -legged and four -legged friends. The town's art scene is on the rise with a mission to become one of the country's top art communities. The Blue Ridge Mountain Arts Association and their president, Ron Zedroga, have turned this historic 1937 Fanon County Courthouse into a central location to promote multicultural arts and the area's rich mountain heritage. We want to maintain the integrity of this building as a historical building and it is a courthouse or was a courthouse.

Jury Box is now displayed so art, but it's still a jury box. The LNL beener is another charming example of a restored historic building. This cute little cafe was once the town's bank and shop owner Linda Thompson leaves the old vault wide open for customers to sneak in and grab bags full of coffee beans. It's neat because it's an old building which built in 1926 and the original 10 ceilings. People love that. They all say it's a humbly feel when you come in here. We just have it all here and we have a lot of friendly people. You can spend a whole day in Blue Ridge enjoying the eateries, arts and antiques, but one of the main attractions here actually takes you out of town. That's the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway. The construction of the rail line known originally as the Marietta and North Georgia Railroad marked the beginning of the city of Blue Ridge in 1886. It gave the area a market for its

agricultural products when it had taken days to deliver now took hours. Blue Ridge soon became a hotspot for vacationers. The town has since had its economic ups and downs, but the current residents along with this little engine that could have played a major role in revitalizing the area. As you troll Riverside you and your fellow passengers feel the breeze run through the open cars or just share stories with new friends you've met along the way. We love the mountains, we love the history of coming back here and seeing the old buildings and the old culture back up here. So we just had a cabin just down the road over the weekend and just wanted to come and go on a come on the train ride. We're native, we're native. You're native, you still love the train. Yes, absolutely. We love supporting our little town here and you know it's just a great thing to do with the family. This ride begins and ends at the old 1907 Depot and makes one stop during this three and a half hour excursion at a town with two names and two different states. A painted blue line is all that protects the Georgians and McKaysville from the people of Copperhill, Tennessee.

There is so much to enjoy in this mountain town but a Blue Ridge experience is not complete without a trip to the family farm. Just a five minute drive from downtown Blue Ridge you'll find Mercier orchards. It's been here since 1943 growing sweet apples, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries. It's a you pick farm but even better, you eat. Mmm, delicious. That is good. And a lot of people say, well if you go into Blue Ridge be sure you go through the New Yorkshire. We raise more varieties of apples than anybody else. When starting this orchard in the early 40s, Adel Mercier and her husband Bill knew that the sunshine rainfall cold nights and good soil of the Georgia mountains would produce a sweet tart and juicy apple. But we started small a long time ago. We had maybe 20 acres here when we bought it with old house over downhill, the gray building. And we used to

ring pack baskets to prove in that building. We would sell them to customers and then we opened the building over here in 1965 when the highway went through. I had one counter and four walls to begin with. The orchards' size and harvest have grown tremendously through the years but operations remain in the family. In your position? Son -in -law. Now it's like six tractors constantly going. Thousands of people coming out every day. We probably would have never come this far. Had we not been blessed to be in such a cool place because of the Blue Ridge Georgia. Stroll the acres of luscious green orchards, shop along Main Street, or board this historic locomotive excursion through the hills. Whether you choose one or all, you'll soon realize this sprouting mountain town beautifully represents North Georgia's blend of sophistication and southern hospitality. I fell in love with Blue Ridge and moved here because I had a feel of Mayberry, kind of like a small town used to be.

After riding the Blue Ridge Railway, you will most likely leave with a story of something you saw or enjoyed along the ride. During our group's journey through the hills, we happened to witness a once -in -a -lifetime moment. Just decided that, you know, it might be a good venue to take our kids on a first train ride and possibly ask my girlfriends to marry me. So, I think we're going to have a great time and actually, will you... You and my wife? No, no! So, yeah. Oh, can you click it for us? Or are you? Yeah! Yeah! Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! Wow! I didn't know you were going to do that! Incredible! Woo! That was incredible! I can't believe it!

I thought it was another railway. We now join special contributor, Bruce Verkhardt in Columbus at the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning, honoring Americans who have answered the call to fight in the infantry. The realities of war, the sacrifices of soldiers, the emotional intensity of fighting. It is all made very real. Here at the National Infantry Museum in Columbus, a tribute to all soldiers, but in particular, the infantry. In all the wars that we fought, 80 % of the casualties have been the infantry. Half of all the Medal of Honor recipients are members of the infantry. And as I said, there's no place that has been built yet to honor their sacrifices. And so that's what we've hoped to accomplish here. Just outside the gates of Fort Benning in Columbus, this amazing museum built with private

foundation money, uses the very latest in museum technology and artistry to help visitors see, hear, and feed. It might be like to be an infantry soldier in combat. The comment that we get the most is something to the effect of. This should be in Washington. This should be on the wall. This should be with the Smithsonian. Smithsonian quality exhibits and artifacts to which we reply well, that's not the home of the soldier. The home of the soldier is Fort Benning, Georgia. So this museum is exactly where it needs to be. And we don't honor war here. We don't promote war here. We don't glorify war here. But we do honor those who have answered the call to go fight. And fighting has gone on throughout much of our history. In their signature exhibit, you could take a walk through that history. They call it the last 100 yards. As you go, the last 100 yards, you walk through eight different battles in American history from the American Revolution all the way up through modern operations. The reason they call it this, the last 100 yards,

refers to something common to all infantry soldiers and all wars across all time periods from the Revolutionary War to Afghanistan. Regardless of technology, there is always the last 100 yards. When air support or artillery are no longer options. Now it's just you, your gun, your bayonet, and the last 100 yards. The first battle we come to here is the Battle of Yorktown. And this is the last major battle of the American Revolution, although, of course, when the soldiers are fighting it, they don't know that at the time. Now we get into the Civil War, the Battle of Antietam. What do you single day of the war? September of 62. If these cast figures of the soldiers look real, there is a good reason. The figures were cast using real soldiers, combat veterans from Port Benning. This soldier from World War I was modeled after a veteran of the Battle of Fallujah in Iran. And we

see again how fighting tactics, at least for the foot soldier, could be constant from one era to the next. When they cast him, they said, do the pose that you would normally do when you're about to clear a room, when you're about to go around a corner. And that's exactly what he did, and that's what you see. The battle they chose to represent the Vietnam War was the first major encounter with the Army of North Vietnam in 1965. As you see, we have an original helicopter here. Original Huey helicopter with footage from that battle, displayed on the side of the helicopter. For the soldiers and ex -soldiers who visit, it can be a wrenching experience, like the man who actually served in this Bradley Fighting vehicle which got hit by an IED and killed a couple of his buddies. Museum security people saw that he had climbed over the rope and was sitting inside. He said, and I lost two of my buddies that day and several others were wounded. And I've been driving all night long from Dallas, Texas because I wanted to be here to spend a little time with them on the

anniversary. And it was that Bradley Fighting vehicle. It was always that Bradley Fighting vehicle. At the end of the last 100 yards, you marched through our entire fighting history. And the final image is powerful and haunting. What do you want visitors to take away from this experience? It's really simple. We want them to understand that freedom isn't free, and about those wounded. And protect it. The last 100 yards represents only a small portion of what's available to see and experience here. Individual galleries with interactive exhibits concentrate on different periods of history. Outside, the parade grounds were fort -bending holds its graduations every Thursday and Friday. Young soldiers walking on ground, consecrated by sprinkling upon it, soil that was gathered from every battlefield depicted in the last 100 yards. It's all a remarkable tribute to soldiers then and now. And it's not in Washington, not at the Smithsonian, but in Columbus, Georgia.

Still to come on Georgia Traveler, seven days of relaxation and fun floating along one of Georgia's scenic rivers. You get an opportunity to get away from the everyday hustle and bustle of life. Special contributor, Kio Shahauer, experiences paddle George on the picturesque to Coney River. And Cat finds out that wild shrimp go even better with grits at the annual Wild Shrimp and Grits Festival in Jackal Island. Take home bragging rights for the best shrimp and grits in the area. Georgia Traveler will be back in 30 seconds. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you. Welcome back to Georgia Traveler. Let's now grab a paddle and join special contributor, Kio Shahauer, as she hits the Aconi River with the Paddle Georgia team. Paddle Georgia, unlike any vacation you've ever been on, imagine seven days of pure fun floating down one of Georgia's rivers. Every year, Paddle Georgia participants paddle down at least 100 miles of a Georgia River, enjoying food, fun, and activities along the way. To get a glimpse of what a Paddle Georgia trip is actually like, I joined a regular paddlers to take a trip down the Aconi, this year's River of Choice. You want a pretty wood paddler and you want a... I want a pretty wooden paddle, yes. Not your paddle. Okay, thanks. And I'm going to strap my life jacket on here. I got a pretty wood paddle. Yeah, so we match, see? So you should always wear your life jacket. That's the number one rule. Definitely always wear my life jacket.

You're right, but in first. There you go. Just let you go down the river by yourself. So how long has Paddle Georgia been going on and when did this get started? We started it back in 2005 on the Chadaheuchin. And the idea was to try to get people out on our rivers, introduce them to our rivers, show them why our rivers are important, show them how much fun you can have being out on the river. You know, we thought if we could get 100 people to come out and paddle for a week, that would be a success. Well, that first year we had 150 people that signed up for the whole trip, all seven days, and we had over 300 that signed up for all our portion of it. And so it's grown each year from that. And it's just got a tremendous experience. We're camping each night at local high schools. We have educational programs each night. And catered dinners, that's always big. We're trying to find our meal ticket. The meal ticket. We were successful. We're going to have some canoeing kayak tug of wars. We'll have a contra dance. Everybody gets out and dances one

night. We'll have an animal program. We'll introduce folks to some reptiles and some mammals that are common to this area. Sounds fun. Paddle Georgia is obviously more than just paddling. There's tons to do from cookout to cannonball. Paddlers of all experience levels go on the trip each year. So to ensure maximum security, there's always a safety bug nearby. Are we having a good time? Yes. The trip also includes occasional stops in key areas. That year we're going to go on the trail. Like a local nature center. It's an opportunity to take a rather inexpensive vacation for your whole entire family. You never have to stop at the gas pump for your entire seven day vacation. You never have to go to the airport and stand in line at the baggage carousel. All you have to do is show up on the first day and the rest of it is just paddling down the river. You get an opportunity to get away from the everyday hustle and bustle of life and really get to get back to what's important. You really get a chance to spend an extended period of time in nature and that you normally wouldn't get a chance to visit.

Purpose is to raise awareness of our rivers and to raise money for river protection. Through our canoe bond, which is when our participants go out and solicit donations from friends and family. And all that money that we raise will go to Georgia River Network and also there's a local watershed group that will work in the protected river. So it really is canoeing for a cause? That would be a good catchphrase canoeing for a cause is exactly what it is. You get to meet a lot of great people, you get 300 people going down river. And the one great thing about Pavel George is that you have all these people coming from different walks of life. And we have teachers, we have lawyers, we have plumbers, we have, you know, you name it. We get families, we get retirees, we get college students, the whole gamut. Everybody's looking out for each other and taking care of each other and helping them out when they need a hand. And it's really a great experience. You get a really great sense of community by the end of it. Woohoo! Congratulations!

If you want to enjoy the rivers of Georgia, check out gpp .org slash Georgia Traveler for more information on Pavel Georgia. While you're venturing down the Alconi River, there are several places to stop along the way for a tidbit of Georgia history. For instance, Skull Shoals, right here in Green County. Skull Shoals is now a ghost town. But as I walked through the barren area, Bob Skara told me how it got its name. The name Skull Shoals is two tidbit spellings of them. Skulling like a boat, they would build these flat bottom shallow boats. The other spelling is SKULL. And the theory goes that they found Indian skulls that had washed out at the banks of the river because they were Indian settlements. This has been prime land for occupation for well over 10 ,000 years. Skull Shoals was the home of Georgia's first paper mill. But eventually, the river dried up and sewed its skull shells, leaving behind only a few pictures and ruins to tell its story here in the Alconi National Forest.

There's nothing like wild Georgia shrimp and they're even better with grits. Let's join Kat for the annual Wild Shrimp and Grits Festival. Ah, coastal Georgia. A breathtaking destination for land lovers looking for a beach vacation without having to leave the state. And as anyone familiar with the region will tell you, you can't come to the coast without indulging in wild Georgia shrimp. All aboard, the Lady Jane, where visitors to the area can join Captain Larry Cretel as he expertly navigates along the coast of Brunswick. While on deck, Sun Clifford shows off the myriad of sea creatures found in Georgia's waters. That's your Atlantic Butterfly. There's your Calamari or squid. All right, that's your horse you crab. A lot of people don't know it, but they're ticklish. There's your wild Georgia shrimp. Wild Georgia shrimp. Wild Georgia shrimp. Okay, we have our shrimp. But

where are the grits? Indeed, you certainly can't have shrimp without grits. So off I went to find a perfect combination. Just a few miles down the coast to none other than Jackal Island for the annual Wild Shrimp and Grits Festival, which brings in shrimp and grits fans from all over the country. I'm from Philadelphia. Jacksonville, Florida. And they're all coming for just one thing. Just a shrimp and the sauce. Okay, maybe two things. The annual Wild Shrimp and Grits Festival is held every September on Jackal Island. One of Georgia's barrier islands located about 90 miles south of Savannah. Originally named Ospo by the Wally Indians, it was later renamed Jackal Island by General Jane's Oglethorpe in honor of Sir Joseph Jackal who contributed to the founding of Georgia's original colonies. Today, the remains of many of the original structures from that era can still be seen in the island's historic district, along with the legendary Jackal Island Club Hotel,

which once served as a winter retreat for wealthy families like the Pulitzer's, Morgan's, and Rockefellers. But today, the idyllic front lawn of this elite retreat is playing host to nearly 15 ,000 visitors, some who have come to eat, and some to compete. That's right, day one of the Wild Shrimp and Grits Festival is the amateur cooking competition. Some cooks brought their secret recipe. What's going to have a recipe? While some of the amateur cooks brought their secret weapon, mom. The daughter. I told him I had a cook in her room. I'm sitting back. And with that, the competition was on. Mark! All right! It looks like mom decided to join the action after all. They have to be willing to really hustle for two hours and chop, dice, salte, and make the best shrimp and grits dish they can possibly make to take home bragging rights for the best shrimp and grits in the area. And that decision would rest in the

hands and the mouths of the judges and visitors like me to the festival. The consumer choice panel, it's made up of 30 hungry judges, many of them who sign up in advance, come from all over the state to get an opportunity to taste a sample from each of the teams competing in the competition. And then vote on who they think deserves the best shrimp and grits. Do you like it? Yeah, I do. I like it. Well, I like them all. And I couldn't help but think that the shrimp made a difference. So the shrimp have a unique sweet taste. Everyone that comes to this festival is pleasantly surprised at the sweet taste that Georgia Shrimp had. And that comes from the marshes that they are raised in. Oh, the Georgia Shrimp always out of doubt the best in the world. And he ought to know he's Joe Barnett. And he's become quite the Shrimp and Grits fan favorite over the years after winning the very first amateur competition here at the festival, and the People's

Choice Awards the next three years. One of his secrets? Flavor the Grits, the Grits are the heart and soul to the whole dish. That's imagination run wild and did some flavors in your grits and then add the shrimp to it. And his method was good enough for Barnett to beat celebrity chef Bobby Flay in a Shrimp and Grits throwdown. He's my hero, so I had to beat him. That's why I mean, he's a great guy with my looks better. But who would be the ones to throw down in this year's amateur competition? The Consumer's Choice Award went to Shakes. And overall first place. And middle of the season. The following day, things really got heated up. All right, good afternoon. Sunday afternoon here on Jekyll Island, Georgia. We have our professional chefs gearing up for the professional cook -off the

5th annual Wild Georgia Shrimp and Grits festival. And start! Once again, it was head -to -head shrimp and grits all lying for the judges' attention. We have a panel of four professional judges that do not get the opportunity to see who is cooking in the competition. We have chef Lori Erickson, Kathy Williams, Amy Carter, and yours truly. They have to wait until the end. We present a dish to them, and then they get to face their opinion on just taste, look, and appearance of that dish. It was a tough job, but I was up to the task. And in the end, so was chef Jason Reiniger from Cargo Fortside Grill and runs with Georgia, who took home the $1 ,000 first place prize for best shrimp and grits. So whether you come for the shrimp, or come for the grits. Don't miss coming to this year's Wild Shrimp and Grits Festival on... Jekyll

Island, it's all good! Well, that's it for this episode of Georgia Traveler. We hope you join us next time. Until then, Pleasant Journeys. You're trying to get a Lane 3, trying it over the Lane 3. Oh, it's a good day in the infantry. We do need cooks. I can't hit those big things. You need to bring it down into the right. You're still trying to shoot in Lane 3. Maybe that's what the match potatoes are. Oh, you mean you're not just going to carry me down, and it's just like this, and then just clap me in the water. We can't, is that what you like us to do? We're going to just peer fish you out into the water. Just a five -minute drive from Downtown Brew. Brew Ridge? Brew Ridge, and... You just jammed your weapon too, sir, so that's 75 push -ups. Right, 75 push -ups, that's what happens here at Fort Van. Georgia Traveler is produced in

partnership with the Georgia Department of Economic Development. This is a GPB Original Production.