Monday 19th April

Monday was a very busy day. We were out of the Holiday Inn at 8am and headed straight for the Cartersville Fire Department. We were met by Chief Carter who took us for a fascinating tour around the building. Steve got a chance to talk shop with his American counterparts and the girls (including Gareth) enjoyed a trip up the 100ft extending rescue ladder which gave us a magnificent view of the town of Cartersville.

A view of Cartersville from the rescue ladder

Chuck (our tour guide and Rotarian host for the day) then took us the scenic route to the Booth Museum – dedicated to celebrating the Wild West and Native American art and culture. We were thoroughly spoiled as they opened up especially for us and our tour guide was Jim Dunham, an expert on all things western. The art was inspiring and the museum itself beautifully laid out with a fantastic interactive area for children (and big kids too!). We even got to hold Jim’s gun and see his gun slinging skills.

Next, we were whisked off to give our presentation to Cartersville rotary club and enjoyed a good lunch. It was lovely to meet local Rotarians and we even posed for a photo with Avery who was celebrating his 94th birthday!

After lunch we were again on the road. Chuck drove us past the Etowah Indian mounds on the way to meet Diana Tate (leader of the city council) who gave us a guided tour of the City Hall and explained how Cartersville is run. It was refreshing to see how much the public is involved and valued in the decision making process. This was particularly interesting for Gareth who works for a local government authority back at home.

Straight from Diana’s warm hospitality we were taken to Adam Wade at the Tellus Science Museum. What a place! The museum is enormous and yet again the minerals, fossils, automobiles and other exhibits were laid out beautifully to inspire, inform and bring home the wonder of our planet. We enjoyed a show in the planetarium and all posed as US astronauts. We also did some ‘panning’ for minerals and discovered fossils in another great interactive child and adult friendly area. You can tell the Americans (and especially Cartersville residents) really value culture and learning and are rightly proud of these institutions. We may even end up in the local paper as we had to pose for the photographer – America, we have arrived!

Apollo 11

16th-24th July 1969

Don't know when I'll be back!

Finally, Chuck took us back to the Holiday Inn and gave us a leisurely 20 mins to change and make our way over to the BBQ at the outdoor pavilion back at the Tellus Museum. All the rushing was worth it though. For those of you back at home we have uncovered one culinary difference between our two cultures – BBQ over here means meat (pork/chicken) shredded and in sauce. BBQ as far as we know it is called a ‘grill’ over here. Very tasty whatever you call it!

Finally we went back to the hotel, Steve and Gareth did the blog and we sharpened up our speeches. It was a long day but great fun and very informative. We were made to feel very welcome and slept soundly – thanks to Chuck and everyone who treated us so well.

By Allison