Traveling with Grace: Atlanta to Asheville!
This week, our #TravelTuesday series, Traveling with Grace, takes us from New Orleans into Atlanta, GA and Asheville, NC! To read more of Grace’s travels, click here.
Mon. Aug. 12th. Sorry to leave this nice place but must be on our way again. The road follows the gulf a good part of the way. We had intended visiting the Bellingrath gardens out of Mobile but found it would take too long and it was not worth the price at this time of the year. In Mobile we saw some lovely old Southern mansions, a few of them turned into boarding houses and went thru the Bankhead Tunnel under the Mobile river which cuts off some of the distance (its exactly like the Holland Tunnel in N.Y. only smaller). At Bay Minette we stopped for lunch and Mrs. Parks put the tray of dishes on the front seat but after we finished eating it was accidently knocked over and all the dishes broke so I wanted to pay for the damage and all the lunch room operator would take was 10 cents. About 6 we arrived at the Jefferson Davis in Montgomery which seems to be a very pretty city. After dinner we walked for several blocks along the main street window shopping and saw the capitol flood lighted up on the hill.
Tues. Aug. 13th. Before leaving Montgomery I looked up my old friend Carrie Loeb. We had a little trouble finding her as she had moved several times but we finally tracked her down and she seemed very glad to see us. We rode around Capitol hill and the bldgs. Looked even prettier than they did last night, one of the most attractive state capitols I have seen. There is also a lovely residential section and we passed one pretty synagogue. Left Montgomery about 11 but lost an hour setting watches back to E.S.T. Stopped in West Point for milk and sandwiches. Passed thru a string of little towns en route to Atlanta the approach to which is dirty compared to the other towns we had been in. Got in the Atlanta Biltmore at 6, called Carolyn immediately and she insisted that we come to her house for dinner. She had invited about 8 of her friends to meet me and we had a lovely evening.
Wed. Aug. 14th. Carolyn and Elizabeth want out with us and showed us Atlanta and vicinity. Some college campuses a number of suburbs, Decatur where Elizabeth treated us to lunch in the hotel, several parks, country clubs, Stone Mt. with its half-finished carvings of Lee, Jeff Davis, etc. started by Borglum and Lukeman and never completed, the Cyclorama of the Battle of Atlanta, Bobby Jones house, and golf course named for him. On a lake in the park we saw the cutest boats propelled like tricycles. Tonight Perrine, Elizabeth and Carolyn had dinner with us on the terrace. (I had ordered a special dinner from the maître – d’hotel) and we chatted and watched the dancing until nearly 11. It was delightfully cool here.
Thurs. Aug. 15. Carolyn invited us all for lunch at her house. Then she and her mother went out with us and showed us some more of the city including the Negro University, housing projects, better Negro residential district (all for Milton’s benefit) and then some really magnificent estates (one a miniature Fontainebleau) and many of these beautiful houses are owned by the Coca Cola magnates. Tonight we had dinner in the Coffee Shop.
Fri. Aug. 16th. Called for Carolyn about 10 o’clock and started up to Asheville by way of Highlands, Cashiers, Waynesville and Sylva a beautiful ride thru the mts. delightfully cool. Arrived at the Grove Park Inn (after stopping for lunch at a nice little restaurant in Dillard, Ga.) about 5 o’clock. Tonight I met Ella and Milton Nathan, Mr. and Mrs. Tobreiner and Mrs. Charles Rubinstein at the hotel.
Sat. Aug. 17th. Enjoyed the lovely terrace and took a walk in the garden this afternoon. Met Mrs. Bertha Bauer and Mildred and Joe Siegel. Tonight we played bridge on the porch.
Sun. Aug. 18th. Took a beautiful ride this afternoon up Sunset Mt., passed the old castle built by the late Mr. Seely who was a big publisher here and built half of Asheville, past the Asheville water shed and reservoir and on up to the Pisgah National Forest reservation with magnificent views along the way. Tonight we heard a very pretty concert at the hotel.
Mon. Aug. 19th. Went to the AAA this morning to arrange reservations for the remainder of the trip and for Carolyn’s plane trip home. Returned to the hotel for lunch and this afternoon visited the Antique Show at the Asheville Auditorium. Among the items on exhibit were china, bronzes, ivories, lamps, jewelry, dolls, doll furniture, samplers, buttons, paper weights, quilts, tapestries, hat pins, furniture, candelabra, miniatures, prints, and various oddments. Tonight we played bridge again.
Thanks for reading “Traveling with Grace,” a series where we’re sharing (and annotating) posts from the travel diaries of Grace Amelia Hecht, native Baltimorean, b. 1897 and d. 1955. As mentioned in my introductory post transcription errors sometimes occur and I’ve made my best guesses where possible, denoted by [brackets]. – Rachel Kassman, marketing manager