Author: Dackel Princess

I wanted to share this short montage of our reunion.

Our Reunion, Columbus, Georgia from Dackel Princess Maribeth on Vimeo.

The wonderful people and beautiful places we visited in Columbus, Georgia!

Friday found us heading to Warm Springs, Georgia, for a tour of The Little White House. This was where Franklin Roosevelt went to enjoy the warm mineral springs, as a treatment for his polio damaged legs. In his last days, he was there vacationing and having his picture painted when he succumbed to a massive stroke. In some ways I can’t think of a nicer place to be when I leave this world.

After the museum tour, we were escorted to The Bulloch House in the town of Warm Springs for a buffet luncheon. I am here to tell you all that The Bulloch House knows how to put on a real southern cooking smorgasbord! We ate until were thought we would explode! There was fried chicken, fried green tomatoes, lima beans (a favorite of mine!), corn bread, salad, cream corn, and a gingerbread cake with vanilla ice cream and caramel for desert.

Okay, so I know I have just lost the Weight Watcher of the year award!

Because we drove our own car to Warm Springs, rather than ride on the charter bus, we were able to drive back to Columbus and spend a couple of hours at the Civil War Naval Museum there.  Why is there a Naval Museum so far inland? Columbus has a river, the Chattahoochee, and several ironclad ships were built there for the Confederacy. One of them sank just down river and was raised recently (what was left of it) and added to the museum. They have an excellent history of all the ironclads (Monitor, Merrimack, Etc.,) used in the Civil War, with many pictures and models.

Friday night there was a dinner and speaker at the main hotel. He was an officer serving in Afghanistan. The men enjoyed his speech, but I think that many of us, who had not served in the military found it hard to listen to. Still, I admired his bravery and his service to our country.

Saturday morning we had our general meeting, and this is where we decide on future reunion locations. Next year we will meet in Corning, NY and the following year it will be in Pittsburgh, PA.

After lunch we changed into our evening wear and returned to the main hotel for pictures. I wore my little black dress, with bling, and I had done my hair and make up, so I wasn’t looking too bad.

Hubby and I posed for pictures and then we headed back to the Infantry Museum with our friends, Jim and his wife, Gerry.

We arrived before the others in our group, which proved advantageous, as we got a full table to fill up with Hubby’s friends from the old days.

The food and service were spectacular at the Museum, and the program for the night was splendid indeed! Most of us enjoyed the steak, served with mashed potatoes and green beans, and molten lava chocolate cake for dessert!

As we sat in the Infantry Museum, having our banquet and listening to the speaker I glanced around at all those wonderful people that I have known for so many years! It has been a blessing to me to have known these fine soldiers and their spouses.

Our evening ended with our glasses raised and a toast to the good health of all.

I suppose there is no other way to put this, but going on vacation often is more tiring than if you stayed home and didn’t go! Of course, we saw many places and visited people that we only see once every year or two, so that makes all the hassle worthwhile.

Now that it is over I will explain the event a bit more. Hubby served in the early 1960’s in the Army. He was a fixed wing pilot on the Otter and the Caribou Aircraft. Twenty-five years ago a few of the men who flew with Hubby in Vietnam started an organization of fellowship for these men and their wives. We joined 22 years ago, and have attended as many reunions as we could.

This year the Reunion was in Columbus, Georgia. Many of the men and their families were based here at one time or another. Hubby and his former wife even owned a home here. So there was a lot of reminiscing and a lot of touring around and visiting Fort Benning.

There is also the most fabulous museum dedicated to the men and women of the Infantry, right from the Revolutionary War to the present day. On Thursday we had tickets to tour The National Infantry Museum .

Quite honestly I thought it would be totally boring and I had Hubby and our friends drive out so that we could leave early if it was as boring as I thought.

How wrong I was! What a totally wonderful museum. I felt full of pride for our country, and the men and women who have served it. The displays were authentic and tasteful and so well done.

The time flew by as we received a docent-led tour of the museum and the World War II Buildings that have been moved to a site nearby. They had housed the Army forces at Fort Benning, and included a barracks, mess hall, orderly room and supply room. There was even a church which had been lovingly restored, and is still being used for weddings and funerals.

Hubby and Jim in Mess Hall.

When our tour was finished, we hopped in our rental car with our friends, and went on base. Both Hubby and Jim had served there and we drove around, as they looked for familiar places. Sadly, the base is not what they recalled and I think we all left feeling a bit disheartened that such a fine base is being wasted.

That night we went out for “Real Bavarian Food”. About the only thing that was authentically German in the place was the beer! We all ordered a cold tall one, and enjoyed every gulp!

I found that by the end of each day, all I wanted to do was collapse into bed and go to sleep. So forgive me for not writing everything out day by day. Trust me; I was on the go from early morning until late at night.

I will try to get it all written down before I forget. This was such a special Reunion and full of so many great times.

Stay tuned for Part two, tomorrow!