Days of Museums and Motels

I used to love and look forward to staying in hotels. I have to say, after this last trip, I don't enjoy it as much anymore. I've always been very picky about where I stay. There have been times in the past that we've pulled up to a place and promptly canceled our reservation based on outward appearance. These days, with TripAdvisor and other online review sources, it is much easier to find decent hotels. What is becoming more difficult is finding decent hotels at decent prices. I remember when I considered $49.99 to be an astronomical price for a hotel room. Then it inched up the scale. Nowadays you are lucky to find anything coming in under $100.00 a night. Oh I know about Priceline and Last Minute where you name your own price. I'm just too Type A to trust that I'll find a room that meets my standards. This past trip was interesting. Our first stop was a motel in West Memphis. The rate was $59.00. I was skeptical but the reviews were awesome. I was pleased with the quality. It was definitely low budget to the point of no alarm clock in the room but it was clean ( my biggest priority) and comfortable and perfect for one night. They got a good TA review from me. In Birmingham I wasn't sure about my choice prior to arrival. I loved that room! It was a Residence Inn and was newly remodeled. The colors were red and brown. The furnishings were lovely. Gorgeous bath area. I wish we'd had more than one night there. Frankly it spoiled me. Our next three stops were nondescript and frankly all looked alike. Nothing wrong but nothing spectacular either. And I have a question. Why does every breakfast buffet consist of eggs, sausage, gravy, biscuits and wheat toast?  I know they've come along way from donuts and cereal but really, couldn't we have a little variety?  I really think it would be nice to have an RV. At least you'd be in your own space every night. I guess I'm just getting old.

You could call this trip the Museum Marathon. In the course of 6 days we visited 8 museums: Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Stone Mountain, Atlanta History Center, Margaret Mitchell House, Johnny Cash Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame, National Quilt Museum and Rocky Ridge Farm. A very eclectic mix for sure. By the time I got to the Quilt Museum I could hardly stand to read about the quilts. The words were all running together and my feet were exhausted. I think my favorite was the CMHF in Nashville. We were there more than four hours. It is a wonderful museum. The exhibits are well interpreted and cover the broad spectrum of country music. Of course Rocky Ridge was beautiful and fed my soul. I needed my "Laura fix".

We were gone 14 days. We visited 10 states and drove 2999 miles. It was an interesting trip and I'm glad we went. Next time though I think I'll find something adventurous to do.

Atlanta

Greetings from Atlanta!

This is our second day in Atlanta. I can't say as I have had a relaxing time here. Siri needs to get her directions figured out because she's sure led us on some interesting adventures here. I can see how people get lost on logging roads in the mountains!

Today we did manage to find the Atlanta History Center up in Buckhead. The museum has several different galleries including the Centennial Olympic Games, the Civil War and folk art. All three were interesting. I was very impressed with the Civil War section and have to say I learned quite a bit. It was comprehensive and they have a wonderful collection of artifacts. While we were in that gallery, quietly reading and taking on the exhibits, a loud group of teenagers literally stormed through. They were from the Y and there was one adult with about 50 rowdy kids. The teacher part of me immediately bristled and I told Ken that they obviously weren't MY class. I gave several of them my most withering teacher glare and I'm proud to say it worked. Mercifully the "cloud of grasshoppers" moved quickly on to the cafe...more on that in a bit.

There is a 1920's era mansion on the grounds called the Swan House. It was used in the Hunger Games movie. We had planned to walk out to see it but it started to pour rain. No problem, we'll just eat lunch in the Chick-fil-a Coke cafe until the storm passes over. Well, the cloud of grasshoppers got there before us and all that was left was one wrap and a salad. The very nice young man running the place gave us our drinks for free because he felt so bad. Unfortunately it didn't stop raining so we didn't get to see the Swan House.

The Margaret Mitchell house was next on our itinerary. It is several miles south of the Center in the midtown area. The house itself was built in the early 1900s and later converted to apartments. The Center acquired the house in 1994 and despite two arson fires opened the house and museum in 1997. The significance of the house is that Mitchell wrote her lone novel Gone with the Wind in apartment one. Mitchell was an interesting woman. Only 4' 11" ( like LIW!), Mitchell was quite the rebel in Atlanta society. Her first husband was a bootlegger, a fact she didn't know until after she married him. They divorced six months later and she married John Marsh. In 1931 Mitchell was in a car accident and was laid up for several months. After bringing her every book in the library, John brought her a sheaf of newsprint and told her to write her own book. So " in a weak moment " she wrote a book.  And the rest is history. She was an odd person. Whenever she' d finish a chapter she'd put it in a manilla envelope and hide it in her apartment. Once she was finished, she gathered up the envelopes, put them in order and sent them to her publisher. The original manuscript was over 80 chapters long. The final product was 60 chapters. In 1948, Mitchell was hit by a taxi cab in Atlanta and was killed. Her husband destroyed all of her unpublished writing following her death. She did not want her life to be on display after her death so unfortunately there are few artifacts from her actual life.

The movie display is also very sparse. They do have the actual door from Tara which was used in the movie and the portrait of Scarlett from Rhett's bedroom.

We were both tired so we abandoned our plan to go to the World of Coke and after getting lost in downtown Atlanta we headed back to our hotel. Tomorrow we will head to Nashville and the Johnny Cash Museum. I hear The Old Spaghetti Factory calling my name...

Birmingham

It's difficult to believe that Gulf Shores and Birmingham are in the same state; a short 4 hours apart. I woke up on a beautiful beach and spent the afternoon viewing the chronology of one of America's worst stories.

My day started at 3:00 a.m.  I don't know why I woke up but I lay there worrying until 4:30 when I decided I might as well get up and take care of what I was worrying about. So, at 4:30 a.m. I was packing the cooler and doing the last minute dishes. By 6:00 we were saying goodbye to the beach and following a quick breakfast at the Waffle House,we parted ways with the Griffith's and headed for Birmingham.

Ken dropped me off at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute while he went on to the Civilian Marksmanship Program store in Anniston. I immediately crossed 16th street to walk around the 16th Street Baptist Church, the site of the 1963 bombing. It was very moving to walk around the church and to stand in front of the window where the 4 little girls were killed. I read "The Watson's Go to Birmingham" to my class every year so it was interesting to see the church firsthand.  They don't give tours on Saturday so I wasn't able to go inside the church. I thought about sneaking in with an African American group but I figured they'd notice me since I wasn't wearing one of their shirts.

I then went to the Institute which tells the story of racism and the Civil Rights movement in Birmingham. Birmingham became a town in 1871. The town grew up around the Sloss Furnaces, a pig iron factory. Freed slaves and European immigrants came to the area to take jobs in the mines around the iron mill. Over time the town became segregated, first by choice, then by code. By the mid 1900's Birmingham was the most cruelly segregated cities in the US. It was so bad that in a 1961 TV special a young black girl was quoted saying that no one should live in Birmingham. It was known as Bombingham due to the number of bombings.   By 1963, children were organized into nonviolent protest marches to stand in the place of their parents who were unable to march for fear of retribution. The children were attacked by police, dogs and firehoses. They were arrested and jailed. Many were held in outdoor pens because the juvenile jail was full.  In September of 1963 the KKK planted a bomb on the 16th Street church in retaliation for hosting the marches.

The Institute is a nicely interpreted museum. The exhibits are designed to draw you into the time period. Highlights for me were the burned out hull of of the Freedom Rider bus that was burned in Anniston, the jail bars from Martin Luther King's jail cell and the Bull Connor crowd control tank.  However, I was most drawn to and moved by the small display case which held Denise McNair's shoes, purse, necklace and bracelet that were found on her body after the bombing.  It brought home the fact that she was just a young girl all dressed up for Sunday School. Watson's has a scene where Kenny thinks he found his sister in the debris because of the Buster Brown logo in a shoe.  There, today, in Denise's shoe,was Buster Brown. Wow.

After the museum I took a quick turn through Kelly Ingram Park, where the Children's marches took place. There are life-like sculptures through out the park depicting the dogs, the firehoses and the children who wouldn't give up.  I didn't spend much time in the park because it was hot and there were some shady looking people around the fringes. I walked up to 20th street,about a half mile away, and caught a bus to our hotel. That was a little nerve wracking but I did it.

For dinner we drove over to Irondale to eat at the Irondale cafe. The cafe was the inspiration for the book and movie called Fried Green Tomatoes. I had to try the FGTs and Chess pie. They were OK. We left full but underwhelmed.

Tomorrow we head east to Stone Mountain and Atlanta. The Griffith's are making one long drive and should be home in the wee hours of Sunday.  It's one thing when we make that drive. It's another when it's your kids!

Fun in the Sun

It's another beautiful day in Orange Beach. The weather has been perfect. Partly cloudy skies and warm temperatures that  make beach sitting a pure delight. The water is a warm 80 degrees and the surf has ranged from nonexistent to mild rolling waves. Are you jealous yet?

Our drive down was pretty uneventful. We met Ken's brother Don and his wife Jamie in Little Rock for lunch and had a nice visit with them. We drove on to Memphis where we joined the Griffith's. We decided to go down to Beale Street to eat dinner at the new Hard Rock Cafe. Because it was July 4 the area was packed with revelers attending what appeared to be a street festival. Parking was scarce so we parked in the first available lot and got gouged for $20. Oh well, we are on a quest for fun.

Saturday we completed the second leg of our journey and made great time until we got to Mobile. Everyone and his brother must've been headed to the beach. The drive south from Loxley was almost like being in Branson. The normal driving time is about 45 minutes. Saturday's drive took at least an hour and a half. It was miserable!  But we made it and it was entirely worth it.

Sunday morning the boys and I took an early morning walk on the beach. The water was perfectly still. It is so fun seeing the beach and Gulf through their eyes.    Everything is a wonderment. After breakfast we staked our spot on the sand and spent about 6 hours sunning, swimming, reading and relaxing in the warm sun. It is interesting to see how different things are in the summer than the spring. Of course the temperature is warmer but the surf seems different as do the types of shells deposited by the waves. It is certainly more crowded.

We ate dinner at our favorite spot called The Hangout- at the end of 59 where the highway ends and the fun begins. The boys proclaimed it to be awesome!

This morning we are off to the Gulf Coast Zoo- the little zoo that could. Then back to the beach!  What's your Monday like?

Rangers, Royals, Flautas and Frank

Originally I was going to include this in my previous post but I thought George should have his own post. We didn't have time to do much in Tucson other than go to the cemetery but we did grab some lunch at a little Mexican place called El Merendero. It was featured in the Tucson travel magazine and for good reason. I ordered Flautas and they were delicious. Ken's enchiladas looked good too. The Rangers game was slow and boring so we ended up leaving during the 6th. Don't even know if they won or not.

Today we toured Taliesen West, Frank Lloyd Wright's western home and campus. Taliesen is built in Wright's organic style. It is beautiful. For more information go to www.Frank Lloyd wright.org.

If this post seems short on detail it is because my heart just isn't in it. Tonight's Royals game ended on a sad note. In the sixth inning the Red's brought in pitcher Aroldis Chapman. After walking 4 batters Salvador Perez nailed a line drive straight to the pitchers mound striking Chapman directly in the left eye. Our seats were directly behind the third base dugout to the right of the pitcher. We heard the ball hit the bat followed by a sickening thud as it hit Chapman. He immediately fell face first to the ground with his legs flailing behind him. The mound was surrounded by players from both teams as well as medics and trainers. After ten minutes Chapman was removed from the field on a back board to the applause of the crowd. The game was called by mutual consent of both teams. I felt so bad for Salvy. He was so shaken. He crouched at first base for a few minutes obviously praying and  then moved to the side of the pitchers mound. Other players and coaches, very shaken, stood off to the side quietly talking and praying. Rusty Kuhns knelt on one knee near first and looked as if he was praying. The crowd was shocked and silent until they took Chapman off the field. Salvy looked so sad as he walked off the field to the applause and support of the crowd. I've never seen anything like that in a game before. It really shook me up. I know these things happen but it sure takes the joy out of the game. The Royals won 5-3

George Washington Van Zandt

George Washington Van Zandt was born March 29, 1891 in Taney County Missouri near the town of Branson. On July 3,1912 he married my great I grandmother Ethel Day. She was 20, he was 21. Ten months later, on May 13,1913 my grandmother, Pauline, was born. About a year later a second daughter, Carol, was born. In 1917 George registered for a draft exemption in Tulsa,OK citing that he was the primary support for his family. Sometime afterwards he disappeared. The story I've always heard was that he went to work on a ranch in Oklahoma and that he got the rancher's daughter pregnant. There was a shotgun wedding (was he divorced?) and that was the last of George. This was never talked about as it was a subject best left forgotten. I recently learned that in 1977 my great grandmother filed for a divorce from George because she wasn't sure he'd actually divorced her and she didn't want any legal problems when she died. I have one photo of Ethel and George, their wedding photo. Neither look too happy.

That's all we knew until now. Thanks to the magic of the internet and online records I found George. The 1920 census shows Ethel and George living in Hutchinson, KS. I don't believe this is accurate. I think MamMaw (Ethel) probably said he was living there to avoid the shame of being a single mother of 2. It was a government man afterall.  George reappears in 1930 in Phoenix, AZ. At this time he is married to 19 year old Leila May Johnson and has one daughter named Mertice Rhue. Other children are born, Essie Earlene and Glenn. There was one stillborn daughter as well. On the birth certificate George's occupation is listed as carpenter. Sometime around 1950 he moved with his family to Tucson and became a firefighter. On January 16,1959 he died from a heart attack on the way to the hospital. He is buried in Southlawn Cemetery and his headstone says he was a Canadian war veteran. His son Glenn died in 1959 and is buried next to him.  Those are the facts.

There are still some missing pieces. What really happened after Carol was born and why did George leave? Where did he go?  Why did he exempt himself in 1918 in the U.S. if he really went to Canada? Did he go to Canada to get away from Ethel or the girl in Oklahoma? Where was he between 1920 and 1930?  Did he ever try to get in touch with the family he left behind? Did his second family know about his first family? Is there another family out there? Why Phoenix and Tucson? Why, why why?

Why am I so interested?  I think because it is just a missing piece to my past and because it is such a fascinating mystery. I thought George might speak to me but he didn't. Guess I'll just have to keep looking.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame!

Two days of baseball! If you'd told me five years ago that I'd be spending a week watching baseball and actually enjoy it I would have told you no way!  But here I am, decked out in my Royals hat, my specially purchased St.Patrick's Day Royals shirt and my custom ordered Blue and White New Balance shoes. Oh, I forgot my blue and white nails. 

Sunday was our first game day at the Surprise Sports Complex. The Phoenix area is the home of the Cactus League Spring Training. The Surprise stadium was built in 2000 and is home to the KC Royals and the Texas Rangers. Each team has 4 practice fields that are next to the stadium. During the week it is possible to attend preseason games in the afternoon or evening and practices in the morning. If you have several favorite teams and love to watch you could attend games at more than one stadium.  In the morning you can attend practice and watch all of the farm team players practice. In the afternoon they play other farm teams. I didn't realize that all of the farm players trained with their major league counterpart. 

Sunday the Royals were playing away and not being familiar with the area I wasn't sure how away away was so opted for the Rangers game. I was excited to see Prince Fielder even if I did have him mixed up with Big Papi for awhile. The game was lackluster and very slow but they did win 14 to 8. 

Dinner was at our favorite, Old Spaghetti Factory. Yum! It was worth the 30 minute drive. 

Monday morning we tried out the practice sessions. They were interesting but we didn't see any of the big guys. In the afternoon we watched the first 4 innings of the Omaha game. It was too hot to stay so it was back to the hotel. 

Tonight's game was fun! It was great to see the boys again. Billy Butler has trimmed down. Moose was hitting strong and all in all they played well. George Brett is apparently coaching again as he was there in uniform. They beat the Rangers 6-0. Now if they can just beat them in regular season. 

Tomorrow we are driving down to Tuscon to find my scoundrel of a great grandfather's grave. More on him tomorrow. 

It's a Whole New World

Yesterday was an interesting day. One of the things I enjoy about traveling,especially by car is viewing the way the landscape and geology changes. I also enjoy slipping in and out of different cultures. When we drive south to Alabama the cultural changes are mostly due regional idiosyncrasies. The dialect changes but the faces are basically the same.  In the southwest,especially in western New Mexico and Arizona, you really begin to see the influence of different cultures. I can't say that I experienced them but I definitely observed differences. For example, at the Arizona welcome center there were three Navajo ladies making and selling Indian Fry Bread. The coolest part was listening to them speak Navajo to each other while they worked. A little thing, but now a fun memory that I can share when we read Navajo Code Talkers in two weeks.

My three geology classes as well as Mrs. Jones' geology units in elementary school came in handy as the mountains, buttes, mesas and rock formations changed. In some places the rocks were sandstone, in others limestone and some were a mix. In one spot in New Mexico called "The Land of Fire and Ice" the ground was covered with what looked like Scoria or basalt. I wanted to stop the car and go exploring. I wonder if any of my ALC friends experience the desire to go climbing around on rock outcroppings as they drive down the road? The flora changed as well. One minute there were scrub oak and tumbleweeds and the next minute you'd drive over a hill and there would be pine trees. As you enter the Phoenix area you drive down a mountain. As you near the bottom it's as if someone drew a line because Saguaro cacti suddenly start growing. Of course we noticed a 15 degree temperature difference from the top to the bottom so I'm sure that has something to do with it. I've never seen Saguaro in the wild so it was pretty cool. I saw one that was taller than a house.

We drove in 50 mph winds all day. Dust was everywhere and tumbleweeds rolled across the road. We skipped our stop at Meteor Crater because we didn't want to be sandblasted. That was not an interesting part of the day.

On the Road to Spring Training

I've turned into a baseball fan...specifically a Royals baseball fan. Last year it occurred to me that we probably could attend spring training. With a little research I discovered that the Royals train in Surprise,AZ, that they share the stadium with our other favorite team, the Rangers and that we could attend practice and games! So, here we are.

Our trip began yesterday after I worked my required 3.5 hours. We left Wichita about 10:15 and our first stop was an hour and a half later in Greensburg, KS. As most of you know, in 2007 98% of Greensburg was obliterated by smile wide, EF 5 tornado. We last visited Greensburg two years ago. Yesterday we decided to take a quick spin through town to see how things look seven years later. The town is slowly being rebuilt. Very slowly. The new Big Well Museum is open so we decided to go in and check it out. What a nice surprise!  The building is beautifully designed in a spiral representative of the spiral of nature, the spiral of time and the spiral of the well. The center of the building is the well. A spiral staircase reaches down into the well and upward to a second story observatory looking out over the new Greensburg. Around the circumference of the well there is a beautifully interpreted museum telling the history of the town and well, the story of the tornado, and the rebirth of the town.

Following a quick lunch we were back on the road headed to Tucumcari, NM. Lot's of little towns between here and there. We passed the Nurseanickle Motel and the Whiskey- the road to ruin Bar. Both made me chuckle and made me think of Ken's mom who loved funny little names like that.  Got to Tucumcari at dinner time. Tucumcari is a tired little town on Route 66,  known for the tagline of "Tucumcari Tonight?". We decided to give in to nostalgia and stay at a refurbished vintage motel called The Motel Safari. It's a "Googie" or Do wop style motel. The room was small but nice. However, the wall heater was loud, the bed hard and the pillows were too soft. Neither of us slept well. To add insult to injury, there was no hot water in the morning. As Ken said nostalgia isn't all it's cracked up to be. Dinner was at the Pow Wow restaurant and Lizard Lounge, recommended by our desk clerk. It's attached to a scary looking semi-vacant motel turned flop house. I wasn't altogether sure our car would be there after dinner. We both ordered enchiladas which were edible but not remarkable.

Following our fitful night we had a great breakfast at Kix 66 and got back on the road. Bought some fry bread from some Navajo ladies at the AZ welcome center and fought the 50 mph winds on I-40. In Winslow we found the Standing on the Corner park complete with a flatbed Ford made famous in the Eagle's song  " Take It Easy". Took the obligatory pictures, bought some t-shirts and then stopped at the La Posada Hotel. The La Posada is the last full scale Harvey House hotel built in 1923 and refurbished over the course of 15 years. John Wayne, John Ford, Maureen O'Hara and others have stayed there over the years.

We arrived in Surprise at 6:30 and quickly figured out that AZ doesn't observe daylight savings time so we are two hours earlier than home.

Tomorrow we have tickets to the Rangers game but for now, it's time for a snack.