MACON, Ga. — The motorcade for former First Lady Rosalynn Carter will pass through central Georgia again Tuesday night, returning to Plains.
This afternoon, family, friends, former presidents, and former first ladies will gather in Atlanta for a memorial service near the campus of Emory University. The motorcade will depart after the service ends, around 2:45 p.m., Tuesday.
The motorcade will proceed down I-75 south out of metro Atlanta. When approaching Macon, the motorcade will proceed onto I-475 south, rejoining I-75 south in southern Bibb County.
In Byron, the motorcade will exit the interstate and turn right on GA-49. It will continue for 34 miles, utilizing the bypass at Fort Valley, before turning left onto US-19 in Butler. This will bring the motorcade through Peach, Crawford, and Taylor Counties.
The motorcade will travel south along US-19 south for 21 miles and then join GA-153 south in Ellaville. The motorcade will enter Plains via GA-45 for a private arrival at Maranatha Baptist Church.
The Carter Center says the public is welcome to greet the motorcade as it passes by.
On Monday, people gathered near I-75 to pay their respects as the motorcade traveled north. Several people watched from the Sardis Church Road overpass, saying they didn't want to miss the historic moment.
Carol Martin says she had chills as she saw the procession.
"I had a dear friend that was Rosalynn Carter's hairdresser. We love making people beautiful. I'm a hairdresser also. It was just a pleasure that we physically got to meet, and to beautify that job of being a first lady," Martin said.
She says she wanted to come pay her respects to the beautiful woman she was fortunate enough to meet. Martin was in Plains last week when she heard of the First Lady's death
"It was just a real somber occasion. Just to ride down the same roads, and go visit the place where their home was. She was still there and her family. It was a beautiful day," Martin said.