523. "Going GA-GA for GA"
A tiny tribute to Georgia's most famous gardens, for those who just happen to be passing through...

Don't go out of your way for this one, unless you're going to be visiting these lovely gardens anyway! We just met someone down in Florida who apparently traveled quite a distance for one of our similar "travelin' light" stamps in Alabama and was very disappointed with the poor little stamp we left there, not realizing that for us, anyway, this hobby of letterboxing has always been more about the destination and the hunt, not the stamp! So, "fancy stamp collectors", you have once again been forewarned, especially if you don't want to spend $18 on a non-free day just to find a tiny pebble!

For others who might be in the area, however, a trip to these GA-GA Gardens near Pine Mountain can be a delightful experience even in the middle of winter, when the gardens are open for free midweek. On a particularly cold and windy day, we especially enjoyed the indoor butterfly gardens and the horticultural center greenhouses, the northern building of the latter housing some marvelous Mediterranean and tropical gardens. From the front of the horticultural info/gift shop entrance, go through to a courtyard and find the closest door to this next building to the left. Once inside, take the ramp left to the upper level and curve right through a stone archway to an overlook of a flower-fringed lawn down below. If you were to continue left on the upper level, you would pass some banana trees and angle down to that lawn, but first take a short rest on one of the seats provided on the large balcony to the right. If you choose to sit furthest to the right upon entering this area, there should be a Bleeding Heart Vine sign with a green knobby thing behind in that corner of the planter nearest the rock wall. About a foot up from the dirt of the planter and about six inches over to the right on the wall, we left a one-inch square tiny gray stone perched on a little greenish rock ledge with nothing but "GA" gorilla-glued to its backside! No logbook, but please feel free to let us know or record your find if you find it.

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