Georgia Traveler; 605

This week on Georgia Traveller, we set out on an Athens Food Tour. From locally roasted coffee to authentic Italian cuisine, it's a food tasting extravaganza. Then we're off to Somerville to explore the iconic Fulgart Wonderland that is Howard Fensters Paradise Garden, a man who created treasure from another man's trash. All aboard the incline railway and lookout mountain, the steepest passenger rail in the world and also the fastest way to the top of majestic lookout mountain, and the beautiful great field end of Cumberland Island, a historic landmark with rich history surrounded by secluded beaches and pristine marches. All that and more on the next, Georgia Traveller. We begin in Athens and discover a food tour with an incredible variety of unique food

and historical tidbits. Great food, great music, and a classic college town is time to soak it all in on an Athens Food Tour with my guide, Mary Charles Howard. It's a big food town and so much so that a food tour really made sense. Athens Food Tours offers several different tasty excursions from bike tours and walking tours to farm tours. The times and distances vary in the size of the group also varies. I stuck with the downtown walk about and began at an Athens staple, Jittery Joe's coffee who roast their beans right here in town. It's the Athens coffee, it's what all Athenians, their blood runs with Jittery Joe's. Charlie mustered roast all the coffee here, so if you ever have any Jittery Joe's coffee, Charlie has roasted it. Well we have about 16 different varieties of coffee. Yeah, so we get them from different

places, there's a number of coffees we buy direct from farms, some people we know. Alright Jittery, thanks a lot. Nice to meet you. Alright, yeah here we are at La Dolce Vita, it's our second stop. And at La Dolce Vita it was time for a three-course extra baguanzo with local flair, chef and owners to fauna vulpi grew up in the foothills of the Alps and has brought his authentic Italian recipes and handmade pasta to Athens. So locally sourced parmesan tomatoes from Bhushar farms here in common Georgia? On course two. So next course is a little bit more about the touch I can inspire at this. Then a quick splash of Cabernet leading to course three, dessert, a local peach with amaretto and peach reduction and all this other stuff to fauna put on there. La Dolce Vita is where I met up with another one of Mary's Athens Food Tour groups who enjoyed their authentic Italian cuisine and then journeyed with me to owner Sandy Baumgarder's community.

A sustainable fashion boutique that also happens to have gourmet chocolates made with many local ingredients. So when I opened the store I thought it would be just a great combination fashion and chocolate. So after the chocolate we were back on the road and when it comes to the walking it never gets strenuous. Then Mary points out interesting details all around town. And in front of the city hall this is called the double barrel can and park. Double barrel can. Yeah. Not many of these around. No this is the only one. Okay. So what's the point of the double barrel can? Well it was designed at the beginning of the Civil War to protect the south from the Yankees. But then they dismissed it and said it's a failure so it was you know never used a battle and now it sits here and it always faces north to protect us perpetually from the Yankees. Wow. The Athens Food Tour continues. We head to the Georgia Theatre. A classic Athens music venue that burned in 2007 but it's been beautifully restored inside and out. It was built in 1889 as the south's first YMCA until it changed into

a hotel. It was a Sears. It was a Masonic temple at one point. It's also been said that it had been a morgue and then it got changed to a movie theater and then renovated into a music venue in the 70s. And operated for only a few years as a music venue closing down until the 80s at which point widespread panic R&M just a bunch of bands really who got their start in Athens would play our stage and then grew from there. But it was the rooftop of the Georgia Theatre where I met Melissa Fontaine owner of Hip Hop. So I've had coffee Italian chocolate so naturally I'm going to have popsicles. All right. These are hip hops, right? Hip pops. How'd you get the name hip pops? We started naming popsicles after hip hop artists and songs and just had a blast cracking up at punny names we were coming up with. All right well I want to go with your favorite not maybe not your favorite fan but your favorite popsicle. I might I think the keyline pie which

is our two-lime crew. It might be one of our most popular flavors if you'd like to try that one. All right. I see it lots of zest. Just like keyline pie. So enjoy the hip pop but don't stop because the Athens rooftop also serves up a local brood that is rapidly growing in popularity all around the southeast. Behold the tarot pen. When gold medal the Grand American beer festival and it's kind of a signature beer of Athens. And after the rooftop it was time to get clocked. They specialize in vegetarian burgers but we're going to have the legendary bacon peanut butter burger. Bacon peanut butter. Yeah. You got to try everything in at least once. That's right. Wow. This looks healthy but good. Yeah. The Cajun tater tots they're spicy so you've got to be in the know to have the Cajun tater tops. They're not on the menu. Okay. And then the sauce we have it's a ranch dipping sauce with

better chunks down the bottom. It's their house dipping sauce. That is awesome. With the moon beginning to appear above the Athens skyline it was time to finish off our tour at the weekly farmers market where many of the restaurants I visited today get their produce. Summer squash this is the best one you'll ever eat. It's nutty and it's beautiful. Does the greens taste different from the yellow? Okay. This is our mule and the name is Luke. Luke. And he actually turns the milk. He is actually the power that actually grinds this product. There's all these will ground yesterday, late evening, first thing this morning. So in a word full. You know I've been to Athens many times for many different reasons but had never been able to capture the spirit and unique qualities like I did on the Athens food tour. My craving for good food on this occasion may have ended up saddling me with a couple of extra pounds which I can assume I walked off, right? But it also loaded me with history, fun facts, and a list of where to go next time I'm hungry in Athens. Bon Appetit.

It's now time to explore Howard Finster's Paradise Garden. Let's join Bruce in journey through this Folk Art Masterpiece in Somerville. I took the pieces you threw away, put them together by night and day, washed by rain, dried by sun, the million pieces all in one. The words are those of Howard Finster, one of the most acclaimed folk artists in the world, and they perfectly describe his signature creation, Paradise Garden in northwest Georgia just outside Somerville. You enter a whole another world here. This site is utilitarian objects that came from locally around here, the Howard Finster transformed by assemblage and created a place of contemplation. And there is much to contemplate. So this is the World Folk Art Chapel. This is a building that Howard built as his envisionment of what you would see when you went to heaven. Howard Finster had visions. In fact,

he called himself a man of visions, a former preacher who felt called to spread the word with his creations. I mean, what do you do if you have a car that's just been total by a drunk driver? Well, you give it to Howard Finster and he puts in Paradise Garden and he paints a sermon about why you shouldn't drive drunk. As I heard the wreck on the highway, but I didn't hear nobody pray. Whiskey turns into blood. Whiskey turns into blood. But most of Finster's work has a lighter, more whimsical touch, like his beloved coat bottles. He made a lot of these, the object of his art and apparently the object of his affection. I think it kept you moving. It was almost like jet fuel. And he drank a lot of coffee. He drank a lot of cocoa. If anybody has a better drink than coke, they must have kept it for themselves. I haven't found it. Jordan Poole is a Howard Finster fan, which helps in his role as director of the Paradise Garden Foundation. Chittuga County bought the property and set up the nonprofit foundation to restore and preserve Finster's legacy

and to make it available to folk art fans worldwide. It is since won the honor of being placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Finster died in 2001. I had the privilege of meeting Howard Finster back in the early 90s when I came here to do a story on him and his art. I remember asking him what is art? He looked at me kind of funny and said, art is something like this. And his workshop is full of something, lots of some things. Everything from a false leg, a coffee pot, alligators in Fameldehyde. I think he wanted one of everything. I think that was a goal in his life. It's two and a half acres of stuff cast off objects that Finster turned into art. He threw nothing away. So you can see here all the art supplies, all of his sharpies, all his paint pens, all of his past brushes. All the sharpies look at how many things I mean when you do 47,000 pieces of artwork, you're going to run through these. And the one time bicycle repairman didn't

throw away bikes either. So here is the famous bicycle sculpture. This is this mound of bicycle parts, was at one time a maze. As you can see here on this wall, he actually had wired it together, so it had a whole room inside of it that was just completely encased with bicycle parts. So whoops. That was a thousand dollars. I just defaced the Finster's bicycle sculpture was made famous as the setting for REM's first music video. His art also graced one of their album covers. And talking heads liked his art for their cover as well. He was awesome. He was awesome. He was awesome. Joe Maxi is a folk artist too. So as Billy Smith, their art is on display at the vision gallery right here on Main Street in Somerville. They and about 20 other artists open this as a co-op, a place to not only sell their work, but to also highlight the rich heritage of folk art in

this part of Appalachian Georgia. Many of the artists like June were inspired by Finster. I played on his sidewalks in the mosaics where he had just broken glass and marbles into concrete and I was fascinated by by the way it caught the light. All the things that he had down in the trees hanging that were making sounds and that kind of thing. Though Paradise Garden is the main attraction around here, there are a few other excuses to head this way. Around the corner from the gallery is the historic train depot. In the fall, they run the autumn leaf special between here and Chattanooga to chewing a long watching the autumn color. And just a few miles down the road is James Sloppy Floyd State Park. But if it's Paradise you're looking for, you need to take a walk in the garden. His art environment here is really meant to inspire. So it's wonderful for people to come here and wander through the garden

because there's all these messages that Howard put in place that are still here and was his envision to other worlds. Still to come on Georgia Traveller, the amazing incline railway of Lookout Mountain, a one mile trek that has for years held the title of steepest passenger rail in the world. And Greatfield Inn, a historic landmark surrounded by wild horses, unrivaled natural beauty, and run for generations by the Carnegie family. Georgia Traveller will be back in 30 seconds. Welcome back to Georgia Traveller. Let's trek straight up the side of Lookout Mountain aboard the

thrilling incline railway. Welcome to the Lookout Mountain incline railway, the steepest passenger rail line in the world. We're all clear. We have the name America's most amazing mile because you're coming one mile up the base of Lookout Mountain. Once you get to the top you can see the smoky mountains from here on a good clear day. This one mile ride begins in the quaint town of Saint Elmo Station in Tennessee. It then cuts through the National Battlefield Park and unloads 2,400 feet above sea level and Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. Just east on the plateau from the town of Lookout Mountain, Georgia. The cars are built on an 18-degree angle. When you're after lower stage, you're kind of reclined in your seats and as the car ascends up the mountain in the

greater of the track with the steepest point is 72.7%. You start to feel the pool. I won't say it's gonna fall out of your seat but you do feel that sensation of coming up that 72.7% grade. Alright we're at the steepest part of the incline where we are at about 72.7 degrees. It's just that much more than 90. Years are popping. Is it more fun to go up or down? Do you have a preference? Most people like starting at the bottom because you get that sensation of the pool of that 72.7% grade as you come up the mountain and it's like the view creeps up on you because you really don't pay attention to the view because most people are looking out of the sides of the car and once you get to the top, the view is actually through the windows in the roof of the car. As you begin your mountain of sin, it looks like a one-way track. So when you see another train coming right at you, panic sets in. But the cars are connected to the same cable and about halfway

through the ride. The track splits into two tracks. So the incline trolleys run side by side. Here we go. Come come out here. It almost feels like you're the starship comming here. During the ride you may wonder why this trolley was created in the first place. You see in the late 1860s, soon after the Civil War, this lookout mountain real estate became a hot ticket. There were beautiful homes in the popular lookout in. The way the majority of the people got to the top of the mountain was horse and baggy and it took well over an hour for them to wind around the little trails to get to the top of the mountain. So that's when a local businessman was commissioned to build this railway track, blazing a trail directly up the mountain side. The railway began taking passengers and freight up the mountain in November 1895.

The basic engineering remains intact today and the rail also still holds the title of steepest passenger rail in the world. The first cars that were built were wooden cars and they were powered by steam. The cars used to bring up special design containers on the front of the car to haul cola so that they could keep the bowlers going. They eventually modernized in 1911 to electric motors and the 125 horsepower system installed then is the same trusty high-powered engineering used today. At the top of the incline there are viewing stations that give you a glimpse back down into the Tennessee Valley. Out back you can still find the same old stone stairs that led to the once glamorous lookout end and on the bottom floor there's a viewing window allowing guests to see the late 1800s technology that makes this incline a reality.

This is an oldest safety governor. If the cars go over 12 miles per hour there's a break that will drop to stop the cars. The incline railway is actually governed by the Tennessee Department of Transportation and the federal government so safety is a premium. Whether it feels safe while you are climbing at such a steep vertical maybe walk a couple of blocks to the battles of Chattanooga Museum and point park to learn about this mountain's role in the Civil War. And once you reach the bottom just know you've earned a badge of courage braving the steepest passenger rail on the planet. Let's now join Ashley in Cumberland Island for some unparalleled rest and relaxation at the historic Greyfield Inn. Take a look around this landscape flourishing in wild abandoned like the Rose Walden Pond Yates's Innisfree and Scarlet's Terra. This land is George's Muse

on historic and legendary Barrier Island in Camden County by the name of Cumberland. Established in 1972 as a national seashore visitor travel to breathtaking Cumberland Island is regulated daily but you're welcome to take the 40-minute ferry ride over from Fernandina Beach, Florida and stay a while. We know just the place. Built in the early 1900s the Greyfield Inn has all the charm and whimsy of a family estate that's because it was and is one and keeper Mitty Ferguson is a fifth generation descendant of the renowned Carnegie family. I've been coming you know since I was in a bassinet and my father started in in 63. My grandmother fell it was important to be able to keep up our heritage and keep the house going. She came up with a zany notion to start an in. Mitty's grandmother is Lucy Ferguson, granddaughter of Lucy

and Thomas Carnegie, original settlers to the island. Lucy and Thomas gifted the Greyfield home to their daughter Margaret as a wedding present. Evidence of the Carnegie legacy is everywhere as much in canvas as in the spirit of the end success. There's no TV's, no internet. It's not very many places certainly in the US that you can go to find that. My grandmother always said this place would become more and more unique every day and we didn't pay much heed to that but she was indeed right. Dinner at the Greyfield Inn is a true southern affair. Cocktail hour each evening flows into a fresh inspired meal served at a table with like-minded guests. Good evening everybody. Welcome to dinner. Greyfield Inn. My name is Johnna and tonight the chef has prepared a fabulous meal for you. The evening's appetizer is going to be marinated local shrimp with mango, coriander, and cumin. The entree is going to be seared scallops with roasted kale, tomato, orange, and saffron.

The dessert is going to be melted ice cream with espresso, vanilla, and dulce de leche. And the wine selected to complement this evening's meal is the decor. Your Greyfield tablemates are more kin than stranger by meal's end. This was the finest home-cooked meal I'd ever tasted. We tried it in the last three years. Use our garden as much as we can farm to table so to speak. We're really particular on the food. The chefs have a lot of leniency. It ends up being all your produce is mainly organic and yeah people appreciate it. Also to appreciate on a full stomach are the comfortable accommodations here. 17 plush rooms with history and antique flair starting with the master suite. Family portraits hang prominently above a king-sized bed, entering the bathroom and original claw-footed tub beckons. But downstairs in the common areas a treasure trove of family heirlooms are waiting to steal your

attention. The ladder back chair over there was from Andrew Carnegie's castle which was called Skibo and Dunfirmland Scotland. It's not a huge castle but it's a really spectacular one. Intending to pass through a room you are held in captivity there. Take the library for instance. Walls of books except for this roped-off section of special first editions. Step outside the gray field into a setting so serene and idyllic you'll think you're standing at the dawn of time. Adventures into this exotic outdoor wonderland are guided by one of gray field staff naturalists. Experts studied in the diverse flora and fauna and habitat in Cumberland Island. We're standing beside a massive dune and on the top of that dune are the master dune builders the sea oats. The sea oats protect this island from erosion. There are very few barrier islands that have any

kind of dune like this because this area has always been developed. This is where the resorts are on other islands. Just as resilient as the sea oats sustaining the dune meadow are the resurrection ferns in the maritime climax forest. Currently lush and verdant here this plant becomes brown and curled with the desiccation of dry months just to come alive again with rain. There are always the usual suspects indigenous to any island ecosystem. Butterflies over 60 bird species and sea critters. Walking in solitude is also allowed even encouraged on these memorable 75 acres of land on which the gray field rests. There are some prickly characters to watch out for. You can walk with the animals talk with the animals the crowning glory of the gray field experience is an encounter with the horses. The best way to interact with the horses here

on the island is first to remember that they are very accustomed to people. So they'll get very close. You should stay about a hundred feet at least from the horses. Make some noise so they know you're there. You'll have to pinch yourself after enjoying each rare experience outdoors leaving you to wonder. Can this place belong to us after all? Did it is remote? It is isolated. You can come here and leave everything behind. Three miles from the mainland and the world disappears. Where land meets sea along 21 miles of windswept undeveloped beach, you feel the pulse of this beautiful island as if it were your own. Bidding the gray field and its sprawling

beachfront setting farewell is the hardest part of this journey, but any guest of midi and Mary Ferguson will tell you, after this retreat, you'll be forever changed. That's all for this episode. Until next time, Les and Journeys. Georgia Traveler is produced in partnership with the Georgia Department of Economic Development. This is a GPB original production.