Georgia Magazine - February 2020 - 21

My GEORGIA

By Carol Gee

Channeling Scarlett O'Hara on our
44th anniversary

n a balmy day in March 2017, my husband, Ronnie, and I pulled
up to Twelve Oaks, the former private home now operating as a
bed-and-breakfast in Covington. The occasion: our 44th anniversary. Ronnie was recuperating from another health episode, and we didn't
want to venture too far from home to celebrate, so I turned to my BFF (best
friend forever), Google. Typing in searches such as "no more than one to
two hours away" and "romantic and unique" had led us here.
Glancing around, I was immediately transported to what it must have
been like during Scarlett O'Hara's day. That was, except for the charging
ports for electric cars I'd noticed outside.
The home was built in 1836 and was the inspiration for Ashley Wilkes'
home in the film "Gone With the Wind,"
according to the Twelve Oaks website.
At 10,000 square feet, it has 12 bedrooms
and 12 1/2 bathrooms. Besides the
numerous themed rooms, it also features
several formal rooms, including a formal
parlor. As we let ourselves in, I immediately felt at home.
Because my knees recently had begun competing to see which one creaked
the loudest (it's the left one, in case
anyone is interested), we bypassed the
rooms upstairs that required navigating
Ronnie and Carol Gee, above and at left,
the grand staircase and chose the Frankly
chose Twelve Oaks in Covington for their
Scarlett Junior Suite on the first floor.
anniversary trip in 2017 because it was
"romantic and unique" as well as nearby.
For a romantic like me, whose heart
flutters at the sight of a luxurious canopy
where fear constantly lives, I know that Twelve Oaks
bed, our room seamlessly combined a nostalgic ambiance with modern
was just what we both needed. Could I have selected
appeal.
a better place to celebrate 44 years of love? Frankly,
"Do you like it?" I asked my husband. "Yes, it's very nice, baby," he
my dear, I don't believe I could.
replied, spotting the 55-inch flat-panel television. Toeing off his shoes, he
Carol Gee is a retired Emory University adminimmediately sprawled across the bed, which creaked under his weight.
istrator
and author of several books, including her
Grabbing the book I'd brought with me, I headed outside to the front
most
recent,
"Random Notes (About Life, 'Stuff' and
porch with its massive columns. It was easy to imagine Scarlett O'Hara
Finally
Learning
to Exhale)." She and her husband of
sitting there, her full skirts spread out around her, sipping lemonade or a
46
years
live
in
Stone
Mountain.
mint julep.
There, I "exhaled" for the first time since my husband's carotid artery
surgery. We have no children and no family in the area, so I had spent a lot
For more information
of time scared and alone in the "family" waiting room at Emory University
The Twelve Oaks, 2176 Monticello St. S.W., Covington
Hospital in Atlanta. That now felt like a distant memory.
(770) 385-4005, thetwelveoaks.com
In the formal breakfast room the next morning,
we chatted with the other guests. Some, like us, were
To submit a My Georgia story, send the essay (no more than 500 words) and 300-dpi
there simply to unwind. Others, to revisit history.
digital photos by email to mygeorgia@georgiaemc.com or by mail to the address
Still others, to soak up the vibes from movies and TV
listed on page 6. A self-addressed, stamped envelope must be included for photos to
shows filmed there.
be returned. Published essays pay $100. Georgia Magazine reserves the right to edit
submitted pieces.
As my mind touches on that place inside me
www.georgiamagazine.org

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Georgia Magazine - February 2020

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