Confession: Up until last month, I’d never seen Gone with the Wind. I know, right?
I watched it and was very impressed with the effects considering how old the movie was. So, when I was invited by Atlanta Movie Tours to check out their latest tour I was totally stoked.
Lucky for us, we had a small group (since it was the weekend of the Dogwood Festival) and really had Ms. Mitchell (our tour guide) to ourselves. She is very well-versed on the life of Margaret Mitchell and knows her stuff!
Even though I’ve been an Atlanta resident, all three stops on the three hour tour were new to me. First stop was the Margaret Mitchell house. The old lady tour guides are incredibly passionate about what they do here and giving guests the full story of Margaret Mitchell and her life. The house also includes the original door that was part of Tara in Gone with the Wind.
Tip: Pay attention to facts as there are trivia questions at the end for prizes!
Next stop we were off the Atlanta Public Library where some of Ms. Mitchell’s items were on display such as the typewriter from which she wrote Gone With the Wind, her Pulitzer Prize and a photo collection of pictures during the filming of the movie.
The last and my most favorite stop was the Oakland Cemetery. Some would think it would be depressing but I found it quite interesting. We saw lots of graves that looked to be “beds” because people at the time liked to think of their loved ones as resting but not dead. Got a spare $5k lying around? Then you might be lucky enough to buy a plot in the cemetery if you act quickly.
Tours to Gone with the Wind with Atlanta movie tours are $65 and can be purchased for Saturdays at 2pm. So plan to stay in the Castleberry Hill Hood after your tour is complete. I had a fantastic dinner that evening at Bottle Rocket (try the new steak fried rice) or you could visit Smoke Ring if you are in the mood for some good ‘cue.
