Macon, GA - March 18 & 19, 2011

Pictures from our B.A.R.T 2011 trip with Susan and Tim.  What is B.A.R.T. you ask.  Well, let me tell you.  Back during our HUGE tailgating days, we named ourselves the "Big Ass Tailgate Team" because Susan and Tim started bringing one of the ginormous Igloo coolers.  Somebody (probably me since I'm the one who tends to cuss more than the others) called it a big-ass cooler.  That lead to jokes about us having a big-ass Port-a-Potty, big-ass this, and big-ass that.  Sooooo...we decided to name this trip our Big Ass Road Trip 2011, or B.A.R.T. 2011.  :)

Cherry Blossom Festival, Macon, Georgia - cherry trees were in bloom all over the city.  They were GORGEOUS!

 Close up of one of the cherry branches - what a vibrant shade of pink!

 The REAL reason behind our trip - a visit to The Big House Museum.  The Big House was rented in January 1970 by Berry and Linda Oakley.  During the time that the Allman Brothers were living and recording in Macon, the Big House became a place that was "home" to many of those who were considered family by the ABB.  Of course, John was the first to spot the mushroom on the gate as we drove by.  LOL

 The house is beautiful, both inside and out.  If they wanted to give it to me to live in, I would take it in a heartbeat.  The pine floors simply gleam.

 Stained glass at the front door - The pieces on either side at the top have the dates that the house was used by the ABB, and the center section has ABB.  The afternoon sun coming through lit the windows up.

 This shirt was given to Gregg Allman by Eric Clapton.  Other interesting pieces of memorabilia were in the case...concert tickets ($1.50 for a concert!), contracts, pictures, checks...

Around 1973, Dickey Betts wrote "Blue Sky" for his new wife.  (She was of native American descent, and her name translated into Blue Sky.)  Across the street from the house is a beautiful church.  The line "Good ole Sunday morning / Bells are ringin' everywhere" comes from the bells in that church ringing.  I've always loved that line, but now that I know the story behind it, I think I love it even more.  Oh yeah, "Blue Sky" is John and my song.  

The shirt here was owned by Duane Allman.  It's hard to tell, but he is wearing this shirt in the picture below it.  Pretty cool, I think!

Yeah, this is a hookah.  Don't be shocked.  Most rock bands in the 60s and 70s (and even today) were known for their hard living.  It was sex, drugs, and rock and roll, after all.  The hookah and the table it is sitting on can be seen in the picture to the left of it.

Butch Trucks used these drums early on.  This section was set up to commemorate the concert at the Fillmore.  The picture behind the drums is from the last night of their first set of shows, I think...

Yeah, he doesn't know which way to go.  LOL

I love this sign!

Susan and Tim outside the Big House.

John and me outside the Big House

"I was born in the back seat of a Greyhound bus rolling down Highway 41."  Highway 41 runs right in front of the Big House.

We asked a local for a recommendation for dinner.  The Rookery was his recommendation.  It would now be mine too.  Deeee-lish!

Awww...they are so sweet!

We ain't all that sour ourselves.  :)

This was taken in the alley beside The Rookery.  We decided this would be our "album cover" picture if we were to ever need one.  hahaha

Wiggle at The Big House told us we needed to go to The Hummingbird for some good music.  We took his word and went.  Not too bad.  Apparently this is the place to go if you hope to maybe spot somebody famous.  We didn't see anyone currently famous, but if the Scott Little Band makes it big, we can say we saw them them.  We decided that places like this need to have a time for the "older" crowd who still wants to go listen to good music but we just can't swing with the younger crowd who doesn't get rolling until 10:30 or 11:00.  PM.

The next day we did a little more exploring.  This is a Catholic church in Macon.  They were having a funeral, so we didn't have an opportunity to see the inside, but I'm sure it was breathtaking.

Historical marker outside the church

A great picture of Susan and me, if I do say so myself.

We went to the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.  It was AWESOME! But I'm not posting any pictures from it.  We couldn't use flash, so they aren't that great.  The lady in the gift shop told us that the Georgia legislature isn't going to continue to fund it, though.  What a shame!  So much history and information!

After we finished our Hall of Fame visit, Tim asked the gift shop lady for a recommendation for lunch.  She said The Rookery.  (See, it really is good!)  Since we ate there already, we decided to try Market City Cafe.  Another great choice.  We didn't have a bad meal or experience the whole time.




Macon was a truly wonderful city.  Everything was so clean, and everyone was so friendly.  The city is large enough to offer a variety of things to do, yet it was so large that you lost that Southern charm.  It was the kind of city I could see myself living in.

It is also a very pet friendly city.  Everywhere we went, people had their dogs with them.  Big dogs, little dogs, medium size dogs.  Even pink dogs.  Yes, we did see a standard Poodle died pink.  I'm quite sure it was for the festival since everywhere you might look you'd see pink. 

I would love to go back to Macon for another visit.  There are some other ABB-related places I'd like to see, and I would love to do a tour of all of the gorgeous old historic homes.  Oh my!

I know I posted a TON of pictures in this post, but I hope you enjoyed them.  Maybe they will encourage you to take a trip to Macon. 

Have a GREAT day!