Traveling South

Cabins at Nesoba County Fair

(Monday, July 26, 2010)Driving through the hills of Mississippi with the straight tall pines on either side of the road, I feel at home again. The roads are well paved for the most part and not well traveled. The towns seem few and far between and sleepy little villages would be the best description. This is the first time I’ve been here with Big Mama and she seems to take the roads ok with only occasional qualms of the driver when the road seems elevated from surrounding marsh lands and no shoulder exists for escape. I even passed other vehicles a few times on some two lane stretches.

The clay soil is a rich orange but everything growing is very green including the kudzu that seems to swallow all in its path including abandoned homes. The heat and humidity I’m told are worse than usual for July. I try to remember my life here in the 40’s and 50’s without air conditioning. I know we went to the “picture show” a lot. “It’s cool inside” the sign in the window said.

My first Mississippi camp ground was Turkey Creek Water Park. I envisioned curly, twisty large slides and screaming children. Apparently what they call a water park is more of a recreation area, fishing, and swimming, boating and camping around a water management area, this one the Chunky River Watershed. The campground was small but with nice paved sites, good electric (much better than the previous KOA) and very quiet. Not many sites were occupied but I was told it would be busy on the weekend. No alcohol and no firearms signs abound. I received a senior discount paying about $17. It was only about 10 minutes from the town of Decatur but very remote along a narrow curvy road.

(Tuesday, July 27, 2010) Tonight I am at a Corps of Engineers park, again a water management area, Okatibbee Lake created in the early 60’s. They do allow hunting here during the fall and winter. This could have been an area where my grandfather hunted and is in the general direction of his farm. The near by town is Collinsville, the campground is Twiltley Branch and the area is part of the Pascagoula River Basin which ends in the Gulf of Mexico.

I have a great site overlooking the water with lots of pine trees. I went for a bike ride before rain kept me inside. I did have a lot of computer entry work as the result of my morning spent at the Newton County Historical Archives in Decatur, where I researched family members who had been in the area since the 1850’s.

I’ll stay here again Wednesday night and head south on Thursday. This will give me a chance to try the Nesoba County Fair. It is known for family gatherings so I may meet up with some kinfolks. I hope I also find some southern cooking. So far on this leg all my meals have been at home. I’m not complaining but some local cuisine would be welcome.

(Wednesday, July 28, 2010) This turned out to be a very interesting day. I’ve always wanted to attend the Neshoba County Fai r. http://www.neshobacountyfair.org/ It began in 1889 and I know my grandmother attended it and perhaps my mother too who was born not far from the location. The uniqueness, to my mind, are the family cabins spread around the fair grounds. Two story attached buildings feature front porches for visiting and colorfully painted and decorated. Some are very simple structures and some very finished and modern. I visit 3 which were all owned by family members some of whom I was meeting for the first time. I enjoyed getting to know them and learning more about our family connections. I came away feeling I had made many new friends and saw a small part of the fair’s activity including carnival ride and harness racing. Motor homes were stacked in so close together that you could have reached out and borrowed a cup of coffee. I was happy to return to my campground in the woods. I’m told the waiting time to get a campsite at the fair is 5 years.

Leaving Chicago

Fountain at Chicago's Millineneum Park

Sister Susan from California meets Illinois' favorite son!

It's been an amazing 3 weeks visit packed with activities, special family events, and weather Florida style. Susan and I had 3 great days in Wisconsin which included celebrating her birthday by attending the American Players Theatre production of The Syringa Tree.  A one woman show running 2 hours without interruption was inspiring, amazing, and emotional.  Set in South Africa toward the end of Apartite, the role required playing a child as well as the characters with which she interacted.  To learn more http://americanplayer.org/

A home grown feast at sister Margarets in Rock City was a big treat and we were able to "camp" in the driveway.  The route back to Chicago took us along the Rock River and a close up of the Loredo Taft Chief Blackhawk statue amidst the "Oregon Trail Days" festivities.

Since Susan's Sunday departure, I've been busy catching up with old friends, breakfasts, lunches and dinners.  One afternoon I had great fun flying a kite with step grandson Josh.  It had been a long time since I tried that!

Now I want to head south for some home time before I return to the area for my 50th HS reunion.  I'll first stop in Springfield to see the new Lincoln Museum and other sights before heading to Mississippi for a little family history research. Tentative arrival home Thursday, July 29. 

Wedding Report

Katherine Barton comes down the aisle

The wedding begins

After months of preparation the wedding weekend is over and the happy couple off on their honeymoon.  It was a beautiful occasion full of love and happiness.  Rain fell off and on but no one seemed to mind and the crowd reluctantly stopped dancing at 11 p.m. 

The cake cutting

Today I took an architectural boat tour of Chicago.  It was my third time but the best ever.  Tomorrow it is back to the road heading to Wisconsin for a few days of camping.

4th of July

Granddaughter in the print dress looking hot on Daddy's Float

I arrived in the Chicago area late Saturday afternoon to record breaking heat.  Of course I felt right at home with the temperature.  We celebrated the 4th in traditional style with the Villa Park parade featuring (in my opinion) my son, daughter in law, granddaughter, and 2 step grandsons.  It was a fun parade and we joined them for an early dinner in an almost empty restaurant afterwards.  I guess everyone else was picnicing but most of the group preferred the AC offered by Houlihans!

Now we are into the countdown for Saturday's wedding.  I've been staying in Clarendon Hills with long time friend Ginny and she'll join me at a Wicker Park (near west Chicago neighborhood) B & B.  We plan to do some Chicago touring as well as the wedding activities.

Here are some notes I took on the trip up:

July 1, 2010 I was awake before the rooster crowed, but not by much. He was really an attractive bird and wandered around together with what looked to me like a “pea hen”. It rained overnight and the morning was misty until north of Montgomery. The KOA campground was ok but I think they should put gravel on the pads. It was pretty muddy when I walked around as I detached my electric cord.

At the advice of the Welcome Alabama staff I didn’t do my planned route past Birmingham. Apparently I 65 is still very torn up with construction. It was a problem that I had last summer and didn’t need again. I took US 82 NW out of Montgomery toward Tuscaloosa. Most of it was four lane. The GPS and I disagreed on a route to NE Mississippi where I had reserved a spot at JC Coleman State Park but I finally reached my destination around 5:30 and had a fantastic site # 53 overlooking the Pickwick Lake area. You can see boat traffic on the Tenn Tom Waterway.  Surprisingly it isn’t hot or mosquito-filled as I feared. A wonderful breeze is coming off the water and there is no need for the AC. YEAH! My site is so much nicer than the KOA and $10 cheaper. After dinner my neighbors invited me over to enjoy their campfire and we had a nice get acquainted visit. They live not too far from here and drive school buses. He also coaches baseball. Other family members are coming tomorrow for the weekend. The park has a swimming pool and cabins for rent. It’s a ways off the road but well worth the drive. It was a long day at the wheel but I always enjoy these back roads with there small towns that fit the “time forgot”
 
July 2 I am camped at Reel Foot Lake Campground, a Tennessee State Park in the NW corner of the state.  This area was created when the New Madrid fault earthquakes of 1811-12 moved the channel of the Mississippi River.  I was concerned I could get a space since there are no reservations and it is a holiday weekend but even with my 7 p.m. arrival I had a number of sites from which to choose.  Again the temperature was very comfortable and the setting delightful.  I had a leisurely start in the morning and arrived in Jackson around noon where my cousins had lunch waiting.  We were able to visit a couple of hours before I headed for other family in the small town of Bradford where members of the family have lived since the early 1800's.  I was encouraged to stay the night but declined knowing that I would not be able to get as early a start in addition to adding at least 2 hours to what would already be a long drive on the 3rd.
July 3  After pumping the holding tanks, I was on the road by 8 a.m.  Today would be almost all interstate working my way up the long state of Illinois.  Fortunately traffic wasn't too bad and all construction and associated barricades halted for the holiday weekend.  However, it appears that most of I 57 is under repair and requires it as I bounced along the pavement.  I will be sure to avoid that route heading south.
 

 

Off to Illinois

The Bride to Be touring Athens.  The Acropolis is in the background.

It was a quick turnaround for the Old Lady. Arriving home June 12, I departed today, June 30. This time it is literally on the road with my van, Big Mama, GPS aka Greta, and Georgia the Trek Bike. Today I drove 8 hours and am still in the state of Florida. I’m in a KOA about 35 miles west of Tallahassee and only a mile off Interstate 10. It’s more rustic than most of the KOA’s I’ve experienced.. A rooster has been crowing. I guess it is saying goodnight. I wonder what time it will decide its morning.

Much of my time while in Stuart besides catching up on mail, bills, etc. was spent trying to put some order into the over 1100 photos I took on the trip to Greece. The computer gave me problems and my DVD slideshow would not burn on to a disc among other frustrations. I want to show the incredible beauty of Greece, the fascinating ruins that are everywhere, and the group that shared the 14 days of sailing and adventure seeking. There were so many highlights which hopefully can be illustrated in the photographs. Our group of 14 was amazing in their compatibility and comradeship. It’s a challenge to share small spaces and limited resources with people you don’t know. Of course by the end, we did know each other and the parting was similar to seeing a family member off.

I feel so fortunate to have experienced this country in so many aspects. The sense of how developed their ancient civilizations were was mind boggling. The Greek people are very proud of this heritage and of their beautiful country and I think that makes it particularly difficult for them to be the center of negative attention in the world financial crisis. The ones with which I spoke (and it was usually the topic of conversation) are as mystified as any as how it could have become so bad but also say supporting the immigrant population contributes to the governments burden.

I hope to write more about my experiences there but now my attention turns to the exciting weeks ahead. Daughter Emily’s wedding will be the 10th and we have almost daily dialogue on the many last minute challenges of putting together such a celebration. She must do a tremendous juggling act with all the wedding details and a challenging job. Hopefully it will all come together and appear seamless in the final moments.

Tomorrow I head up through Alabama, camping in Northern Mississippi at J P Coleman State Park. This is near the Tennessee border and close to the Shiloh battleground which I hope to revisit Friday morning. Later that day I will try to connect with some relatives and visit some family cemeteries.

Miami

After a return trip of 30 hours beginning with the evening ferry from Naxos ending with late afternoon arrival at the Richmond Hotel on Miami Beach I am recovering this morning by the hotel pool. What a way to end a fabulous trip. I am here to renew acquaintances with those in town for the AIA convention an organization with which Les was highly involved. Of course it also allows me to extend my vacation by four more days. My connections ferry, bus from Pireus to Athens airport at midnight, flight to Madrid and then on to Miami went smoothly and on time. I was very pleased with the ferry accomodations in economy class and the Airport seating areas had better facilities than my last airport overnight in Vienna. I look forward to getting back to my computer and posting photos of the trip. Blog entries from the iPhone are a bit of a challenge. It has given me a chance to share a few experieces of this wonderful three weeks.

Naxos

Ferry from Kos arrived on time for 7:30 departure. Hotel provided a ride to the dock. I was very happy to see luggage rack noted with destinations near the entrance. Loading ferries is a story in itself. Passengers arriving and departing hustle along the gangplank at the same time vechicles are loading and unloading. It seems to be much less orderly than my experiences with the Alaska and Canadian ferries but it works. The ferry was very nice with comfortable seating areas. I had a window seat. As we closed in on Naxos the wind increased and shortly after arrival it rained. It took a while to connect witH Marco who would take my suitcase up to Panorama Hotel in the Kastro (castle) area not accessible to vehicles. The photo is of the harbor from my balcony. The wind continued but the rain stopped causing the evening concert at the nearby Venetian Miseum to be moved inside but was a most enjoyabe two hours of local music and folk dancing concluding with audience dancing something I had wanted to experience the whole trip! This followed awonderful dinner at Lucullus where I treated myself to lamp chops in honor of my wedding anniversary . I also met a couple from Toronto there and we went together to the concert greatly enhancing my evening. What could have been a downer day was instead a real high. Tonight begins the long journey back to Miami. I can't say enough about how beautiful Greece and it's people are. I couldn't ask for a better experience!