Day 74

West to Centralia.

Centralia is a borough and near-ghost town in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Its population has declined from 1,000 in 1980 to five residents in 2020 because a coal mine fire has been burning beneath the borough since 1962. — Wikipedia

There was no sign of the shop I’d seen back in 2011. But back then there were a whole eleven people living there, and as of 2022 it was four (that’s the most recent census data.)

When the fire started, there were five churches in town. One by one they disappeared, but in 1986, at the height of the crisis, archbishop Stephen Sulyk ordered a survey. The survey team discovered solid rock, not coal, lay under the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Ukrainian Catholic church. Thus, the building was saved.

In 2015, the head of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, led a pilgrimage to the curious Pennsylvania church while he was on tour in the U.S., and more pilgrimages followed.

Now the salvaged structure is the only church that remains in Centralia and one of the only buildings at all. Former residents come back to Centralia to attend services at the church, where pastor Michael Hustko offers doughnuts and coffee to parishioners afterwards, because there’s nowhere else to go.

Meanwhile, though the government says the fire could burn for 100 more years, some locals don’t believe it poses a threat at all. The Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church continues to stand on its solid rock foundation as a symbol of resilience and steadfastness. Father Hustko thinks it will outlast him. — Atlas Obscura

Just outside Centralia in Ashland (an apt name for a town close to a fire, as is the close by town of Shamokin) is the Big Mine Run Geyser the only geyser in the state of Pennsylvania is caused by pressure from an abandoned coal mine outside of Centralia. There was a big, barking dog in the house across from it. Jane ran back to the car very very quickly (which I would have done too had I not already been in it taking my photo through the window.)

BIG MINE RUN GEYSER IS the only geyser on the East Coast of the United States. In Ashland, Pennsylvania, just outside the ghost town of Centralia,  you can find water being expelled from the earth with immense pressure. When the mines in the area were abandoned in the 1930s, the empty mine shafts filled with water. When the water had nowhere else to go, it found an escape through an old ventilation hole. The geyser experiences different pressure depending on rainfall, and can be as short as three feet or as tall as 15 feet. The surrounding rocks have taken on an orange hue from the iron rich water that spews forth. — Atlas Obscura

We headed to Catawissa to see the graves with cages over them (a think you can find in the UK, but these may be the only two in the US). The GPS let us down and took us somewhere pretty, but wrong (see below). Google Maps was better but they were on private land behind people’s houses. This might not have been a problem but there were countless “Beware of the dogs” signs, and we’re on a One Dog a Day limit.

In the town we had a bite to see and saw the (outside) of the Opera House (now an antiques shop). Being a Sunday most things were closed. (That said; now I’m at the hotel… it kinda of does look like it was open.)

We pulled over in Frackville to take a photo of the Holy Ascension Orthodox Church and filled up with gas while we were there. Seeing us taking photos the guy from the petrol station asked if we wanted to photograph him, so I snapped one.

…and to our hotel in Wilkes-Barre which is named in honour of John Wilkes and Isaac Barré—two British members of Parliament who supported colonial America.

Addendum. I wanted to see where the caged cemetery was on the map and WE WERE SO CLOSE. We turned left, and if we’d gone right on Long Woods road for less than a minute we’d have seen it. Nope, we turned left. Damnit.

Day 73

We drove through New Jersey (tick). Bought petrol, went for a walk in a wood but really just ticked it off. We went through the toll system which will always bite us as there’s no way to register the hire car with their electronic system, and as they don’t take cash it means at some point the rental company gets a note of the outstanding payment and pays it and charges us $25 for the privelege.

Back in Pennsylvania. Billy Joel’s “Allentown”.

Well, we're living here in Allentown

And they're closing all the factories down

Out in Bethlehem, they're killing time

Filling out forms, standing in line

We went to Allentown’s Art Gallery.

A walk around some of the town (looking for a t-shirt that said ‘Allentown’ - failed), and a nice lunch of avocado and egg.

From September 1777 to June 1778, the State House bell was hidden at the Zion’s Reformed Church. The Continental congress removed Philadelphia’s bells fearing British destruction. The bell, now known as the Liberty Bell, was transferred into a national symbol by abolitionists.

To our hotel in Bethlehem, which is also in the first verse of “Allentown”.

Day 72

A trip to the Walters Art Museum.

Dragon. China, 4-5th Century. Earthenware ceramic, paint

This painted sculpture of a dragon most likely came from a tomb, and suggests the dragon's importance in 4th century funerary beliefs as a creature capable of traversing between worlds and transporting souls into a glorious afterlife. The draon was also capable of numerous physical transformations.

Brush rest in the shape of a praying mantis.

Murata Seimin (1761-1837)

Japan (Tokyo), ca. 1800. Copper Alloy

The artist Murata Seimin closely studied his animal subjects, which lends realism to the details of this praying mantis. The insect is also positioned in a pose that easily provides support for a writing brush to rest upon.

Model of a Pagoda with Famous Scenes from the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exhibition in San Francisco.

Komai Workship (est. ca. 1841-1941)

Japan (Kyoto), ca. 1915. Steel, silver, copper, copper alloy, gold, gilding, enamel, lacquer

Pagodas are tall multi-roofed buildings that originally housed relics of the Buddha or another venerated person. The stunning model of one, however, is far removed from this sacred function and made solely as a showcase of craftmanship. Every wall of the structure is decorated with scenes of famous places in Japan, including Mount Fuji and the Koyomiza Template, while the roofs are embellished with figures of butterflies and birds in flight. The design is created using a textured inlay technique called nunome-zogan (cloth inlay), for which the Komai Workshop is renowned. The technique involves hammering gold, silver and copper sheets and wires onto a roughened steel surface, covering the compositions with successive thin coats of opaque black lacquer, and polishing the lacquer to expose the raised metal beneath.

Many other things..

Jane spoke to a conservator about a piece she liked, and about stained glass.

The George Peabody library was closed for an event but Demetrius let us in for some photos. He’s an ex-fireman, and a super nice guy. The library, as you can see, is astonishing - though it’s too big to really do it justice with a photo. (The library contains 300,000 volumes, mainly from the 19th century, with strengths in religion, British art, architecture, topography and history; American history, biography, and literature; Romance languages and literature; history of science; and geography, exploration, and travel.)

Outside was the Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church (1843) and the Washington Monument (older than the Washington Monument in DC.)

The Washington Monument is the centerpiece of intersecting Mount Vernon Place and Washington Place, an urban square in the Mount Vernon-Belvedere neighborhood north of downtown Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first major monument begun to honor George Washington. — Wikipedia

Francis Scott Key, author of the Star Spangled Banner died on the site of the church. (Pleurisy, aged 63 in 1843.) The church was completed in 1872.

Into Delaware where we bought some beer from the Wilmington Breworks, had a nice pizza at their pizza place next door, La Pizzeria Metro.

It’s been a day of three states. We woke in Maryland, popped into Pennsylvania and ended the day in Delaware. We will be going to Pennsylvania properly tomorrow.

Day 71

First, north to the Farmington Collossi. Some Muffler Men just in someone’s backyard. There didn’t seem to be anyone in so we didn’t poke about too much. Spot little me.

Is it me of the guy with the bags have a Rishi Sunak vibe?

Then to a new state Maryland and to Emmitsburg to see the shrine of Ann Seton. I had no idea who she was but it was in our “blue book”.

Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton SC (1774-1821) was a Catholic religious sister in the United States and an educator, known as a founder of the country's parochial school system. After her death, she became the first person born in what would become the United States to be canonized by the Catholic Church.

…and the Basilica.

Being Catholics they had a gift shop and there’s very little they won’t say is Catholic. I didn’t buy the coffee, but I did get two bookmarks for mum.

Day 70

Day three in the chalet. It’s our holiday inside a holiday.

Day 69

Day two in the chalet. Food, some wine and a walk. A little holiday inside a holiday.

Day 68

A morning spent at the the Green Bank Observatory. It’s located in the National Radio Quiet Zone in Green Bank, West Virginia, U.S. So no phones in the zone as they get picked up by the dish. The photo was taken from a spot outside the fenced off area. It is the operator of the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope (a surface area of about 2.3 acres, taller than the Statute of Liberty, and weighing in at 8,500 tonnes). The woman giving the talk lives by the zone, so she just has a landline (some people still have dial-up). The little bus that drove us up to the telescope was a diesel because then it didn’t have spark plugs, which… interference.

The National Radio Quiet Zone (NRQZ) was set aside by the federal government to provide a geographical region to protect sensitive instrumentation from Radio Frequency Interference (RFI).

The NRQZ was established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Docket No. 11745 (November 19, 1958) and by the Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC) in Document 3867/2 (March 26, 1958) to minimize possible harmful interference to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Green Bank, WV and the radio receiving facilities for the United States Navy in Sugar Grove, WV. The NRQZ is bounded by NAD-83 meridians of longitude at 78d 29m 59.0s W and 80d 29m 59.2s W and latitudes of 37d 30m 0.4s N and 39d 15m 0.4s N, and encloses a land area of approximately 13,000 square miles near the state border between Virginia and West Virginia. — Green Bank Observatory

National Radio Quiet Zone.

We drove on through to Seneca Rocks.

Seneca Rocks is one of the best-known landmarks in West Virginia.  These rocks have long been noted as a scenic attraction and are popular with rock climbers. The rocks are a magnificent formation rising nearly 900 feet above the North Fork River. — Forest Service

To Walmart to stock up on food, then a difficult drive to the chalet for two nights to rest. It’s odd being in an actual house after months in hotel rooms. It’s so nice Jane added an extra night (so three nights now), then we must push on and keep on with about 170 miles a day to get back to the airport on time. Nice view (of a golf course) from the balcony.

We woke at 3am or so (the aircon kicked in noisily), so we went onto the balcony and there was LOTS of visible stars (more than the camera picked up). You could easily see the Plough. (The bright spot is a window in the distance, not a star.)

Day 67

There are fewer hotels here so unable to split the next couple of days over two 150 mile days, we’ll have to have a very short trip today and a much longer one tomorrow. Breakfast in the ‘Omelet Shoppe then an amble towards Marlington. We pulled over at New River Gorge State Park to use the toilet see the scenery.

Back on the interstate we saw an exit to Sam Black Church so we went to take a look.The Historic Marker said:

Built in 1901, church building was dedicated in memory of the Rev. Sam Black (1813 - 1899). He preached here in the 1880s - 90s. Born in Rupert & licensed in 1840, Black was a Methodist circuit rider almost fifty years. Sam Black Church, a spiritual landmark, became a place name on highway maps without a post office by the same name.

A sign said Lewisburg was voted the “Coolest town in America”. When that was, who voted or the reasons were left unexplained. We had a nice coffee in the Wild Bean Cafe. Onwards through Buckeye where the “bookshop” didn’t look that inviting, but there was a great barn.

To our hotel in Marlington with a view of the mountain.

Day 66

A breakfast picnic in Hungry Mother State Park, Virginia. We didn’t see any bears. Had one approached I don’t need to be reminded to make a loud noise.

At some point we crossed the border from Virginia into the cleverly named West Virginia. Our thirty-third state,

We drove to a town called Odd because it was called Odd. After we got there I remembered it’s were an inbred family are. Someone made a documentary. Timmy stood in front our car gathering up his dogs so we could get past.

You can follow this link to YouTube to watch the documentary.

From Odd it was only about twenty minutes North to Whitby. Now we’ve been to a Whitby in England, Cananda, New Zealand and the US. There really isn’t much in Whitby, though Jane saw Whitby Church just as well were driving out.

The community's unusual name has attracted attention from writers. Townspeople were encouraged to think of an "odd" name for their town, hence the name.

Odd went viral in 2020 when Mark Laita's YouTube channel, Soft White Underbelly, posted a video of the Whittaker family, long-time residents of the small town who are inbred.— Wikipedia

A hotel in Beckley for the night.

Day 65

We drove up through a mountain where the fog was such you could only see about ten feet in front of you, so when we got to the top we could look at some different fog.

Some binoculars were usefully on hand to better to see the fog.

Back down Foggy Bastard Mountain, or as some people call it Caesars Head Park we arrived in Cedar Mountain where we bought some moonshine to replace our state toasting whiskey.

Egg and potato in Mills River.

Through more nice scenery and across the border into Virginia. Somehow we drove through four states. Starting in Carolina, clipping North Carolina through a bit of Tennessee (again) and just into Virginia.

Day 64

Through Summerville and we pulled over because we do like a little bit of urban decay. The old Summerville High School was built 1914-1915.

The trip for the day was Gibbs Gardens.

“THE HISTORY OF GIBBS GARDENS

Jim Gibbs traveled for 15 years covering the nation and the world viewing gardens of every style and decided that he wanted to design and build a world class garden. He spent six years looking for a suitable site with a strong source of water and beautiful mature trees covering a rolling topography. It was truly “a dream come true” when he found the most beautiful site in the nation to construct the garden. The property is 376 acres and the house and gardens include 300+acres, making it one of the nation’s largest residential estate gardens.

There is a beautiful stream flowing through the middle of the valley, with hundreds of springs intersecting the stream. The springs are surrounded by millions of naturalized ferns making it one of the largest ferneries in the nation. Native azaleas, dogwoods, and mountain laurels provide additional seasonal interest.

He has designed 24 ponds, 32 bridge crossings and 19 waterfalls. The numerous garden rooms are planted with hundreds of varieties of plants and are carved into pockets surrounded by acres of deciduous trees that provide spectacular Fall color.

The house is a mix of European architecture. The north view is reminiscent of an English manor house with Palladian windows and doors. An archway connects the summer house which overlooks the gardens and in the near distance, the north Georgia mountains.

Architectural accents were purchased in Europe prior to building and used throughout the house, including a twelve foot 14th century French limestone fireplace, 17th century French interior doors and 18th century French beveled and leaded glass doors and windows. Antique heart pine and herringbone brick floors blend nicely with the iron staircase railing and European antique furnishings.

The grounds around the Manor House were started in 1980 and planted with 20 to 30 year old plants and trees to provide instant age and character. Large Japanese maples, American hollies and willow oaks were planted closer to the house with vines accenting the corners. The home site is one of the highest crests in northeast Cherokee County, Georgia, capturing a beautiful view of the north Georgia mountains. The house was placed 150 feet above the water gardens and 30 feet below the crest capturing the air currents to flow through the summer house.

The gardens are composed of 16 gardens including 3 feature gardens – Manor House Gardens, Japanese and Waterlily Gardens.”

And then… to Matt, Georgia - though there wasn’t really anything to see. There was a church which seemed to be open to the elements, so I would assume very cold in the Winter.

Surely an invite to join the Masons is imminent.

We then went on for a hunt for a large, stone rabbit but came up empty handed.

We thought the hotel was just inside the Georgia border but we passed a sign to South Carolina, so unexpectedly hello to state thirty.

Our hotel in Seneca for the night.

Seneca was named for the nearby Cherokee town of Isunigu, which English colonists knew as "Seneca Town". — Wikipedia

Day 63

We drove through a town called Ashville so pulled over because there was a sign mentioning an assassination.

In 1870 St. Clair Co. was still under Radical Republican Reconstruction. On August 20, 1870 honorable men of the County (former Confederates) had decided to hold the first Democratic Convention after the War Between the States. The meeting would be held at the Courthouse in Ashville. Former Sgt. E. Frank Harrison, Co. F. 10th Ala. Infantry Regiment was selected as one of the delegates. As Sgt. Harrison and a number of Confederate Veterans approached the Courthouse, they were ambushed by the cowardly “Springfield Gang”, led by H. J. Springfield, a Confederate deserter and outlaw of the worst kind. On this spot Sgt. Harrison was shot and killed by H. J. Springfield. Due to Harrison’s death, the meeting was postponed and then held at Bolton’s Crossroads.

---

Greek revival antebellum home built by Moses Dean in 1852, acquired by John W. Inzer in 1866. Home occupied by Inzer family from 1866 to 1987. In July 1987 home and its contents, including extensive law library, deeded by family heirs to St. Clair Camp 308, Sons of Confederate Veterans, to become museum in honor of Lt. Col. & Judge John W. Inzer. Museum is maintained for educational purposes and public awareness. Museum incorporated December 1988 as a non-profit corporation.

John Washington Inzer born January 9th, 1834, Gwinnett County, Georgia. The family left Georgia in 1853, moving to Eden in St. Clair County, Alabama. In 1854 John Inzer began his study of law; admitted to the bar in 1855. In 1856 moved to Ashville to practice law. In 1859, Inzer was licensed to practice law before the Alabama Supreme Court, appointed Probate Judge, St. Clair County, that year. In 1861, elected to represent St. Clair County at Alabama's Secession Convention, youngest man to do so.

In 1862, he joined Confederate Army as a private; rose to rank of Lt. Col. in the 58th Alabama Infantry Regiment. Inzer fought in battles of Corinth, Shiloh, Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge where he was captured and made POW at Johnson's Island, Ohio, 1863 to 1865. After Chickamauga, Col. Bushrod Jones wrote of Lt. Col. Inzer's conspicuous bravery, his causing his men to charge with enthusiasm, and of his gallantry on the battle's second day, which exceeded that of the first. There was not a more gallant and courageous officer in the Confederate Army.

Appointed Probate Judge by occupying Union forces, July 1865; elected to that office, 1866. Elected to State Senate, 1874 and 1890. In 1877, appointed as Trustee of Howard College, later Samford University. From 1878 to 1900 was Trustee of the Alabama Insane Hospital. Appointed Judge of the 16th Judicial Circuit 1907, re-elected 1908.

John Washington Inzer died January 2nd, 1928, age 93, last surviving member of the Alabama Secession convention. He was known as “Alabama's Grand Old Man.” He is buried in the Ashville Cemetery.

Coffee and a bite to eat at Moody Brews in Gunterville.

The main trip of the day. To the Unclaimed Baggage store. From their website…

1970: Born and raised in northeast Alabama, third-generation entrepreneur Doyle Owens was struck with an idea. Using a borrowed pickup truck and a $300 loan, he headed up to Washington D.C. and bought his first load of unclaimed baggage from Trailways Bus Line. He then sold the contents on card tables in an old rented house - the venture was an instant success! With his family’s blessing, he left his full-time insurance job, and Unclaimed Baggage Center was born.

1978: Initially the business opened on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and Doyle, his wife Sue, and their two sons worked tirelessly to prepare the luggage contents for sale. Doyle’s entrepreneurial spirit took flight as he landed his first airline contract with Eastern Airlines. As larger volumes and more unusual items started flowing in, the business expanded its hours of operation to six days a week. Gradually, Unclaimed Baggage formed relationships with all other domestic airlines, solidifying its position as the country’s only lost luggage store.

1981: With a sizeable inventory of winter ski equipment on hand, the store launched its first "Ski Sale," drawing customers from all over the South. The sale was so successful that it became an annual event attended by winter sports enthusiasts from across the country. Unclaimed Baggage now saves all ski equipment and apparel received throughout the year to sell on this day. Come by the store on the first Saturday of November, and you'll find customers camping out in the parking lot hoping to be the first ones through the door.

1995: Doyle's son Bryan and his wife Sharon purchased the business and began a remodel project that expanded Unclaimed Baggage to cover more than a city block. The business added a cafe and a Museum of Found Treasures, making it a true shopping and tourist destination. From the earliest years of business, regional publications expressed a fascination with the “land of lost luggage.” Then, in 1995, Oprah featured Unclaimed Baggage Center as one of America's “best-kept shopping secrets.” More media and curious visitors quickly followed from every corner of the globe to see the one-of-a-kind-store. The store has been featured in publications ranging from Vogue to HuffPost, Buzzfeed, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times and showcased on TODAY, the Travel Channel and many more.

1995-2020: Over the last 25 years, Unclaimed Baggage has added lost items from more travel and entertainment businesses, along with unclaimed cargo, which has been lost or damaged during shipment. The store now receives thousands of unclaimed items each week, all of which are sorted, cleaned, cleared, prepped, priced, and stocked via the center’s complex processing system.

As part of its commitment to service and generosity, the company created the Reclaimed for Good foundation that has given millions of dollar’s worth of product and profit to meet needs all around the globe. It has also received numerous commendations and awards, including Alabama Retailer of the Year in 2016. Today, Unclaimed Baggage hosts more than one million store visitors each year from every state and more than 40 countries, making it one of Alabama’s top tourist attractions.

2020: It’s Unclaimed Baggage's 50th Anniversary! We are humbled, grateful and give God glory for this milestone. Stay tuned for updates on our 50 Years 50 States Road Tour (postponed due to COVID), and check out our new online store that we launched in June!

There was also a museum with some of the stranger things found.

From the museum, a Fine Egyptian Painted and Gilded Wood Horus Hawk Sarcophagus, A Dogon Bronze Horseman Figure from 19th or 20th Century. Oh, and some shrunken heads. The Sarcophagus is a replica (as the one originally given to the store dated from 305-30BC.) Oh, and the shrunken heads are replicas too as the as doctor from Birmingham (Alabama), and a regular customer got them to agree he could keep the originals in his office.)

I just bought a book, and a couple of t-shirts. I didn’t buy a shrunken head, replica or otherwise.

Across the state line into Georgia. State number 29.

Day 62

First port of call was Wetumpka on the grounds it had a stupid name.

Then to a town called Eclectic, because it was a town called Eclectic.

On the way out of Eclectic we saw… this… monstronsity.

Into Birmingham, and a drive to Vulcan Park which has a big state of… Vulcan.

The Vulcan statue is the largest cast iron statue in the world, and is the city symbol of Birmingham, Alabama, United States, reflecting its roots in the iron and steel industry. The 56-foot (17 m) tall statue depicts the Roman god Vulcan, god of the fire and forge, with ironworking equipment. It was created as Birmingham's entry for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904 World's Fair) in St. Louis, Missouri. While it is the world's largest made of iron, it is also among the nation's tallest statues of any kind. — Wikipedia

The lady in the gift shop was chatty. I’d said it had been very hot in Texas, which somehow lead to her telling me about her belief that the government controls the weather, that she doesn’t believe in climate change, and many other things that despite any evidence she said she believed to be true. I bought a t-shirt.

While trying to find an old iron works we ended up in Bessemer than had some nice rundown buildings.

…and then to the great Jim Reed Bookstore in Birmingham. Jim was a big fan of Ian MacShane and he told us to watch Lovejoy, and we suggested he watch The West Wing. As expected it was an excellent bookshop. You can hear some of Jim’s stories here.

Someone did a short video on the store.

Day 61

Some bookmarks from Alisha at Evergreen Library.

Into Montgomery, the Capital of Alabama.

..and to the Rosa Parks Museum. A bus with video screens recreates the scene as you’d you have seen as a bystander.

Dexter Avenue Baptist Church where Martin Luther King was a pastor from 1954-1960 and the site of mass meetings to organise the famous Montgomery Bus Boycott.

We seem to be following Jefferson Davis. On Day 53, the monument to him. Yesterday his Presidential Library and today his “White House.”

Day 60

The Jefferson Davis Presidential Library in Biloxi. You’ll remember Jefferson Davis, I’m sure, from Day 53. “Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the first and only president of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865.”

Below his death mask, and the Confederate Battle Flag.

He lived in the house on the Beauvoir Estate.

…and the gift shop. Erm.

We pulled over for a rest and Suzanne (sorry, if my memory failed me) gave us useful information for Mobile (and also a nice couple of Alabama pins.)

Of course we had to go to Florida for the full set, but had no great wish to go so we just popped over the state line. I think we got the everything Florida has to offer with this couple of nice yellow shopping carts.

GPS evidence that we (just) went into Florida.

Day 59

Coffee at a plantation called The Myrtles. I’d wanted to find some of the live oak trees covered in Spanish moss, and there they were. The building was supposed to be haunted, and they had photos of “unexplained” things.

“Spanish moss” drapes the sprawling live oak trees of Savannah, Georgia, giving the historic city a hauntingly beautiful aesthetic. Yet, it actually isn't a type of moss at all! Spanish moss is actually a type of epiphyte, which means it grows on the surface of other plants but does not take nutrients from them.” — savannahproper.com

The Myrtles Plantation is a historic home and former antebellum plantation in St. Francisville, Louisiana, United States built in 1796 by General David Bradford. — Wikipedia

South to Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana. We thought we’d headed to an art gallery, but it was a public space full of street art. We climbed through the broken door panel to get inside.

Our hotel for the evening was by the sea. The next time we’ll see the sea (I think) will be Maine.

A dicey crossing across a dual-carriageway and a beach at sunset.

Day 58

We drove across to Jackson (another capital) to go to the Civil Rights Museum which contained all the horrible things you’d imagine it would have.

Next door is the Museum of Mississippi. Two pieces from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

The dome of the Capitol Building peeking out.

Another Blues thing. We drove to the Robert Johnson Blues Foundation Museum in Crystal Springs (Tomatopolis of the World,' known for its famous annual tomato festival and tomato sculptures around town.)

Day 57

From the hotel it was a short drive to the famous crossroads.

Around 1930, acclaimed bluesman Son House heard (Robert) Johnson play in Robbinsville, MS. He related how Robert "blew a harmonica and he was pretty good with that, but he wanted to play guitar.” Robert would watch House and his friend, Willie Brown, perform, and when they took a break he would pickup up one of their guitars. House remarked he was not good at guitar: “…such a racket you never heard!…get that guitar away from that boy” people would say, ”…he’s running people crazy with it.”

Then Robert disappeared for a season. Legend recounts that he found himself at a dark and deserted crossroads around midnight where he was met by a strange man. The man tuned his guitar and played a few songs and returned it to Johnson.

When he reappeared in 1932, the people were amazed at his unique and novel techniques and unusual voicing. When Robert played for Son and Willie; they were staggered by his improvement. “He was so good. When he finished, all our mouths were standing open.” The legend grew that he had sold his soul to the devil to become a famous bluesman. — www.clarksdale.com

From the crossroads we drove to the Delta Blues Museum. (No photos were allowed in the museum. Boo.) In the section about Robert Johnson it had a big panel on the wall saying he died at the age of 27, and on the other wall his death certificate that he died at 26. Wikipedia says 27 too.

Clarksdale has some nice big houses, but mostly it seems to be a pretty deprived area.

To Clarksdale library! Janice kindly gave me some bookmarks.

A quick five mile diversion to see a big Spongebob Squarepants, because it needed to be done.

Day 56

To Tupelo to see Elvis Presley’s birthplace, but breakfast at the D'Cracked Egg before we headed over to the museum.

The home Elvis was born in, in its original place.

And his church, which was moved to the site.

As were leaving someone wandered over and asked us if we knew where the toilet was. I ALWAYS know where the toilet is. We pointed him towards it, and he said “Do you do Bible study?” I said I did not, and a conversation ensued. Let the record reflect I didn’t start the conversation. I believe Jane would back me up in saying the guy was crazy (something for the prosecution would be his idea that England was wall-to-wall Muslim.) At one point he gestured to the clouds and shouted “You need Jesus.” I looked up. Just looked like rain was coming to me.

We crossed into Mississippi, and driving West (controversial) before heading South we drove through Layfette and saw many cotton fields, with loose cotton blowing across the road. At the garage where we picked up some snacks where Mark suggested we go to a place called Oxford (we didn’t, sorry Mark.)

As we got to the outskirts of Clarksdale the cotton was bundled up with pink wrappings which made them look like seaside rock.

Someone’s YouTube video on how it gets harvested.

Day 55

A short walk from the hotel is the Jack Daniel’s Distillery so we booked a “dry” tour (ever the driver) for 10:25, and popped back to the hotel to pack the car.

I’ve always assume that Jack Daniel wouldn’t have liked the thought of people mixing his drink with Coke, but apparently he used to mix it with things too.

The charcoal that’s used to filter the whiskey is made on site too, and the fuel to light the fire is… whiskey. All Jack Daniels is made in Lynchburg.

A short couple of hours drive and we’re across the border into Alabama, out 25th State.

On the Interstate as we drove through Huntsville we saw the large Space Rockets at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. One of which, the Saturn 1B rocket, has been there for forty years but is in a state of repair and it’s reported that it may have to come down. (Photo by Jane out of the driver’s window as we flew past.)