More Photos from Monticello

If you're interested in seeing more photos from Monticello, click here.

Roger

Milepost 4,154 (Newport News, VA)

Just one stop today, but it was an amazing one.  We visited Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson.  There is a lot I could share in both the description and photos, but I'm a little tired so I'll keep it rather brief.

Monticello is pictured in the photo on the left.  If you think it looks familiar, take a look at the "tails" side of a nickel.  The lower photo overlooks the estate's vegetable garden and the surrounding countryside. 

We spent about 3 1/2 hours at Monticello today.  We got a break from the weather.  The humidity was much lower today, and it was quite comfortable when we arrived a little before 9:00 AM.

For the next five nights, we'll be staying at the TownPlace Suites in Newport News.  We'll be doing day trips to attractions in SE Virginia, but no long drives and no packing/unpacking.  We're thinking of this as sort of a vacation from our vacation.

Milepost 3,947 (Appomattox)

Our Civil War tour is kind of like a movie in which the scenes are filmed out-of-sequence.  Even though we have several more battlefields to visit, today we saw the site where the war ended on April 9, 1865.  Of course, that's Appomattox Court House.  And that's where I learned something new today. 

Being the Civil War buff that she is, Steph knew better, but I always thought Lee surrendered in a courthouse building.  Not so.  It was actually in a private home, the McLean House.  The reason for my confusion is that the village was named Appomattox Court House.  Since this was the county seat, there is also an actual courthouse, but nothing historically significant happened there.  It's now the Visitor's Center.  The actual McLean House is long gone.  The photo above is a replica built in the 1940's on the foundation of the original building.

Yesterday, we had a very scenic drive through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and on the Blue Ridge Parkway on our way to Asheville, NC.  It was a spectacular drive.  While the park is probably better known and has more visitors, I thought the drive on the parkway was more scenic.

The Appalachian Trail goes right through the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  We actually walked a part -- a very SMALL part -- of the 2,175-mile trail, which is shown on the bottom photo.

Tomorrow, we're driving first to Charlottesville to see Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson.  From there, we drive to Newport News.  We're going to stay there for five days and take short day trips to the many attractions in that area of Virginia (Williamsburg, Yorktown, etc.)

Roger

Milepost 3,515 (Gatlinburg, TN)

We started off the day with a visit to the Stones River National Battlefield at Murfreesboro, TN.  The battle that took place there is described as one of the bloodiest of the Civil War.  This photo is of an area of the battlefield known as "the slaughter pen."  That alone probably tells you all you need to know about the brutality of this battle.

From there, we drove through eastern Tennessee (very beautiful!) to Gatlinburg and its nearby fellow tourist trap, Pigeon Falls.  Not much of interest to us here.  Tomorrow, we drive through the Great Smoky National Park to Asheville, NC.

Lastly, a note to any restaurant servers in this part of the country who might happen to come upon this blog (hey, it could happen!):  Despite what you apparently think, I have never been, nor will I ever be, your "honey" or your "sweetie."  Just thought you'd want to know.

Milepost 3,247 (Nashville-Day 2)

Today was our one full day in Nashville.  In the morning, we went to the Ryman Auditorium, which was the long-time home of the Grand Ole Opry.  As you can see in the photo, we were invited on-stage to perform.  This was taken after our fifth or sixth standing ovation (you lose track after awhile).  Seriously, the place was amazing.  My only regret is that our schedule did not permit us to see a live musical performance at the Ryman.

This afternoon, we went to The Hermitage, which is the plantation home of President Andrew Jackson.  Another very interesting historical site.  And we saw it on another hot, humid day.  If it was cooler today, the difference from yesterday was not discernible to us.  Tomorrow, we go to Gatlinburg and the Great Smoky Mountains.  We're hoping that a little elevation will provide at least some relief from the heat.

 

Milepost 3,209 (Nashville)

We arrived in Nashville early this evening.  This was our fifth straight day with temperatures hovering around 100 and high humidity.  Sounds as though it'll be slightly cooler tomorrow.  We wish we could import some cool, dry air from back home.

Today marked the beginning of the Great Civil War Battlefield Tour of 2010 with the Shiloh battlefield in Tennessee.  Actually, the story includes Corinth, Mississippi, which was a critical rail transportation center.  We began our trip at the Civil War Interpretive Center in Corinth and then drove across the border into Tennessee to see the Shiloh National Military Park.  It was a very interesting place.  This photo is of an area of the battlefield called the "hornet's nest."  It's where union troops held off confederate troops for much of the first day of the battle before surrendering.  But they were able to buy enough time for union reinforcements to arrive and turn the battle around the next day.

We spent a good part of the afternoon on about a 75-mile stretch of the Natchez Trace Parkway.  It's a very beautiful drive with minimal traffic and a 50 mph speed limit.  No truck traffic is permitted.

It's hard to believe that we've now traveled more than 3,000 miles!

Milepost 2,928 (Memphis)

One of the stops I was most looking forward to on this trip was Memphis.  And I can definitely say that Memphis lived up to expectations!  We had a great couple of days.

First, we need to thank our old friends, Shelley and Kevin Bennett, for their hospitality this weekend.  For those of you who don't know the Bennetts, Shelley and I worked together for several years at Washington State University.  They moved to Memphis about a year and a half ago.  Thank you so much, Shelley and Kevin!  You helped make our trip so enjoyable.

We arrived in Memphis early yesterday (Friday) afternoon.  Our first stop was the National Civil Rights Museum, which is at the site of the Lorraine Hotel where Martin Luther King was killed in 1968.  Like everyone else, we had seen the picture of the site of the shooting many times, but to see it in person is much more powerful.  If you look at the above photo, the wreath marks the spot where Dr. King was shot.

That evening, we joined Kevin and Shelley for a great dinner at Corky's, a well-know barbeque restaurant in Memphis.  That's the four of us at Corky's in the photo to the right.  Afterward, we had some amazing cupcakes at Muddy's Bake Shop.  They won't be soon forgotten.  If you ever have the chance to stop there, I recommend the Prozac flavor.

Today was a day filled with music.  We started -- where else? -- by going to Graceland.  All I can say is that it was quite an experience.  Yes, it's over-priced and over-commercialized.  But at the same time, few musicians of the 20th century had as much influence on pop culture as Elvis did.  That's the front of the mansion in the photo above.  It isn't quite as big as I had imagined, though we only could see the first floor and the basement.  The second floor is off limits.

After Graceland, we ventured to the Rock and Soul Museum in downtown Memphis.  From there, we went to Sun Studio, one of the spots I was particularly interested in seeing.  This is where Sam Phillips recorded artists like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Roy Orbison.  It was quite amazing to be in the actual studio where songs like Great Balls of Fire, That's Alright Mama, and Blue Suede Shoes were recorded.  That microphone we're standing by is the actual microphone Phillips used to record those musicians in the 1950's.

Tonight, Shelley and Kevin joined us and we went first to the Peabody Hotel for the Duck March.  What's a Duck March, you ask?  It's a tradition that began at the Peabody many decades ago.  In the morning, five ducks are taken from their home on the top of the hotel to a small pond in the lobby.  And at 5:00 PM, they march back to the elevator and back up to their home.  And it's a really big deal here.  There were few hundred people in the lobby to watch.  The pictures I took didn't turn out, but here's a YouTube video if you're interested in finding out what all the excitement is about.

From the Peabody, we made the short walk to Beale Street.  We had a great dinner at B.B. King's Blues Club and listened to live blues from the Will Tucker Band.  This photo was taken from our table just above the stage.

After dinner, we walked up and down Beale Street, and Shelley snapped one last picture before we went back to our hotel to get some rest after a long but fun day.

Tomorrow, it's on to Nashville.

Roger

Milepost 2,612 (St. Louis-Day 2)

Those of us who live in the Pacific Northwest don't have to worry much about what's called the heat index.  It's a calculation that factors in humidity in how hot it feels.  Since we don't have much humidity in our part of the world, it's happily not much of a factor for us.  I wish that were true in the midwest.

In St. Louis today, the heat index was 105.  The actual temperature was in the upper 90's.  And the humidity...I think I could see actual water hanging in the air.  Words can't adequately describe how hot it was.  Granted, we're a couple of weather wimps, but still, did I mention the heat index was 105???

We spent most of the morning at the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, best known as the location of the Gateway Arch.  We went the St. Louis Historical Old Courthouse, visible in the top picture in the middle of the arch.  It's best known as the site of the Dred Scott trial.  We also went to the Museum of Westward Expansion, which is underground beneath the Arch.  It was very interesting, though we didn't spend as much time there as we'd like as we had reservations for a riverboat cruise.  The picture of the Arch was taken during that cruise.

The bottom photo was shot just after we got off the boat.  It shows you a couple of things.  First, there's a reason it's called the "muddy" Mississippi.  And second, due to heavy rain in recent days, the river is at flood stage.  Hopefully, the rains will stay away for awhile.

We ended the day with dinner at Pappy's, a barbecue restaurant west of downtown.  It's supposed to be really good, but we weren't that impressed.

Tomorrow morning, we leave for Memphis.  Where it will probably be even hotter!

Milepost 2,608 (St. Louis)

We arrived in St. Louis late this afternoon.  We had a fun day.  After crossing into Missouri, we stopped in Hannibal to see the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum.  His boyhood home is the white building on the right in the top photo.

From Hannibal, we drove to The Historic Daniel Boone Home and Boonsfield Village near Defiance.  Pictured in the lower photo, this is the home where Boone lived some of the later years of his life, and it's where he died. 

We enjoyed both sites, but we both felt the Daniel Boone museum was more interesting, perhaps because there was a guided tour.  We learned that, despite popular opinion to the contrary, Boone never wore a coon skin cap.

Tonight, we left the hotel in search of BBQ ribs (we need something to compare to what we'll be getting in Memphis in a few days!).  We trusted our GPS when it said there was a BBQ restaurant .4 of a mile away.  So we trudged through the heat and humidity to the location, only to find it was out of business.  So we settled for TGI Fridays.  We both had good meals, but it just wasn't what we had in mind.

Tomorrow, we spend the day in St. Louis. 

Milepost 2,303 (Cedar Rapids, IA)

We arrived early this afternoon in Cedar Rapids, where we lived from 1981 to 1989.  Our first stop was at our first home here.  We were curious to find out whether it was still there, since we were aware it was under water during the floods that devastated Cedar Rapids in 2008.  When we arrived, we found our home still occupied and the neighborhood generally looking pretty good, considering what it had gone through.

From there, we went to my old station, KCCK, where I was Station Manager.  Some of the folks I worked with are still there, and it was good to see them again.  They include George Dorman (far left in the photo) and Gordon Paulsen (next to George).  On the far right is Dennis Green, the current GM.

This evening, we drove to the Amana Colonies for dinner at The Colony Inn.  The food was great!

Tomorrow morning, we head off to St. Louis.

Roger

Family Time in Minnesota

We've spent the last week or so visiting our families in Minnesota.  Steph spent most of her time in Milaca at the home of her mother, Shirley.  That's the two of them in the top picture outide Shirley's home.

I've been in Woodbury much of the week, which is where my family lives.  My mother, Gladys, is in a nursing home in Woodbury.  We're in the middle picture.

The last picture down at the bottom is of the rest of my family in Woodbury.  In the front row (L to R) is my neice Rhonda, her daughter/my great neice Rebecca (w/Gracie) and my brother-in-law Dave.  In the back row, I'm flanked by my sister Judy and Rhonda's husband Jeff.

Tomorrow, we head back out on the road.  We've changed the first few days of the trip.  Instead of heading to the Chicago area -- which we'll now hit on the return trip in September -- we're going down to Cedar Rapids, where we lived from 1981 to 1989.  Then it's on to St. Louis for a couple of days before getting to Memphis on Friday.

Roger

Milepost 1652 (Milaca, MN)

The first stage of our trip is over as we arrived in Milaca late this afternoon.  We'll be in Minnesota for the next week or so, so there probably won't be many updates until we hit the road again.

Milepost 1,262 (Bismarck, ND)

It's Sunday night, and we're in Bismarck. One more day of traveling before we arrive in Minnesota to visit our families.

Yesterday's travels provided opportunities to meet with some old friends.  We stopped in Missoula for breakfast with Linda Gregory, who was our next door neighbor when we lived in Missoula from 1974 to 1981.  On the top photo, that's Linda and Frank with us.

After arriving in Billings, we had dinner with Jo and Mike Casey, who were our neighbors for several years in Puyallup and now live in Billings.  The Caseys and Johnsons are in the picture to the left.


Yesterday, we drove by a couple of landmarks from the days when the copper industry dominated Montana. As you drive by Anaconda, the Anaconda Copper Company smelter stack is clearly visible from I-90. The stack, one of the largest in the world, was built in 1919 and functioned until the smelter closed in 1980. Then we drove past the Berkeley Pit, a huge open pit copper mine that operated in Butte from 1955 to 1982.

We spent much of the past two days driving along the Yellowstone River, which is one of the dominant geographic features in Montana. The Yellowstone is the longest undammed river in the lower 48 states and is known for its fly fishing.

We also went through the North Dakota Badlands.  Today was kind of drizzly day, so the photo on the left isn't as bright as it would otherwise be.  Click here for photos taken on a sunnier day.

Milepost 415 (St. Regis, MT)

Our first day is in the books.  Originally, we had planned to make the drive to Minnesota in three days.  But we decided to take it a little slower and spread it out over four days.  That's about 400 miles a day.  Today's 400+ miles took us to St. Regis in western Montana, where we're staying at St. Regis' finest hotel.  In St. Regis, the finest hotel is a Super 8.  But, in fairness, it's not too bad.  Nice room, comfortable king size bed, widescreen TV and wi-fi that occasionally works.

Other than that, not much happening today.  Tomorrow, on to Billings, MT, with a stop in Missoula in the morning.

Our Little Cowgirl!

A few days ago, we took Chloe to a family carnival in one of the Tacoma city parks.  With assistance from Grandma, Chloe went for a horseride.  Click here to view it.

Just two days until we head out on the road!