12-8-2023
Southern Trails RV Resort, Unadilla, Georgia
We went to the Cotton Museum in Vienna, GA today. Daniel wanted to touch actual cotton still on the plant. As we were driving to the museum, we drove on a dirt road past some cotton fields and Daniel got out to investigate. We have been struck by the amount of cotton still on the plant after the cotton has been harvested.
At the Cotton Museum, we were lucky to receive a personal tour from the new curator, Mrs. Christine Kingdom. She was a wealth of information and we learned a lot. The cotton bolls do not open at the same time on the plant. She used to pick cotton by hand and she said they had to make two passes through a field to get all the cotton. She and her family would pick 200-500 pounds of cotton each per day.
She showed us many pictures of people from Vienna and Dooly County and the surrounding area: farmers, gin owners, etc. Her father was in one of the pictures standing with other men and mules during a harvest.
We learned that the vegetable oil you may buy to cook with probably contains cotton oil.
It was so fun to talk with Mrs. Kingdom. She enthusiastically talked about her life growing up (picking cotton, churning butter, etc) and ended the tour with the accomplishments of her sons. One of her sons declared when he was nine years old that he was going to get an Olympic gold medal. Know what? He did! He won two gold Olympic medals in track and field hurdles (1984 and 1988) and set a world record. He also decided he wanted to be an NFL coach so that’s what he did. He retired after the team he coached, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, won the Super Bowl in 2021.
Thank you Mrs. Christine Kingdom! What an honor to meet you and share a couple of hours with you this afternoon.
Fun fact: I used to live in Mississippi and ride horses in the cotton fields near my house. One Saturday I lost my keys in one of the fields while riding. That Sunday, a lot of people from the nearby church, which I wasn’t even a member of, were out in that field looking for my keys. My keys were never found but this is a perfect example of what my experience was like living in the south – people were friendly, welcoming, generous, and they took care of their neighbors.
We ended our night with bingo at the campground. I won twice and got some Christmas decorations. Unfortunately, Daniel didn’t win but he had fun. We met fellow campers, Jim and Carol, who gave us advice on campgrounds to stay at. They were a lovely couple and we hope we run into them again.
Stats
Expenses:
- Tow vehicle fuel: $0
- Campsite: $9.50 (RPI)
- Camping memberships: $3.73
- Food: $0
Miles driven: 28.7 (8.6 kWh)
Number of people asking about the Tesla pulling the camper: 1
Subscribe so you never miss a post!
Never miss an update! You’ll get an email once or twice a week with updates from us! We will never sell your email address or in any other way abuse the privilege of you being a loyal follower.
Contact Happy Vegan Campers!
Happy Vegan Campers are traveling the country and building a passive house! Any suggestions on places we should visit or questions about our house? Love our recipes? We’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or send us an email:
happyvegancampers@gmail.com
#CottonMuseum #SouthernCharm #SouthernHospitality #Georgia #ViennaGA #ViennaGeorgia #FullTimeTraveling #FullTimeCamping #FullTimeRVing #TravelingtheUS #CamperLife #ChristineKingdom
Leave a Comment