My First Two Days in New Orleans (GART - Stop 16)

Long on my list of cities to visit, New Orleans was found in 1718 as a French colony. It was named for Philippe d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans, who was Regent of the Kingdom of France at the time. His title came from the French city of Orléans. In 1763, the city was ceded to the Spanish Empire, where it remained under Spanish control until 1801 - reverting back to France. Napoleon then sold Louisiana to the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana purchase. As a result, the city is an amalgamation of influences (American, French, Spanish, Creole, and African). New Orleans is famous for its cuisine, music (particularly as the birthplace of jazz), and its annual celebrations and festivals, most notably Mardi Gras, which dates back to French colonial times. Most recently, 80% of the city was flooded by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, but the city has rebounded nicely.

I arrived at my accommodations yesterday around midday. Thanks to my brother's largesse, I am staying in his timeshare unit, saving me a ton of money. After checking and settling into my room, I ran out for a quick bite to eat. The concierge convinced me to go to an afternoon sales presentation for possibly purchasing my own timeshare. The incentive for me to go: $150 Amex gift card. I think I can give up 90 minutes of my time for $150. While waiting for the shuttle to take me over to the sales pitch, I met a lovely woman from Texas and a couple of her family members. We bonded over the ridiculous sales pitch and the high sales pressure tactics of the sales reps. We bonded so well that they invited me out to dinner with the rest of their family - very sweet. Eight of us headed out toward Lake Pontchartrain to a seafood restaurant, Deanie's. Being Friday night, we had a 60 minute wait, but it ended up being well worth the wait. The food was incredible! The photo is of my entree - crawfish étouffée. After our lovely dinner, we headed back to our resort where I crashed for the night.

This morning, I woke to beautiful blue skies and mild temperatures. After breakfast at a local restaurant, I was picked up from the resort for a morning city tour. Guided by a New Orleans native, we trekked all over the city. The tour included stops or views of the French Quarter, Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral, the French Market, Saint Roches cemetery, the Lower Ninth Ward (which was devastated by Katrina), the City Park, Sculpture Gardens, the ancient dueling oaks, Tulane and Loyola Universities, Audubon Park, and antebellum era mansions in Garden District. There was so much historical information provided. New Orleans is truly an interesting city. The most interesting part of the tour, for me, was seeing the recovery happening in the Katrina ravaged Lower Ninth Ward. Much of the city has recovered but there are still pockets of the city in need of refurbishment. It was also interesting to hear a first person story (our tour guide) of his experience with Katrina and its aftermath.

After returning to the visitor's center at the end of the tour, I decided to go explore the French Quarter in more depth. I started with taking a walk down the infamous Bourbon Street. I can only say this about Bourbon Street - I hated it! It's trashy and vulgar. Also, it's dirty, smelly, and riddled with drunktards. And that was during the day. I cannot even fathom how awful it must be at night. After leaving Bourbon Street, I meandered around several other streets in the Quarter, which were less obnoxious, but were a little too crowded and filled with drunken idiots for my taste. I eventually made my way to the famous Cafe du Monde - hoping that the lines weren't too long so I could get some beignets. Sadly, the lines for table service and take out were both at least 60 minute waits. I just couldn't do it. I'm hoping that sometime in the next two days the crowds will leave and I can get some beignets. 

After walking around the Quarter a little more, I started to feel awful (the pain from pleural effusion has intensified dramatically), so I decided that I would head back to my room for a rest - hoping that once I rested I would feel up to going out. Didn't happen. I just never felt well enough to go do anything. I'm hoping that I will not have to cut this trip short because I've been feeling a little off for about 4 days now.

Check out my first two days in New Orleans photos on my GART photo site. I still have two more day in New Orleans and hopefully will find some fun things to do. I'm thinking of taking a Garden District walking tour and a Ghost Tour.

A private residence in the French Quarter - beautiful!

Current travel stats:

Little Rock odometer mileage: 96,521

Odometer mileage in New Orleans: 96,964

Miles driven to New Orleans: 443

Total miles driven to date: 3,975

States driven through: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, back to Louisiana

Interstate vs. State Highways (GART)

Subtitle: Driving from Little Rock to New Orleans

Prior to the 1950s, people who traveled via automobile had to utilize state highways which are a mixture of primary and secondary roads - often bringing the traveler into small towns and cities along their journey. In the 1950s, President Dwight D. Eisenhower championed the development of an interstate highway system. "He justified the project through the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 as essential to American security during the Cold War. It was believed that large cities would be targets in a possible war, hence the highways were designed to facilitate their evacuation and ease military maneuvers" (Wikipedia). Thanks to President Eisenhower, the U.S. now has an amazing interstate highway system which moves people faster to their destinations along roads that bypass towns and cities. It's an efficient way to travel, but is it the best way to travel.

I departed Little Rock late yesterday morning en route to New Orleans - with a overnight stop in Vicksburg, MS. It was an interesting drive. The drive took me from Tennessee to Louisiana to Mississippi back to Louisiana. The first half of the drive (from Little Rock to Vicksburg) brought me along state highways while the latter half was strictly via interstate highways. While I traveled quicker along the interstate, the state highway drive was far more enjoyable and fun. 

While in Tennessee, I drove through a town with a population of 240. Oh my goodness, I cannot imagine living in that small of a town. 

Additionally, while in Tennessee, I received the following advice:

That seems like good advice to me. 

Then when I hit Louisiana, I drove through a town called Transylvania in which the residents have a sense of humor about the name of their town by putting a vampire bat on their city water tank.

Of course, being in the deep South, there is an inordinate amount of churches. I swear in one quarter mile stretch, I counted 6 churches - mostly Baptist. Seriously? Any place that has more churches than schools disturbs me. Of course, when people travel they need their coffee fixes, so you can always go to...

Yeah, the deep South and their religious fervor bugs me, but otherwise, I really liked traveling along the state highways. I would have never been able to take photos like these on in the interstates. The best I've been able is take a quick "Welcome to..." photo when crossing state lines.

Leaving Vicksburg this morning, I traveled about 10 miles on a state highway before switching to Interstate 55 for the rest of the trip into New Orleans and I was bored beyond belief. Nothing but mile after mile of roads with very little to see unless you take an exit.

Yes, you get places faster with interstates, but you get better gas mileage, have more interesting scenery, and better entertainment value by sticking to state highways. So while I thank President Eisenhower for our efficient interstate highway system, I am saddened by the loss of more interesting driving routes with state highways.

A Snowy Day in Little Rock, Arkansas (GART - Stop 15)

When I left Philadelphia on January 24th, I hoped that I would not have to see any of that cold, wet, annoying white crap that falls from the sky. Up until yesterday, I was pretty lucky. A few flurries in Atlanta, but nothing else. I also was counting on the weather being much warmer than it's been for the past few days. What the heck?! What is going on this year? Of course, I can't really complain when I see what my Massachusetts friends are dealing with - 100+ inches of snow!!! Ugh! Glad I'm not there. As with Atlanta, I had to laugh about Arkansas's response to a little snow. Little Rock was predicted to have 1-3 inches of snow and they cancelled school. Yeah, that's insane. Little Rock actually got about 1.5 inches of snow yesterday. Oh well, what can you do. The snow did hamper my day a bit. I started the day with a visit to...

The Clinton Presidential Library: I've mentioned before that I have a fascination with politics that has been a fascination for decades. The first election that I was eligible to vote in was the 1984 presidential election. Sad to say, my candidate did not win. Neither did my candidate win in 1988. Both Democratic candidates were not the most exciting of candidates, but I believed they were the better option than the Republican candidates. Oh well, 8 more years of crappy politics. Therefore, when 1992 rolled around, I was ecstatic to find myself presented with a mostly unknown governor from Arkansas as the Democratic nominee. The more I learned about this candidate, the more excited I became, so much that I entered into the fray of campaigning on behalf of Bill Clinton. I was over the moon with happiness when Clinton was elected the 42nd President of the United States, and despite some of his personal flaws, I still think that Bill Clinton was the best president during my lifetime. Naturally, I had to go visit his library. The museum showcases artifacts from Clinton's two terms as president and includes full-scale replicas of the Clinton-era Oval Office and Cabinet Room, and is filled with ton of memorabilia from the Clinton years in the White House: gifts received, personal items, and so much more.  It consists of a 110-foot timeline of each of Clinton's years as President, as well as 14 alcoves featuring various events during Clinton's terms. Nothing is overlooked or missing from the timeline. It's an incredible library and well worth the time to visit.

Because of the snow, everything else I wanted to do was outside or closed due to the inclement weather. I spent the remainder of yesterday in my hotel room, watching TV. Eventually I would head down to the hotel's bar where I would have a couple of beers and chat with a lovely and well-traveled couple. It turned out to be a bit bittersweet. I became a little misty over the fact that this couple had each other with which travel and explore the world. Much I love my travels, it does get lonely. Such is life.

This morning, I woke to make the most of my morning in Little Rock. I headed straight for...

Little Rock Central High School: Founded in 1927, LRCHS is a public high school which was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1998. "LRCHS was the focal point of the Little Rock Integration Crisis of 1957. Nine African-American students, known as the Little Rock Nine, were denied entrance to the school in defiance of the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling ordering integration of public schools" (Wikipedia). This is a complicated and involved story that would take up too much space for me to explain, but suffice to say that high school was a national focal point for integration in the public schools. The story includes the Arkansas National Guard blockade, the 101st Airborne Division armed escort, death threats, physical and verbal abuse, and so much more - all in an attempt for 9 students to get a good education. It boggles the mind. Additionally, after the 1957-1958 school year, the Governor of Arkansas closed all the high schools in order to postpone desegregation of the schools, now known as "The Lost Year". 15 and 16 year old Little Rock students (black and white) had no access to local public education for an entire year. Many were forced to leave the state. Some studied to enter college early. Others boarded busses daily to travel miles for classes in other cities. Because LRCHS is still a working school, there are only 2 tours during the day - 9:00am and 1:00pm. Fortunately, I got there for the 9:00am and was shown a portion of the school. This site is definitely worth a visit. The visitors center has a fantastic museum which is filled with photos, interviews, and other information about the desegregation of the LRCHS.

After leaving LRCHS, I drove around a took a couple of photos of houses that I wanted to see. The first was Daisy Bates's house. Daisy Bates was the President of the NAACP during the Little Rock Nine debacle and was instrumental in supporting the nine students. The second house is called The Empress, a B&B located in a beautiful Victorian-style house. The last house I stopped by is the Villa Mare, which is notable for being the exterior shot from the sitcom, Designing Women - a favorite show of mine.

All photos from Little Rock can be found on my GART photo site. I am in route to New Orleans, making a pit stop in Vicksburg, MS.

Current travel stats:

Memphis odometer mileage: 96,335

Odometer mileage in Little Rock: 96,521

Miles driven to Little Rock: 186

Total miles driven to date: 3,532

States driven through: Tennessee and Arkansas

Clinton Library was inspired by the
Long Room at Trinity College in Dublin.

Visits to Tupelo, MS and Memphis, TN (GART - Stops 13 and 14)

As I was sitting my Atlanta hotel room on Sunday night, I discovered some disappointing news - the two sites that I had planned to visit in Memphis on Tuesday were both closed on Tuesdays (Graceland and the National Civil Rights Museum). ARGH! No! I was terribly disappointed by this news. I just never thought to check about closed sites. I came to the conclusion that I would probably have to make a second visit to Memphis in the future in order to see these sites and I would have to explore other sites in Memphis. But it turned out that thanks to an earlier than planned departure from Atlanta and the hour time zone gain, I was able to fulfill my wishes to see these two attractions! Yay!

Before I get to all that, let's start with my departure from Atlanta. I left Atlanta around 8am. As I traveled west, I crossed into my first new state (Alabama). I was surprised as I traveled through this state to discover that it's quite a pretty state. Even in the dead of winter, the gently rolling hills were a delight to behold. I can only imagine what it's like in spring and summer. I passed by Birmingham and continued my way to the Mississippi state line (entering my next new state). Approximately 30 minutes later, I pulled into my first stop...

Elvis Presley Birthplace in Tupelo: For anyone who doesn't know, Elvis Presley was an American singer and actor who is commonly referred to as "The King of Rock and Roll". Presley is one of the most celebrated and influential musicians of the 20th century. Commercially successful in many genres, including pop, blues and gospel, he is the best-selling solo artist in the history of recorded music, with estimated record sales of around 600 million units worldwide. He was nominated for 14 competitive Grammys and won three, also receiving the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36, and has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame. Tragically, Elvis died in 1977 at the age of 42. At the tender age of nearly 11, I was devastated by this loss. I was already a big fan of Elvis when he died and it saddened me that he was taken from us. Traveling from Atlanta to Memphis, I had to travel right pass Tupelo so it made sense to make a stop to see Elvis's birthplace. This tiny two room shotgun house was built by Elvis's paternal grandfather. None of the furnishings are original to the house but a reasonable facsimile to how it would have looked during Elvis's short time in the home. The docent who was in the house had a wealth of knowledge about Elvis. It was an interesting stop to see the humble beginnings of the King. I left the birthplace to travel 100 miles to Memphis. I arrived at my next destination (Graceland) around 2pm and while there are several different tours to choose from, I chose to tour only the mansion, as time was limited.

Graceland in Memphis, TN: Graceland is the mansion that Elvis purchased in 1957 for $102,000. Sitting on a 13 acre estate, the house has a total of 23 rooms, including eight bedrooms and bathrooms. Only eight of the rooms are part of the tour. The entire 2nd floor which has Elvis's bedroom and his daughter, Lisa Marie's bedroom is not open for visitors out of respect for the family. Most of the house has been unchanged since Elvis died in 1977. The decor is very much late 1960s-early 1970s and therefore is quite garish and tacky, which makes it that much more awesome to visit. The rooms which are part of tour are: (on the main floor) the Living Room with connecting Music Room, Elvis's parent's room, the Dining Room, the Kitchen, and the infamous Jungle Room with it's green shag carpeted floors and ceiling. In the basement, there are two additional rooms on the tour - the TV Room and the Billiard Room. The mansion tour also includes visits to Vernon's office, the Trophy Building, the Racquetball Building, and the Meditation Garden where Elvis and some of his family members are buried. (Yes, I wept a little at his gravesite.) Visiting Graceland has long been a dream of mine and I was so glad I could tick this one off my bucket list. Any visit to Memphis should include this site. After the tour, I left Graceland and drove across town to the...

National Civil Rights Museum: One of the sites I wanted to visit was the place where Martin Luther King, Jr. had been assassinated. To my surprise, the Lorraine Motel (the site of the murder) had been turned into a civil right museum. I knew that I must visit this site. In 1945, Walter Bailey purchased the property, renamed it the Lorraine Motel and created upscale accommodations for black clientele, in the segregation era. Among its guests through the 1960s were musicians going to Stax Records, including Ray Charles, Lionel Hampton, Aretha Franklin, Ethel Waters, Otis Redding, the Staple Singers and Wilson Pickett. Following the assassination of King, Bailey withdrew Room 306 (where King died) and the adjoining room 307 from use, maintaining them as a memorial to the activist leader, which is still a memorial today. Arriving an hour before the museum closed, I was greatly impressed by this museum. Its exhibits trace the history of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the 17th century to the present. This site is a must see for anyone with interest in civil rights, history, and/or education. There was so much information presented that it was a bit overwhelming and I could have spent an entire day reading. In order to see as much of the museum as I could, I needed to limit my perusal to a few exhibits that I found the most interesting. Mostly I focused on the exhibits on Brown vs. Board of Education, Rosa Parks, the Freedom Riders, and the Sit-in Demonstrations. Truly, it is a fascinating museum.

I then headed to my hotel for the night. Today, it was time to check out more of Memphis, starting with...

Sun Studio: Sun Studio is a recording studio opened by rock pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue  on January 3, 1950. It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, until Phillips recognized that he was losing money by not having his own record label. This led to Phillips creating the Sun Records label business. Reputedly the first rock and roll single, Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats' "Rocket 88" (video) was recorded there in 1951 with song composer Ike Turner on keyboards, leading the studio to claim status as the birthplace of rock & roll. Blues and R&B artists like Howlin' Wolf, Junior Parker, Little Milton, B.B. King, James Cotton, Rufus Thomas, and Rosco Gordon recorded there in the early 1950s. Rock and roll, country music, and rockabilly artists, including Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Charlie Feathers, Ray Harris, Warren Smith, Charlie Rich, and Jerry Lee Lewis, recorded there throughout the mid-to-late 1950s until the studio outgrew its Union Avenue location and moved to a new location in 1960. The building remained empty for 25 years until it was reopened by Gary Hardy as "Sun Studio," a recording label and tourist attraction that has attracted many notable artists, such as U2, Def Leppard, Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon, John Mellencamp, Ringo Starr and others. This site was incredible. I just loved seeing the memorabilia on display and feeling the leftover energy in the studio from all the musicians who made Sun Studio their home. If you go to Memphis, do not miss this attraction!!! After leaving Sun Studio, I drove across town to...

Stax Museum of American Soul Music: Occupying the same location of Stax Records, Stax Museum was created to document the history of the Memphis soul music scene. Founded in 1957, Stax Records was an American record label and was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and blues recordings. While Stax is renowned for its output of African-American music, the label featured "several popular ethnically-integrated bands, including the label's house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, and a racially integrated team of staff and artists unheard of in that time of racial strife and tension in Memphis and the South" (Wikipedia).  The label was created as a direct opposition to the slick, smooth Motown acts coming out of Detroit. Stax artists had a raw and soulful quality. Some of the artists on the Stax label were: Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Isaac Hayes, Wilson Pickett, and many others. I loved the history, exhibits and stories. I wasn't familiar with Stax but I certainly was familiar with the performers. It was worth the price of admission if only to see Isaac Hayes's 1972 gold-trimmed, peacock blue Cadillac with fur lined interior, a fridge, and television. It's superfly! Sadly, photographs of the car were not allowed.  <sniff>

On my way out of Memphis, I stopped for lunch at one of the best BBQ restaurants in the city: Central BBQ. This restaurant had some of the best ribs I've ever had! Then it time to hit the road for my next stop: Little Rock.

Memphis was a great city to stop in, especially for someone who loves music. Seeing all of these music sites was special and really fabulous. I loved my time in Memphis. Check out all of my photos from Tupelo and Memphis (there are a lot!) on my GART photo site.

The stats below are again a little askew because the mileage starts with my last stop in Florida.

Boca Raton odometer mileage: 95,232

Odometer mileage in Tupelo: 96,236

Miles driven to Tupelo: 1,004 (includes stops in Macon and Atlanta)
Odometer mileage in Memphis: 96,335
Miles driven to Memphis:  99

Total miles driven to date: 3,346

States driven through: Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee

Elvis's Jungle Room

Hotlanta is Not so Hot in February (GART - Stop 12)

As I drove into Atlanta on Friday evening, I was greeted with snow flurries. Erm...huh?? Okay, it didn't amount to anything except a little dusting that was gone by morning, but still, it was unexpected. I had to laugh though when watching the morning news coverage on Saturday morning, which treated this little snow/sleet event as a major weather problem with coverage by 5 different reporters on location in 5 various spots - with nothing to show for it. As someone who has lived in Massachusetts, I was roaring with laughter at the coverage. It was the type of coverage that New England has for a blizzard, not a dusting. Ah, the south. But I will say it was a bit chilly - chillier than I expected, but not unreasonable.

After giggling over the news, I gathered myself up to see something of Atlanta. First stop, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic Site. Established on October 10, 1980, the site consists of several buildings of historical significance in the Sweet Auburn historic district of Atlanta. The first building I visited was Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birth home on Auburn Avenue. Auburn Avenue was once the richest African-American street in the U.S. and MLK's maternal grandparents purchased the house in 1909 for $3,500 ($350,000 in today's money). When MLK's parents wed, they moved into the house and lived there until 1941. MLK was literally born in this house in a bedroom on the second floor. The first level includes the front porch, parlor, study, dining room, kitchen, laundry, bedroom and a bathroom. The second level includes four bedrooms and a bathroom. The house was then converted into a two-family dwelling and rented out as income for the King family. The house is still owned by the King family today. Part of the National Parks Service, the tour was guided by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable parks employee.

Next stop was the first firehouse in Atlanta, which was establish in 1894. The reason it is part of the MLK site, is that when he was a young boy, MLK would play in the playground that was installed by the firehouse after they demolished the stables. Once the firehouse received motorized firetrucks, the stables were not necessary anymore.

Then it was onto the King Center which houses historically significant items from MLK, Coretta Scott King, Gandhi, and Rosa Parks - all the people who were responsible for non-violent change. On display in the King Center are MLK's Nobel Peace Prize, Grammy Award, and Medal of Freedom (award posthumously). Outside the King Center is a beautiful reflecting pool where the tombs of MLK and his wife are located, near an eternal flame.

The original Ebenezer Baptist Church, the church where King and his father Martin Luther King, Sr. co-pastored, is also part of the national historic site and was next on my visit. For nearly 80 years, members of the King family pastored in this tiny church - starting with MLK's maternal grandfather. The church plays a significant part in the King family history: MLK was baptized here, also he was ordained here, his funeral was held here, and finally, his mother was shot and killed as she sat at the organ in the church. It was eerie to sit in this church.

After leaving the MLK Historic Site, I decided to visit the Margaret Mitchell House, which was the home of author Margaret Mitchell from 1925 to 1932. Located in Midtown, at 990 Peachtree Street, the house was known as the Crescent Apartments when Mitchell and her husband lived in Apt. 1 on the ground floor. While living there, Mitchell wrote the bulk of her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Gone with the Wind. This museum was amazing and provided so much interesting history on Ms. Mitchell's life in Atlanta, of facts surrounding her writing the novel, and of how the book advanced toward publication. She was a fascinating woman. Additionally, the museum has a separate building which houses donated GWTW artifacts, including photos taken during the movie's 1939 premiere in Atlanta; the original entryway to the Hollywood movie set of the O'Hara home, Tara; and the portrait of Scarlett O'Hara from the Butlers' mansion. A must see for lovers of GWTW (book and/or movie).

On Sunday, I made my last Atlanta site visit: Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. As someone who has an interest in politics, I enjoy visiting presidential museums and libraries. I've visited FDR's in Hyde Park, NY, JFK's in Boston, and Truman's Little White House in Key West, FL. As I was in Atlanta, seeing Jimmy Carter's was a must see for me. Jimmy Carter was the 39th President of the United States and the first president that I voted for. I can hear you say, "but Sandi, you were only 10 when he ran for office in 1976." That is accurate, but my elementary school held elections and I voted for him - he very definitively won in my elementary school. Much as I respected President Carter when he was in office, it was his humanitarian deeds after his "involuntary retirement from the presidency" that solidified for me what an amazing person he is. The museum houses a treasure trove of historical objects over the course of President and Mrs. Carter's lives; items from their childhood straight through to their most recent humanitarian works. Additionally, on display are the various awards received by the couple, including President Carter's Nobel Peace Prize, his Grammy award for a spoken word album, and President and Mrs. Carter's Medals of Freedom. For someone who has an interest in politics, it was fascinating.

Check out all my photos from my Atlanta visit on my GART photo site. Tomorrow, I head off to Tupelo, MS to see Elvis Presley's birthplace. Yeah, I know going from MLK's birthplace to Elvis's birthplace is going from the sublime to the ridiculous.

People have been asking me about my health. Mostly I'm feeling okay. I have an annoying mild cough that I have a feeling will not go away ever (side effect of lung tumors). My exhaustion level is pretty high. It doesn't take much for me to get tired. I have the occasional pain in weird places. Beyond that I'm feeling fine.

You might notice that I have not including travel stats for the past couple of blogs - I keep forgetting to write the mileage down. Hopefully, I'll remember to write it down in Tupelo.

Full scale replica of the Oval Office,
including a copy of the Resolute Desk

An Unplanned Stop in Macon, GA (GART - Stop 11)

After traveling for an eternity to get my arse out of Florida (including an overnight stop in Gainesville), I finally hit the Georgia-Florida state line. I said it before but it bears repeating: Florida is a fecking boring ass state to drive through. Knowing that I couldn't check into my hotel in Atlanta until 4pm, I had to kill a couple of hours before hitting the Atlanta metro region. Before leaving Gainesville this morning, I took a quick look at my USA travel guide and decided to make a stop in Macon based on their recommendation to visit the Hay House Museum.

Entry hall

Built between 1855 and 1859, Johnston-Felton-Hay House, abbreviated Hay House, is a historic residence in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, which is unusual for an antebellum (pre-Civil War) home. It was built by William Butler Johnston for his wife Anne Tracy Johnston. "The 18,000-square-foot, 24-room home designed by the New York architect T. Thomas and Son has four levels and is crowned by a three-story cupola. Commissioned by imaginative owners and constructed by the most skillful workers of the time, its technological amenities were unsurpassed in the mid-nineteenth century: hot and cold running water, central heat, a speaker-tube system connecting 15 rooms, a French lift equivalent to today's elevator, in-house kitchen, and an elaborate ventilation system" (Wikipedia).

The dining room with the "Tiffany" window

The house has been the home for three families only - the Johnston family, the Feltons (Mrs. Felton was the youngest Johnston daughter), and the Hays (who purchased the house from the Felton son when his parents died). Upon the death of Mr. and Mrs. Hay, the Hay children opened the house for visitors before turning it over to the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. 

This house is stunning. The Trust has painstakingly refurbished approximately 75% of the home and plan on restoring the rest. There were several things that I loved about this house. There were the most amazing pocket doors in each of the rooms on the main level. There were some brilliant stained glass windows tastefully placed around the house. It's possible that one is a Tiffany window (in the dining room), but they're not positive. Much of the inspiration for the house came from the three year European honeymoon that the Johnstons took in the mid-1800s. While the house was completed before the Civil War, the decorating of the house was not completed until after the Civil War ended. Interestingly, in addition to tours, the house is also available for events, such as weddings, receptions, banquets, and such. I cannot imagine the cost of renting this space for a wedding, but it would make for a spectacular venue for a special event.

No photographs were allowed during the tour, so there aren't any to post to my GART photo site. The few photos with this posting, I found on the internet. Gotta love the internet.

This weekend, my plan is to see some of the historic sites of Atlanta. Stay tuned.

The Living room showing the pocket doors

Finding Zen in Art and Nature (GART - Stops 9 and 10)

Picasso

Well, I found my zen and I should have known that I'd find it in an art museum and a nature reserve. Originally, today I had planned to visit Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, a former villa and estate of a businessman, which is located in Miami. But then a friend of mine suggested a visit to a museum in West Palm Beach and that seemed like a better idea...certainly it was a closer idea.

The suggested museum is the Norton Museum of Art, which has a collection of over 7,000 works, with a concentration in European, American, and Chinese art as well as in contemporary art and photography. Additionally, it is the largest museum in Florida. Today I found my zen while observing the many beautiful works of art in this museum - works by Monet, Picasso, O'Keefe, and so many others. But mostly, it was Monet that calmed my weary heart. As always, Claude is the balm to my aching psyche. There were 3 works of Monet in this museum, only one of which I could photograph. The others were works that were on loan and therefore no photographs were allowed. Not only did I see some magnificent works of art of well known artists, I also discovered a few new artists whom I had never heard about before today: Oskar Kokoschka, Lionel Walden, Charles Sims, Colin Campbell Cooper, and Childe Hassam. I love discovering new artists.

After leaving the museum, I headed to a nature reserve in Boca Raton - Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. Crazy name, right? Gumbo limbo is the common name of a type of tree (the bursera simaruba), which is indigenous to the area of the nature reserve. The complex includes an indoor museum with exhibits, a fish tank, and a gift shop, and some outdoor facilities including several large tanks for fish, turtles, and other sea life, a plank trail through the adjacent woods with an observation tower, and a clearing for observing butterflies. Gumbo Limbo also has a sea turtle rehabilitation facility which takes sick and hurt sea turtles and nurses them back to health before releasing them back into the wild. I saw some of the most amazing sea life - sea turtles, sea horses, assorted fish, stingrays, and so much more. For the marine biologist inside me, it was a lovely way to spend an hour. The only sad thing about the visit is that the butterfly garden didn't have any butterflies. It's the wrong time of the year to see them. <sniff>

Check out my photos from the museum and nature reserve on my GART photo site.

Tomorrow I start heading out of Florida on my way to Atlanta. Let me just say one thing about Florida: I hate Florida! I lived in this horrible state for a total of 8 years and have visited it numerous times - thanks to family living here. But I could not imagine ever living here again. Some of my complaints about Florida: it's entirely too congested, too many cars on the road, horrendous drivers, grossly hot in summer, and... well, the list goes on. If I didn't have family here, I probably wouldn't step my toe across the state line. Sorry, Florida, but you're an okay place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live here.  :-)

Yesterday, I forgot to add my driving stats (because I didn't write down the mileage when I got to the Morikami Museum - whoops). The stats below are a little askew because the mileage starts with my Disney stop.

Disney World odometer mileage: 94,940

Odometer mileage at destination 9: 95,232

Miles driven to destination 9: 292
Odometer mileage at destination 10: 95,262
Miles driven to destination 10: 30

Total miles driven to date: 2,273

States driven through: Florida

One of the weird sculptures at the museum

Searching for Zen in a Japanese Garden and a Massage... (GART - Stop 8)

FAIL!

There's a very interesting museum located in the Boca Raton area that my sister-in-law mentioned that I should visit. Today being a gorgeous sunny (and hot!) day in So. Florida, I figured it was the perfect day to visit this museum and gardens: Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens. Who knew that there was an authentic Japanese garden located in So. Florida? And it has a very interesting history.

The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens is a center for Japanese arts and culture, which includes two museum buildings, several formal and informal Japanese gardens, and a fantastic bonsai display. The park and museum are named after George Morikami, a native of Miyazu, Japan, who donated his farm to Palm Beach County to be used as a park. George Morikami was the only member of the Yamato Colony, Florida to stay in Delray Beach after World War II.  The Yamato Colony was an attempt to create a community of Japanese farmers in what is now Boca Raton, early in the 20th century. With encouragement from Florida authorities, young Japanese men were recruited to farm in the colony; primarily pineapples. Because of various difficulties, the colony never grew very large, and gradually declined until it was finally dispersed during World War II.

The Museum was opened in 1977, in a building that is now named the Yamato-kan. The principal museum building opened in 1993. Construction of the gardens began in 1993.

These gardens are some of the most spectacular gardens that I've had the privilege to view. The only negative was the other people in the garden. I was surrounded by disrespectful and obnoxious tourists all day today. Every time I tried to have a seat and enjoy the surroundings, some group of tourists would show up and ruin my solitude and quiet. It's truly sad that people don't have respect for things anymore. But I did manage to take some incredible photos of the gardens, to feed the koi and turtles in the pond, and to enjoy the surroundings when possible. 

After leaving the gardens and taking my car for a much needed bath, I decided to go get a massage - hoping that the massage would ease some of the stresses. Unfortunately, I got a very chatty Cathy for a masseuse so it ended up being less zen and more coffee klatch. She was a great masseuse, but I would have preferred a quieter massage. Oh, well, what can you do? Despite not finding my zen today, I had a fabulous time.

Check out all my photos from the Morikami Museum on my GART photo site. They are pretty spectacular (I say that with all humility). 

Three Magical Days at Disney World (GART - Stop 7)

[Updated: 2/16/15]

The latest road trip stats:

Universal odometer mileage: 94,989

Odometer mileage at destination: 94,940

Miles driven to destination: 42

Total miles driven to date: 1,951

States driven through: Florida

I'm no Walt Disney World virgin. In the course of my lifetime, I've been to Disney a dozen times or so - one of the perks of living in Florida for a period of time. But with the exception of a visit to Epcot/Downtown Disney as part of a business trip in October 2010, it's been more than 20 years since I last visited the magical part of Florida. I knew that if I was coming to Florida and spending time at Universal, I would need to give equal time to Disney World.

On Thursday, February 12, my brother and I departed our Universal resort and drove approximately 11 miles to our Disney resort - Caribbean Beach. We lucked out that at 9:30 in the morning, our room was available. We dropped off our bags and went off to see Mickey, Cinderella, Elsa, and the rest of the Disney characters by entering the Magic Kingdom. The Magic Kingdom opened in October 1971 and a couple of years later, my family moved to Florida (for the first time) and after our first visit to the park in 1973, I was in love and have loved every subsequent visit. I was incredibly excited to experience Disney all over again.

The Magic Kingdom is still one of the best places to visit in the United States. Yes, it's expensive. Yes, it's crowded (even in the off-season). But it really is magical. My favorite rides were still up and running: The Haunted Mansion, the Pirates of the Caribbean, and Space Mountain. But there were a couple of new attractions to experience and other old favorites to rediscover. After watching so many people with their noses stuck behind their camera or cell phones, I decided to actually experience Disney, rather than worry about photographing it. Therefore, I ended up not taking very many photos over the past few days.

Day two of our three day visit was spent at Epcot, which is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely technological innovation and international culture, and is often referred to as a "Permanent World's Fair." There are two distinct areas in Epcot - Future World at the front of the park, which is where all the technological innovations are experienced. The rear of the park is the World Showcase area which has eleven "worlds" to discover: Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, America, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom, and Canada. The best part of the World Showcase is the ability to gorge oneself on various foods. The Moroccan meal we had for dinner was my favorite. There were a few excellent rides in Future World: Soarin', Test Track, and Mission: SPACE. A word of caution for riders of Mission: SPACE - do not eat or drink anything before going on that ride. They actually provide barf bags which is quite telling on how extreme the ride is.

After leaving Epcot at the end of day two, Tom needed to purchase a gift for his girlfriend and wanted to go to Downtown Disney. Downtown Disney is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment complex about 2 miles from the resort. It turned into a bitter and sad reminder of the hours I spent there in October 2010 during my business trip, picking out birthday presents for an ungrateful recipient who probably tossed them the minute he opened the gifts. Yeah, I hated the time that we spent there.

Our last day was predominately spent at Hollywood Studios, which is "dedicated to show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s" (Wikipedia). I've only ever been to this theme park once and that was more than 20 years ago so I had very little knowledge of the new and exciting attractions. This theme park was so much fun. There were four outstanding rides which should not be missed: Star Tours (a continuing Star Wars adventure ride), Toy Story Midway Mania! (an interactive arcade shooting game), Rock 'n' Roller Coaster (a wickedly fast and furious roller coaster), and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (a thrilling ride aboard a haunted elevator). After seeing nearly everything at Hollywood Studios, Tom and I headed back to Epcot for dinner at the Biergarten in the Germany section of World Showcase.

There's a really fun restaurant in Hollywood Studios that I would highly recommend: the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant. Picture this: you’re in a car at a drive-in watching silly, mid-century B movies about zombies and the blob, when a server glides up to your table with a fabulous burger and some fries! Just about perfect, right? I think so, too. Disney’s Sci-Fi Dine-In is an extraordinary restaurant that’s worth at least one try, but it's unique enough to warrant more than one visit. Reservations are highly recommended - we had to wait nearly an hour for a table for lunch.

So ends my week of theme park adventures. It was incredibly fun and I'm glad that I had a chance to visit both Universal and Disney World. I fully plan on hitting up Disneyland when I get to Los Angeles. 

Check out my photos from stop 7 (Disney) at my GART photo site. Today, I return back to Boca Raton for a few days before heading off to Atlanta.

Can I pass for an Asian woman?
I think not!

Universal Studios and Resort - Days 2-3 (GART - Stop 6)

Greetings from the Cabana Bay Beach Resort at Universal. My brother and I just completed our third full day at Universal and are we exhausted? You betcha, but it was a fabulous three days and highly recommended.  

Not much more to report than what I mentioned the other day: Wizarding World of Harry Potter - both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley - do not disappoint even upon seeing it over and over and over again! It is just the most amazing display of fiction come to life. As for the rest of the parks, we rode almost every ride with the exception of a few that Tom was concerned would injure his bad back, so alas they were skipped. In addition to the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, my favorite rides were: Men in Black Alien Attack (I kicked some alien butt!), Shrek 4D (got sneezed on by Donkey), The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride (yes, it's a kid's ride, but really, really cute!), and Revenge of the Mummy (fabulous roller coaster).

Does Tom need AA?

Let me say that I love traditional roller coasters. I've never gotten sick on one and think they are hilariously fun. But with the new virtual roller coasters, I find that they affect my stomach worse than traditional roller coasters. There has been no vomiting, but I can't quite figure out why my tummy finds these rides to be harder than traditional roller coasters. Maybe it's the combination of vertigo along with the movement. Hmmm. More research is necessary. Good thing I'm hitting a few more theme parks in the next few months.

I'm very excited for this evening's plan. Tonight, we will travel down the road to see one of my dearest friends perform in a play (To Kill a Mockingbird) at the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre. Excitement abounds!

Check out my photos from Days 2-3 at Universal (there are only 18) at my GART photo site. Tomorrow, we're off to Disney World!

Sitting on Mayzie's egg in Seuss Landing!

Universal Studios and Resort - Day 1½ (GART - Stop 6)

The latest road trip stats:

Monastery odometer mileage: 94,425

Odometer mileage at destination: 94,898

Miles driven to destination: 473

Total miles driven to date: 1,909

States driven through: Florida

Due to my niece's wedding, I had to shelve my Great American Road Trip for a little bit, but I'm back on it! Yesterday afternoon, my brother Tom and I traveled from Boca Raton to Orlando for a week's vacation split between Universal and Disney World. We arrived a little before 3pm at the Cabana Bay Beach Resort on the Universal Studios property. I really like this resort because it's completely decorated in a retro-theme (think late 50s-early 60s). It has two beautiful pools, a Jack Lalane fitness center, a bowl-a-rama, and other amazing amenities. 

After checking in and taking a wee nap, Tom and I headed over to the theme park area. We walked around Universal's CityWalk, which is a shopping, entertainment, and dining area. We thoroughly examined the area, found a restaurant in which to have dinner (Bob Marley's Jamaican restaurant), and then headed back to the hotel to look around a little more. It was time to relax and hit the hay because we knew today was going to be a busy and exhausting day.

Today, we woke up, got ourselves ready, and headed over to the theme parks. Being the complete and utter Harry Potter nerds, we arranged to have breakfast at The Three Broomsticks which is part of the Hogsmeade area at Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We got there a little early and walked around Hogsmeade. I was completely enthralled with it. It satisfied the Harry Potter geek in me. After a yummy English breakfast, we hit the ride that I had been dying to ride - Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. It was the most amazing ride although nausea-inducing. Lesson #1: make sure your meal is fully digested before embarking on any thrill ride! Let me state, I did not vomit, but man, did I feel like shite.

After meandering a bit around Hogsmeade, we jumped on the Hogwarts Express which took us over to Diagon Alley. Again, I was completely blown away by the realism of this area. For any Harry Potter geeks reading this post, get yourself to Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It is worth every penny you spend. 

There are essentially two parks located in Universal. The first is Universal Studios, which is composed of themed areas and attractions based on the film industry. The park consists of eight themed areas – Hollywood, Production Central, New York, San Francisco, Diagon Alley/London, World Expo, Springfield, and Woody Woodpecker's Kidzone. The second is Islands of Adventure, which is composed of seven distinct "islands" that are themed to various forms of adventures. Visitors start off in the Port of Entry and make their way through the various islands – Marvel Super Hero Island, Toon Lagoon, Jurassic Park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, The Lost Continent, and Seuss Landing.

After lunch, we went to Springfield (home of The Simpsons) and road The Simpsons Ride. It appears that Tom and I don't learn lessons very well because lunch was not yet digested and we went on yet another vomit inducing ride. It was a very fun ride. The only annoying thing about today was that around 2pm the heavens opened up and we spent the rest of the afternoon soaking wet. It made for a miserable afternoon sloshing through puddles. 

Overall though, I would give Universal Studios two big thumbs up. Catch all my photos from Day 1½ at Universal on my GART photo site.  Tomorrow, it's back to Universal for some more fun.

A dragon breathing smoke at Diagon Alley.