Getting to Know Augusta

Our first day in Augusta, Georgia will be one of the nicest days, weather-wise, so we decided to make the most of it and get around town.

Our first stop was the Augusta Museum of History, which has permanent exhibits telling the history of the Augusta area and the Savannah River, which runs down to Augusta from the southern Appalachian Mountains and on to Savannah on the Atlantic coast.  It also has an excellent exhibit on the history of golf, golfers associated with Augusta, and four great Augusta courses.

In the lobby is a statue of Bobby Jones, who, after winning the Grand Slam of golf, returned to Augusta to design the world famous Augusta National Golf Course, which hosts the annual Masters Tournament:

Several exhibits explain the history of Augusta National:

Bobby Jones isn't the only famous Augusta personage.  There was also an exhibit on Ty Cobb:

Perhaps Augusta's most famous resident was James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul," and there is a large exhibit on his life and career:

The City of Augusta even has erected a statue of James Brown in the center of town.  Here, Kathy is getting up close and personal with The Man:

The main street of Augusta is Broad Street, which runs parallel to the Savannah River.  Broad Street is intent on restoration, although there are a number of vacant storefronts and too much traffic allowed in some places.  A trendy bar and restaurant area has grown up, however, which was fun to explore.  And, the occasional random art showed up:

The City of Augusta is protected from flooding by a levee along the entire stretch of the Savannah River where it passes the City.  It has been improved with River Walk Park, including statuary art, historical and explanatory markers, playgrounds, fishing spots, and restful viewpoints:

It was Saturday afternoon when we walked along the river, and the park was alive with many people using it to maximum advantage.  The promenade even has an Analemmatic Sundial whose accuracy Kathy demonstrated in the photo below.  Yep:  5:00 p.m.  The sundial noted that it was programmed to follow Daylight Savings Time.

Our ultimate destination was a riverboat ride along the Savannah River.  Just after we got to the dock, the boat arrived:

We eagerly boarded, found our seats and recorded the beginning of our ride:

We're smiling in the photo above because, as the boat left the dock, the captain played the "Theme from Gilligan's Island".  He hastened to explain that the boat ride was to be only 2 hours because a 3 hour cruise would be too dangerous.

The tour began with views of houses built ON the levee protecting the city from the river.  Our captain gave no reason why anyone in their right mind would authorize building on a levee, and we wondered at the obviously large amounts of money people spent on the houses:

Yet more expensive mansions were built on the opposite side of the river, in North Augusta, which is actually in South Carolina (the Savannah River is the border between Georgia and South Carolina), and, the further upstream we moved, the more expensive the mansions.  The most spectacular were reserved for the stretch with a view of lands in Georgia that are protected from development by the Augusta Canal National Heritage Area.

Eventually, we reached the Fall Line of the river, where it spilled over granite shelves marking the ancient fault line between the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain.  When North America and Africa collided eons ago to make the Pangaean supercontinent, the compression where they met shoved sheets of sedimentary rock over each other to make the Fall Line.  Here we can see the extremely shallow water created by the shelf of the Fall Line.  A cypress tree grows out of the water, which is so shallow here that ancient Native Americans, as well as the exploring Spanish, crossed the Savannah River at this location.

As the boat motored back down the river past Augusta, we saw graffiti on the pillars of two of the bridges spanning the river.  Our captain related that this stretch of the river is the location of annual Head of the South Regatta, hosted by the Augusta Rowing Club.  Participating teams have, over the years, taken opportunities to paint their team logos on various bridge pillars.

Our boat continued downstream a half hour before turning back up toward Augusta.  By this time, sunset was approaching, and we spent a wonderful, quiet ride enjoying the drama and color of the sky, clouds and water:

The City of Augusta drifted slowly toward us until we docked at the River Walk Marina, with the setting sun and part of the Augusta skyline in the background:

A day well spent, and now we know much more about this gracious Southern city.  This gives us lots of idea for the rest of our stay.