By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > West Central Georgia > Harris County > Pine Mountain

Walk amongst a thousand tropical butterflies fluttering freely through the Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center at Callaway Gardens. 

When Cason Callaway, leading Georgia businessman and personal friend of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, stepped down as leader of the family mill empire, the LaGrange textile magnate decided to pursue a longtime dream to farm. His dream first took shape when his wife Virginia and he, while exploring Pine Mountain in the 1920s, spotted the deep, clear pool of Blue Springs underneath a granite cliff. Enchanted, they visited frequently; and on one summer picnic, they found a rare Plumleaf azalea. Upon investigation, they discovered that the July-blooming azalea was native only within a 100-mile radius of Blue Spring. The flower inspired them to purchase the land in Harris County adjacent to Blue Springs and later to build Callaway Gardens.

Today, Callaway Gardens is a 13,000-acre manmade landscape in a natural setting with gardens, woodlands, lakes, wildlife and recreation facilities. The Plumleaf, or Prunifolia, azalea today serves as the Gardens’ floral emblem.

You can visit the Azalea Bowl, a 40-acre garden with more than 3,400 hybrid azaleas ­– fantastic in spring; Mr. Cason’s Vegetable Garden, a 7.5-acre demonstration garden where the popular PBS television show “The Victory Garden” is taped; the historic Overlook Garden; and the John A. Sibley Horticultural Center, a garden/ greenhouse where something is always in bloom; and much more. (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > Northwest Georgia Mountains > Walker County > Lookout Mountain

Over the years hundreds of barns standing along highways have been painted, urging folks to See Rock City on Lookout Mountain. 

It is the subject of what is probably one of the best advertising campaigns in America. Not long after Rock City opened as a public attraction in 1932, owner Garnet Carter hired sign painter Clark Byers to travel the nation’s highways and offer to paint a farmer’s barn in exchange for letting him paint three simple words on its roof: See Rock City. By the close of the 1930s, Byers had painted the black and white signs on barns as far north as Michigan and as far west as Texas, enticing travelers to visit the Rock City Gardens designed by Carter’s wife, Frieda.

Today, Rock City is one of the most recognized attractions in America. You can walk the trails of Rock City that Frieda Carter spent four years laying out around the giant rock formations and botanical wonders on top of Lookout Mountain with only a string to mark her trail. (more…)

 By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

The Fountain of Rings with its 12-foot water sprays is the centerpiece of downtown Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park. 

If you are visiting any major attraction in downtown Atlanta — CNN, the Georgia Aquarium, the World of Coca-Cola, Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta, the Georgia Dome, or Philips Arena just to name a few — or if you just want a downtown destination that is cool, fun, and a chance to reminisce about Atlanta’s hosting of the 1996 Olympics, stop to experience Centennial Olympic Park. About three million visitors do just that each year.

The Fountain of Rings, the centerpiece of the 21-acre park, is the world’s largest interactive fountain, utilizing the Olympic symbol of five interconnecting Rings. Time your visit with one of the four daily Fountain of Rings shows (12:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.) where the Olympic fountain’s synchronized water dances to familiar tunes complete with sound and lighting effects. Water height during normal fountain operation can reach 12 feet, but during the Fountain Show, sprays can be anywhere from 15 to 30 feet tall—all in tune with everything from Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” and The Little Mermaid’s “Under the Sea” to Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon” and The Beatles’ “Twist and Shout.” When it’s not show time at the Fountain, children – and adults – love to play in its spray. (more…)