The Haunted Peach

If you need a vibe check, here are some good-old, Georgian day trip ideas for you.

The Georgia Guidestones, located in Elbert County, enumerate 10 rules to repair society. One is that humanity should not exceed five million people. A man under the alias “R.C. Christian” funded this massive project finished in 1980. To keep his identity and associations secret, his legal contract ensured the plans were to be destroyed when construction was complete. The stones are written in twelve languages and function as a calendar, as well as fuel for conspiracy theorists. To the left of the structure, a tablet with the inscription reads “Let these be Guidestones to an Age of Reason.” The tablet also describes a time capsule, but its date of burial and date to be recovered are gone. To tour The Georgia Guidestones, travel Highway 77 in Elbert County and keep watch for Guidestone Road.

 In Constitution Lakes Park, visitors can glimpse into Tim Burton’s imagination. Mere miles from downtown Atlanta, there is a trail littered with decrepit doll heads and other items known as Doll’s Head Trail. The former brick plant turned wildlife sanctuary is home to doll pieces and other trash, thanks to local carpenter Joel Slaton. He envisioned a trail where trash from the nature preserve could be turned into art. Visitors are entreated to move trash and enrich the experience for newcomers.

Perhaps you would like a grotesque history lesson. In Plains, GA, former President Jimmy Carter is immortalized in his hometown. A retired peanut farmer, he was memorialized by the Indiana Democratic Party. They authorized the construction of an eyeless, beaming peanut that aided his win in the 1976 Presidential Election. The Indiana Democratic Party granted the peanut a grin because Carter was a cheery man. Every county in his brilliant home state voted for the 13ft peanut man. Behind the monument, there is a pit. Locals blame the Secret Service- apparently checking for bombs.

If you fancy reflecting on animal mass deaths, you’re in luck. A train with dozens of circus monkeys crashed supposedly near Duluth. The escaped bunch tore through the nearby woods past busy farmers. They had never seen such a creature before. The bewildered farmers decided to slaughter them. An unknown artist placed concrete monkey statues in the Autrey Mill Nature Preserve in Johns Creek. This installation is sometimes moved throughout its home, the Forest Trail, a section of the preserve.

Whether you prefer to feel shaken or moved, there is a site for you to learn about Georgia’s unusual history.