Reflections on the road trip

The road trip was an interesting experience. It was an appetizer, if you like as there were many places we did not have time to visit even though we were close by. It was probably wise to have a couple of nights in each place but it still did seem a bit like 'living out of a suitcase'. 

There were some special highlights, the National Civil Rights Museum about which I have written much, Graceland, Sun Studios, Gettysburg, Appomattox and other places such as the Peabody Hotel. The driving itself was a bit tight for time on some of the legs and, of course, there is a temptation to stray off the route to interesting places which then require a speed up to get to the next hotel.

We could have taken longer over this trip but it was a good sample of some of the places we visited and we were pleasantly surmised by how nice places, we had thought might not be very interesting, were.

This is not a very restful way of spending time but it is economical in the sense that much ground can be covered and traveling in one's own vehicle makes for greater flexibility and comfort.

Would I do it again? Yes probably but maybe I would slow the pace a bit. If I had not recorded all of the things we did and saw with this blog, I am not sure I would have remembered half of it.

All in all it was an enjoyable time, it was great to see Judy again and we could have seen other friends but just did not have the time.

Next time.

The National Civil Rights Museum, at the Lorraine Hotel, Memphis.

Without doubt, as far as I was concerned, the most seminal part of the whole trip was the visit to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. The fact that it was located in the old Lorraine Hotel where Martin Luther King Jr last stayed makes the impact all the more poignant. We were so moved by the experienced that we donated money to install a brick in the courtyard of the Museum (where the gentleman in the white jacket is standing in the first photo). This is a very well designed, informative and thought-provoking museum which ought to be on everyone's list to see. The staff are very helpful and friendly and the facilities are excellent. It is a little out of the way from downtown Memphis but is very well worth finding and visiting.

This is a photo record of our visit:

The Lorraine Motel

A wreath marks the spot where MLK Jr stood when he was assassinated

Cars of the period parked outside the motel

The Hotel

Room 306 where MLK Jr stayed

A diorama of Rosa Parks on the bus.

The Memphis bus

The driver telling Rosa to move.

The sit-in at the Diner

One of the many very informative panels

A result of some of the protests

...and above, the Sanitation Workers strike in Memphis which brought MLK Jr to Memphis on his fateful last journey.

Did he have a premonition about his death?

The rooms occupied by MLK Jr. when he stayed at the hotel

This is the actual bathroom window where marks made by the gun used were found.

The view from the boarding house across the street from where the shot is thought to have come

The depiction of the Slave Trade

Some of the part of the museum which depicts the slave trade

Tuesday 3rd February 2015 - the last leg and the end of the trip.

This was to be the last day and the last leg of the journey. We packed and set off with the intention of visiting the Underground Railroad Museum at Christiana PA. we arrived there but found that the museum was closed even though the web site had indicated that it would be open. So we just got to take some photos of the exterior. 

The Underground Railroad Center

The museum

A memorial to some who lost their lives escaping

The museum

So we set off with no other destination in mind and decided to head for home. After a short diversion onto smaller roads we decided that it would be better to take the highways and get home directly.

We covered the hundred or so miles quite quickly and then took a short visit to Fiore's Deli in Hoboken. This Deli is renowned for its great sandwiches and also for the high quality of its mozzarella. We bought a couple of sandwiches, some antipastos, some sausage and a few other things to take home. 

Then it was through the Holland Tunnel and home to unload all our stuff before MAC took the car back to the rental garage. 

So the trip ended and was rated to be a success. I will write some reflections on the trip later.

I will also be adding the photographs gradually to all the posts which don't have them.

Monday 2nd February 2015

Monday 2nd February 2015

After packing up and having a cup of coffee, we left with Judy to tend to Ming’s cat and then to have breakfast at i-Hop. We had a good breakfast, returned to Judy’s picked up the car, said our goodbyes and thank you’s and set off. Our target was to get to Gettysburg. This was about 160 miles away and we arrived there just after 2 pm.

The battlefield at Gettysburg is huge. There is a large Visitors Center. We bought tickets and briefly visited the museum which is well laid out and very interesting. Sadly, we did not have time to spend at this location and it needs to have time devoted to it. After the museum we attended the 3 pm movie show. The movie is excellent, it is not too long but sets the scene for the Civil War and what led up to the battle which took place on the site. It also explains clearly the ebb and flow of the battle. We also viewed the incredible cyclorama painting made by the French painter Paul Philippoteaux which was completed in 1884 and depicts the Pickett’s Charge in a huge 377 foot circular painting on canvas with a base which has terrain and items from the country side. The display is enhanced by a sound and light show which almost seems to put you in the center of the battle. It is very eerie.

After leaving the visitors center, we drove around the battlefield site and saw the massive expanse of ground which the battle covered. At every turn there are monuments to units and individuals who took part. The various key spots in the battle such as the Wheatfield, Big Round Top, Little Round Top, Seminary Ridge and Cemetery Ridge, etc are all marked. The day we were there, it was bitterly cold and there was a strong wind which did not improve matters. We saw the Eternal Light Peace Memorial which was unveiled in 1938 at the 75th anniversary reunion of soldiers from both sides. We ended up at the Soldiers National Cemetery which is the site on which the famous Gettysburg Address was made by President Lincoln. This address of 272 words and lasting about two minutes is, without doubt, one of the greatest speeches in the English language. In view of the fact that it followed a 2 hour oration from Edward Everett it is the case study for brevity and germane content. In the cemetery 3,500 Union soldiers  were buried. The Confederate soldiers buried there were later moved to cemeteries in the South. Since the Civil War, 6,000 further soldiers who died in other conflicts have been buried there.

It is salutary to realize that this battle, the only one to be fought in Union territory, so very nearly went in favor of the Confederacy. It was only due to a catastrophic strategic decision by Gen. Lee and the awful Pickett’s Charge on the third day of the battle, which was almost as much of a carnage as the Charge of the Light Brigade. The 12,000 Confederate troops just marched in parade-ground formation into the guns of the Union troops. Lee had thought that he could deliver a final blow to the Union as he had managed some superiority in various skirmishes up until then. The numbers of casualties was as much as 5,000 in one hour. The total losses in the battle were 51,000 dead, wounded or missing. There is an aura which surrounds the whole place which is very sobering. It would be worth returning to see this site at more leisure and in more detail. The significance of this battle which really turned the tide in favor of the Union cannot be overstated. What America would look like if the battle had gone to the Confederacy, it is difficult to imagine.

A statue of Abraham Lincoln outside the Visitors' Center

As above

The text of the Gettysburg Address

Some of the many, many monuments on the battlefield.

One of the many distinctive fences which divide up the area

The monument to the New York Cavalry

This view gives an idea of the filed over which the battle was fought and the fact that it was cold and snowy when we were there made it even more desolate.

One of the many cannons on the field

General Meade

The Pennsylvania Monument

A marker which indicates where the Gettysburg Address was delivered. It was so cold that we decided not to go the 300 yards to the spot.

Some of the graves of soldiers who died in more recent conflicts.

The graves of the soldiers, mostly Union, who died in the 1863 battle.

The town of Gettysburg took generations to recover from the battle. After the troops withdrew, every house and building was turned into a hospital and every citizen pressed into service to tend to burying the dead and helping the wounded.

We left the battle site and drove towards Lancaster PA. On the road, we booked a room at a hotel called the Cork Factory Hotel which is in the center of the town. This is, as its name suggests, is an old cork factory with exposed brick and beams. It was great to get out of the cold and into the warm. Our room is comfortable and we had a very nice dinner in the hotel restaurant. 

The Cork Factory Hotel, Lancaster PA

Then it was to bed.

Sunday 1st February 2015

Sunday 1st February 2015

Today we woke up at Judy’s place and had a leisurely breakfast. Then we took off for Monticello but as we had all been there before, we decided not to go in to see the house. We spent some time in the gift stores and the café where we had a sandwich and a drink. Drove to Ashlawn Highlands which is the home of President James Munroe. As time was getting on we also just visited the Visitors’ Center and the gift store.

On the way to and from Monticello we called at Judy’s sister Ming’s house to feed her cat as she is way visiting her mother in Washington DC. Ming’s cat ByeBye made a brief appearance and is a beautiful white cat which is now in her teens. Ming also has a goldfish which is 20 years old. Longevity seems to be alive and well in Ming’s house.

On our way back home we visited the town center of Charlottesville which is a pedestrian precinct. We visited some of the stores on the street and, of course, the cat store!!

On the way back to Judy’s we called in at the ASPCA where she volunteers some days a week, looking after the cats. We brushed a couple of cats and looked around the wonderful facility where all the animals have ample space and are well cared for. 

On the way home we looked for somewhere to have a cup of coffee but everywhere was closed early due to the Super Bowl.

We called in at Ming’s place on the way back to feed the cat. When we arrived there we saw a stray dog wandering around the street. It seemed to take to is and came over and wanted to go into Ming’s house!! Fortunately, it had an ID tag his name was Benni and we were able to contact the owner who came and claimed him. She said “he doesn't like the food we give him so he wanders off to find better food”. This sounded a bit lame but at least we reunited him with his owner.

So we decided to go home and have dinner there. Ming had prepared some of her excellent Chinese beef stew and Judy cooked some noodles and Bok Choy to go with it. The meal was really excellent and very tasty, spicy, but not too much so and the noodles, vegetable and pickled vegetables were just right. 

Ming's 20 year old goldfish!!!

Judy holding BoyBoy

A squirrel in the pedestrian precinct at Charlottesville

Ming's spicy beef stew which is called Niu Rou Mian (that is the English phonetic spelling)

A selfie of the three of us.

Judy and her cat Boy Boy

Ming's beautiful 14 year old white cat called ByeBye

We watched the last five minutes of the Super Bowl which was as baffling to me as it always is. It seems that the New England Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks in the last minutes due to some sort of catastrophic mistake by one of the losers. A last minute punch-up between the two teams did not seem to befit the occasion but, I don't understand it at all. We then watched Downton Abbey, me for the first time and I found that about as confusing as the Super Bowl.

That was enough for the day and we retired to bed.