The Great American Trip 2019 - Tuskegee Airman National Historic Site & Tuskegee Institute - 2nd & 3rd Stops

We drove from Ocmulgee Mounds in Georgia to Tuskegee Airman National Historic Site in Alabama.  I made a file for each of our stops that included some facts from the National Park Service Website so we could learn a bit before we arrived at each stop.   We also watched about the Airman on Netflix.   They had many options, but we watched " The Tuskegee Airmen" one evening a few weeks prior to our trip.  This is a must see historical site.   Everyone was incredibly friendly and helpful as the kiddos earned their badges.   The children loved seeing the planes, hearing the planes outside the building taking off, and learning sadly about history we were ashamed to hear revealing how people of color were treated.

"In history, a great volume is unrolled for our instruction, 

drawing the materials of future wisdom from the past errors 

and infirmities of mankind." 

Edmund Burke 

Growing up a military brat who had friends of all races, I'm still astounded that people don't treat all people with kindness exactly the way they'd want to be treated (the golden rule).   I love hearing people's life stories.  Hearing some stories of the pilots about where they came from, what their education consisted of, how they were treated, how many survived, and what their lives looked like post war was truly interesting to me and my children.   Go to their website to plan your trip which you can find by clicking on this link.  

It began to rain pretty hard so we didn't hike as much as we'd have liked on the trails close by, so we headed to stop #3:  Tuskegee National Historic Site.

The rain slowed a bit, but the folks were out on their lunch break I suppose when we got there.  We looked into windows, and walked around.   We will have to come back another day so we can get our stamps, earn our Junior Ranger badge, and learn some history.

You can find out more by clicking on this website link.   It will help you plan your trip.  Happy trails, Michelle

The Great American Road Trip - 2019: Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Park - Stop #1

Day 1 June 7, 2019!   We were off for a grand adventure. Myself and 3 of my children were crossing the United States to California to see my marine son.   

Welcome Center - Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Park

This was a great first stop.  It took us a little over two hours to arrive.  Ocmulgee is located at 1207 Emery Highway in Macon, GA.   It’s the perfect price range for our family:  FREE.  

The first thing we did was check out the visitor center.  Our park ranger was very knowledgeable and welcoming.  She really knew her history.   Before you go, visit their website by clicking Ocmulgee.   It will give you great information on the history and the trails available to walk while you are visiting.  I learned a lot just checking out the National Park Service websites while planning our adventure.   I printed out the things I wanted to share with the kiddos on the way before we got there.   We also looked at the different trails ahead of time to decide which trails we wanted to walk while we were there.   

According to the website, this was the largest Archaelogical dig in American History.   The mounds were for the elite of their tribes.  We learned about the Mississippian period and the Creek Indians, and so much more.

Deer

I’ll probably say this at all the stops, but this is one I’d return to and hike more trails.   It’s a pretty area, close to the city, and not too far from home.  The adventure continues.....

The Great American Road Trip 2019 - What I Wish I Remembered or Knew When Planning

Overall, the trip went off without a hitch.  However, I did learn a few things along the way that I want to list in hopes that I'll remember next time we travel afar.   They are written below.

1.   Time Changes.    That was a slap in the head "wish I could have had a V8" moment kind of discovery.  When I've traveled by plane, I've always considered what the time will be when I get there.   However, when planning this trip, I didn't think about the time zones across the United States.   So going to California we were always ahead of schedule, smooth sailing, and excited about my mistake.   Going home was another story.  It meant adjusting to lose an hour here or there.  It wasn't a big deal, but wish I would have thought about it when planning.
2.   Sunday Destinations - Next time I will call ahead to be sure of Sunday hours.  Many locations seemed to be opened on Sunday, but were not when we arrived.  However, many that weren't listed as open that we just planned to hike at happened to be open for the summer.  Calling ahead would have cleared that up.
3. Back up Camping Sites - We got to a couple of our primitive camping sites that just didn't work for us.   Fortunately, there was always a nearby State Park that worked out great.   It would've been nice to have a few of those listed ahead of time instead of searching on my phone some late nights.
4. Food - I over did the Costco trip at home before we left.  I wish I would have bought half the supplies here, and half in CA at Costco just to save room in the vehicle.  We did have fresh food stops along the way planned out.

That's about it.   Everything else went as planned or better, so I have no complaints.   Safe travels my friends!   Next update will discuss our first destination:   Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Park in Macon, Ga.