Victoria State Park- Royston GA

 Victoria State Park- Royston, GA

CHURCH-WADDEL-BRUMBY HOUSE

This Federal-style house, circa 1820, is believed to be Athens' oldest surviving residence. Its rescue from demolition and restoration in the early 1970s as a house museum and welcome center sparked the historic preservation movement in Athens. 

We were unfamiliar with the term "best bedroom" which they used rather than master bedroom.

Ware Lyndon House

The Ware–Lyndon House is a historic house located in Athens, Georgia. Built circa 1850, the house is two stories and exhibits an Italianate style. Edward R. Ware, its original owner, sold the property to Edward S. Lyndon in 1880. It is the only surviving structure from the Lickskillet neighborhood of Athens, one of the most fashionable districts of its time.

Edward R. Ware came to Athens in 1829 and was one of Athens' most prominent physicians practicing during the antebellum, Civil War, and post-Civil War periods. The house was the site of many parties; William Hope Hull (founder of University of Georgia's law school in 1859) described Mrs. Edward R. Ware as "full of life, loving the company of old and young, rich and poor, hospitable to lavishness, never too sick to go to a 'party,' and never too tired to give one…that youthful vivacity and unfeigned cordiality, which added to the other attraction of her elegant home

T.R.R. Cobb House

The T. R. R. Cobb House built in 1842 is an historic octagon house originally located in Athens, Georgia.

The original part of the home of Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb is a Greek Revival four-over-four "Plantation Plain" built about 1834. The house was given in 1844 to Cobb and his new wife, Marion Lumpkin, as a gift from his father-in-law, Joseph Henry Lumpkin, the first Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court. Cobb made additions to the house of new rooms, and by 1852, it had acquired its octagon shape and two-story portico. Cobb died in 1862, and his widow remained in the house until 1873 when she sold it. The house was maintained and the Cobb family was served by the two dozen enslaved people Cobb owned, who lived behind the main house.

The Stone Mountain Memorial Association stepped forward in 1984, bought it, and relocated it to Stone Mountain Park in 1985.

The restoration of the house never took place because of lack of funding, and the house sat for nearly twenty years. In 2004 the Watson-Brown Foundation bought the house and returned it to Athens in the spring of 2005. The Watson-Brown Foundation restored the house to its appearance of 1850.

The house is now open for tours as a house museum.

We toured these antebellum homes to get a better glimpse into life during this time period. These homes had each been moved and relocated within about a mile radius of each other in town. 

Long Point Park- Melbourne Florida

 Long Point Park- Melbourne, Florida

Melbourne Beach was our furthest trip south for the year. Melbourne is just south of Cape Canaveral.  The weather was phenomenal- it was sunny and 70-80's in December. Much of the country was having frigid winter weather, so we were very thankful to be where we were. Lisa did have to find some summer clothes because she had packed all of hers up for the winter. 

A loon was walking around a campsite,  The last hurricane that came through washed out about 10 of the campsites at the County Park. There was still residual damage in many places from the hurricanes that hit the area this year.

Lisa and Karma were waiting for the liftoff of the Space X rocket.  It was completely unplanned, but we discovered Space X would be sending up a rocket.  This rocket carried 42 satellites into space.

We see the rocket as it reaches above the curvature of the earth.

This was the second stage separation of the Space X rocket.

Second stage fuel burn for the rocket to reach its height needed to release the satellites.

Satellites were then projected into the upper atmosphere.

Rocket boosters making necessary corrections for the rocket to return to the launch pad.

The rocket returning to earth and the Launch pad.

About the Navy SEAL Museum

The National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum is the only museum dedicated solely to preserving the history of the U.S. Navy SEALs and their predecessors. Located in Fort Pierce, Florida, the Museum resides on the training grounds of the original Naval Combat Demolition Units (NCDU) and Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT), the Frogmen.

Built to honor the men who served with fortitude and dedication, the Navy UDT-SEAL Museum first opened its doors on Veterans Day in 1985. 

A high performance side by side jeep was on display.

This desert buggy was used in Iraq.

This truck was locally manufactured in Afghanistan then modified for use by the Navy Seals. 

This plaque gives the history and meaning of the Trident, which is the insignia worn by Seals after they complete their training..

Memorial for UDT/Seal Team members that lost their lives during wars from WWII to Afghanistan.

These are the Navy Seals who have received the Medal of Honor.

We spotted this lizard at the museum. There were a bunch of this species on the grounds here. We had never seen this species with their really long, orange stripped tails before.

The entrance to the National Navy SEAL Museum is guarded by the statue of the Naked Warrior, which specifically portrays the elite men of the U.S. Navy’s Underwater Demolition Teams of World War II. These men went into battle equipped only with swim fins, face mask, and a slate board with a lead pencil on which to record intelligence gathered. Their only weapon was a K-Bar knife.

 

During their early missions, Navy combat swimmers were completely clothed in combat uniforms, boots and metal helmets. That changed during a mission in preparation for the invasion of the Japanese held atoll of Kwajalein in January 1944. Ordered to conduct a reconnaissance mission to assess beach conditions in advance of the planned assault, the two man team could not get close enough to shore because of a coral reef. They stripped to their underwear and swam over the reef to complete the mission undetected, becoming the first “Naked Warriors.” Following the success of that mission, training emphasized strong swimming skills and operating without the use of lifelines, wearing only face masks, swim trunks and fins.

Lisa was on her bike in front of a Ponce De Leon Statue.