Dulcimer Week

This is the last full day of classes and I've learned so much. Tonight there will be a community concert by all the instructors. Last night was aconcert by students and some staff followed by cakes made by one of the students in the shape of dulcimers after which we did some clog and reel dancing on the outside terrace. So much talent in this group.

Dulcimer Week

This is Blue Ridge Hall a conference center & dormitory facility recently opened at Western Carolina U. It's about an hour west of Asheville. Mornings are filled with a skills class taught by a fabulous teacher Janita Baker from California an owner of Blue Lion company. There are 7 in our class all eager to learn at 8:30 in am. Afternoons begin with electives. I did chords on Monday & fifties music Tues where we sang as well as played (they didn't use many chords with that music). Then we beginners have an hour of slow tempo jamming. After that is ensemble practice. We will perform Friday. One of the pieces is from Beethovens 5th. Way above my ability level but I'm trying. Evenings are performances by instructors in small intimate settings. The day ends with optional devotions & a jam session til ?? We sleep in dorm rooms & eat inthe college dining hall with students athletes & others here for summer programs. Makes you feel young.

Scenes of Vicksburg, MS from April trip

Up in the Mountains

Back on the road again! After 3 months at home during which I accomplished many delayed tasks of sorting, cleaning, purging, and redoing the tile in a bathroom (a contractor did the work; I just did the choosing and paying) I decided to list the place for sale.  It will go on the market July 20.  Real Estate being what it is and Florida particularly at this time of year, I'm sure not much will happen while I'm gone.  The good news is that I won't be there to tidy up each day and wonder if anyone will come by.  Instead I'm off on a trip that will take me to GA, SC, NC, VA, PA, NY, a bit of Ontario, MI, WI, and IL.  That news kept the credit card folks busy adding all that to my travel plans so hopefully they'll allow me to charge in those places!

 New Tile

After a night at Crooked River State Park in the SE corner of Georgia, I had heavy rains followed by off and on showers on I95 and I 26 while making my way to Hendersonville, NC.  My new tires performed well on the wet pavement.  (Yes I also spent over $2000 on Big Mama with repairs and improvements!) My host is Kay Beckett and we've been on the go with bluegrass and barbeque, her Gold Wings Motorcycle Club meeting, a visit to my uncle in Asheville, and a fantastic local theatre production of "Driving Miss Daisy".  Today I'll head off up the mountain to Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC where I'll be taking Mountain Dulcimer classes the rest of the week and living life in a dormitory. (Link is on this post.) Google is giving me an option of making the blog more "Mobile devices friendly".  Not sure I'm ready for that but love feedback from those of you who follow along.

Back in Florida

Bird spotted on our swamp tour in Louisiana

I did an eleven hour day on last Saturday, driving from Big Lagoon State Park near Perdido Key on the western side of Pensacola.  Since I didn't have a reservation for Friday night (never a good idea on a weekend), I stopped at Welcome Florida to ask their assistance re state parks.  The gentleman phoned a number with negative results and then tried the closest to their location.  It was a very nice park with lots of families preparing to enjoy the weekend.  I walked their extensive boardwalk but could locate the beach promised on the signs.  At least it gave me a chance to stretch my legs.  I had been traveling from Louisiana after a coffee stop with Baton Rouge friends, Skipper and Bryan.  We caught up a bit on each others lives before I headed out into storm warnings.  Fortunately they were all about 100 miles north of me and I even seemed to be following any rain. Some of the area affected would have been along my route the week before.

Today I am trying to finally put some order to my photographs in hopes of resets some of the camera memory sticks and removing some photos from my hard drive.  It's amazing how they accumulate.  I love the digital photos but they are a challenge to manage.  Deleting seems so permanent when there are no negatives. Part of my purpose is to post some albums on line that I have been promising in my blog over the years.  The link above is for Picasa and will take you to my photos from the Disney Spring Garden Show I saw earlier this month.  I also plan to add albums on Vicksburg, Natchez and surrounding areas and the Louisana swamp tour. By clicking on the Title to the Blog "Back in Florida", the disney photos should come up in a Picassa album.

Spring South Tour

A quick update on 2 very busy days written from Natchez State Park 10 miles north of Natchez Mississippi. Today (4/11) we left Grand Gulf Military Park where we had delightful camp sites on top of a hill a short distance from the Mississippi River and near the town of Port Gibson which General Grant is credited with saying "it was too beautiful to burn. " Still full of antebellum homes and interesting churches including the Presbyterian one whose steeple is adorned with a gigantic hand, finger of which points up, the town also is known for it's quilters. There was a wonderful exhibit of their work at the Southern cultural center. It is very much an inter-racial activity. The magnificent ruins of a once thriving plantation which survived the war but fell to fire caused by cigarette is in the photo above. Lunch at The old country store in a130 year old building featured wonderful Southern cooking. I properly stuffed myself including blackberry cobbler a la mode. We attempted exercise with a visit to Rosswood plantation, now a bed and breakfast. A fascinating tour led by the owner kept us alert and on our feet which was good after the heavy meal. The house built in 1858 is filled with exquisite furniture and artwork. Sunday Judy and Chris drove the Natchez Trace Parkway while I returned to the Vicksburg Military Park for some more touring of areas in which the Mississippi troops played a role, one of which was my great great grandfather.

April 7-9

April 7 Falling Water State Park was today’s destination. I left Tropical Palms in Kissimmee about 11:30 but was challenged finding the way out toward the turnpike. It seemed I was going in circles, the GPS didn’t match the street names and I kept going pass various Disney facilities. Finally I found Turnpike signs and kept following them. I really pushed to arrive here in 6 hours but fortunately I also gained an hour as I am now on central time. This is a another great Florida State Park, said to be one of the highest points in Florida. A piney woods that appears to have had a recent fire. Hopefully a controlled burn but the campground was spared and is excellent. I love being back in the woods.

The Tech rally was very informative and I made lots of notes. It’s also a great social occasion and I met a number of women who are “solos” traveling alone. They (we?) are a special breed of adventurers. I chaired a special interest group on creating blogs and now will have links on mine to some of their blogs. It should send the readers to a number of travel adventures. Tomorrow my destination will be Vicksburg Mississippi. We are concerned that if the threat of a government shutdown becomes a reality, the battle ground park may be closed.

Vicksburg Monument

April 8 With the new time I was awake before 6 and on the road by 7:30. There were stretches of fog particularly crossing over the various bodies of water around Pensacola and Mobile. I didn’t like Greta’s (GPS) ideas for Mobile and stopped at the Welcome Alabama for some advice. It must be a common question as they had pre-printed instructions for the route to Jackson Mississippi where I would pick up Interstate 20 to Vicksburg. Judy didn’t have much service on her phone so our only communication. We decided since there was a possibility of a government shutdown on Saturday which would include national parks, we would visit the Vicksburg Military Park this afternoon. They arrived first and saw an introductory movie before I pulled in. We gathered information, maps, and a CD quide ($12) and set off on the self guided tour through the park. Chris went solo since she had concerns about her dog. Judy and I caught up a bit between the sights. I had been through the park two other times, but the CD really enhanced the tour. I wasn’t able to locate the marker for my ancestor’s 36th Mississippi Company though the park ranger circled the area where they were located. We were pressed for time with a 5 p.m. park closing and still didn’t complete the route before the gates were shutting. One great thing about the park was the number of people using it for exercise, whether walking, running or bicycling.

We decided to use the Ameriastar Campground which was centrally located and had a reasonable ($22.50) rate for full service (water, electric, sewer) and laundry facilities. They had a shuttle to their casino and we opted to go there for dinner. Cigarette smoke hit us as we walked in the door. Fortunately no one was smoking in the restaurant. The food was ok. Chris stayed awhile to try her luck but Judy and I shuttled back and continued catching up on each others lives.

April 9 The weather has been beautiful with clear skies, a nice breeze, and above normal temperatures in the 80’s. I suggested we get an early start in the cool hours of the morning. Yesterday we had gathered information about the spring “pilgrimage” house tour called the Vicksburg Tapestry. Five houses were open today each for an hour. Tickets were $15 per house or 3 for $30. Chris decided to take it easy, so Judy and I set off in her van to find the first house, north of the downtown area of Vicksburg. The original house was built in 1825, and was used by the confederates for cannons to defend Vicksburg from Grants campaign. Evidence of a cannon ball strike could be send in one of the beams. It has been lovingly restored and furnished by a local doctor. Named for one of the previous owners, Mary Harwood, it sits overlooking the Mississippi River. The guides were very knowledgeable and informative. The house has been part of the tour for more than 25 years and most of the guides had been involved the entire time.

Next we visited Anchuca, the Choctaw word for home, built in 1830. It is famed for the final residence of Joseph Davis, the eldest brother of Jefferson Davis, the president of the confederacy. Now a bed and breakfast as well as café, the owner has done extension research on the Davis’s and we were treated to his presentation while seated in the lovely drawing room. The history of the Davis family is the history of the country with service in a number of wars including the revolutionary and 1812. Following the talk and examining the beautiful furnishing and features of the house, we had a delicious lunch in the café.

Our next house was at 2:30 so we visited the museum in the former court house. The collection has been donated by people in the area as well as others who have memorabilia from events relating to Vicksburg. We returned again after the last house tour as there was so much to see. The final house we saw was the Blum Levy house built in 1903 and desiged by St. Louis architect Theordore Link who was working on a number of Mississippi buildings at the time including the state capital. He also designed Union Station in St. Louis. This was the first time this house had been on the tour and the owner was our host and guide. Beautifully constructed and furnished with fascinating light fixtures that were both electrified and gas illuminated