Tegan’s Georgia List

This is my list of things I would like to do while I am in Georgia. If something is highlighted, then I have already done it and usually have written a little bit about it. If I published a post on the activity, then I will have a link to the post, too. The Newnan List is the longest, not only because it is where we live, but because it is based off of the 101 Things to Do in Newnan list.

Things to Do in Newnan and Other Places:

1. Historic Banning Mills Zip-Line Tour, Carrollton 
2. See Newnan Lofts / Newnan Cotton Mill (#2)
• We drove around the parking lot. It looks like a very nice rehabilitation, with a swimming pool and everything. The place is generally inhabited by college kids, though, and while it would have been really neat to live here, doing so with a toddler would not have worked, especially according to reviews. Paper-thin walls, lead paint, high ceilings, enormous AC bills. I applaud the effort and it looks really successful based on the number of people by the pool
3. Visit Carl Miller Park (#4, 7, & 50)
• 8/23/11 – We visited Carl Miller Park with our 15 month old daughter and had a great time. It was a normal day in Newnan, (i.e. 90+ degrees), and helped Lucca play on the playground for a little while. Actually, she helped us play, since she is too little to do most things on her own. She liked the toddler swing, but it was a little warm, since it was baking in the sun for a few hours. Then we tried out the fountain, and Lucca had a blast running through that for about 20 minutes. We will definitely be going again.
4. Visit Greenville Street Park (#5 & 47)
5. Explore the historic downtown square (#12)
• 6/30/11 – I walked around one afternoon. It’s a nice little square. Small. Everything was closed after 5 o’lock, except for a place called Thriftown which I mistook for a thrift store. It was actually a little market that was a little dumpy. But overall, a cute little town with lots of character. I’m especially intrigued by the Alamo, though I’ll probably have to wait for visiting friends to maybe check it out.
• 7/7/11 – Today I walked around the square with Lucca and stopped in a few shops. There are quite a few cute little places, but a number of them are specialty and boutique places that I can’t justify buying anything from right now. It was hot and Lucca was sleepy, so I cut my visit short, but there are some more places I want to visit.
6. See the historic Threadgoode Home from the movie Fried Green Tomatoes at 34 College Street (#13)
7. Visit Oak Hill Cemetery (#15 & 19)
8. See mill houses on East Washington Street (#16)
9. Visit Farmer Street Cemetery, possibly the largest slave cemetery in the South (#29)
• 7/22/11 - Lucca and I visited the Farmer Street Cemetery today. Mostly, we just walked down the driveway and sidewalk around the cemetery. There is vegetation and huge pickers on the property, and I didn’t want to take Lucca in there without knowing what was in there, but I think that if I get a day and am wearing appropriate clothing, I might venture back there and see what I can see.
10. Newnan Coweta Historical Society’s Spring Tour of Homes
11. Art Walk (#31)
12. Red Oak Covered Bridge, Imlack
13. Visit Market Day on the Square (#48)
• 10/1/2011 - Spent the morning with Lucca at Market Day on the Square in Downtown Newnan. We really enjoyed ourselves. The vendors were very good, and there were a lot of things that I wanted, but didn’t buy. I am definitely going to be attended the next Market Day on November 5th.
14. Listen to Amazing Grace on Central Baptist Church chimes (#49)
15. Newnan Coweta Historical Society Spirit Strolls (#61) – October
16. Visit the Coweta County African American Heritage Museum (#64 & 103)
• 7/22/11 – Lucca and I visited the African American Heritage Museum today, which is on the same property as the Farmer Street Cemetery. The director and her husband are very nice people and filled me in on the history of the cemetery and the county. The museum is entirely donation-operated, and I forgot to leave one, but I will definitely be going back, so I will leave a double-donation next time!
17. Have ice cream at the Dairy Queen where Newnan native Alan Jackson met his wife Denise (#70)
18. Visit Confederate General Joseph Wheeler’s headquarters at Buena Vista, 87 La Grange Street, (#72)
19. Drive Scenic Highway 70 (#73)
20. Visit Battle of Browns Mill display at Historic Train Depot (#74)
21. Visit Scott’s Bookstore on the Square (#85)
• 7/7/11 – Lucca and I visited Scott’s Bookstore today. I wanted to find myself a local history book and a new book for Lucca. The clerk was very nice and greeted me when I walked in, but I didn’t find anything of interest. I didn’t see any fun new kids books that I saw at Target or Sams Club. I would much rather buy them at a local business, but they didn’t carry the ones I wanted, and I’m not going to buy a book a don’t want for the sake of buying from a locally owned business. Sorry, I don’t have that kind of disposable income. Also, the local history books that they had weren’t exactly what I was looking for. Aside from that, it was a very cute, nice bookstore and I will probably stop in again to browse next time I’m on the Square.
22. Visit Temple Avenue Farmers Market (#86)
23. Shop at the Forum at Ashley Park (#92)
• Ashley Park is sort of like an outdoor mall. There are anchor stores and boutiques, like Belk, Dillards, Dick’s, Barnes and Noble, Charming Charlie, American Eagle, etc. There is also a movie theater and some food places. We ate at Five Guys Burgers and Fries. It was decent. I like the way the place is set up. The burgers were ok, but nothing to write home about. Definitely not a Daddy Burger from the Flushing A or a Halo Burger. I like the idea of shopping and being able to walk outside though. The stores are a little pricy, but it’s a nice change from the over-air conditioned inside malls that I am used to.
24. Visit local antique shops (#97)
25. Visit Battle of Browns Mill monument (#102)
• The Battle of Browns Mill was the only Civil War battle site in the area of Newnan, Georgia. It took place July 30, 1864, and resulted in a decisive Confederate victory over the Union cavalry. The United Daughters of the Confederacy installed a monument in 19o8 at the corner of Old Corinth and Millard Farmer Roads, in the midst of where the battle took place. However, I nearly missed the thing. There are auto salvage places everywhere. The monument is on the side of the road, but there really isn’t even a place I could safely park and look because there is a hill and a ditch between the road and the cleared area where the monument is. All in all, I wasted 45 minutes of my life driving out there and driving back without even being able to take a picture from the road. I did, however, get to drive by the high school and see the set for The Walking Dead.
26. Play pool at the Alamo (#106)
27. See a former Coca-Cola bottling building at 167 Greenville Street (#108)
• Drove past a second time and saw what I missed the first time. It is a pawn shop now, but there is a giant Coca-Cola bottle carving in the front of the building with a neon Coca-Cola sign. The building looks a little Art Deco.
28. Visit Georgia’s first Carnegie Library (#109)
29. Powers’ Crossroads Country Fair
• 9/3/2011 – Lucca and I visited the festival and had a great time. It was a hot day and getting that stroller around by myself was a little difficult, but Lucca behaved awesomely, and we spent over two hours there. I got taken on the food, though. I didn’t walk around to see what there was first, and I spent $4 on a crappy hot dog and $5 on a lemonade that soon turned watery. I could’ve spent the same amount on some authentic southern food and a can of coke, and probably been happier. If we are still around here next year, I definitely want to go again, but with someone else too.
30. Visit the Shops at Sharpsburg
• 7/29/2011 – Sharpsburg is an interesting little town because while it has a a few brick downtown buildings, most of the shops are in old houses near the downtown. I had driven through Sharpsburg on two other occasions before stopping because I thought it would be too difficult to navigate with Lucca in a stroller. There were a few things on the signs that I couldn’t find, like a place that sold pottery and books, but there were a few shops that I really couldn’t get to because there was no sidewalk to them. The shops I did visit were nice. There was a second hand place and two antique/gift shops that were very cute. I also saw an opera house in an old residence, and took a few pictures of a closed-up hardware store. Plus, one of the stores in Sharpsburg is the film site of The Walking Dead. The store is going to have an actual tenant soon, but for now, it is “Steve’s Pharmacy.”
31. Explorations in Antiquity Museum, LaGrange
32. Hoofer’s Gospel Barn, LaGrange
33. Painting with a Twist, LaGrange
34. Roosevelt’s Little White House Historic Site, Warm Springs
35. Margaret Mitchell House, Atlanta – Home of the author of Gone with the Wind
36. Stone Mountain Park
37. Visit Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta
• 9/8/2011 – We visited the aquarium with Lucca and Mike’s mom on Thursday and had a great time. Lucca loved seeing the fish and the penguins and otters. It is a big place with lots of exhibits and animals, but I just couldn’t understand why general admission was so expensive. It was more than 3x the admission of Shedd’s Aquarium in Chicago, and I don’t think there was much difference in what was offered, except that at Shedd’s, you can see the dolphins without paying extra. And Georgia Aquarium had more touch tanks, I think. But regardless of the price, we still had a great time.
38. Visit Historic Senoia
39. Underground Atlanta
• 9/8/2011 – We tried to go, but when we got there, the area didn’t look too family friendly, we couldn’t find an elevator to get the stroller to a lower level, and when we found a list of shops there, none of them looked like ones we would be interested in, except for the souvenier shop. We decided to leave and try somewhere else.
40. Atlanta History Center
41. High Museum of Art
42. Children’s Museum of Atlanta
43. World of Coca-Cola
44. Grant Park, Oakland Cemetery, and Atlanta Cyclorama
45. Sweet Auburn
46. Starr’s Mill, Brooks
47. Visit the Confederate Prison at Andersonville, GA
• Andersonville Historic Fair, October 5-6
48. Zoo Atlanta
• 9/24/2011 – We went to Zoo Atlanta on a Saturday afternoon pretty much on a whim. We parked on the street, because we weren’t exactly sure about parking, and the one lot that we saw was full, but parking wasn’t that bad. It was a beautiful day and we got to look at the surroundings. I am particularly interested in Grant Park and whatever a Cyclorama is. Anyway, we made the mistake of going to the Zoo on a Saturday, which was also Educator Appreciation Day, so the place was a little crowded. Still, we had a great time. Admission was nearly $21 an adult, so we paid about $45 to get in, but we spent a huge part of the day there, and could’ve spent longer there if it wasn’t so crowded. When we left, we actually paid the difference to get a membership for a year. It was only $40 more, so if we go to the zoo one more time, it pays for itself. Plus, we get discounts on concessions, gift shops, and guest admissions
49. Coweta County Fair
• 9/28/2011 - We decided to go to the Coweta County Fair in Newnan on Wednesday with Lucca. It was funny because from the highway, you really can’t tell that anything is happening at the Fairgrounds. We weren’t entirely sure we were in the right place until we saw the line of cars ahead of us. When we parked, we realized that we had left Lucca’s stroller at home, so we had to carry her around the whole time. It would have been nice if the fair people had a place to rent strollers, wagons, or something, but we did just fine without anything. To be honest, the fair seemed a little small to me. There were a lot of rides, the concessions were nice, and seeing the animals were nice, but that was really all there was. I guess I’m used to the Genesee County Fairs with the tractor pulls and the derbys. But all in all, we had a nice time and spent about two hours there walking around.