From Virginia to Georgia - Civil War 101

Sorry for the long delay between entries - it's been a busy few weeks. We have really enjoyed touring the Southern States, but we found that everywhere we went was a statue or a battle field or something else commemorating the Civil War - hence the title "Civil War 101". We certainly know far more about the "late great unpleasantness" as some Southerners still refer to it than we did before we left.

I'm not sure whether to call him Ted Gump or Forrest Salken, but you know who I mean. The greatest historical significance of Chippewa Square (according to our tour guide) is the movie "Forrest Gump". I've never watched the entire movie, but I understand he spends most of the movie sitting on a park bench in this square telling his life story. The bench is now housed in the Savannah History Museum. Anyone care for a box of chocolates?

November 20 - Chippewa Square in Savannah's Historic District. General James Oglethorpe founded Savannah and designed it as a series of neighbourhoods centered around 24 squares. Of these 24, 21 still remain. They are peaceful places most of which have statues in the middle commemorating a famous historical figure or event. The statue in this square is of General Oglethorpe. November 16 - Steve & Diane drove down from Charleston to spend a day with us in Savannah before flying back home. We took a trolley tour of the city and then walked along the Waterfront. Shops & boutiques line River Street and at the end of the block is the old Cotton Exchange - a very important part of Savannah history.

November 14 - View of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbour - where the first shot of the Civil War was fired on April 12, 1861. Confederate soldiers won possession of this federal fort; it took Union soldiers 4 years to get it back. The houses south of Broad Street along East Bay Street, Meeting Street and the Battery were unbelievable. Diane and I are arguing over who is more worthy of owning the mansion behind us. Of course, there's also the problem of who is going to clean it!! One house, Calhoun Mansion, is over 24,000 square feet and has 35 rooms and fireplaces. There's also the price tag attached - anywhere from $800,000 to $2.2 million or more. Personally, I think I'm worth it!! After sharing a 300 square foot trailer with Ted for a year or two, I will deserve my space.

Diane and I at Waterfront Park. The bridge behind us crosses the Charleston Harbour between Charleston and Mount Pleasant. November 13 - The pineapple has been the symbol of welcome in the southern states for centuries. This pineapple fountain is located at Charleston's Waterfront Park. The swamp is an amazing place; thousands of plants and animals co-exist here. Cypress and tupelo gum trees surrounded by blackwater covered with duckweed provide a haven for turtles, alligators and over 200 bird species.

Audubon Swamp Garden was also a place of beauty - in an eerie, creepy way. It was named after James Audubon who came here 150 years ago to observe and paint the waterfowl. It is also the location of Wes Craven's movie, "Swamp Thing". The Magnolia Maze is a replica of a maze created by Henry VIII at Hampton Court in England. Camellias and Burford Holly make up the maze. You can tell who cheated in the maze by the grass stains on their knees.

We were surprised to learn that bamboo is indigenous to the southern states. We also saw herons (above), egrets, moorhens, coots and several other bird species. On the nature boat tour we saw several alligators up close and personal. They sun themselves to raise their body temperature to 72 degrees which allows them to digest their food.

Turtles and an alligator taking a break in the sunshine. The various gardens and lakes were breathtaking. Many gardens had a theme: Biblical Garden, Barbados Tropical Garden, Camellia Garden, Bamboo Pond and many more. The Flowerdale Garden (the formal garden) is the oldest unrestored garden in the U.S. (started in 1680). We took a ride on the nature train and drove down the Street of Slave Cabins. Archaeological digs are now underway to find out more about the slaves who lived on the plantation. The remaining antebellum slave cabins are being restored. Some descendants of the original slaves still work on the plantation.

The plantation was hit hard by Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Many of the trees and plants were destroyed and the Drayton family has worked hard to restore the grounds to their former beauty. Sunlight filters through the leaves of a live oak tree as the branches dripping with Spanish moss sway in the breeze. Sometimes I have to pinch myself - I can hardly believe I'm here. The beauty of this place is surreal. By the way, Spanish moss is neither Spanish nor moss; it is an air plant that gets its nutrients from the air. It is also a haven for chiggers and bed bugs. Slaves used to stuff their mattresses and pillows with Spanish moss because it is so soft; unfortunately that's the origin of the phrase "sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite".

November 12- Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, Charleston. This place was incredible. Although the original size of the plantation was larger, this 500 acres has been owned by the Drayton family since 1676 (11 generations). This is the 3rd house; the first two were destroyed by fire (the second one during the Civil War). Rice was the major cash crop of the original plantation. We toured the house and saw beautiful antiques, artwork, porcelain and quilts.

After a visit to the Treasure Oak Antique Mall and dining at the Charleston Crab House, we drove through the Holiday Festival of Lights in James Island Country Park. It was a 3 mile driving tour consisting of 60 displays using over 2 million lights. It was so amazing and beautiful that we had to drive through it twice to get the full effect. The next day (Sunday) Steve & Diane came over to watch the Saskatchewan Roughriders kick Calgary's butt. I tried not to gloat too much, but I must admit this win was especially sweet!!! Go Roughies Go!!

This is a tea field containing both older established plants and seedlings. From May to October, the plants are cut every 14-21 days. It takes 5 lbs. of fresh leaves to make 1 lb. of tea. Our next stop was the Charleston Tea Plantation - also on Wadmalaw Island. It is the only tea garden in North America. We toured the plantation and took the video factory tour which described how tea is made. The key to the type of tea being made is the oxidation process - 50 minutes for black tea, 15 minutes for oolong and no oxidation at all for green tea. The machine pictured above is the tea "combine" used to cut the leaves from the tea bushes. November 10 - Steve and Diane, friends of ours from Lethbridge, flew down to Charleston so Steve could attend a conference. It was so great to see familiar faces again. First on the agenda was a tour of the Irvin-House Vineyard on Wadmalaw Island. We shared a bottle of wine and watched as a priest performed the annual "Blessing of the Vine".

November 8 - Imagine our surprise when we drove into our campground just outside of Charleston, South Carolina and ran into Don, Wayne, Audrey and Cathy again. Another coincidence! The couple on the right are from High River so we called ourselves the "Alberta Corner" of the campground.

November 7 - Our campsite in Sesqui-Centennial State Park in Columbia, South Carolina. Looks a lot like the provincial parks at home, doesn't it?

Bailey & Rusty. We took them to a groomer while we were in Front Royal and she decked them out in little red kerchiefs. They looked like real Southern dogs so we nicknamed them "The Virginians". We had to change their names, however, when we reached Woodbine, Georgia. The day we got there we tied them up outside the trailer as usual and were quite surprised when we heard a knock at the door. It was another camper warning us that we should bring them inside as they were "gator bait". Highly doubtful since there was no water around for a few miles, but it did result in Rusty and Bailey acquiring new nicknames - "Gator" and "Bait". Dried dark-leaf tobacco grown on the plantation drying in the tobacco barn. It smelled soooo good in there and I don't usually like the smell of tobacco. Ted quit smoking August 15 so I had to hustle him out of there in a big hurry before he got the urge to grind some up, roll it in a paper and smoke it!!!! On the right hand corner of the information marker above is an inventory of the Burroughs farm in 186l which includes the slaves and their value. Booker, then 5, was valued at $400. When the Civil War ended in 1864, he and his family joined his stepfather in West Virginia. At age 16 he walked most of the way to Hampton Institute in Virginia, a new school for black students. He worked his way through school and in 1881 became founder and principal of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Booker was one of the most influential black men of his time and was advisor to 3 presidents although he was criticized by many civil rights activists for being too compromising. It was later discovered that he secretly funded many anti-segregationist activities until his death at the age of 59. His was truly a success story.

November 5 - Booker T. Washington National Park (near Roanoke, VA). We had heard of Booker T. Washington before but weren't exactly sure what he was famous for. After spending the day here, we were much wiser. Booker was born a slave in 1856 on the Burroughs tobacco plantation. This was not a rich plantation; the owner and his family worked side by side with the 10 slaves that they owned. It consisted of 207 acres, half of which was unused and the other half, divided by the zig-zag, split rail fence, provided grazing for livestock or was planted into crops. Only 5 acres was used to grow tobacco but it is a very labour intensive crop, hence the need for slaves.

Car & Carriage Caravan Museum was also located at Luray Caverns. It was filled with lots of neat old vehicles including a few rare cars. I'm standing in front of one of the newer ones, a 1927 Bugatti. Others included an 1892 Benz and a 1914 Locomobile as well as the usual Model A's and Model T's. Personally I'd prefer a 2007 model.

Another unique formation known as "Fried Eggs" - looks appetizing, doesn't it?

Stalacpipe Organ - world's largest and oldest musical instrument (lithophone) and the only one of its kind that produces music from stone formations. Stalactites of various sizes produce tones when electronically tapped with rubber-tipped mallets. The tones are similar to those of xylophones, tuning forks or bells and the song it plays is "A Mighty Fortress is our God". It was invented by Leland Sprinkle in 1956. Giant's Hall consists of stalactites, stalagmites and columns (which are formed when stalactites and stalagmites meet and grow together). Saracen's Tent - an example of a drapery formation.

Dream Lake - this formation is our favourite. The stalactites hanging from the roof are reflected in an 18 inch deep mirrored pool giving it a really unique look.

November 3 - Luray Caverns, VA. This is a truly amazing place - filled with stalactites and stalagmites some of which are over 7 million years old. Stalactites grow at a rate of 1 cubic inch every 120 years so it's slow going. As long as the formations feel "wet", they are still growing. The tour itself is 1.25 miles long and took us to a depth of 164 feet below ground level. The Caverns were discovered in 1878. The picture above was taken at the entrance to the cavern. It gives you an idea of how tall some of these formations are.

This is a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains from the Shenandoah River Valley. The word that came to mind as we drove along was pastoral.

Dark Hollow Falls - More water usually runs over the falls, but the Southeast is experiencing quite a severe drought this year so water levels are much lower than usual in lakes and rivers. The Governor of Georgia even held a public prayer for rain on the steps of the State Capitol a few weeks ago.

November 2 - Skyline Drive. Front Royal, VA to Mile 65. Shenandoah National Park's scenic roadway, Skyline Drive, follows the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains for 105 miles. It is a narrow mountain road with over 75 scenic overlooks and lots of hiking trails. We hiked to Compton Gap and Dark Hollow Falls that day - about 4 miles total. While there I couldn't get another song out of my head - John Denver's "almost heaven, West Virginia; Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River". It truly is beautiful, but these hardly seem like mountains. They are more like little foothills. Once you've seen the Rockies . . .

Bolivar Heights - one of the many cannons we have seen during our trek south. I think every park in every town has one.

Bolivar Heights. Located right next to Harper's Ferry is Bolivar Heights, the scene of a Civil War battle from September 12-15, 1862 which resulted in the largest Union surrender of the war. The Confederate army, under Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson, captured 12,419 Union soldiers. The leader of the Union troops, Col. Dixon Miles, died from wounds inflicted during the battle. Some say he was shot by his own troops who were ticked off by his inept defense. A good example of winning the battle, but losing the war! We were surprised to learn that many Southerners still refer to the Civil War as the "late, great unpleasantness" or, as one of our tour guides called it, "the recent unpleasantness". He also said there was nothing "civil" about the war.

John Brown's Fort. Harper's Ferry is probably best known for John Brown and his 22 associates' failed attack on the federal arsenal and armory in 1859 in an attempt to strike a blow against slavery. They were pinned down by locals in the armory (now known as John Brown's Fort) and captured by Col. Robert E. Lee within 36 hours. Brown was later found guilty of treason and hung. Some see him as a martyr for the abolitionist cause while others consider him a terrorist. All I could think of was that old song "John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave". Couldn't get it out of my head for days!!!

November 1 - Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. You can take the railway away from the man, but you can't keep the man away from the railway - or something like that! Originally the Baltimore & Ohio Rail Line, CSX & Amtrak now use the tracks. It was all I could do to keep Ted from checking the signals located just in front of the tunnel.

West Point to Washington

Welcome to our blog. We thought this might make it easier for you to share in our adventure and keep track of where we are and where we've been. The most recent pictures are at the top so if you want to start at the beginning, you will need to scroll down to the bottom and work your way up to the top. We will try to update the blog every week, but no promises!!

And for all of you who are wondering how Ted is doing - here's a clue . . . October 31 - Hallowe'en is a huge thing in the East - we were surprised at how everyone gets into the spirit of Hallowe'en. The people in this trailer pulled in next to us on the 30th of October, put up all these decoration (plus more you can't see) and left on November 1st. We couldn't imagine bringing all this stuff along; who has room??

The Relief Commander oversees the Changing of the Guard from the retiring Sentinel to the relieving Sentinel. The Changing of the Guard - the Relief Commander gives the white glove test to the gun of the relieving Sentinel. A Tomb Guard Sentinel standing guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns. These sentinels are volunteers from the 3rd US Infantry who have to pass very difficult tests to qualify. The Sentinel takes 21 steps, stops for 21 seconds, takes 21 steps and so on. The Guard changes every 1/2 hour during the summer and every hour during the rest of the year. PS - the tomb is actually empty; they did DNA testing on the soldier originally entombed there, located his family and reinterred him in his hometown. Arlington Cemetery reminded me of the poem "In Flanders Fields" -- "between the crosses, row on row". We saw the grave sites of John and Jacqueline Kennedy and their two infant children, the Challenger Space Shuttle Memorial, the Canadian Cross of Sacrifice and the grave sites of many American war heroes, service men and their families. Here you can see the Washington Monument reflected in the aptly named Reflecting Pool; at the other end is the Lincoln Memorial.

The Lincoln Memorial - inside the memorial is a statue of Abraham Lincoln and two of his speeches - the Gettysburg address and his inaugural speech - are engraved on the wall. The crests of 48 states line the top of the Memorial; when it was dedicated in 1922 Alaska & Hawaii had not yet joined. Their crests were added later. Martin Luther King made his famous "I have a dream . . ." speech was on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall (completed in 1984). The names of everyone killed or reported missing in Vietnam is recorded on this black granite wall in chronological order according to the date they died or were reported missing. The first casuality listed was in 1959 and names are still being added as vets die of war-related injuries. So many names . . . Can you see the reflections of the soldiers in the wall? The Korean War Memorial (dedicated in 1995) was amazing. It consists of statues of 19 soldiers and a reflecting wall with 15,000 photographs of soldiers etched into it. When you look into the wall, you can see the reflections of the 19 soldiers making it appear as if there were 38 soldiers. The symbolism of this is that Korea is located on the 38th parallel and the Korean War lasted 38 months. The looks on the faces of these soldiers was heartbreaking.

The Marine Corps (Iwo Jima) Memorial in Arlington (just across the Potomac River from DC. Remind anyone of "Flags of our Fathers"??

October 29 - We made arrangements to meet Don, Cathy, Wayne & Audrey for a bus tour of Embassy Row, the War Memorials and Arlington Cemetery. We were proud to discover that the Canadian Embassy is the only Embassy located in downtown Washington. The others are all in Georgetown. Aren't we special? We also discovered that residents of Washington, DC pay state and municipal taxes, but are only allowed to vote for the president. They do not have a state or Senate representative. Sounds like "taxation without representation" to me and another excuse for a "tea party"!!

We also walked over to the Jefferson Memorial located on the Tidal Basin. Inside is a statue of Thomas Jefferson with several of his most memorable speeches engraved in the wall. We made the long trek over to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, also known as the White House. Security is tight so you can't get too close but it was worth the walk. We spent time in the Air & Space Museum (above) and the Natural History Museum. Both had incredible displays and we watched 3-D IMAX movies in both. One was entitled the "Space Station" where we ducked flying debris when the Space Shuttle took off and the other was "Sea Monsters" where we found ourselves dodging and weaving to get out of the way of prehistoric sharks. Gotta love 3D!!! The Air & Space Museum Space Race Gallery included V-2 rockets, a space capsule, a space shuttle, Hubble telescope and a Lunar Module (above). You could spend days at the various museums; there is so much to see and do (and it's all free!!!) The Smithsonian Castle. This is the Smithsonian Institute's original home and the easiest landmark to find on the National Mall (the large expanse of land on which 10 of the 18 Smithsonian Museums are located). At one end of the Mall is the State Capitol, at the other is the Washington Monument and the museums line both sides of the Mall between the two. We met our friends Don & Cathy and Wayne & Audrey here, toured the Holocaust Museum and had lunch before splitting up and going our separate ways. Touring the Holocaust Museum was a very thought-provoking and haunting experience. From Union Square we walked to the State Capitol where all the major decisions about the country (both good and bad) are made.

October 28 - After our short rest, we decided to take on Washington, DC. We drove in from our campground in College Park and had no trouble parking as it was a Sunday. It was also the day of the Marine Corps Marathon so we got to run with the marathoners twice while we tried to cross streets. That was quite the experience! We started our day at Union Square, the centre of all public transportation in DC. This is definitely the most bizarre parking lot we had ever seen (and it's in front of a laundromat!!). We also discovered that only in Pennsylvania could you visit Bird-in-Hand, Intercourse and Paradise all within 15 minutes - need I say more??? October 27 - After the hectic pace in New York City, we decided to slow things down by visiting Amish country in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This was the rainiest day we had experienced on our trip but that didn't slow us (or the Amish in their horse and buggies) down. The countryside was beautiful and pastoral - a great place to unwind. Our guide dropped us off at Times Square in the Theatre district so we could people watch, eat fantastic New York cheesecake at Juniors and imagine that we were there on New Year's Eve watching the ball drop. Our tour was not all about history and tragedy. Our tour guide successfully navigated us through the traffic so we could see the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, the United Nations, Rockefeller Centre, Radio City Music Hall, the NBC Studios and many other famous New York locations.

These steel girders in the shape of a cross were found in the rubble when clean-up began at Ground Zero. It became a symbol of hope, faith and healing for the rescue and recovery workers. It will be returned to the site when the Freedom Tower is completed. This is the view of the inside of St. Paul's Church which opened on October 30, 1766. It was one of two churches in the immediate vicinity of the WTC that did not suffer any damage when the towers fell on 9/11 - not even a pane of glass was broken even though it was located right across the street. George Washington's Inauguration Day service was held here in 1789 and the church has a special "George Washington Pew Box". It wouldn't be a trip to New York City without a visit to Ground Zero. It was a very sobering experience to see that large gap in the centre of all the high rises. They have started work at the site on the new Freedom Tower which will eventually stand 1776 feet high. They are currently at work on the 6th floor and haven't even made it to ground level yet. This is the skyline of New York City as seen from Liberty State Park in New Jersey. It was a dull and dreary day, but the sight was very impressive - if only the World Trade Centre towers were still there! While we waited to board the ferry to Ellis Island, we watched a fire boat practising a fire drill in the New York Harbour. It was quite a sight!

This is what remains of the train station at Liberty State Park where successful immigrants boarded trains to destinations across the United States. My grandmother took the train to Bemidji, Minnesota where she met and married my grandfather. My grandparents and their four oldest children (including my Mom) moved to Saskatchewan in 1917. Ellis Island was definitely the highlight of my trip to New York City. After being processed at Ellis Island, immigrants who were granted entry (only 1-2% were denied) sailed to Liberty State Park. This was actually the starting point of our tour. We sailed on a ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty from the New Jersey side. Behind and below me is the Registration Hall at Ellis Island where inspectors questioned each individual upon their arrival. It was really thrilling for me to know that my grandmother had walked the same hall one hundred years earlier. How exciting to be a new immigrant arriving in America in the late 1800s and early 1900s! After a long sea voyage, the first thing you see is the welcoming torch of the Statue of Liberty and then you land at Ellis Island where hopefully you will be allowed to remain in your newly-chosen country. This is the journey my grandmother took at the age of 17 when she emigrated from Valdres, Norway. She sailed on the Lucania from Liverpool, England and arrived at Ellis Island on March 31, 1907. October 25 - We couldn't travel to the east coast and not visit New York City!!! This was one city we didn't want to navigate on our own so we took a bus tour from our campground - much less stress!!! A visit to NYC wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Statue of Liberty. The statue was built in France from 1881 to 1884 and brought over to Bedloe's Island (now Liberty Island) and reassembled in 1886. Although the statue itself is 151 feet tall, she stands 305 feet high from the base to the top of the torch.

This is our tour guide standing in front of the Hudson River. West Point was originally built as a fort by George Washington at this stragetic point on the Hudson River. Ships were forced to slow to a stop in order to make the sharp turn around the curve which made it easy for the Americans to defend against invasion. Washington Hall and the Parade Grounds at West Point. The military academy at West Point began in 1802 and alumni include presidents, five-star generals, astronauts and business leaders such as Ulysses Grant, Robert E. Lee, Dwight Eisenhower and Buzz Aldrin, to name just a few. The organ at the Cadet Chapel. It is the largest church organ in the world. This is the inside of the Cadet Chapel at West Point. The chapel was dedicated in 1910. The stained glass windows at the end and similar windows all along both sides are absolutely beautiful. Each memorial window has been dedicated and paid for by a graduating class (at the original 1910 cost of $300/window). The final window was installed in 1976. October 24 - The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Somehow I don't think Ted can cut it as a cadet. At least he's got the right hair cut!