I have mixed feelings when I go home. When I say home, I’m referring to the place where I grew up. Not to be confused with the place where I was actually born, but rather, the place where I spent most of my childhood and school years. There’s a part of me that loves the feeling of familiarity I get as I look at my beloved Kennesaw Mountain in Georgia.
The problem is, the more time that passes, the less familiar my home actually is. It doesn’t help that my parents moved several miles away from where we were raised, in an area that I do not know very well. So a trip home usually necessitates a lot of asking for directions and map consulting. (Or if we’re really lucky, using a navigation system.)
So I definitely had mixed feelings during our most recent trip to Georgia, especially when the CPA said he wanted to see the place of my youth. I agreed to show him around and we made the 30 minute drive to the little town of Kennesaw, Ga. Now when I say little, I am not kidding. In fact, I think it must be one of the few places in Georgia that has not exploded with new growth. Actually, that’s not completely true because everywhere we went, new subdivisions had sprouted almost overnight. But the town itself has remained virtually unchanged from when I lived there.
We started first with my old elementary school – formerly known as Kennesaw Elementary. Now known as something entirely different. In fact, it’s no longer a school, which somehow makes me sad.
Then we drove through downtown Kennesaw. We even had to stop at one of the two stoplights located on Main St.
Next was a visit to Wildman’s, a store that has been business since I was a child.
It’s known for having a lot of Civil War paraphernalia and for being rather odd. In fact, it was still odd, so we didn’t stay long.
Across the street from Wildman’s was Kennesaw’s own little piece of history – the home of the locomotive known as The General. It’s a famous locomotive because some Union soldiers tried to steal it during the war so that they could carry explosives to be used against the South. Their plan was foiled, however, when a Southerner chased the General with another locomotive and was able to capture the Union soldiers.
The CPA, being the Civil War buff that he is, definitely had the museum on his list.
The CPA really enjoyed his visit.
After that excitement, there wasn’t much left to see so we walked to the Whistle Stop Cafe for some good ole’ Southern grub.
I’m including a picture of the menu so that those of you not familiar with Southern cuisine can see what you’re missing.
Stuff like chicken livers or gizzards, corn beef and cabbage, and country fried steak. And no matter what you get, you have to couple it with either black-eyed peas or fried okra.
Our visit to Kennesaw wasn’t complete without a stop by the Mountain. Now I call it a mountain because before my trip out West, I had never seen anything bigger. It wasn’t until then that I realized why people laughed at me when I showed them our little mountain. Actually, they called it a hill.
Hill or not, it is a special place full of Civil War history. 
Since we couldn’t drive up the mountain as it was a weekend, we spent some time inside the visitors’ center. I hadn’t been there for years so I was surprised to see the beautiful renovations they had done. Exhibits detailing the war from start to finish covered the walls.
Stories about the Battle of Atlanta and Sherman’s March were told.
And pictures of those who fought in the war were shown.
I was captivated by the stories of how they lived or died during the battles. It was strange to look at their faces and see that they probably weren’t that much different from us. Change their clothing and their facial hair perhaps, and they could have been pictures of someone living today.
It was very sobering to read about the sacrifices these men (and women) made for their country and cause. It’s also heartbreaking to think about why the war was necessary.
And with that, we concluded our visit to Kennesaw. Honestly, there just wasn’t that much to see. But I’m glad we went and I actually enjoyed showing the CPA around my old stomping grounds. Kennesaw’s a small place and its historical roots go deep, both good and bad, but – it’s still my home away from home.
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