The flag of our country represents, in this world, the best hope for a future of peace and justice. Led by always flawed people it will never be perfect, but the United States provides safety, security, freedom and hope for more people in more situations than any nation on earth. Happy 240!
From the 9/11 Memorial in NYC
For me, hot dogs with sauerkraut, fresh fruit, mustard potato salad, and homemade ice cream for dessert. Hope your day is great, cause somedays the best meals are simple and at home.
From the Flight 93 Memorial near Somerset, PA. The construction on the horizon is for a visitor center. The unoccupied chairs and the empty landscape speak to me.
I have talked with people who claim to not have any faith. They live, or so they say, by what they can control and measure. But it is not true or we would never drive down a two lane road. The law doesn't keep people on the other side of the line but you have faith they will stay there. Now it is not always well placed faith and that is the real issue, what we place faith in, or rather, in whom we place faith. Drivers, doctors, the people who set the ropes or someone who can be trusted in every situation.
"These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world." 1 Peter 1:7 NLT
So you like to travel and need an economical way to stay for extended periods of time...tents? Not easy to set up and take down every day, they are always wet, you can't stay in a Walmart parking lot, they don't have bathrooms and then there are snakes and bears. No Tents. So, a light inexpensive trailer is what you need. You start research thinking of something you can pull with the Subaru. That lasts about two weeks until Subaru says, "Don't pull anything." OK, still lightweight and inexpensive small trailers. Look at tear-drops. No Tear Drops. Inexpensive does not mean cheap, outside kitchen, no real bathroom and you bump your head. So start with lightweight, inexpensive, small fiberglass trailers. Lots of poor choices. Then you find an Escape made in Canada. More expensive than planned but seems nice. Options push the price higher but there is one to see in Raleigh. It was OK, livable but there was the major trip going to British Columbia to pick it up after waiting months to have one built. Then Oliver showed up online. So you pack up a large box of gold coins, trade a cow and two goats for more money and take off for Hohenwald, Tennessee to investigate.
At a Tennessee State park near Memphis, TN. I missed most of the trees.
At least three battles began on this date that people still study and remember. Gettysburg, Cold Harbor and Somme. The battle of the Somme began 100 years ago today. One of my most vivid memories of my trip in England in 1996 happened by chance. I was in London and touring Westminster Abby. As I came to the front I noticed an area of poppies covering about 25 square feet of the floor and about 5 gentlemen standing around the flowers and two in wheelchairs. They were survivors of the battle. A ceremony began shortly that only lasted a few minutes and had a very small audience but was quite moving. Most of the men were in tears and when the presenter from the news asked, "why," they replied with the names of friends and neighbors lost in the battle. 80 years on and the horror and pain was still very real.
I have a photo that I will get scanned sometime but for today this homemade remembrance from the 9/11 Memorial in NYC to a British soldier lost in the terror attack.
This is on a hill overlooking the landing fields of the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. And the Huffman Prairie Flying Field where the brothers learned to actually fly the plane they created.
...I took of the Statue of Liberty. It is a site administered by the National Park Service. We were on the Staton Island Ferry when I took it. I was at the Statue only once when I was a kid. Think we need to add this to our list. Still a good image to start Independence Day long weekend.
Sorry the post was late this morning. I am still not caught up and we came home last night to no power.
At a city park in Springfield, Illinois. We asked our waitress at a local restaurant where to walk in town and she told us about this park. It was very nice, several ponds, nice trails, woods and a very nice flower garden. And on the biggest of the lakes, these two Wood Ducks were out asking to be photographed. I was willing.
A different view of the Jefferson Monumnet in DC. It seems appropriate that there are tired tourists about - Jefferson was always receiving guests.
For the cog railroad to the top of Mount Washington in New Hampshire. It looks like it is hanging over the edge. It is, a little bit. The engine pushes the passengers cars ahead of it up the mountain. Mt. Washington was covered in snow, fog and wind three of the four times I have been up there, this was my rare beautiful day (but windy and very cold in August!
Who would have thought we would find this in Tupelo, MS. This is a butcher market restaurant where all the meats and much more come from specific local farms. We ordered some steak - you didn't get to pick what else came with it, for two. I did say, correctly of course, no cheese. We got this huge non-plate of food, it came on a cutting board. The meat was excellent but the rest was simply amazing. Cauliflower, purple and white potatoes, pickled onion and we ate everything but the wood. I highly recommend the Neon Pig, just order whatever meat you like and let them surprise you with the rest.
... it is a National Park Site. And it is really old. Hopewell Culture is near Chillicothe, Ohio. There are actually several sites and at one time many more sites stretched across a wide area. These were constructed between 100BC and 1000AD. Once again a great ranger with interest in the subject at least allowed us to be impressed with the scope of these mounds. They are 10 to 25 feet tall and were surrounded by mound like walls. Some were burial mounds, some for ceremonial use but no one has enough knowledge to be certain. Nor is much more known about these early inhabitants. They did not live in large villages but very small family units and, apparently, came together for events here on occasions. There is also a mathematical precision to the size, shape and placement of the mounds that was mirrored across many sites. And that is quite a feat.
Got an old fuel tank at a Coke bottling plant, make use of it. In Corinth, MS.
Gibson Guitars are made or at least some of them in downtown Memphis. They give tours for ten dollars. We went into this massive lobby and up to the clerk in the store and asked for two. He told us, "Nobody is working this week, that'll be $20." I asked if there was anything to see and he said, "Not much." We declined. Nice lobby though.
The first president born west of the Mississippi was born in this modest two room house in Iowa.
Enjoyed this eclectic place at the top of Beale Street in Memphis. The signs were unique and the orchestration of servers and line cooks was fun to watch. The two kinds of shrimp were among many choices and were quite good.
This site, if I am being honest, was a bit of a disappointment. It seems like less than the acre claimed by the sign and it was hemmed in by fast food places and houses as it sat on a busy street and bordering on yet another. There were two graves, a canon and a couple of signs. No parking. It looked uncared for and a rather sad place. This shot - you wander around trying to see what you might shoot, is of the flag and the sky because upward was the only way to really look.
At Vincennes Indiana.
You get the feeling every where here that you are being stalked!
