Callaway Gardens

We arrived in the charming little town of Pine Mountain, GA on a beautiful Saturday afternoon and after getting unpacked, we walked around the downtown area and visited the locally owned shops and boutiques.  Pine Mountain is about an hour SW of Atlanta and home to Callaway Gardens and FDR State Park.  After our walk, we grabbed a bite at The Oyster House where George had his fill of oysters on the half shell and I had my usual - shrimp.  The place was packed and the food was delicious.


Sunday morning we toured Callaway Gardens, a 2,500 acre resort complete with beautiful gardens, lakes, picnic areas, 2 championship golf courses, lodging, restaurants, bike and walking paths, tennis and 10 zip lines.  The Cason Callaway family acquired this land in 1930 and made it their home.  Over the next few decades, the property developed into the "Gardens" that it is today.  In 1952, the "Gardens" opened to the public and has provided respite, recreation and adventure to all ages.   We were unable to golf here as there was a tournament going on but we sure enjoyed the rest of the resort.

The Chapel

George and I have committed ourselves to begin a walking/hiking regimen and today was the perfect day to start.  It was a cool 67 degrees with a light breeze.  We began by walking around the Ida Cason Callaway Memorial Chapel, a quiet serene experience. 

The building is reminiscent of a 16th century Gothic Chapel with gorgeous stained glass windows and a custom-built pipe organ.  The Chapel hosts many weddings throughout the year.  And there was no shortage of wildlife like this egret in the pond next to the Chapel.

Egret in the Pond

Next was the Overlook Azalea Garden. The azaleas bloomed weeks ago; however, the Mountain Laurel were in full bloom along with the Iris, Honeysuckle and other beautiful flowers.  Nothing like a nice walk around these beautiful gardens with a light rain and the shining sun!

Mountain Laurel Blossom



Orange Honeysuckle

Pansay

 My favorite visit was to the Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center.  The building is a large glass enclosed conservatory with lots of tropical plants and flowers which provide nourishment for the many species of butterflies inside.  One landed on me but George wasn't able to get his camera focused in time...very special.

Upon leaving the Butterfly exhibit, it began to rain harder so we decided to pack it in for the day, watch a movie and get our laundry done.

We intended to play golf on Monday, however, the rain chased us away which was OK so we drove around a bit and had a leisurely lunch at Country's BBQ in LaGrange where George enjoyed "nanner puddin" served in a mason jar....his favorite!