Day 318 (Tuesday 6/4/13)- Congaree National Park

Starting out along the Congaree National Park's boardwalk our greatest fear had been of mosquito's. A Mosquito Meter had listed the threat as "severe" and so we had loaded up on bug spray. Unfortunately we learned an important lesson about bug spray: always apply it after you make lunch. OFF just doesn't belong in a PB & J sandwich.

Though a beautiful area we found the boardwalk slippery and almost falling several times we made the journey very, very carefully. Then it started pouring. This made the boardwalk more dangerous, but the mosquito threat laughable. We managed to wait out the worst of it at the center but still got soaked running to the car.

Now in possession of a new GPS we had hoped for better results. Thankfully we choose not to follow its direction literally or we would have ended up in a forest. Might have to trade this one in for a better model.

Leaves reflecting in the water

The Mosquito Meter

Day 315 & 316 (Sat 6/1/13 - Mon 6/3/13)- Augusta, GA

 

 One of the truly irreplaceable moments on this trip has been getting to meet or reconnect with family. Living on separate coasts all their lives this was Isaiah's first chance to meet his cousins from Augusta.

Before meeting up we made a stop at the Phinzey Nature Center where we happened upon a guided tour. This once in a month occurrence was a nice surprise but slow going with the several children who had come along. We eventually made it out of the man made portion of the swamp (created to help treat waste water) and met up with Isaiah's Cousin Kerry.

The weekend commenced at a fast pace, meeting an incredible amount of family in a short period of time. On Saturday this was Cousin Kerry and Cousin Jimmy who took us on a 6-mile walk along the historic waterfront. It was a beautiful day, the walk enjoyable and dipping our feet in the freezing water at the end felt incredible. Following that Kerry took us to a great pizza place where we got to see real life gypsies and then to see the statue of James Brown.

On Sunday we met Cousin Joann and her husband Joe at the lake and spent the day watching her kids Jackson and Juliet play in the water while all of us preceded to get badly sun burnt. In the evening we had dinner at Joann's and got to meet Aunt Mary and her husband Gene, hear her son Michael sing and play guitar and laugh as her daughter Christina smoked me at Just Dance.

On Monday we played with Jackson and Juliet before hitting the road again. This involved playing never ending games of War, Jackson locking Isaiah up in "jail" and playing with Kerry's daughter Erin and their dogs.

It was an unforgettable weekend and one we will remember for years to come.

Tree frog at Phinzey Nature Center

Posing with James Brown

Days 312 - 314 (Wed 5/29/13 - Fri 5/31/13)- Athens, GA

We broke up a long drive with a stop at the Little River Canyon National Park. We spent a couple hours driving through this lovely setting and wading into the refreshingly cold water. It was a great way to wake us up on the drive to Athens.

Athens is a small but vibrant city with an eclectic group of residents (one guy told me that I should have
"brought some of that good Oregon weed") and the distinction of having been home to a surprisingly vibrant music scene including R.E.M. and the B52's. We also found a lovely art museum on the university campus which just so happened to be showing a documentary film about an art heist (including an invaluable painting by Vermeer) that occurred in 1990 from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston (which Isaiah has been to). The biggest art heist in U.S. history, this crime deeply affected many different lives and made for a fascinating story.

The characters involved were so unique that they seemed to be just that; characters-famed Art Detective Harold Smith (so badly riddled with skin cancer from sun exposing "medical treatments" in his Army days he wore an eye patch and a prosthetic nose); "Turbocharger" (a hyper manic criminal-turned-informant who believes the IRA is involved in the caper...which amazing does seem like a possibility) and a museum docent so deeply in love with Mrs. Gardner's legacy that he wept over her ghost speaking to him as a child that his destiny was to work in the museum. Sadly, Harold Smith did not live to see the outcome and the artwork is still missing with a $5 million dollar reward still promised for it's safe return.

The museum itself was intimate but well put together, featuring mostly unknowns with a few surprises thrown in.

Little River Canyon

Day 310 & 311 (Mon 5/27/13 & Tue 5/28/13)- Chattanooga, TN

 

After recently finishing the book The Road I have been referring to lots of things as "Apocalyptic hellscapes" but Chattanooga, above all other cities, truly fits the description.

Forced to listen to a dog nearly choking on it's own tongue from howling at its neglectful owners, two guys starting on R.V. repairs at 11p (and as soon as the sun came up in the morning) and, worst of all, a man who was clearly no stranger to violence, screaming to his friend about how he was going to slit some poor woman's throat, made for the worst night's sleep yet. This was a loud and scary Walmart.

Daylight didn't improve the city any as we drove around trying to find something nice. By this point our GPS was completely out of commission and without us phoning a friend to find directions to a McDonald's so we could get WiFi to look up a map, we would have never made it anywhere (Every town has a McDonald's on seemingly every corner, but in Chattanooga the closest one was 8 miles away).

High above the city's hellishness, however, was a different story. The Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park sites both have their unique charms, with the Chattanooga Park perched at the top of Lookout Mountain, commemorating the Civil War battle that was fought there. Point Park, as it is now called, is a lovely little park offering an incredible panoramic view of the city below. From this idyllic height even Hades looked nice.

We also had the chance to drive through Chickamauga Park, which has miles of memorial statutes along a lovely scenic drive. In both of these battles the Union and Confederate forces alike lost a staggering amount of lives, second only to the Battle of Gettysburg and this certainly weighed on our minds as we drove.

The most recent battle over these grounds was fighting to make the area as a National Park. Doing so was an important way to remember those who were lost and brought healing to survivors from both sides of the war. It was also the first ever National Military Park.

Days 304 - 309 (Tue 5/21/13 - Sun 5/26/13)- Nashville, TN

 

 Our week in the home of country music entailed many great experiences, but mostly it was just nice to take some time off from the road.

During the week we walked around Broadway (where most of the honky tonks are), drove Music row (where most of the recording studios and publishing houses are), visited the Tennessee State Museum, saw several beautiful historic buildings (though sadly the Ryman aka the original Grand Ole Opry wasn't pretty enough for a picture), visited the Belmont University campus, drove many times around town (though mostly because we got lost...bad timing for our GPS to crap out) and attended a festival where we were treated to some good local country music.

This week of downtime included some much needed R&R, a shower, time to do laundry and to research the next leg of the trip. We loved everything about Nashville especially the friendly people, the beauty all around us and getting to watch hours of Comedy Central thanks to a free Wifi connection at the Walmart where we stayed.

Belmont University campus

 

Belmont University campus

 

 

Downtown Nashville

 

Downtown Nashville

 

Broadway Street

 

Broadway Street

Day 303 (Monday 5/20/13)- Mammoth Cave, KY

Having just learned about a free concert in Nashville we attempted the impossible...and somehow managed to make it work.

Starting off in Bardstown, KY we took the first tour of the day at the Barton 1792 distillery. The property is historic (the buildings haven't been updated since the 30's) and deserves some bragging and the hour and a half long tour proceeded to do so, describing the Bourbon distilling process in excruciating detail. Since Isaiah and I had already gotten a good overview on previous tours and time was in short supply, it was almost painful.

The Kentucky heat and unusual outdoor fermentation tanks meant that the distillery was already shut down for the season but we did get to see the bottling process in all its glory, which set this tour apart from the others. Even though Barton itself is on hold until cooler weather re-appears they still bottle for many different companies year round.

After finishing the tour with samples of Bourbon in both liquid and chocolate form we then hurried over to the Oscar Getz Whiskey Museum. Comprised of a dozen or so small rooms, this collection of bottles, posters and miscellaneous artifacts followed the history of Whiskey through its humble beginnings when Father Elijah Craig (yep, that kind of Father) stored it in charred barrels which were supposedly struck by lightening thereby turning it into Bourbon, to when Carry Nation rallied those in Congress to support Prohibition after losing her first husband to the bottle. (she lost the second for being a killjoy)

At Mammoth Cave we were thrilled to learn we had traveled back in time...to the Central time zone. We subsequently gained a precious hour which we certainly needed to tour the world's longest cave. Earning this title in 2012, the 300 plus mile long cave is still hiding many surprises, including potentially 600 more miles. Descending down 14 different narrow shafts with water raining from above, it was not an easy journey. The majority of the cave we visited was made of shale which is almost immune to the force of water, so it wasn't until the last 300 feet when we entered the limestone section where the true treasures revealed themselves. As we descended we saw cave "bacon," "popcorn," and "draperies" lining the ceiling. It was all incredibly beautiful.

We at last pulled into Nashville, took a bus downtown and arrived at the Music City Center grand opening party just as the music began. Starting the evening was the Fisk Jubilee singers, a group of very talented spiritual singers who sang a few gospel numbers to kick things off. Next was the Time Jumpers who had a very special guest playing with them...Vince Gill. Unbelievably Vince was unannounced and sat quietly playing accompaniment until the last song, when he finally took center stage and rocked out in full. Mikkey Eko was next and though every hot topic teen girl's fantasy he was a little too dramatic for our tastes (like more dramatic than Jeff Buckley, with a little bit of Jim Morrison smoldering, without any of the danger). He also took the Eko a bit too literal, with every song involving looping his vocals and harmonizing with himself until he sounded like a choir of broody monks. Though he did have some nice, big choruses.

His band was a sight. The drummer had a flat top and a Pompadour (I know you're thinking "but that's impossible!" yet I assure you it was real) and the D.J. was wearing what I affectionately dubbed a "Where's Waldo outfit" while being so intensely turning nobs and staring at his computer monitor that you couldn't help but smile. And last by certainly not least was the headliner...Sheryl Crow. Still as fantastic looking as always, Sheryl treated us to her older hits inter spliced with some of her new country songs and it was excellent.

For most of her career, I've thought I was too cool for pop music, but listening to all her hits back to back it makes me think she's the best pop/rocker since Tom Petty. I really can't think of any of her contemporaries, female or otherwise, that has consistently had hits for as long as she has. She doesn't hide her influences well, but its not like Tom Petty invented southern rock either. It was a fun show.

Barton 1792

 

 

 

 

Oscar Getz Whiskey Museum

 

The original boot leggers

 

 

 

 

 

Mammoth Cave crickets

 

Mammoth cave bacon

 

 

 

 

Nashville The Time Travelers

 

Vince Gill

 

My man Waldo

 

Sheryl Crow

 

Fireworks

 

Day 302 (Sunday 5/19/13)- Harrodsburg, KY

　Harrodsburg really didn't have much to offer us beyond a place to stay but we made the most of it.

Enjoying lunch at the lovely Old Fort Harrod State Park we pursued the grounds, including the wedding chapel where Lincoln's parents were married, but skipped paying to see the inside of the fort (turns out it isn't hard to see through the widely spaced slats of the fence).

In the evening we watched the movie End of Watch. Thinking this would be just another cop movie I was blown away. Though Isaiah would tell you the villains were ridiculous and brought the movie down a little (though I would argue it was perfect) he would also say that he hasn't seen a better depiction of a close friendship in a long while. My usual distaste for Jake Gyllenhal movies wasn't applicable here and Michael Pena was great as always.



 

 

Day 301 (Saturday 5/18/13)- Lexington, KY

Able to once again claim a spot on one of the highly sought out Buffalo Trace tours we started the day with a little Bourbon and some history too.

As we would hear on each subsequent tour "A Bourbon is a Whiskey but not all Whiskey is a Bourbon." In essence this means that you can only call your Whiskey a Bourbon if it meets strict Federal regulations. There are several but the most noteworthy are:

-It has to be aged in a brand-new charred Oak barrel

-It has to be made in the U.S. (though 95% of Bourbon is made in Kentucky alone)

-It has to go into the barrel at 125 proof (it usually comes out much stronger than that)

-It has to be free of additives

Having a fascinating tour guide we learned much--the word Kentucky is actually a butchered pronunciation of a Native word referring to Kentucky's lovely rolling hills. We also learned that the word proof comes from when early bartenders literally had to prove that their liquor was safe and pure (yes, back then that was less of a contradiction) by setting in on fire (if it burned it was legit) and that the proof of an alcohol is double the actual alcohol content (I.E. 120 proof is 60% alcohol).

Touring the Four Roses distillery next we had a totally different tour experience when we were led right along a catwalk weaving in between huge vats of mash ton. Normally off limits or completely enclosed this was a much more intimate and exciting (though extremely hot and a little dangerous) look into the behind-the-scenes process.

In Lexington we were disappointed to find the Keeneland horse racing track packed with people and thus inaccessible for a tour and that all the pools would not open for another few weeks. So much for that shower...

 

 

 

 

Buffalo Trace Distillery

 

 

 

 

Three Roses Distillery

 

Mash ton

 

 

 

 

Day 300 (Friday 5/17/13)- Louisville, KY

I almost missed a great experience in the city of Columbus, IN when I suggested we skip a tour of the city's architecture. Thankfully Isaiah and a well timed promotional video at the visitor's center convinced me it was worth the effort and so we ventured out.
Ranking 6th in the nation for best modern architecture, the small city is a treat for anyone with a passion for building design or even just an hour or so to browse out of curiosity. Since the city expects you to pay $3 for a city map, we had to wing our tour route, but managed to do so with a blessedly small amount of aimless circling.

Arriving in Louisville we were aghast when the woman at the visitor's center instructed Isaiah not to travel alone in the historic neighborhood we had on our sightseeing list (It was the middle of the day). Though we have visited some questionable places before, this was the first time that Isaiah had been warned. We did do the drive but more quickly than originally planned and thus found few opportunities for good pictures, but lots of reason to leave Louisville, staying just long enough to realize the correct pronunciation of Louisville--say "Lou-ville" and you've just about got it.

Having been lucky enough to secure a spot on one of the four different tours offered at the Buffalo Trace Distillery we arrived in Frankfort right in time for the tour to begin.

Marketed as a Ghost Tour we hadn't anticipated much beyond a few ghost stories. The tour proceeded to blow away our modest predictions. An enthusiastic self-proclaimed "Spirit Communicator" led us around the nation's oldest continuous distillery (opened in 1787 and one of just a few distilleries that operated during prohibition making "prescription" Whiskey) pointing out places where she or other staff or tour guests had seen or felt spirit activity.

If we had to put all our faith in just one woman's account it would have lessened the legitimacy of the supernatural claims, but Buffalo Trace was the only distillery featured on the show Ghost Hunters. During the 2011 filming, several cast members experienced unexplained phenomenon like two people being pinched on the butt at the same exact moment in two different locations. Though a skeptic by nature it certainly made the hair rise on my neck. (though my butt was ok)

Ending the tour with samples Isaiah especially enjoyed getting to try White Dog, which is unaged and as close to moonshine as you can legally get and I was in heaven trying cream liquor (made with real cream) mixed with root beer and a bourbon chocolate.

 

 

Architecture in Columbus, IN

 

 

 

 

 

 

Haunted Buffalo Trace Distillery

 

Day 299 (Thursday 5/16/13)- Indianapolis, IN

Some good friends who used to live in Indy gave us some recommendations on how to tackle the town and made our visit more focused.

After rain spoiled our attempt to visit a lovely city park we drove to the highly recommended Friendly Tavern and munched on apple dumplings with cinnamon ice cream. Apparently used to people ordering more than just the dumplings, our waitress was far from friendly which made the restaurants name a bit of a misnomer. Absolutely worth the apple dumplings though.

The rest of our day was dominated by the massive Museum of Art which had multiple floors and, outside, numerous acres of lovely gardens and walking trails. We enjoyed the artwork, which spanned many centuries, as well as walking around the gorgeous garden grounds.

 

 

Days 297 & 298 (Tue 5/14/13 & Wed 5/15/13)- Dayton, OH

We started the day at the Cincinnati Art Museum and managed to see everything, but only because Isaiah gave me a pep talk halfway through and the third floor was closed for renovating. I especially enjoyed the Grecian statues, religious paintings and an entire wall somehow sub-planted from another time.

Leaving Cincinnati behind we drove to Dayton where we spent the remainder of the day exploring the Wright Brothers National Park. Though the brothers first flying experiments were in Kitty Hawk, NC it was actually Dayton that they called home and where they perfected the art of flying within a borrowed cow pasture.

Being avid innovators and businessmen the brothers first had a printing press and then a bicycle shop before taking on the conundrum of flight. They certainly weren't the first to try, but both were extremely tenacious and spent years and years honing their knowledge until they got it right.

Dayton was also home to the nationally acclaimed African American poet Paul Dunbar. Beginning at just six-years old he wrote many incredible poems that charmed those who would otherwise be inclined against his success and sold an unprecedented amount of books, not just for an African American, but for any man.

Finishing our historical day watching the movie Lincoln we found ourselves, much like the Civil War, divided. I was enthralled but do have a hearty love of history and Isaiah appreciated that the movie focused just on a short period of Lincoln's impressive life but thought that it had so many characters it was at times confusing.

The next day in Dayton was preceded by a rough night's sleep and made our first task a little overwhelming (though with five separate wings the Air Force Museum would probably be overwhelming no matter what). Finishing in just under 2 and a half hours we enjoyed this museum a little more than the Pensacola version but still had trouble getting fully engaged.

The story of the Wright Brothers (and Paul Dunbar too) included the brothers first printing shop, first bicycle shop, two movies and a two-story visitor's center. The exploration continued to the one time cow pasture where the brothers truly changed aviation. There in the field was a second smaller and more interesting visitor's center delved into the actual logistics of the early flights, showing how the brothers had spent much of their time and money learning about the mechanics of flight by actually recording how model airplanes acted in their home made wind tunnel.

Ending the day at the Dayton Peace Museum we were able to quickly explore the three story building which was a touching testament to human compassion but with little funding to have much in the way of high tech displays.

 

 

Cincinnati Art Museum

 

 

 

 

The Wright Bros bicycle shop

 

 

 

Air Museum

Day 296 (Monday 5/13/13)- Cincinnati, OH

Stopping first at the President William H. Taft National Park we met a lovely local couple celebrating their wedding anniversary (who also happened to be a carnivore/vegetarian duo) and apparently wishing they had pursued jobs as tour guides. Before our tour even began they had loaded us up with maps and recommendations that would have taken us days to do.

A Ranger who reminded us of Jackie from Roseanne led us through Taft's childhood home detailing his lifelong dream of becoming a Supreme Court judge. If you can believe it even becoming President did not surpass this ambition.  He did at last achieve his goal and became the only President in history to serve on the Supreme Court following his term at the White House.

Teddy Roosevelt was dear friends with Taft and his biggest supporter, wanting Taft to replace him as President. Taft, however, was his own man and a staunch constitutionalist and the two men's friendship became strained when he didn't continue Teddy's plans for the country when he took over.

Though he certainly accomplished quite a bit as President, it was his work on the Supreme Court that was Teddy's strongest legacy. First he ensured that there was a building for the highest court in the land and then gave freedom to the court to choose the cases it hears, thus eliminating years of backlog that had been commonplace before his appointment.

We tried to follow all of the couple's eager recommendations but ran out of time and meters, but we did cross the famous Roebling bridge (famous especially for the Brooklyn Bridge) and toured the breathtaking St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in nearby Covington which boasts one of the largest stained glass windows in the world. 

Next we tried some OH chili at Skyline which consisted of chili beans piled on top of spaghetti and topped with a gigantic helping of shredded cheddar cheese. It was good but probably not for the health conscience.

  

Taft House

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roebling Bridge

 

 

 

 

 

Basilica