There was some sort of law enforcement conference or meeting at our hotel this morning. At breakfast there were a lot of police officers walking around in their polo shirts with their gun, and handcuffs on their belts. There were no shortage of police cars in the parking lot, yesterday night there were all kinds of Department of Corrections construction services people around.

From Forsyth, GA, we headed down to Andersonville, travelling along SR49 we passed many peanut fields.

We think these were pecan trees.

Some abandoned building in Marshallville, GA.

The Andersonville National Prisoner of War Museum. Andersonville was the site of one of the Confederacy’s military prisons during the Civil War. It was subject to overcrowding and as a result there were a large number of deaths among the inmate population.

This National Historic Site serves as a memorial to all American prisoners of war. The Visitor Centre contains the museum, behind it is the Prison Site and there is also a National Cemetery. The museum is presented in a unique order of events, as if you, the visitor had suddenly become the prisoner of war.

Often the most gruelling part was the march to the prison after being captured.

Claudia standing in the section about communication. In the walls there were drawers and doors that opened up and in it contained actual POW letters.

The girls watching one of the interactive displays about secret sign codes used by POW’s.

The museum was well laid out and our short visit was not nearly enough time to read everything.

One of the displays was a POW in a cell. Next to it was another cell that you could sit in.

POW Angela.

POW Claudia.

The pictures were taken through the little slots in the door.

POW Gillian.

Outside there is a memorial wall and statue.

This is the view looking out towards where the stockade would have been back in 1864.

There is a National Cemetery that is still active.

Like many of the Civil War sites, there are a lot of State Monuments.

There were 45,000 Union soldiers imprisoned at Andersonville, of those over 12,000 or 29% died while in prison. At it’s peak there were 32,000 soldiers in an area 1,620 feet long by 779 feet wide.

Of the 12,000 dead interred at Andersonville, only about 460 are in graves marked unknown US soldier.

Looking back towards the Visitor Centre.

There were markers that marked the location of the stockade walls. About 19 feet inside the walls was the “deadline”, the prisoners were forbidden to cross upon the threat of death.

They have partially rebuilt one corner of the stockade to show the height and in that area are some examples of the tents the Union soldiers would have endured.

Some of us didn’t want to get out and look around.

After Andersonville it was back on the road with our final destination Orlando. A Georgia peanut at the side of the I-75.

We stopped for lunch at a Steak and Shake restaurant, here are Gillian and Angela with their hats on.

The food wasn’t bad or we were really hungry.

No KFC for us for awhile, but I saw this sign, just can’t imagine doing a KFC buffet.

We rolled into the “Official” Florida Welcome Centre around 3:00 in the afternoon. Angela hugging the palm tree.

Here are the girls in front of the Florida sign

Here they are 3 years ago.

As you can see the skies started to cloud over and shortly after we were back on the road the rain began, it lasted about 15 minutes and then it was clear until we arrived in Orlando. Once we unloaded the skies opened up again and it has finally stopped.

Friday we are at Universal Islands of Adventure.

Today’s drive was a little shorter. We got on the road by 8:20. It was another great morning for weather. Our plan today is to go from Corbin, KY to Forsyth, GA. We are stopping in the Chattanooga, Tennessee area to visit some of the Civil War battlefield sites. Going through the rolling hills of Kentucky.

Welcome to Tennessee.

I dug up the photo from 2008, it was at a different Welcome Centre.

Hitting a little fog but nothing serious.

As you can see in the mirror it is Susan taking the pictures from the car.

Some of the many stands of Kudzu along the sides of the highways. It is a vine that is an invasive species, also known as “the vine that ate the south”.

One of the many fireworks stores along the highway.

There is no church near this giant cross, just a store that sells adult books, etc. According to our guidebook, a local Tennessean buys a small plot of land near such establishments and builds these giant crosses.

After exploring some of the Civil War Battlefields it was back on the road to our hotel in Forsyth, Georgia. We headed through Atlanta during rush hour, we were able to drive in the HOV lane through most of the city. The backup for us didn’t happen until the by-pass hooked up with the I-75 again, so we would have been stuck in it either way. The girls were taking pictures as we drove through Atlanta.