More than once I have been talking to someone from outside Arizona who says, “I have relatives who live in Tucson.” It’s interesting that no one ever says, “I have relatives who live in Phoenix.” I know it’s just an odd coincidence, but it’s still interesting.
So, what is it about Tucson that attracts a slew of wealthy retirees and others to make it their home? (more…)
So, you’ve arrived in Scottsdale and you’ve got your plastic ready.
Let’s go shopping! (more…)
By Guest Author Peggy Bradshaw; Photos by George Bradshaw
The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM) maintains the largest collection of historic air and spacecraft in the world. Located in Washington, DC on the National Mall, it also has a companion facility at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles Airport at Chantilly, VA.
The space shuttle Enterprise is housed at the Udvar-Hazy Center, as is one of Amelia Earhart’s planes.
The NASM holds in trust some 50,000 objects, including air craft, space craft, engines, rockets, uniforms, space suits, balloons and artwork. The Wright Brothers 1903 Flyer is on display with related artifacts. A whole section is dedicated to the Wright Brothers with original and replica flying machines.
Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis
Okay, you’ve got some money, you’ve got some land up on a hill, and you’ve got some brains. But, what you don’t have is a place to live! What will you do? What will you do?
Thomas Jefferson, never at loss to come up with a new idea, decided he was going to build a house on the hill as the centerpiece to his 5,000-acre plantation.
And talk about privacy! You can’t see it from the road, even if you know where to look.
Preparation of the site began in 1768 with construction beginning the following year. With approximately 11,000 sq. ft. of living space, this is not your basic suburban master-planned community house. Monticello was designed by Jefferson after a visit to Europe. The Roman neoclassic design contains forty-three rooms following a remodeling expansion completed in 1809.
Much of the construction material came from the land around the house. The window glass came from Europe and about one-third of the glass now in the house is original.
Monticello - Thomas Jefferson's home
Of interest is Jefferson’s bed, which he designed after seeing alcove beds during his time in France. Taking the idea of beds built into walls upon his return from Europe, Jefferson redesigned Monticello, adding an alcove bed to his bedroom, but leaving both sides open. This connected his bedroom with his study. So, Jefferson was never totally hidden away in his bedroom, but was able to access both rooms easily. Obviously, Jefferson was not a man to rest easily.
Tours of the house run constantly throughout the day with timed tickets, so it is best to visit other areas of Monticello following your background tour.
Those background tour areas include the Gardens, dependencies, Mulberry Row and Jefferson’s gravesite.
Tickets are available throughout the day on a first come-first served basis. Tours of the house begin every 10 minutes.
House Tour/Grounds: Nov. – Feb. $15.00 / March – October $20.00
Age 6-11: $8.00
Hours Vary – See Website for calendar of hours.
Tomorrow – Come back for a retrospect on our blog and some things to be thankful for.
A greatly expanded visitor’s center is now located at the former Tredegar Iron Works overlooking the James River. The former foundry pushed out cannons and high quality munitions for the Confederacy during the Civil War along with steam locomotives. Fortunately the building survived the burning of Richmond in April 1865 as Confederate troops were ordered to destroy munitions plants as they evacuated the city.
Rumor has it that the owner of the building “hired” armed guards to keep the arsonists away. Thus, Tredegar is one of only a few buildings that survived the burning of Richmond. (more…)
By Guest Author Peggy Bradshaw; Photos by George Bradshaw
Commonly called just “Virginia Tech,” the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University is located on 2,600 acres in Blacksburg, VA and contains 125 buildings. It was founded in 1872 as a public grant college and has worked its way up to be one of the top public universities in the United States.
Virginia Tech "Hokie" stone building
If you think the Civil War ended nearly 150 years ago, you’ve never been to Richmond, Virginia. It’s a place where people still have the last name of Lee and are most likely direct descendents of the famous General who almost, or at least could have, worked for the “other side.”
Although Robert E. Lee was not born in Richmond (actually at his family home of Stratford Hall near Lerty, Virginia), nor is he even buried there (that would be in a chapel at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia), his legacy lives on if not more than in a large statue on Monument Avenue. (more…)
It’s the Capitol of Virginia, but it has also been the Capitol of the Confederacy, a claim no other U.S Capitol can come close to. Although the Civil War has been over for 144 years, the past lives on alongside the present.
As a former resident of the city for several years, it’s always interesting to come back and re-visit just why you lived somewhere, and maybe even why you left. In the case of Richmond, I relocated there for a job and left for the same reason.
Richmond is a mix of a modern and also a “stuck in the past” city. The latter would be their Civil War heritage.
But, that shouldn’t stop anyone from visiting as there are many things to see and do and you don’t have to see a single battlefield, Civil War or Revolutionary War, if you don’t want to, and still have a great time.
Are you into literature? Edgar Allen Poe lived in Richmond for over 13 years. The Poe Museum is located on Broad Street (Poe didn’t actually live in the house, but nearby). Furniture from his home, as well as manuscripts, first editions and personal belongings, are on display.
Architecture? How about a 15th century English estate (Agecroft Hall) that was bought at auction, crated and shipped from Lancashire, England to Richmond, and reassembled on the banks of the James River.
Famous speeches? Revolutionary leader Patrick Henry wasn’t shy about speaking. He gave his famous “stick it to King George” speech, “Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death” at St. John’s Church in Richmond.
www.historicstjohnschurch.org/hist_main.htm
Monuments? How about … Monument Avenue? Northwest of downtown Richmond you’ll find Robert E. Lee on a horse … J.E.B. Stuart, on a horse … Stonewall Jackson, on a horse … Jefferson Davis (President of the Confederate States of America), not on a horse.
Anyone notice a theme … and we’re not talking about the horses.
And then, there is Matthew Fontaine Maury. Who? Seriously, WHO?
And finally, a slightly controversial choice for an avenue with statues of Confederate soldiers — we have
Arthur Ashe, professional tennis player, born and raised in Richmond.
Even if you don’t like statues, the architecture along the avenue ranges from English Tudor, Georgian, Italian, and Art Deco on either side of center islands of huge trees and green grass. It’s the kind of street they don’t build anymore.
Historic Theatres with a Pipe Organ? The Byrd Theatre in Carytown, a retail shopping area northwest of downtown was opened in 1928. Included in its 1,300 seat configuration is a balcony and a Wurlitzer Pipe Organ that opens the show on Saturday evenings by rising from the basement to the stage in front of the screen.
You can’t buy tickets ahead of time, they don’t show previews, and the movies aren’t first run … but at $1.99, I’m not going to complain!
http://www.visitrichmondva.com/
NEXT TIME: We’ll take a trip back in time and look at the Civil War history of Richmond and what remains today.
Oregon State University is a great example of a northwestern campus – a cross between imposing Greek-style buildings and some modern facilities.
With almost 22,000 students in over 200-plus different disciplines in undergraduate and graduate programs, OSU is training a lot of minds! Majors range from forestry – a natural with those tall pines – to oceanic and atmospheric sciences as well as education, business, agricultural sciences, veterinary medicines and more.
Memorial Union - "dining establishments," library and more
The environs around the campus have some heavy-hitters in the technology world as the Hewlett-Packard campus is nearby as well as other large companies.
Reser Stadium scoreboard
And, then there are the extracurricular experiences – may I interject – Go Beavs! The OSU football team (Pac-10) is known as the Beavers, conjuring up kindly, but intrepid creatures, gnawing away at the opposition. When we last looked, their season was at 7-3, so they are winners!
"Football"outside of Reser Stadium
Reser Stadium is just across the street from the Hilton Garden Inn where we were staying, but the campus was very, very empty, so we didn’t see ANY students. That felt strange. We passed by Reser Stadium, the athletic center and the student union, but they were locked tight. But, trust us, it was a great campus that honors both the modern and classic traditions.
We were also eager to see their “award-winning” library, but it, also, was closed.
Visiting a campus during intersession has mixed blessings. Getting around was easy, but we didn’t get the full flavor of what the campus and Corvallis are like with the thousands of students in session.
We’ll be going back.
Another campus we wandered onto in Corvallis does – apparently – top secret agricultural research. We were just looking for the covered bridge shown on the map. (See Irish Bend Covered Bridge below.) We were told that we weren’t supposed to be on this campus in the western part of the City, but lots of others were riding bikes in the vicinity. Be aware that a road shown on the map as a through road, isn’t. We took pictures quickly and headed back the way we came.
Irish Bend Covered Bridge
(The bridge had been relocated from elsewhere, but it is one of the wider covered bridges we’ve seen.)
We invite you back tomorrow for some Corvallis dining and entertainment experiences…
By Guess Author Peggy Bradshaw; Photography by George Bradshaw
Since my paternal grandfather immigrated through Ellis Island in 1902, I was really looking forward to going there. It seemed like something pretty magical that I could walk where he had walked more than a hundred years ago. I think I half expected to see his ghost walking through the building.
A small ferry, jam packed with people, delivered us to the dock, and as the throng of people disembarked and walked forward, I wondered if this was what it was like when he got off the ship from Germany.
Staten Island Ferry to Ellis Island
