Beauty away from the crowds 4/2/2019

We spent Monday in town DC at the Tidal Basin and on the Mall. The crowds at the Tidal Basin had been attracted (like us) by reports that peak bloom of the cherry trees would probably be (and were) on that day. As we strolled on the path there, we were joined by throngs of selfie-takers, running children, and shouting adults. The views were, admittedly, stunning. But we were ready for, as Monty Python would put it, something completely different.

Stachyurus

So yesterday we drove the 20 minutes or so from our campground to the National Arboretum, a treasure of a place that presents thousands of species of trees, shrubs, grasses, and plants on 446 acres in northeast Washington DC. Even though the parking lots were full, the place is so large that it was easy to enjoy the peace, quiet, and serene beauty the place affords. The cherry trees of all types, redbuds, camellias, and magnolias were in bloom as well as many other species we didn't recognize, from winter hazel to Stachyurus (in winter, the pre-emergent flowers look like strings of pearls) and more. Although the oaks and other hardwoods weren't in leaf, the imposing presence of some of the larger specimens was impressive. We were struck by one giant willow oak that stood in a field. What a beauty!

This should be a must-see place to visit if you're in DC.

Photos are here.

DC Day 1--Cherry Blossoms 4/1/2019

From 1912 to 1920, over 3,000 cherry trees, a gift from Japan, were planted around the Tidal Basin in DC. We've always wanted to visit DC during cherry blossom peak time. So this year we did it, and were fortunate enough to get here just in time for the peak bloom. Although it's really cool here (by Florida standards--a high of 50, with wind), it's beautiful. We also took the opportunity to stop by the WWII Memorial (inspiring), and the Smithsonian African American History Museum.

The path around the Tidal Basin was packed with people, but the views were great. 

Photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/X7b4XWc73PAUSgSN6

Congaree 3/31/2019

When we first decided to visit Congaree National Park in South Carolina, our concern was finding a place to stay in our RV. Fortunately, we found a place 30 minutes away near Columbia, SC. So on Saturday, with dry, comfortable weather in the 70s in our favor, we headed to the park.

Congaree was added to the National Park system in 2003. It includes almost 27,000 acres, and the largest tract of old growth hardwood forest left in the US. An old growth forest is one that has attained great age without significant disturbance. Congaree has some of the tallest and largest trees of 15 particular species, and has one of the largest concentrations of Champion trees in the world. We took this opportunity to view some of these giants by walking the trails.

We started on a boardwalk that soon took us down to the forest floor. There is an elevated boardwalk here because 80% of the park floods up to 10 times a year. That boardwalk during those floods provides the only access to the park. This shows the extent to which the flooding can go. Fortunately, the forest was mostly dry during our visit. On our walk, we found ourselves scrambling over huge logs, mucking through deep mud, and picking through fields of downed branches. Incredibly, there were no mosquitoes. (We were amused by the t shirts sold in the visitor center proclaiming: "I gave blood at Congaree National Park", with a large mosquito pictured on the front.)

What a beautiful, serene place. The forest is studded with giant trees, ponds are everywhere, as are

Lunch with a turtle  friend

bald cypress trees with fields of "knees"(see photos). We walked for a few hours, then sat on a log to

Traversing the mud

eat lunch. I was half way through my sandwich before I realized that there was a turtle on the path not 4 feet away. A bit further on, we found ourselves with a 30 yard long field of deep mud through which we needed to proceed if we wanted to get to the trail ahead. We picked up branches and used them to balance on a few branches embedded in the mud to get through.

If you are ever anywhere near here and love the forest as we do, we strongly recommend a stop here.

Our photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/e3jpB5aYmTz9C3eKA

Mobile 3/30/2019

This week we spent  a few days in Mobile, AL while we stayed at Meaher State Park. The campground there is situated directly on Mobile Bay where the Tensaw and Mobile Rivers empty into it. We found this place last summer when we passed through here, and knew we had to return.

On Tuesday, we headed to the Gulfquest Maritime Museum, an interactive museum dedicated to the historical, cultural and economic significance of the Gulf of Mexico. The entire building is designed to resemble a container ship, with exhibits that focus on topics from hurricanes, shipwrecks, sailing, offshore drilling, fishing, and so much more. There are over 90 hands-on exhibits like piloting a ship into a loading area, using latitude and longitude to figure location, using wind to sail a boat, using pulleys to lift weights, and lots more. Located on the rampways on either side of the container ship are common sayings with maritime origins highlighted on individual panels.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time here, which was enhanced by the fact that there were hardly any other visitors that day.

On Wednesday, we visited Bellingrath Gardens, where we missed the amazing azalea displays by about a week. Nevertheless, the gardens and wooded paths were still a delight, and a peaceful soul-calming experience. The weather was perfect, in the 70s and sunny, clear and dry. We stopped in to the Boehm Porcelain gallery at the garden. The building that houses the collection  was originally designed in 1939 as a six-car garage with guest quarters above. The gallery was created in 1967 to house this collection  and represents the largest public display of the works of the American sculptor, Edward Marshall Boehm.

Photos of Bellingrath are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/JJCQ24u4YKg8v5n77
A few of the maritime phrases are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/gAjvAQQZj69j5f9b6

On the road again 3/25/2019

This time we're heading north with the intention of ultimately getting to see the full glory of the cherry trees in Washington DC. Peak bloom is expected next week. On the way, we'll have stops in Mobile, AL and Congaree National Park, and on the way back, Wilmington, NC and Charleston SC as well as a Florida state park.

The ride north was uneventful, and the weather great--temps in the 70s and 80s and dry. About 35 miles west of the I75 and I10 junction, Google told us that traffic was stopped ahead on I10 for a car crash, and recommended we get off the Interstate and take a back road that would take us around the backup. We have not been disappointed by these reroutings before, so we took it, and are so glad we did. Oh my, what beautiful country! When taking rural roads with which we are not familiar, there's always the chance of finding ourselves on narrow, snaky routes, or on those with low clearance bridges. Thankfully, that was not the case here. The route took us by gorgeous rolling green hills and fields, peppered with majestic huge live oaks dripping with spanish moss. What a treat!

Once back on the interstate, we headed west. I10 runs across northern Florida from Jacksonville to Pensacola and further to Mobile. In the Tallahassee area we started to see evidence of Hurricane Michael that blew through the panhandle back in early October of 2018. There were downed trees all along the road. We passed huge areas where the trees were snapped off like twigs 15-20 feet above the ground. Billboards were rubble. Road signs were twisted and bent, many on the ground. Large tracts of trees had been completely removed, leaving an open hillside where once forest stood.

When we arrived at our stop for the night in Cottondale, FL, a rural town off I10, about 120 miles east of Pensacola. I had called the campground owner as we were driving west to see if she had any spots available for the night, and she did. When we arrived, she greeted us as she stepped out of her trailer, followed by a baby goat. She explained that after her husband passed away late last year, she wanted a bit of companionship, and came into possession of this goat. He now follows her everywhere. The sites here are clean and flat, and the water pressure and electricity are good. But the road noise from the Interstate is loud.

Here are a few photos of the tree damage.: https://photos.app.goo.gl/QKW45ooKPnyvNoteA

We head to Mobile next.

The house that Coke built 8/9/2018

The drive from Memphis to Mobile was a memorable one. Following Google's directions, we headed east in Mississippi on Route 19, a two-lane, narrow road, with a 55 mph speed limit. There wasn't a lot of traffic, until...we rounded a big sweeping curve to find a half a manufactured house barreling down the road toward us, taking up not only its own lane, but a healthy portion of ours. Ray did an admirable job keeping us on the road that had a 1 foot shoulder. Later, on some county road, again directed by Google, we rolled down a similar road to find an unmarked railroad bridge ahead of us. What was the clearance? We needed at least 13 feet to get under the bridge unscathed. A judgement was made. We proceeded. Success. After that, we ran into road construction, where workers were painting lines on the highway. It would have been easier if the cones to block off the right lane and allow for painting had not been placed at least a foot to the left of the striping. That left clear road just about the width of the RV to travel on. Result? We ran over a cone that collided with the front of the car. Fortunately, no permanent damage was done. All in a day's drive!

We are staying at a lovely state park just outside of Mobile, and on Mobile Bay. Tomorrow we visit

Bellingrath Gardens.

__________

Walter Bellingrath was one of the first Coca-Cola bottlers in the Southeast, and with his wealth built Bellingrath Gardens and home. He and his wife, Bessie, lived in the home which has since been converted into a museum. The gardens opened to the public in 1932.

Mr. and Mrs. B lived in Mobile, but wanted a place to get away from the pressures of life there, so they purchased a fishing camp on the Fowl River in 1917. The transformation from the "Belle Camp" fishing post into what is now Bellingrath Gardens and Home is largely thanks to Mrs. B, who had married Walter in 1906. Mrs. B began developing the gardens in 1927. The 10,500 square foot home was completed in 1935. That's a pretty big house for people who had no children.

The unique feature of this home is that it is all original. All the furniture and decorations are exactly as the Bellingraths left them, and

everything is pristine, exactly as if the Bellingraths had just left. The house and gardens have been maintained exactly as the Bellingraths did while they were living here.

When we originally showed up for the house tour, there were about 15 other people queued up for the tour. We opted to wait for the next tour, and are glad we did. We had our own personal tour, as there were no others at that time.

The house is beautiful, though ornate, Mrs. B's taste. The setting is serene. Apparently, spring is the time to come: azaleas and camellias are in bloom everywhere, and the weather is cooler and a bit drier. We'll be back.

Photos are here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/kA8aK79E11nTyjK3A

All hail the King! 8/17/2018

There's a reason why, nearly 40 years after he died, Elvis Presley is still revered as "The King". We are in Memphis, TN, with the express reason to visit Graceland. As luck would have it, we were able to get a reservation at the Graceland RV park, within a 5 minute walk of its namesake. We are staying on Blue Suede Lane, right around the corner from Don't Be Cruel Lane.

Graceland the house is pretty much as Elvis left it in 1977 when he died. What impressed Ray and me is that although Elvis was richer than rich, the house is pretty liveable. He took the home, that was built in 1939, and made it his own. The style is distinctly 1970s: there are mirrors everywhere, there

is a room with carpeting on the ceiling, faux fur is common. But the house as a whole is livable. It's not what I would expect for a culture icon.

But the Graceland tour is about so much more than the house tour. Elvis' planes and autos and motorcycles are on display in a separate area. His military, movie and recording careers all had their separate areas of museum display. There is a fascinating exhibition devoted to Sam Phillips

and Sun Records, essentially the beginnings of rock and blues music as we know it. And there is an awesome area devoted to how Elvis influenced all of the music of today: with quotes from Frank Sinatra, to Justin Timberlake to Gene Simmons to Robert Plante to Michael Buble and Springsteen. James Brown had such respect and love for him, he even considered Elvis his brother.

We had been unaware of the fact that Elvis was a significant benefactor to many charities, and was very private about it. Over the course of his career, he received numerous awards, but he showed up to receive only one, as one of the 10 Outstanding Young Men of America 1970, given by the Jaycees, probably because it meant the most to him. It was the first time, as an entertainer, that he had been accepted on the same level as others in fields like biological research, business, medicine and national affairs.

We came away from the 5 or so hours we spent at the Graceland complex with a new appreciation for Elvis and the impact he had on all of music and culture.

Photos of the house, grounds and museum stuff are here-- the descriptions of the pictures will tell you what you're looking at. :  https://photos.app.goo.gl/xH4SRQZ4P6TevDHF6