With Stops in Plains and Warm Springs - Welcome to Atlanta and the ACC Tournament

The Prius computer does not lie - 55.5 miles per gallon.

We left home in Tallahassee at 7 AM this morning and drove the backroads of Georgia. We spent a couple hours in Plains and had an unexpected stop at Warm Springs to see Roosevelt's Little White House. Finally - 285 miles later - we handed the valet the key to the Prius to put her to bed for 3 days at our hotel. We are on the 13th floor in a Residence Inn in downtown Atlanta.

The Prius served us well. We got 55.5 miles per gallon! It was a very comfortable quiet ride with very little traffic.

We will spend 3 nights here watching FSU and Duke play basketball games. Hopefully - we have a reason to stay for the final game Sunday.

Our first stop was the Home of Jimmy Carter - Plains. It is a really small town that time has left behind. The railroad track parallels the main street in downtown. Several little stores were selling trinkets and peanut stuff. We enjoyed some soft serve peanut butter ice cream and bought a bag of fried peanuts and a big bag of chocolate peanut brittle.

Jimmy's high school has been turned into a first class museum. We were lucky enough to stumble onto a dramatic presentation in the auditorium. A lady was playing the housemaid at Miss Lillian's farm. Next we drove out of town to see Jimmy's birthplace home and store. Also - we drove by his present home. We did not see him - but he still teaches Sunday School twice a month in town.

Half way from Plains to Atlanta - we stumbled onto Warm Springs. Roosevelt spent lots of time there - mainly to swim in the 88 degree water coming out of the spring. The water was full of minerals and he was convinced that it helped his polio. The spring is still flowing today - 900 gallons a minute of 88 degree water.

After that - we had roughly two hours to drive to Atlanta. Our hotel in downtown Atlanta is very nice. We have a suite on the 13th floor - bedroom - kitchen - living room - bathroom. We arrived to 72 degree temperature in Atlanta. We can see the Capitol golden dome out our window. We can walk to the games at Philips Arena.

We expect a visit from Lulu's brother Jackie over the weekend.

Here we are in front of Roosevelt's Little White House.

Franklin Roosevelt died in this bed a couple of weeks before World War II ended.

Roosevelt was president for 12 years - and no one knew that he could not walk. He had polio and was paralyzed from the waist down. Imagine trying to hide that today. Here you see his wheelchair and leg braces.

This is Jimmy Carter's boyhood home in Plains. The family had a store next to it. The house had a small bathroom - heat was from a fireplace in each room and a kitchen stove. Water flowed by gravity to the bathroom from a water tower filled by a windmill.

Downtown Plains is really small. Lulu enjoyed shopping there - prices were reasonable. We probably saw less than 15 people the while time.

This old train station served as Jimmy's campaign headquarters. Across the track was Billy Carter's filling station.