We visited with my cousin, who is also my godfather. He and his wife celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, and a swell time was had by all! Congratulations again, J & N! They have two grown children (my second cousins with spousal units) whom I met for the first time in person. Here are some photos of their property:
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| Lovely scenery |
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| The Lake |
While not enjoying the company of our extended family, a band of us broke out for a trip to the local museum, and man oh man, what a beautiful place!
The Columbus Museum not only had wonderful local history displays and gorgeous artwork, there was also a garden surrounding the place!
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| "Boat Installation" by Dale Chihuly |
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| Native American History |
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| Martha and George Washington Portraits |
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| "Rehearsal" by John Koch |
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Cat Close up of "The Rehearsal"
This is the 'one cat' of my entire trip |
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| Garden pathway |
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| I love statues in a garden! |
We also visited downtown Columbus, Georgia, and sat on the bank of the Chattahoochee River, where folks used the rapids to practice their white-water rafting skills.
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| Zip Line, from Georgia to Alabama! |
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| Chattahoochee River |
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| Rafters |
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| Old warehouses updated to modern office and living spaces |
On the way back to Atlanta for our return flight to Detroit, we visited Warm Springs, Georgia, made famous by our four-time President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who built a cottage that he named 'The Little White House'. Being a polio victim, the warm water gave buoyancy to the body, allowing exercise for paralysed limbs, and a sense of camaraderie with fellow patients.
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One of several autos adapted so FDR could
drive himself using his hands |
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Actual porch furniture that FDR used while
at The Little White House |
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The artist, Elizabeth Shoumatoff, started this portrait
of FDR on April 12, 1945, when he collapsed
and died later that day. She never finished it. |
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A negative pressure ventilator, commonly called an iron lung.
Some polio victims lost muscle control, including the ability to breathe.
These ugly but life-saving devices did that for the person, by
inflating and deflating their lungs until they had built up
enough strength again. |
As an aside, my father contracted Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, as a boy. Thankfully for millions of people afterward, a working vaccine was first administered in 1950, and later other vaccines were developed, but polio still has no cure. My father died from complications of lung cancer in 2004, which was probably in part due to damage his body sustained as a child with this disease. My father really didn't enjoy having pets as I and my siblings children grew up, however, Angel and Chuck were growing inside their mother when my father passed, so they are my living link to him. I like to think that he would have enjoyed their company when he visited our home, because after all, they are his grand-cats!
