I traveled to Georgia from Indy to hear his Sunday school message about two years ago. It was right before he announced the cancer diagnosis that he had received and the Charleston church massacre was the previous weekend. Unfortunately I wasn't able to arrive right before 10 am but more like 8 am. It was still fun though as we got a speech from one of the elders of the church. She told us how to address him (President Carter not Mr. President as there is only one of those at a time), topics he wouldn't discuss and when taking pictures with him we had to stand on either side of him and Mrs. Carter. She explained that they have never let anyone come between them for over (at that time) 70 years and they weren't going to start now.
He was very engaging and smart as a whip during his talk. I wish I had been old enough to have appreciated him when he was in office but I was just starting high school and not very interested in political things back then. I stayed for the pictures and as the only African-American there that day he made a special point of motioning me over and speaking to me. I was caught off guard and tongue tied and walked away thinking of a million things I wish I had said. Such a once in a lifetime experience. I highly recommend anyone that has the ability to go hear and see him. Also afterwards, take a tour of Plains. They have preserved the downtown as it was when he was elected. I also visited the Carter Library in Atlanta. It was totally fascinating to see all the history of the time.
One last travel tip, about an hour away from Plains is Warm Springs where FDR died. I veered off after leaving Plains and toured the grounds. They have a museum and have preserved the home exactly like it was on the day of his death. It is much smaller than I would have thought but is in a beautiful place. It is also a National Park Historic Site.
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