St Augustine, FL end of the road?

We owe all of you a big “Thank You” for your interest and support while following us as we journeyed around this remarkable country. And also for your concern…when the time between blogs became a little extended many of you reminded us that it was time for a posting or wondered if perhaps we had lost our way in the wilderness.

A little over a week ago we arrived back to our favorite place in Florida - St Augustine; we just love this town, the buzz of tourists, the beautiful beaches and surf, its numerous wonderful eating places and Flagler College. On Saturday RamblingRover goes into storage for the next six months and we will fly to the UK to have a “Dickens Christmas” complete with Plum Pudding, Brandy Butter, Mince Pies and Christmas cake with Jennifer, Karl, Hannah, Molly & Ciaran; there’s even the possibility of a Christmas snow scene.

So we have come to the end of our “yellow brick road” odyssey, over 22,000 miles in RamblingRover and at least that again in BlueBug; it has been a wonderful, interesting, informative and educational two years of - seeing sights, meeting wonderful, friendly people, learning much about the culture and history of each state we travelled through; unsung heroes and some very strong brave men and women in history. Our travels took us to places far off the highways on the byways and we found enchanting places; we visited cities that surprised us as they had great tourist attractions. In our dotage this is the journey we will talk about while passing the extra ten years doctors promise to all of us as we sit in our armchairs in an old people's home.

Fortunately, we live in an age of amazing technologies as we could not have achieved so much without; our Garmin GPS - directing us from place to place with no arguments and very few wrong turns; cell phones to stay in touch with family and friends; the Internet to research, plan and reserve our RV Park stops and places of interest to visit, many books gifts from friends which helped guide us to interesting off-the-beaten-path places, but most of all to friends whom we called on all around the USA who made us welcome in their homes and then gave us guided tours of their area - what a luxury. Both FaceTime and Skype are much used with Jennifer, Kilian and Cearull who gather our grandchildren around the computer so we can laugh, talk and stay in touch - Sunday being the busy day which we look forward to each week. We also stay in touch with siblings in Canada and Ireland and periodically connect with friends online. Most RV Parks have free Wi-Fi, coffee shops are another source and we have our own “tethering” through Tom’s phone if all else fails, so we never feel lonely or out of touch.

Probably the most frequent question we’re asked is what our favorite place visited is. Top of the list for us is, of course, Yellowstone National Park an amazing place - a wonder of the world really! Others, in no particular order are; the Rockies just magnificent, the mountains so high, the valleys so deep and mostly green and unspoiled. California’s Giant Redwoods, Kartchner Caverns, Grand, Zion and Bryce Canyons; Mount Rushmore, the Black Hills, the Great Lakes (really inland seas and are so large that they have an effect on the climate), Finger Lakes, the coast of Maine – rugged and pretty, so very like parts of Ireland and England, the Outer Banks and Carlsbad Caves…we could go on and on! Most of our journeys were in the 150 mile range which meant that we didn't miss much on the journey. We visited towns that were once full of bustle and trade that are now empty and poor; we saw towns which struggle yearly to survive but survive they do through an Annual Festival the revenue from which keeps the townspeople going from year to year. Plymouth Rock is, for us, the most over-rated tourist attraction; not much larger than a pebble, well we exaggerate but so does history. The rock is about the size of a decorative flowerbed rock so it’s not to be confused with the Rock of Gibraltar - now that’s a Rock. The many Battlefields and their adjacent graveyards with multiple graves of hundreds of unidentified fallen soldiers made us sad. We’ve seen “the biggest, the best, the tallest, the smallest, the longest, the shortest, the oldest, the highest, the fastest, the slowest, the famous and the infamous."

For each state we visited – in total - 44 of them we tried to read an informative book about a hero, a politician, the early history of the state, especially most of the southern states particularly those with Spanish or French history – surprisingly, this history is ignored in the US/Anglo history books.

Books which helped us enjoy our travels:
The 19th wife
Grace, an American women in China
A Team of Rivals (Lincoln)
Midnight in the garden of Good and Evil
The wind in the morning (about Magellan circumnavigating the world )
The Johnstown Flood
The Vicksburg Siege
Running with the Bulls by Valerie Hemmingway
1434 by Gavin Menzies
The Bears and I by Robert Franklin Leslie
Freedom by Ken Follett
The Color of Hope by Susan Madison
The Good Earth by Pearl S Bucks
Night Fall by Nelson De Mille
Cannibals of the Heart by Jack Shepard
Texas Dawn by Philip Lynch
A Voyage Long and Strange by Tony Horwitz
47 by Walter Mosley
A Family of Spies by Pete Earley
Babylon by Bus by Ray LeMoine & Jeff Neumar
Chief Joseph by Candy Moulton

Adele has a book about Fredrick Douglas on her Kindle to read next. In addition, Libraries’, Museums, the Internet and Visitor Centers leaflets helped us make places visited more interesting.

We will be back on the road again in six months’ time when we will let you know as we travel to Eastern Canada on another Adventure.

Photo's of Baton Rouge

The stained glass dome of the Old Capital
 

The Old Capital's beautifully decorated balcony

Adele on the central spiral staircase

Nottoway Plantation  

Tom and two Southern Belles 

Wedding photo shot on the front lawn 

The Old Capital Building 

Baton Rouge

A city with an interesting name as Baton Rouge translates to Red Stick in English!

To begin our explorations we took a free tram ride around the center of town, mostly government buildings. We had a difficult time understanding the deep Southern accent of the driver, thankfully the trams security person translated for us which led to lot of laughs. When we got on at the Old Capital the driver wanted to know where we wanted to get off and we said right back here! That took a few minutes to explain.

Baton Rouge is the Capital of Louisiana and there are plenty of tourist attractions including the old Capital building - originally built in 1847 which is like an ancient Celtic Castle. We loved it with its towers and castellation, however Mark Twain considered it to be the ugliest building on the Mississippi; clearly, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The entrance hall is imposing and leads to an impressive spiral staircase at its center; a stained glass dome filters soft and gentle light on the circular balconies where portraits of all past Governors and the current Governor adorn the surrounding walls. It houses a museum of Louisiana history, a movie one can watch in the Congress Chamber; the Senate Chamber has some beautiful antique furniture.

Adele was fascinated by former Governor Huey P Long Jr. (August 30, 1893 – September 10, 1935); whose motto was "Share the Wealth" he instituted free education, including textbooks and wanted the rich (who Long maintained made their money off the sweat of the poor) to pay more tax and share a portion of their wealth, so…it’s not a new idea by the current administration. He was shot in confusing circumstances at the early age of 42. Who shot him? Was it Dr. Weiss or a ricochet from one of his bodyguards’ shots?   

In the early afternoon we drove to one of the best preserved Plantations in the South called “Nottoway" a 53,000 sq. ft. Mansion which was built in 1859 for John Hampden Randolph, his wife and 11 children. We took a tour of the house led by a lady attired in period costume who was very informative. The mansion has a stunning, big white ballroom with a large semicircle recess overlooking the gardens; this is where Randolph’s daughters had their coming-out Balls and where some were married. Our guide told us that it took many years of soaking the wood in the Mississippi in order to bend it into a semicircle. The White Castle as it is known locally is well worth a visit.

Randolph was a sugar cane magnate who owned 150 slaves on “Nottoway"- he had another plantation nearby with a further 150 slaves. All the slaves were given their freedom after the Civil War; it speaks volumes for Randolph as both a man and “Master” that the vast majority remained working with him. The house now sits on the banks of the Mississippi, however when originally built it was a half mile from the river; the river changed course after an earthquake. Randolph spared no expense building the house as he wanted it to reflect his position and wealth. The inventor of many farm machines Randolph was a very clever man and astute businessman.

After the Civil War in order to hold on to their property all big Southern landowners had to go to Washington, personally apologize to the President, pay a fine of $20,000 and swear allegiance to the US. The alternative was that their land would be confiscated, they would be tried for Treason and if found guilty executed. Now we understand why so many plantation owners were forced to abandon their plantations. Randolph went to Washington paid his fine and held onto his plantation.

The Plantation is now a luxury hotel owned by an Australian magnate who has invested heavily in restoring the house to its original grandeur. Guests are now accommodated in either one of the historic bedroom or a luxury cottage. On our arrival we had our lunch in the restaurant overlooking the garden and its 200 year old oak trees, the food was delicious and the service excellent.

Houston-San Jacinto

Adele beside reflecting pool 

Tom on steps of monument 

View from the top towards Houston 

Fossils in the Cordova rock 

Car ferry crossing Houson's busy port

View over reflecting pool 

 

Houston

We saw so many birds as we meandered along the Gulf Coast that we wonder just where did birds “hang out” before there were electric wires. Birds gather in their thousand on the wires at sunset from which they have a wonderful view (bird’s eye view) of the surrounding area - not the same from a tree. There sure are a lot of birds and protected birding areas on the Gulf.

Our visit to Houston after Galveston was a short one. On inquiring about what to do and where to go in the Houston area we were provided a list of things to do and places to go in…Galveston! Researching the area ourselves we discovered that the San Jacinto Battle Monument was close by and we felt compelled to visit. This is where Sam Houston and his Texas army won freedom and independence as a Republic for Texas by defeating President/General Santa Anna who surrendered to Sam Houston after he was recaptured while trying to escape dressed as a foot soldier – his gait due to his wooden leg was what caused him to be recognized; so much for being a foot soldier.

The Monument which is on the battle ground is reputed to be the tallest monumental column in the world; it has a reflection pool out front and a 34ft (10m) star on the top. We took the elevator to the viewing platform on the top and Texas being so flat we could see in all directions for miles and miles. The entire monument structure is constructed with a stone called Cordova - a rock that has so many visible fossils it’s hard to believe it’s not man made (photo to follow). The monument's interior houses a good museum with mementos and histories of the leading Generals, of both sides in the battle, we also saw an excellent a movie of the battle. The Mexican army suffered 630 fatalities, 208 wounded and 730 captured; while the Texans had only 9 killed and 20 wounded.  
After the Alamo we were very surprised that there were so few people visiting, after all this is where Texans won. We met an interesting, friendly couple from Costa Rica with whom we had a lovely chat. The luck of the Irish rubbed once more when we met the curator of the museum we spent about 30 minutes talking with him, and of course, he was a mine of information. Their annual fund raiser was being held the night we were visiting – cost was $1,000 a plate.

The weather remained cold both day and night, it was about 61f (16c) by day and 42f (7c) at night - this is Texas winter. On the next day we finally drove to another State, Louisiana. RamblingRover had been in Texas a long time, since the beginning of September.

Galveston, TX

Rough seas along the seawall

The Star Drug Store where teenagers met in the 60's 

One of the many lovely downtown buildings  

Shops along Strand Street

We wonder will it float in a Tsunami

Our flag is torn and faded after 2 years on the road 

Corpus Christi and Galveston

Well to be honest...we parked RamblingRover in Port Aransas on the Padre Islands in a lovely RV Park with just dunes between us and the beach. The weather was perfect and the beach seemingly endless in both directions; we were advised to walk to the beach only on the footbridges as there are snakes and other vermin in the tall grass of the dunes, signs of rabbits in the area was all we saw. We walked the beach each day, we were a little too late one day and ended up searching for the footbridge off the beach in the dark, eventually we found it – phew! We did not swim in the sea as there was ample evidence of Man of War jelly fish on the beach. The beach is wide and is used as a road by locals and fishermen; parking is allowed by permit (costs $12 for a year) on the beach; all the fishermen use big trucks. The RV Park had a nice pool allowing Adele to have her daily swim. We were so happy to be at the beach we didn't leave it for the 3 days we were there. Still wonder why we’ve rented a townhouse on the beach in Saint Augustine?

From there we took a ferry ride of maybe 300 yards on our way to Galveston, what a difference we encountered in the weather - it was cold, windy and stormy. The nighttime temperature was a low 40F (11C); as you can imagine we had to get up and find blankets to cover us on the first night so next day we decided to put on our winter duvet and electric blanket and this is Texas! It does heat up during the day but we still need to wear warm cloths during the day. First thing we did was head for the Visitors Center which is housed in an old historic home, from there we crossed the road to the Rosenberg Library where there’s an eclectic collection of items from peoples attics plus a history of Galveston. Rosenberg donated the library and other places (at least one church) to the town; he was a big benefactor to Galveston.

Galveston turned out to be a delightful surprise there’s so much to do and see; the sea wall which is miles long is exhilarating to walk with lots to see – the sea wall was erected and the Gulf side of the island was heightened by 15 feet after the disastrous storm of September 8th 1900, one of the "must do" things is to see the film of the disaster – a collage of old photos with an informative narration. There were 6,000 people killed in Galveston alone and over 8,000 in all. Having watched the movie it is amazing to us that so few where killed in the recent storm that hit the Eastern seaboard, most notably New Jersey and New York.

We had lunch in an old Diner called The Star Drug Store which brought back fond childhood memories for Adele – when her parents toured the US by Greyhound Bus in 1950 her mother was enthralled by the Diner/Drug Stores and on her return converted part of their Galway family Hotel into a Diner which was a huge success for many years and a very popular place for school kids to meet in the afternoon and with late night revelers.

North of Broadway which is the dividing line between the rich and poor areas there are many old elegant mansions. One we visited was the Bishops Palace originally built by the Gresham family as their home. Needless to say it was opulent and ornate with chandeliers, a stunning staircase, hardwood floors, a Chapel and servants quarters; the design of the stone work on the outside was striking and it had the prettiest chimneys we have ever seen. The Cathedral just across the road was locked, however we were not perturbed as we knew we could go to Mass on Sunday to view its splendor. After Mass went to an old hotel on the seafront called Hotel Galvez to Facetime our English Grandchildren and check the brunch. A lady was playing the grand piano in the large foyer; brunch was $35 per person so we decided that as we were not that hungry we would take another walk on the seawall. We had an excellent lunch in a restaurant called Fish Tails that cost $35 dollars for the two of us. On our way back to the RV Park we visited Moody Gardens which has three large glass pyramids of different colors and discovered that it is an amusement theme park, very Disneyworld and decided to give it a miss. There were plenty of tourists around the town and on the beach even though the weather was quite cold and the sea angry and rough. Many surfers were in the water but the waves are nothing as compared to those we’re used to in Santa Cruz. Along the roadway between Galveston and the RV Park there are many big holiday homes built up on 12ft stilts - we think it’s a case of which would one prefer to have your house swept by a hurricane or washed away by a tidal wave!

Now for a little bit of a history lesson Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (c.1490-c.1560) was born in Jeréz de la Frontera, Spain to a noble family. In 1527 he joined an expedition to explore the Gulf of Mexico during which three boats were lost with significant loss of life including the expedition leader Narváez. Others who landed died of starvation or Indian attack however, Cabeza de Vaca and a few companions survived. They landed finally at a place thought to be Galveston Island, Texas which they named the Island of Misfortune. From 1529 to 1534 Cabeza de Vaca and these others lived a meager life with the Karankawa Indians in a state of semi-slavery and often separated from each other. During this time Cabeza de Vaca took advantage of his slight medical skills and remade himself as a healer. He explored this small section of the East Texas coast in hopes of finding a way to Mexico and its Spanish colonies. In 1534 he and the other Spanish survivors started west across Texas for Mexico. With the help of many Native Americans along the way, they crossed the Pecos and Colorado rivers and made their way towards Spanish outposts. Despite the arduous trip, Cabeza de Vaca continued to note the wonders of the American west and the inhabitants’ impressive survival skills. Finally they turned south, moving inland. In April 1536 a Spanish slaving party found the four Spaniards. In all, it took nine years from the start of the expedition for Cabeza de Vaca to arrive in Mexico City.

A couple of hundred years later it was Jean Lafayette (Lafitte) the prince of pirates who swashbuckled his way around Galveston island where he set up his headquarters camp which he called Campeche. Merchant ships wisely avoided this area.