(Mis)Adventures in NE Georgia

After a weekend in Athens, Georgia with Vol Fan, it was time for me to head home. The job in Athens isn't going to be long enough for me to move - lock, stock, and barrel. He should be home this weekend. And hotel living gets expensive! Anyway for the trip home, I had a decision to make.

Choice #1: Take the sensible route and drive as much as possible on the interstate and get home quickly and efficiently.

OR

Choice #2: I could take the AWESOME route which included lonely highways, small towns, and graveyards.

Oh, yeah - I took the AWESOME route. I love to drive on back roads that meander through small towns. You know the ones - most don't even have a traffic light. Just a stop sign at the grocery store/gas station/restaurant/feed mill.

But what was really calling my name? The graveyards. Vol Fan's ancestors spent a lot of time in NE Georgia. I had never had the opportunity to visit the area and the genealogist in me needed to do some graveyard walking.

I knew the name of the church where several of his great-greats are buried. So I found the address on the internet, entered it in my GPS, and off I went. I found the church without a hitch. After my last run-in with a church, this church was refreshing.

Truly an open door policy - not a soul was around but the door was wide open. The cemetery was just down the road a piece. (Yes, you have to talk this way when touring Southern roads!)

I found several of the graves I was seeking and took pictures. But I couldn't find one grave, O. D. Ledbetter. He was supposed to be here. Where was he??

After walking and rewalking around the cemetery, I gave up and decided to head back into the nearest town and go to their library. They had a wonderful genealogy room where I spent several hours. And I had my question answered - Where was O. D.? Apparently he got pissed off at the church people after he had given the land to build the church house and left very strict instructions that he was NOT to be buried there. Even though his family, his wife was buried there. Oh how I wish I knew what that argument was about!

So I left the library, entered the address for the cemetery into the GPS, and took off. I drove. And I drove. And I drove. But I really needed to reach that bullseye dot that marked my intended destination. No problem. Right?

Yeah, that's what I thought too. I had gone from paved country road to gravel road to dirt road to what could only be called a deer trail through the woods. Did I stop? NO.

Even when the GPS lady said "Entering unverified area. Use caution." Did I do what most normal people would do? Of course not because I HAD to reach that bullseye. I forged on - through places I am sure cars are not supposed to go. Especially cars without 4-wheel drive. Driven by a lone woman. With no service on her cell phone!

After driving for miles and miles, my path through the woods finally dumped me out onto another road. Gravel but at least it was a road. Lo and behold, there was my bullseye. With the cemetery right next door.

So I walked the cemetery. And rewalked it. And rewalked it. But I never did find OD's final resting place. This entire line of stones marks the resting places for Ledbetters, just not O. D. Maybe he was so grumpy that his kids just didn't place a marker. Who knows?
But Welcome to the South. Obviously someone with ties to the Confederacy tends to this cemetery. There were probably 2 dozen Confederate flags flying, all marking the graves of Confederate soldiers that died during the Civil War.

After finishing my search for O. D., I got in the car to head home. I told the GPS lady to find me a route home. She, very politely, told me to "Proceed to the highlighted route and then the route guidance would begin."

The problem? The highlighted route wasn't even showing on my screen. I had to zoom out several times to even see it.

But I knew that I needed to head northwest. So that's what I did - there was no way in hell I was going back the way I came.

I headed down the gravel road in the opposite direction from which I had come. I traveled about a mile before it ended at a road - a real road. With pavement and lines and everything. But it still wasn't on the "highlighted route" so I continued to make my own way.

After driving about 2 more miles, I came to an intersection. An intersection that I was familier with. Yes, it was the very same intersection where I had turned to go to the first church!! I had easily driven an extra 30 miles through bum-fucked egypt. The cemeteries were about 4-5 miles apart.

Lesson: Don't blindly follow your GPS lady!