Macon Off The Beaten Path

juliette georgia is a tiny town located about 20 miles north of macon. juliette became nationally famous for the 1991 film "fried green tomatoes" in the film juliette was the shooting location for the fictional town of "whistle stop alabama". after the filming was finished the town became and instant tourist attract. juliette's one block main street today is lined with restaurants and gift shops. of course you can try some fried green tomatoes at the whistle stop cafe. for more information see my juliette georgia page.
the best way to get to juliette is to take I-75 north to forsyth then juliette road ten miles east to juliette. from downtown macon you can also take US 23 north to juliette.

In the 1950s, Otis Redding literally cut his teeth at the Vineville Baptist Church where his father was pastor and he sang in the choir. The address is 850 Armory Drive.

Otis was doing his "choir-thang" about the same time as James Brown and his band were recording, "Please, Please, Please."

There is a Vineville Baptist Church in Macon which is not the one where Otis Redding's father once pastored. I have not been able to determine whether there is a connection but if you want to visit Otis Redding's youthful church, go to 850 Armory Drive. If you want to worship in a fairly large, predominately white Baptist church, go to 2591 Vineville Avenue.

Hiking this swamp immediately southeast of Macon was intensely fun. The land is pretty much completely flat compared to its surroundings, an interesting experience for someone such as myself from the Atlanta area. The opportunities to see wildlife are tremendous. My dad and I even saw a bobcat.

Be warned--the area is frequented by Bigfoot aficionados.

This was the childhood home of "Little Richard" Penniman. It is just north of downtown on a slight hill in one of Macon's oldest predominantly black communities (Pleasant Hill), only about a block from I-75. In addition to the history of this community, I also loved the abundance of trees.

Little Richard was the third of 12 Penniman children and when you see this relatively small yellow bungalow, you may just get a new understanding of family togetherness.

This is still a private home so you cannot tour the inside but there are several other spots of historical interest in the area including the Romer Congregational Church directly across the street, the Booker T. Washington Community Center just around the corner, the nearby Harriet Tubman Museum (Georgia's largest African-American museum), and the Sgt Rodney M. Davis Monument erected in honor of Macon's only native to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.