First Day - Little White House 2

Welcome back to the tour of Franklin Roosevelt's Little White House.  Back then, Presidents didn't have Camp David to slip away to when the pressures of Washington got too much.  They were on their own.  Warm Springs was a place FDR came for polio therapy as a younger man and continued to use it into his Presidency.  He came to Warm Springs 44 times in his life.   When he died here in April 1945, it was virtually unchanged from that day.  That is why, as you will see, this place is a time capsule.

One of FDR's means of transport on the grounds.

This is the living room area.  The place seemed a bit small, and this was a nice cozy room.  Really felt warm and, uh, manly.   Eleanor seldom traveled with FDR to Warm Springs and definitely lacks the woman's touch, in this case, its a good thing.  

Dining room.

This is a ship FDR and a Naval aide built together.

I could actually picture FDR at this chair and table, enjoying a fire to his left on a cold georgia night.  Perhaps playing cards with his advisors. This is where FDR was when he was posing for his portrait and stricken.  

A really nice patio area out back overlooking the Georgia forests.  

This is FDR's bedroom and place where they carried his stricken body.  He would die in this bed shortly after his hemorrhage. 

Desk where important paperwork had to be signed.

FDR would die in this bed on April 12, 1945.  

Not a particular fancy bathroom and the stool was raised a bit to accommodate FDR's polio. 

Yes, folks.  This is the roll of toilet paper that was in the house when FDR died. 

This was called Eleanor's bedroom, but because she seldom came, it was mainly his boys that used it.

The pine sided small home built by FDR in 1932 and became known while he was in office as the "Little White House".

Garage area.  The help's quarters were above.

This is the famous "Unfinished Portrait".  Margaret Shamotoff was working to sketch out FDR's portrait in watercolors when he was stricken with a fatal cerebral hemorrhage.  

A close-up detail of her sketch.  After FDR's death that day, she never fisnished this work.  She did, however, make another drawing and finished the portrait in oils.  

This was the flag flying at the Little White House on the day of FDR's death.  

After the tour it was only 2:00 pm so lots of riding time left in the day.  I wandered over to a picnic area, bought a Coke and hunkered down with my maps.  I might as well have tried to saddle and break a squirrel for all the good it did.  Take out a map of Georgia sometime.  Now find Warm Springs.  Now try to navigate toward middle Tennessee.  Can't be done.  Truly, there is no way to get there from here.  ALL roads lead toward Atlanta, Chattanooga and Nashville.  But damned if I was going to enter those beasts.  I also began getting lost every 10 miles.   

 

Parked in front of my room at the Redwood Inn in Gadsden.  I shoveled about $3.00 into the pop machine on the right to quench my thirst.

I continued northward (or rather, mostly northward) from Warm Springs, but the rest of the day was marked mostly by my getting lost frequently.  At one point I stopped by a place and the fellow said to take the Lafayette Road.  SO I stayed on it awhile until I thought maybe I was getting too close to Atlanta.  It is a wonder I made any time at all considering I had to stop every 15 minutes and pull out my iPhone to check the maps app.  As I mentioned before, the whole point was to divert myself away from the major triumvirate of city driving: Atlanta, Chattanooga, and Nashville.  One time I even went around in a circle that took about 20 minutes to complete.  However, I also diverted myself away from much idea of where I was at any given point.  I remember passing through Newnan, Ga and was able to get some Harley Poker chips for my buddy Rick before flying off again into the wilds of Georgia and eventually the even wilder Alabama.     

I eventually made it to Gadsden, Alabama and while weary and just plain tuckered spotted this motel and for $40 decided to spend the night.  After 646 miles, a national historic site, lost and confused as to where I was after that, I had survived my first day and had new experiences to endure the next day.  One of those experiences would be the Waffle House that was right across the street from the welcome but somewhat buggy Redwood Inn.  Buggy?  When I opened a drawer to investigate a bug with wings was sitting on the Gideon Bible.  Didn't matter.  Didn't care.  I took off those godawful heavy riding boots,  stripped and leaned back on the bed.  It was heaven.  The Redwood Inn may have had its faults, but the bed was soft, the water in the shower was liquid and they even had Wi-Fi.  I made some scratchy texts to anyone who I thought had a map to send directions on how to avoid the Ghastly Three Cities.  None could.  I was on my own.  As I fell to blissful sleep, I dreamt of slow, empty roads through small towns as I extend my middle finger Chattanooga and Nashville like I had Atlanta.  My dream wasn't quite reality.  I ended up going through Chattanooga AND Nashville.  Funny how things work out.    

FIRST DAY: 646 MILES

We will resume the trip on Monday.  Tomorrow will be another Flashback Friday.