On Site in Georgia

FAM PARTICIPANTS EXPLORE THE GARDENS AND HISTORIC CHAPEL ON THE PROPERTY OF THE CRESCENT IN VALDOSTA.

All photos by Brian Jewell

ON SITE IN GEORGIA

THE PLANTATION TRACE REGION IMPRESSED TRAVEL PLANNERS ON THIS FAM TOUR

GEORGIA KNOWS HOW TO ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET.

Spend some time in the towns of southwest Georgia, and you’ll likely be charmed by the area’s warm weather and even warmer hospitality.

That’s what 11 tour operators, travel agents and other readers of The Group Travel Leader found during a four-day familiarization tour in Georgia’s Plantation Trace region in April. Hosted by the Georgia Department of Economic Development, this tour visited Valdosta, Thomasville and Albany, three destinations with a distinct flavor and appeal for visitors.

During the trip, participants toured beautiful plantations and homes, shopped in historic downtown districts, experienced wildlife and animal attractions, and enjoyed amazing Southern cuisine. Along the way, they spent time with some of the tourism and hospitality professionals who specialize in helping groups plan great trips in Georgia.

Follow along on this itinerary to enjoy your own exploration of Georgia’s Plantation Trace region.

Day 1

• ARRIVAL IN VALDOSTA

• WILD ADVENTURES

• VALDOSTA WAKE COMPOUND

• DOWNTOWN VALDOSTA

• DINNER AT STEEL MAGNOLIAS

Guests traveled from around the country to Valdosta, the largest city in southwest Georgia, and met at a local hotel to begin the tour. From there, the group departed for lunch and a private tour at Wild Adventures, a local theme park and zoo.

The next stop was Valdosta Wake Compound, a man-made watersports park where guests can watch wakeboarding demonstrations or attempt the sport themselves. After that, the group enjoyed a walking tour through downtown Valdosta, with a stop at a local coffee shop and time to browse other area shops. The day ended with cocktails and dinner at Steel Magnolias, a popular downtown restaurant that serves inventive takes on classic Southern cuisine.

WILD ADVENTURES

Few communities the size of Valdosta have their own amusement park, which makes Wild Adventures a popular destination for visitors from throughout southwest Georgia. This theme park features several roller coasters and thrill rides in addition to hundreds of exotic animals from around the world. FAM participants got a private tour of the park and had some special encounters with cuddly baby animals as well as the opportunity to hand feed a giraffe. Wild Adventures also features a nature trail through a wetland area, an African safari ride, a 17-acre water park and a holiday event that features millions of lights.

Wild Adventures

VALDOSTA WAKE COMPOUND

Wakeboarding, a hybrid of waterskiing and skateboarding, has become a popular extreme sport among young people, and the Valdosta Wake Compound is one of the country’s top wakeboarding facilities. A special pulley system at this man-made lake allows riders to practice high-speed boarding and tricks on the compound’s lake without being pulled by a speedboat. The FAM group got to learn about wakeboarding and watch professional competitors demonstrate jumps, flips and other aerial maneuvers. Groups can also take wakeboarding lessons at the compound to try the sport.

PUBLIC ART IN DOWNTOWN VALDOSTA

DOWNTOWN VALDOSTA

Valdosta was founded in 1860, and its historic downtown district is full of interesting landmarks and late-19th- and early-20th-century buildings. The FAM group toured downtown with a representative of the local Main Street organization who highlighted aspects of the area’s recent $12 million improvement project. They also saw the early-1900s courthouse and a building that once housed the dental office of legendary gunslinger Doc Holliday, who grew up in the area.

Day 2

• CRESCENT VALDOSTA GARDEN CENTER

• DEPARTURE FOR THOMASVILLE

• LAPHAM PATTERSON HOUSE

• LUNCH AT JONAH’S FISH AND GRITS

• DOWNTOWN THOMASVILLE

• PEBBLE HILL PLANTATION

• RECEPTION WITH SWEET GRASS DAIRY

• DINE AROUND DOWNTOWN THOMASVILLE

The second day of the FAM began with one more stop in Valdosta. The group began the morning at the Crescent, a landmark home built in 1898 and now run by the local garden club. Next, they departed for Thomasville, which sits about 40 miles west of Valdosta near the Florida border. There they toured the Lapham Patterson House, a fascinating structure built as a vacation home by an eccentric industrialist. Next, participants enjoyed lunch at Jonah’s Fish and Grits and free time in Thomasville’s charming and walkable downtown district. That afternoon they toured Pebble Hill Plantation, a spectacular plantation home and art museum, where they also enjoyed a wine-and-cheese reception that featured products from local Sweet Grass Dairy. The day ended with a dine-around downtown.

THE CRESCENT

Built by Colonel William West between 1898 and 1900, the Crescent is a 23-room Neoclassical home that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It sits on a street known locally as Millionaire’s Row and was the first house in Valdosta with plumbing and electricity. The FAM group got a personalized tour of all three floors of the home as well as the beautiful gardens and 117-year-old live oaks on the property. The estate was saved by a group of local women in the 1950s and is now run by the Garden Clubs of Valdosta.

LAPHAM PETERSON HOUSE

LAPHAM PATTERSON HOUSE

In Thomasville, the Lapham Patterson house is a quirky and intriguing house that was built in the 1880s as a winter vacation home by a female industrialist from Ohio. Thomasville was known as a health resort destination at the time, and the owner designed the house to follow the naturalist philosophy of the time. These touches include an exit in every room in the house — there are 51 overall — as well asymmetrical design and other unusual characteristics. The home sits across the street from the Thomasville history center, which runs the site, and groups can arrange for guided tours by appointment.

DOWNTOWN THOMASVILLE

Thomasville is perhaps best known for its charming historic downtown district. Visitors love meandering through the pristine, walkable area, which is full of locally owned stores and boutiques. The downtown district has also become a hub of culinary arts, with more than a dozen restaurants that serve everything from barbecue and pizza to steak, seafood and upscale Southern fare. The town’s inventive Downtown Dollars program allows tour coordinators to prepurchase credits that can be used like cash for meals or shopping at most downtown establishments.

PEBBLE HILL PLANATION

A short drive from downtown, Pebble Hill Plantation is the jewel of Thomasville. Built between 1934 and 1936, this 4,000-acre estate was built as a vacation home for a family that enjoyed hunting, fishing and the sporting lifestyle. Today, visitors can tour the 16-bedroom, 19-bathroom house, which features beautiful original furniture and an extensive art collection, including 33 first-edition Audubon prints. The FAM group also enjoyed browsing the family’s art gallery on the second floor of the home and the expansive, blooming gardens outdoors. The visit ended in one of the plantation’s outbuildings with a wine-and-cheese reception that showcased cheeses made by a Thomasville creamery.

OUR GROUP POSING IN FRONT OF THE BIG OAK IN THOMASVILLE

Day 3

• DEPARTURE FOR ALBANY

• CHEHAW

• DOWNTOWN & RAY CHARLES PLAZA

• ALBANY CIVIL RIGHTS INSTITUTE

• THRONATEESKA HERITAGE CENTER

• FLINT RIVERQUARIUM

• DINNER AT BLACKBEARD’S

The third day of this FAM began with a short drive from Thomasville to Albany, a town about 60 miles north. On arrival, the group toured the 100-acre zoo at Chehaw, the city’s large nature park. Next was a stop at the Albany Welcome center, in a historic building on the banks of the Flint River, and a visit to Ray Charles Plaza to see the iconic statue of the famous Georgia native. After lunch, the group toured the area’s most famous attraction — the Albany Civil Rights Institute — and enjoyed a private concert with one of the original Freedom Singers. Later, participants toured a pair of area museum attractions — the Thronateeska Heritage Center and the Flint RiverQuarium — before enjoying a lively farewell dinner of seafood and barbecue at Blackbeard’s, a favorite Albany restaurant.

CHEHAW

Chehaw is a city-owned park that spans 800 acres of woodland. Part of that space is a 100-acre zoo that features large free-range animal habitats. The FAM group toured the zoo with a guide and saw some of the 21 alligators in the swamp area, including “Big Charlie,” who is more than 13 feet long. They also saw an interactive demo with a pair of Bactrian camels. Visitors can watch alligator and rhino feedings or take a safari-style ride to see African animals roaming a 40-acre area of the park.

DOWNTOWN ALBANY

The Flint River runs through Albany, and the city’s downtown district sits on the riverbanks. The group stopped to see the Albany Welcome Center, which occupies a historic building connected to a bridge over the river, then took a short stroll down the Flint River Walk to Ray Charles Plaza. Charles was born in Albany, and the city honors this local son with a larger-than-life statue of him singing at a piano. The statue slowly rotates on its base and plays Charles’ music around the clock.

FREEDOM SINGERS AT THE ALBANY CIVIL RIGHTS INSTITUTE

ALBANY CIVIL RIGHTS INSTITUTE

Perhaps the most famous attraction in town is the Albany Civil Rights Institute. The city was the birthplace of the Albany Movement, a form of mass protest that became a staple of the civil rights efforts of the mid-20th century, and the museum uses images, newspaper articles and oral histories to teach visitors about the struggle that took place in Albany and throughout the South. The FAM group toured the museum and the adjacent Old Mount Zion Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. once spoke, and enjoyed a private concert by Rutha Harris, an Albany local who toured the world as one of the original Freedom Singers.

OCTOPUS AT THE FLINT RIVERQUARIUM

FLINT RIVERQUARIUM

Groups touring Albany should include time to visit the Flint RiverQuarium, which highlights the fish and animals that are native to the Flint River, as well as creatures from the Gulf of Mexico, where the river ends. The highlight of the aquarium is its 175,000-gallon, open-air blue hole spring exhibit that features hundreds of different aquatic species. FAM participants enjoyed seeing snapping turtles, oysters, octopuses, tropical fish and the aquarium’s rare albino alligator. Visitors can also walk through a new on-site aviary that serves as home for rescued birds indigenous to the area.

Day4

• DEPARTURE FOR VALDOSTA

• RETURN HOME

The final morning of the trip gave participants the chance to enjoy a leisurely breakfast at the Merry Acres Inn in Albany before boarding the motorcoach and making the hour-and-a-half drive back to Valdosta. From there, some continued on to explore the Plantation Trace region on their own and others began their return journeys home with fond memories of Georgia on their minds.

GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

LACEY CAMERON 404-962-4175 LCAMERON@GEORGIA.ORG WWW.EXPLOREGEORGIA.ORG