Born In A Sausage Store

When we left Pat and Dan's farm in Woodbury, I thought we were heading straight to General Coffee State Park. After all, General Coffee was the next scheduled stop on our camping journey. But, Gary surprised me, and we stopped to check out Carroll's Sausage And Country Store in Ashburn Georgia. Why there, you ask? Well, the Carroll's store was originally the Serro Scotty trailer factory, and that was where I was born at back in 1972. What a thrill it was to actually be right there on the grounds of a such a historic place. It may not be anything but a building to most people, but to me and all of my brothers and sisters who were born there, it is basically the Holy Land. Carroll's bought the property about three years ago, and transformed the decaying building into something that resembles a Cracker Barrel. It had been a pool manufacturing company previously. Gary intended to go inside and look around, but the store is closed on Sundays. Being closed actually worked out well for taking pictures. If it had been open, we probably couldn't have gotten up as close to the building as we did. There is an adjoining RV park on the store grounds. It doesn't look too impressive at this point, but it will hopefully get better in the future. We didn't see any restroom or shower facilities. Gary is going to check online to see if there are any, or if you have to have a fully self-contained camper or motorhome to stay there. I would LOVE to camp there sometime if they have the facilities that Gary requires. Just to stay at the very place I was born at would be REALLY fun. Carroll's is located at exit 82 on the west side of I-75. The building actually faces the interstate, and is accessed from a road behind it. On the south end of the campground, you'll see the giant Georgia peanut monument that has been there for many years, and that is clearly visible from I-75. I'm sure we'll be going back sometime when the store is open. Besides the country store , there is a newly opened antique shop in the south end of the building called Pickin' Peanuts. You KNOW how much Gary loves antique shopping, so if for no other reason, we'll be going back to check that out. It sure was great to stop by and see the place, and I want to thank my buddy Gary for the special treat. What a great place to take a break between stops. As you can see by the Ashburn Welcome Sign, they have an annual fire ant festival. Who in the world would want to celebrate fire ants? That's a little weird if you ask me. Personally, I think they should have an annual toaster festival. After all, the most famous Toaster in the world was born there. Now THAT I could get into!