A Visit to the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum

The above quote impressed my as an excellent requirement for any great presidency. I found it while visiting the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum.

I decided to take my bike to REI in Atlanta, Georgia  to get it operational.  While there I decided to visit the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum. I arrived at the museum grounds about 10:00 AM. and was immediately drawn into exploring the grounds, starting with a circular rose garden.  Then I saw more and more views I wanted to photograph.  Finally I saw what looked like some kind of festival, off to the front of the actual museum.  I found it was a farmer's market and enjoyed strolling through it. One of the most interesting things I found was a black man selling hibiscus flower jelly. He gave me a sample and I loved it.  But I'm not eating sugar, so didn't buy a jar. (I drink hibiscus tea to keep my blood pressure within bounds and now am loving making kumbuichi made from a mix of it and green tea.)

I parked near the library, library so I had seen all the grounds by the time I finally went toward the museum. I was impressed with how well it blended into the landscape and how unassuming it looked. It reminded me of President Carter himself, especially as I have known him since he was president.

The largest view of the circular rose garden I could capture. The grounds are open beyond the hours of operation. 

Roses were still blooming in our warm fall

A view across the grounds to the back of the museum

The view of downtown Atlanta from the grounds

The farmer's market

A long view to the museum itself, which is built to seem smaller than it is

Inside the museum, I was impressed with how Jimmy Carter's life was displayed. I watched an interesting movie about him and then saw a few other clips.  He praised Rosalynn's prowess as a hula dancer while they were stationed in Hawaii.  He said she was the top American dancer.   I enjoyed the pictures of his inauguration.  And I enjoyed seeing some of the gifts he had received. His oval office is also reproduced here and that was a nice touch.  

The picture of the walk of the new president

I had forgotten how young daughter, Amie, was

The Carter Oval Office

I loved the peanut mugs for the peanut farmer

This picture of a cat was done in silk embroidery

One of President Carter's biggest successes was the Camp David Accord, where the presidents of Israel and Egypt agreed to sign a peace agreement.  President Carter spent 13 grueling days going back and forth between the two presidents getting agreements, line by line. The two presidents never met face to face while the negotiations were going on. The display made it all so much more meaningful. I didn't label the pictures so you will have to look up the details if this interests you.

The last section of displays was about the Carter Center and the work it has done to end diseases around the world.  I was trained as a medical microbiologist, so this was all very interesting to me.

There was a big section on the Guinea worm, which people get from drinking unfiltered water. The foundation designed a filter to go in the jugs and keep the microscopic crustacean hosts from getting into people.  The worm can grow to yards long and finally starts to come out a hole in the skin.  It causes excoriating pain and keeps people from working or going to school.  There were informational posters on other diseases the Center has helped to cure.

All that brown is one Guinea worm which has to be taken out of a person's body  over several weeks

This is the filter bag to screen out the crustacean host

Happy Holidays!

 I plan on a quiet Christmas and will spend some time packing for a long New Year's weekend with a friend. And another friend is spending two days and a night with me as this goes out.