Well, we arrived home on Friday August 20th at 1:30 p.m. It is good to be here. We had an amazing vacation, traveling through 14 states, over 7,000 miles, saw seven Presidential Libraries of Ronald Reagan (and his ranch center) in California, (We had our picture taken there boarding Air Force 1), Richard Nixon in California, George Herbert Walker Bush, in Texas (one of the best, we had our photo taken there in the oval office at the desk), Lyndon Baines Johnson in Texas (the other best), William Jefferson Clinton in Arkansas, James Earl Carter in Georgia, and Dwight David Eisenhower in Kansas. In addition to the beautiful country we have here in America, which is beyond belief in many cases, and certainly there is a lot of room left for legal immigrants, we saw the following: Walt Disney Family Center and George Lucas Museum at the Presidio in San Francisco, not to be confused with the same address on Montgomery street downtown SF, The Mission Santa Ines, Sonny Bono Salton Sea Museum, White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, White Sands National Monument, Roswell New Mexico Alien Museum (they landed there in 1947), the 6th floor Book Depository Museum and grassy knoll site in Dallas Texas, (the spot where JFK is shot in the street is marked with an X), the 400+ mile long Natchez Trace Parkway which is beautiful and marked along the way with historical markers, through Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee, (we didn't get into Tennessee), Mt. Locust Inn and Plantation Museum, the Elvis Presley birthplace Museum and home in Tupelo, Missisippi, the natural Stone Bridge of Alabama monument site, the Houston historic jail from the Civil War on highway I-65 in Alabama, the Sacred Heart Church in Cullman Arizona, The Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman, downtown Hogansville in Georgia, the Mennonite Heritage and Agricultural Museum in Goessel Kansas, the Cathedral of the Plains also known as St. Fidelis Catholic Church and the monument to the Germans who built it across the street in Victoria Kansas, and the United States Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs. We attended mass at four beautiful churches, ate twice at those wonderful restaurants known as Cracker Barrel, and stayed in various motels along the way, some of which were fabulous (La Quinta) and some which left a bit to be desired. Average cost per stay per night was about $70.00. Gas prices hovered around $2.65 per gallon. We made two scrap books full of memorabilia.
NOTE: There are five other Presidential Libraries, we have seen three of them --JFK in Boston, FDR in Hyde Park NY, HST in Independence Mo. We did not get to Michigan to see Gerald Ford's two sites, or to Iowa to see Hoover's. The weather in Iowa was flooding the towns and Ed did not want to drive there. The weather was for the most part HOT and HUMID. Especially in Galveston Texas (the very worst, when you went outside your glasses fogged up). We had it rain, thunder, and lightening on several occasions, which we loved as we don't get that often here in California. All in all, it was an awesome time. As always, glad to be home.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Thursday August 19, 2010 Fallon Nevada
It was a long day traveling across the Nevada and Colorado deserts. Not much to look at as you can see. I called Susie and Rich, but David said they were both working tonight, so I'll try later. They moved to Sparks. That's it...home tomorrow.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Tuesday August 17, 2010 Craig, Colorado
Well, today we got started in the wrong direction because I told dad to turn right instead of left. DARNIT!!! We went 1 1/2 hours out of our way, but we got back on the right track when hwy 70 came into view. Then we took hwy 40 through the Rocky Mountains. It was beautiful and I've posted some of the scenery here. We stopped along the way to play Farkel at a rest stop and the weather was absolutely beautiful...about 78 degrees with a litle breeze. Tonight we went to the local restaurant in Craig. Good dinner and now we are back in our room resting. Talked to Dorothy Simarro today.....she called and for a change was able to get through the first time. The cell is not to most reliable form of communication here as often times there is no signal for A T and T. OHWEll! We got a message from Kimmy as well.
Nighty night. WLY M and D
Nighty night. WLY M and D
Monday, August 16, 2010
Monday August 16, 2010 Fairplay Colorado
This morning all the children and some of the grandchildren and my cousins called or sent e-mails to to wish me happy birthday. I told Anthony I was turning 19, but he told me "No sir, Grandma, you're about 68...." So I told him I liked to think I was 19 and he said "Well, maybe you can dream that when you go to sleep tonight." My cutie patootie!
We met all kinds of weather today....mostly cool from 72 down to 58, thunderstorms rain, lightening, etc. We loved it!!! We stopped at the Air Force Academy campus as the last time we were here it was after 9/11/2001 and they were on high alert and we could not go on the grounds even though Ed was in the Air Force for four years. Today all they wanted was to see Dad's drivers License. We drove all arouned the campus...it's huge! It's hard walking here cause we are up around 10,000 feet in Fairplay, but in Colorado Springs we were at 5500. It makes one very short of breath. The visitors center was delightful and they showed us a 20 minute video on what it means to attend this academy....lots of hard work and a new challenge every day the cadets in the film said. Glad to lay down on the bed and watch TV now. Nighty night.
We met all kinds of weather today....mostly cool from 72 down to 58, thunderstorms rain, lightening, etc. We loved it!!! We stopped at the Air Force Academy campus as the last time we were here it was after 9/11/2001 and they were on high alert and we could not go on the grounds even though Ed was in the Air Force for four years. Today all they wanted was to see Dad's drivers License. We drove all arouned the campus...it's huge! It's hard walking here cause we are up around 10,000 feet in Fairplay, but in Colorado Springs we were at 5500. It makes one very short of breath. The visitors center was delightful and they showed us a 20 minute video on what it means to attend this academy....lots of hard work and a new challenge every day the cadets in the film said. Glad to lay down on the bed and watch TV now. Nighty night.
When you are a city girl you don't get to see this....a storm in the distance...awesome...this is in Colorado
This one is taken through our moon roof on the car
Eisenhower Presidential Library
Zyklon cannister which the Natzi's used to gas the Jews in the concentration camps such as Auswitch.
The gold rings which the Natzi's confiscated off the Jews they were annhilating. Ike said "Take many pictures of this devastation and anhilation because in 50 or 100 years some son of a B will come along and say it never happened."
The 6 Eisenhower boys. There was one more who died at age 4. No girls. Each has a brief bio under his photo.
President Eisenhower
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Sunday August 15, 2010 Colby Kansas
Well, it finally cooled off...temperature was 82 at the highest today, very comfortable and pleasant. We started off at the Eisenhower Farm home, Library and Museum. It is a wonderful place. Ike looks just like his mother. If you put an army hat on her you could not tell the difference. The museum centered mostly around his philosophy, his tendency to detest war, many of his speeches, an automobile which belonged to his parents, his liberation of Europe, and his presidency. I did not know that we can thank him for the highway system throughout our nation. But he did see to it that we got a national highway system. The library was open, but they were having an art show there and the art was yucky, so we left. Then onto the Memorial Hall which is the gravesight of Ike, Mamie and one of their sons.....a very beautiful chapel, peaceful and serene. The Eisenhower home tour was brief and they did not allow us to go upstairs, but we got to see the living room, one of the bedrooms where the grandfather came to live, and the kitchen. We were there for almost 3 hours looking at everything and I took a gazillion pictures which I'll try and upload tomorrow because it is a very slow process this evening. Maybe too many people using yahoo, who knows.
We then proceeded down the 70 freeway and came upon a lovely church, St. Ann's which I have included here. Then the most magnificent church appeared on the horizon, St. Fidelis or the Cathedral of the Prairie. It was built by Russian and German immigrants who were fleeing their homelands because the Catholic faith was being threatened. They build that lovely church over a period of 3 years, for a sum of $132,000.00 in donations from 1908-1911 and each family was expected to haul in at least 6 cartloads of brick making materials from the quarries nearby. The Russians got disgusted and left, but the Germans stayed. There is a monument to them across the street. More later.
We then proceeded down the 70 freeway and came upon a lovely church, St. Ann's which I have included here. Then the most magnificent church appeared on the horizon, St. Fidelis or the Cathedral of the Prairie. It was built by Russian and German immigrants who were fleeing their homelands because the Catholic faith was being threatened. They build that lovely church over a period of 3 years, for a sum of $132,000.00 in donations from 1908-1911 and each family was expected to haul in at least 6 cartloads of brick making materials from the quarries nearby. The Russians got disgusted and left, but the Germans stayed. There is a monument to them across the street. More later.
The Eisenhower home on the farm. They had 7 boys, no girls. 6 lived to adulthood. Dwight was number 3
Eisenhower home living room
The Eisenhower farm kitchen
The dough box in Mrs. Eisenhower's kitchen. She baked 6 loaves of bread every other day and this is where she put the rising dough to keep the flies off and keep it warm
Dwight David Eisenhowers grave sight in the Meditation Chapel on the Museum/Library grounds Abilene Kansas
Mamie is with him and their son also
St. Fidelis Catholic Church, Cathedral of the Prairie Hwy 70 Kansas
The German immigrant statue memorial/monument across the street
Inside St. Fidelis "Cathedral of the Prairie"
Looking at St. Fidelis from the front. "Cathedral of the Prairie"
Scenes in Enid Oklahoma
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church Enid Oklahoma
My dad's high school in Enid Oklahoma..in use since 1911
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Saturday AUGUST 14, 2010 Abilene Kansas
We started out by finding my dad's high school in Enid Oklahoma which was built in 1911 and is still in use today for 1400 students grades 9-12. It has been in continual use for almost a century and all they've done is added on to it. Last time we were here my dad's class photo was still hanging in the hallway. Then we backtracked a bit and headed north to Abilene. Stopped several times along the way, for lunch and to look at historical markers, buffalo and sights in general. Stopped at a Mennonite Museum and Historical Farm. It was very interesting. Who are the Mennonites (AKA Anabaptists) you might ask. They preach peace and non-resistance. They believe in adult baptism, not infant baptism. The broke from the Catholic church in the 16th century during the reformation. They base their faith on the new testament of the bible and practice a liberal agenda. The farm had 8 different buildings you could tour...a barn, 2 schools, 2 homes, one the Friesen home and the other the Krause home, the museum with famiy displays, a blacksmith shop, and a bank. It was fun to look at and while we were in the barn mother nature graced our presence with a ferocious rain storm which made so much noise on the tin roof we could hardly hear ourselves think. It cooled down for a brief time, but soon turned back into humid and hot. We were dripping perspiration by the time we got back to the car. We got to Abilene just in time for Mass. When we got into town I told dad to head toward the tallest steeple we could see, and sure enough, people were trudging into church...late, but they got there and we were 2 minutes late also. A minor miracle in itself as we had no idea where the church was, but instinct sent us in the right direction....I call it divine guidance. We'll go to Eisenhower Presidential Library and family home tomorrow. There are also 2 mansions in town which offer tours. It's Sunday and football will no doubt be on, so we'll see how the day progresses. Dad is watching Little League National Title games on the TV.
Mennonite Farm and Museum Hwy 15 north Kansas
One of the family history displays--all in glass cases behind sliding glass doors.
The sign on the bank says "Closed......we did not get a federal bailout."
Ed with fire engine
Scene in barn
Friesen house ...close up of quilt
Friesen house ....note the quilt
Friesen house bedroom
Friesen house living room
Friesen house kitchen
Friesen house
Artist who did the mural
Farm equipment out in yard
Early Bethesda Hospital
4 families lived in this space
Inside the group home
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