June 9-11, 2019

Twin Oaks RV Park, Elko, GA

On Twin Oaks website they bill themselves as “Halfway to Everywhere!”.  The family-owned park is conveniently located 2/10 mile off of I-75. 

The owner came out to greet us upon arrival.  He instructed us to follow his golf cart.  When he drove to an area that was heavily treed we asked if we could have one of the sites closer to the office that had more of an open sky that would allow us to receive a signal on our rooftop satellite.  He told us that they were premium sites that were not available to Passport America members but because they had many open sites they would allow us to have one of those sites this one time.

One of the reasons we chose the park was because it accepts our Passport America membership.  They have a two night limit for the discount but we were able to use AAA for our third night which brought our nightly rate to $25.

We took advantage of the refreshing pool and hot tub during our stay. 

 I also did wash while at the park in the cleanest laundry room I have ever encountered in our 7 years on the road. 

Although we didn’t use the meeting room or rec room we were quite impressed at the amount of games available and the cleanliness of the rooms.

Another reason we choose to stay at Twin Oaks RV Park was that it is less than an hour drive to a place I wanted to tour.

The Jimmy Carter National Historic Site is located in the former presidents’ home town of Plains, Georgia.

 

We began our tour at the Plains High School Museum and Visitor Center where we watched a 25-minute film in what was once the auditorium.

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter and every other school-aged kid living in Plains between 1921 and 1979 when it closed attended the school.

The entire first floor is a museum, the bulk of which exhibits focus on Jimmy Carter but also portrays life in a small town. 

 The exhibits include a restored classroom and hundreds of photos of the Carters and of teachers and other kids who attended the High School.

One area in the museum contains a Rosalynn Carter section put together by Mrs. Carter herself.  The exhibit is a photographic memory lane spanning her early childhood, courtship with Jimmy, life as a navel officer’s wife and as First Lady.  I especially liked the exhibits showcasing her endeavors after politics.

 

 

 

In addition to adding stamps to my National Parks Passport book I received a book entitled Presidential Hometown Passport. 

 

The book is filled with pages of locations in Plains that ask a question whose answer can only be found at those locations.  There is a spot on the individual page for a stamp. 

One of the site listed in the passport is The Smiling Peanut located at 114 Highway 45 North in front of a convenience store.  The question on the page is, “What feature makes this peanut special?” 

A few of the sites are located on one block along a strip of stores including the Carter Peanut Warehouse that had been owned and operated by Jimmy Carter’s father Earl.  Today it serves as a shop for peanut related merchandise. 

The Plains Depot is number 11 in the passport.  Built in 1888, the depot is the oldest building in Plains.  It served as a freight and passenger depot until 1951 when passenger service was discontinued. 

 In 1976 Jimmy Carter used the depot as his presidential campaign headquarters.  It was selected as the headquarters because it was the only building in town with a public restroom. 

Our last stop in the downtown area was to the Billy Carter Service Station.  The president’s younger brother purchased the gas station in 1972.  While Jimmy was president, people came from all over the world to see Plains and many stopped at Billy’s store. 

 Billy was at times an embarrassment to the president.  He would hold a can of beer and make blunt statements about his brother and government policies.

The final location we visited was a short drive out of town to the boyhood farm where Jimmy Carter grew up. 

 The self-guided tour took us through the house, the family store and a tenant cabin that had been occupied by Jack and Rachel Clark who played an important role in Jimmy Carter’s childhood.

The Farm was home to the future president from age 4 until he departed for college.

Notice the unique shower system.

On the day the family moved into the house, Jimmy’s father forgot the house key and had his 4 year-old crawl through a window to open the front door.  That was the last time the door was locked while the family lived in the house.

 

The store adjacent to the home contained various necessities including canned goods, lamp wicks, kerosene, overalls, etc. 

While not in school, Jimmy’s days were filled with taking care of farm animals, hunting, fishing, reading and listening to a battery-powered radio.

Jimmy spent many hours in the home of Jack and Rachel Clark, day laborers who lived in a cabin on the Carter Farm. 

Mr. Clark tended mules and collected wood for the fireplaces in the Carter home. 

Mrs. Clark was like a second mother to the Carter children.  Jimmy Carter regarded Rachel Clark as a close companion, confidante, and someone who helped him enhance his fishing skills.

Polls of historians have ranked Carter as a below-average president but he is highly regarded for his post presidential endeavors including the founding of the Carter Center, a non-governmental organization with the purpose of advancing human rights and alleviating human suffering.  The center has helped improve the quality of life for people in more than 80 countries.

The Carter’s are also well known for their work as volunteers with Habitat for Humanity that helps low-income working people around the world to build and buy their own homes. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site where I gained a much better insight into a good man who came from humble roots and ascended to the biggest office in the country.  How many other places in the world would that be possible?  Through it all he remained true to his roots and has proved to be a wonderful role model.

Before departing town we returned to the Visitor Center to show our passport stamps and receive our “reward”.