2013 Southeast Sampler

Southeast Sampler

March 25 - April 8, 2013

Journal kept by Susan Hanes during a two week trip to the Southeast US from March 25 - April 8, 2013.

Photos by Susan Hanes, copyright 2013.

Southeast Sampler March 25 - April 8, 2013 Gathering with the kids for Em’s family birthday celebration, Laurie Thomason’s wedding, and visits with Jane and Gene Monroe and Jake’s sister, Ann, provided the stimulus for a road trip around the Southeast, a part of the country that we had not visited together. Early spring is a good time to travel as the season has not started and roads and hotels are not yet crowded with vacationers. It feels satisfying too, to leave in snow and to return as the trees are starting to bloom.

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Monday, March 25

to

Clarksville, TN

Loaded the car and were away by 8:20, only twenty minutes later than Jake’s planned departure. Over the Skyway where we picked up US 41, following it all day. Drove through a spring display of hail, rain, sleet, and snow flurries; glad that the road was almost deserted. Unfortunately, the plows had deserted it as well, and only one lane was open and the other was patched with slush. Western Indiana is not the most scenic part of the US: flat and uninteresting farmland, with communities that looked much the same. Passed though Terre Haute, its rather startling 1884 Vigo County Courthouse towering over the city. At Evansville, crossed into Kentucky and picked up the Pennyrile Parkway from Henderson to Hopkinsville.

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Then on I-24 to Clarksville, Tennessee. Chose a Hampton Inn from the dozen choices at the highway exit and dropped off our things before heading into town. Clarksville was incorporated in 1785 and is now the ninth fastest-growing city in the nation, among cities with a population over 100,000 (its population is 133,000). The historic downtown is charming, with many beautifully restored 19th century buildings, including the Montgomery County Courthouse and the many-gabled Cultural Center. Took a brisk walk around the block to take photos of these buildings and others that lined Franklin Street, including the old Roxy Theater, noting the surprising number of attorney’s offices.

Beer and dinner at Blackhorse, a locally owned brewpub just down from Grumpy’s Bail Bonds. Noted the “No Guns” sign as we entered. Oh, Good. It was still light, so drove around and took more pictures before returning to our room.

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Tuesday, March 26

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Huntsville, AL A 7:30 call from Em, asking if we were OK, served as our wake-up alarm. She had read about the 17” inches of snow in southern Illinois and was concerned about us. By 9:15 we had checked out the breakfast buffet, paid our bill, and were on our way to Nashville, 43 miles down I-24. Drove though The District, an area of interesting restored buildings that house specialty shops, bars, and restaurants, stopping to take some pictures and get a feel for the scene.

Stopped to photograph the Tennessee State Capitol, a Greek Revival building looking out over the city on Charlotte Street, and the Parthenon, a full-scale replica that was commissioned in 1897 as the centerpiece of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition to represent Nashville’s designation as “The Athens of the South.” Drove through the original campus of Vanderbilt University. With its abundance of trees and green space, it is an oasis within urban Nashville. I must admit that I still feel a wave of disappointment that I was not accepted.

Tennessee State Capitol, Nashville 7

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Passed the first flowering trees we’d seen this spring as we headed south out of town, but before we could get too excited about them, it started to hail again.

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Just outside of Huntsville, visited historic Mooresville, the first town incorporated by the Alabama Territorial Legislature in 1818.

Mooresville is the home of the longest continually operated US Post Office in Alabama and is second only to the one in Hinsdale NH as the oldest in the US. The entire town has been placed on the National Historic Register. We drove up and down each street and took pictures of the houses and the two churches; at the post office, I visited with Denise, the postmistress, who told me that soon it would be open only two hours a day. The townspeople have been doing all they can to raise funds and awareness in order to save this piece of history. Enjoyed pulled pork on fresh cornbread with deviled eggs and southern broccoli salad at the Limestone Bay Trading Company on the edge of town, a general-store filled with quilts and rusty trade signs.

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Continued into Huntsville, and drove around the downtown. Located First United Methodist Church where my parents were married on July 8, 1946. Arrived at Gene and Jane’s at 3:30; after a chat and a tour of their beautiful home, they took us to Maple Hill Cemetery.

Dating from 1818, it is the oldest in Alabama, and is where my grandmother Susie Skinner McDowall is buried. Any further touring will have to wait until tomorrow, as Jane needed to get home to tend her dinner. Spent a cozy evening together, talking and catching up after much too long.

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Gene and Jane Monroe

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Susie Skinner McDowall in 1941 17

Wednesday, March 27

Huntsville, AL

After breakfast, Gene took Jake to visit his office and, in the process, drove him by the Von Braun Center, a massive, multi-purpose complex that attracts visitors from throughout northern Alabama. I stayed home with Jane, who wanted to see some of my travel journals on my laptop. The sun was finally shining as we drove out to lunch; we briefly stopped at the house on Adams Street where my mother lived for a period of time with Betty and Milton Tate while her father was stationed in Newfoundland. In the picture below, my grandfather is escorting my mother to the church from this house on her wedding day. We also paused at the gracious white home on McClung Street where Bessie and Big Gene had lived and where Jane and Gene moved after their deaths. We had lunch at Hildegard’s, a German restaurant that is rated the best in an area of numerous German businesses as a result of Huntsville’s adoption of Wernher Von Braun and his team of German rocket scientists. A delicious but heavy meal of rouladen and spaetzle and German beer on tap. After lunch, Gene and Jane wanted to show us The Ledges, a country club community located on a hill 1600 feet over the city of Huntsville with spectacular views of the Tennessee River Valley. We drove past impossibly massive homes, some with five-car garages, and stepped inside the beautifully appointed clubhouse.

After that heavy meal and the beer, a nap was in order for us all as soon as we got home. It was 5:00 before we emerged from our beds. Had a great conversation over cocktails, with Gene sharing stories of my grandfather McDowall, an endless source of wonderful anecdotes.

Surprisingly, we were all interested in dinner, and Jane drove us out to Greenbriar BBQ in Madison, AL for fresh catfish and hushpuppies.

Coffee and ginger lemon cookies at home, accompanied by more warm conversation.

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Thursday, March 28

to

Wakulla Springs, FL

Coffee and yoghurt and a cheery morning chat before we said good-by to Gene and Jane.

Maneuvered through town and took I-565 to I-65 south through Birmingham to Montgomery.

In front of the State Capitol, put fifty cents in the meter to buy an hour of sightseeing time.

Walked thorough the impressive 1851 Greek-Revival building, surprised by the lack of security as we strode through the hallways on our own. Took a photo of the bronze star on the portico that marked the spot where Jefferson Davis took the oath of office as President of the Confederacy.

Nearby stands the first White House of the Confederacy, home of the Davis family. Walked to the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, birthplace of the desegregation movement, where Dr. Martin Luther King was pastor from 1954-60.

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Alabama State Capitol Montgomery

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Before the meter expired, we were heading southeast to Dothan and then south to I-10.

Figured out the convoluted directions to the Lodge at Wakulla Springs, an historic country inn situated within the 6,000-acre Edward Ball State Park. On our way through the forest to the Lodge, a small sign pronounced this “The Real Florida,” and indeed it was. Tall pines swathed in Spanish moss surround a rambling 1934 Italianate building that seems locked in a time warp. Certainly not luxurious, the Lodge is charming in an unpretentious way, and I was swept back 40 years when Houston and I ventured here; it looked then just as it does today. As evening was falling, Jake and I took a walk though the loblolly pine woods, past numerous sinkholes filled with water that reflected the branches above. Enjoyed a real Southern dinner in the old Ball Room: fried chicken and assorted seafood were accompanied by slaw and vegetables. Our room, too, was unpretentious, but clean and comfortable enough for a sound night’s rest.

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Friday, March 29

to

Atlantic Beach, FL

Got on the road before breakfast, stopping to take pictures of a cypress bog with the early morning sun glistening on the water.

Maneuvered through the eastern part of Tallahassee to get back on I-10 for the remaining 160 miles to Jacksonville. Breakfast at a truck stop outside of Lake City. Convoluted GPS directions to Fleet Landing, arriving at Em and Al’s at 1:00. We were the first of the family to arrive for Em’s Easter Weekend birthday celebration, as Chris and Maggie were driving from Chapel Hill and Mike and Jen from Orlando. Jake and I left to check in at the Seahorse, an old-timey motel on the water in Neptune Beach. Bright with peeling magenta paint, it looked like the Florida of 50 years ago. Although our room is situated in a narrow passage next to the maintenance room, it is large, simple and clean, with a small bathroom that needs updating. Tried to check in for Mike and Chris too, but the management insists on scanning each person’s driver’s license so that was not possible. We guessed that the purpose of this requirement is to track down Spring Breakers who might toss out a lamp or bash a TV after a night of partying. As a matter of fact, there was quite a crowd assembled by the Lemon Bar already as we were bringing in our bags. Picked up some cava at Publix before returning to Em and Al’s to find both of them napping in front of the TV. Everyone was up for cocktail hour though, and as we chatted over our drinks, Mike, Jen, and Carter arrived. They look great; Jen is starting to get a little baby bump and Carter has grown several more inches. While Jake steamed the asparagus and Em heated her hot chicken salad, everyone visited and Mike and Chris texted back and forth about hotel plans. After attempts to find rooms at the big hotel across the way from the Seahorse Motel, it was decided that the current accommodations would do. Jake and I slipped out at 10:00, leaving everyone else to talk (Em and Jen), share a Naval Aviation video (Al and Carter), or watch basketball (Mike). We will wait to see the Chris Hanes clan in the morning.

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Saturday, March 30 Atlantic Beach, FL Had a sound night’s rest and woke up to a sunny Florida morning around 8:00. Met Chris outside in the green area for breakfast before anyone else was up. Soon we were joined by Maggie, Wesley, and Ryan, and Mike, Jen, and Carter. Beach and pool and general family time. Em and Al came over until lunchtime, when they went home and the rest of us had fantastic Philippine food at Barbecue Sticks, a shack across the parking lot. At 4:00, Jake and I dressed for dinner and went over to the O’ Club with Em and Al to set up for the birthday celebration. I’d made place cards with Lego people that looked like each of us. Back for drinks at Em and Al’s with the kids before we all trooped over to the party. Champagne toasts and a festive dinner. Em opened her gift from us: a silver and gold pendant with all of our signatures inscribed on it, even Houston’s. Jen and Em were presented a pink birthday cake, decorated with a 90 and a 40 and lots of pink roses. Decided to go back to the house to cut the cake. Chris read a beautiful letter he had written for Em, remembering special times they have shared during his life. We all watched the video of Em’s life that I had prepared for her 80th birthday; the little ones were intrigued. I don’t know how Em’s family birthday celebration could have been more special; I go to bed this evening with warmth in my heart.

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Sunday, March 31

Easter

to

Savannah, GA

The Hanes celebratory weekend continued with the Easter church service at Fleet Landing. Wesley, Ryan, and Carter got to see their great grandmother act as a communion officiate, helping Rev. Linda during the service. Afterwards, Wesley played the piano for us, an extra treat.

Easter brunch at Selva Marina, where an Easter Bunny of sorts made an appearance and the kids took part in an Easter egg hunt. Although they didn’t find the golden egg, they had fun running around in the sunshine. After more family pictures and lots of good-byes, Jake and I were on the road to Savannah for the two and a half hour drive.

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Arrived at the Savannah tourist office at 4:30 where we got a map and information about tours. Followed the trolley route down to the river and made a circuit of many of Savannah’s 24 green parks and oak-shaded boulevards, enjoying the beautiful architecture and the freshly blooming azaleas. Arrived at the Gastonian Inn at 6:00; learned that we would be in the carriage house rather than the beautiful main house, making us wonder if we should have come directly there. However, we decided it is fun having this little annex to ourselves. The old stable below is now a sitting area and our room is up winding stairs and has a working fireplace and a claw-foot tub. After a glass of wine in the parlor of the main house, we decided to forego another meal and just relax for the evening.

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Monday, April 1

Savannah, GA

Getting dressed this morning was interesting, using the tub that actually sits in the middle of the bedroom. Chose to take baths rather than shower, as we figured it would make less of a mess. Nice breakfast in the kitchen of the main house: a poached egg and tomato on creamed spinach atop a toast round. Drove to the Visitor’s Center where we hopped aboard an on-and-off tour trolley. As we passed the first of many Savannah College of Art and Design buildings, learned that with 9,000 students, SCAD is the largest design school in the world and owns more than 90 buildings in the city, many of which it has been actively involved with preserving. At noon, got off the bus to tour the Owens-Thomas House, considered one of architect William Jay’s finest works. The house was completed in 1819 for cotton merchant Richard Richardson, although due to a series of tragedies including the death of his wife and two of his children, he only stayed there for two years. It became an inn in 1825 and many famous people stayed there, including Lafayette. The 1820-1830s decorated interior is beautiful, and I particularly loved the brass inlaid double staircase and the bridge connecting the bedrooms on the upper floor. The slave quarters features blue “haint” paint, a mixture of indigo, lime, and buttermilk that was thought to possess magical qualities and by resembling water, deter ghosts. We completed the trolley circuit of the historical area, including the riverfront warehouses of the Factors’ (Cotton Traders’) Walk, now a collection of tourist shops. Retrieving the car, were fortunate to find a parking spot near the City Market and enjoyed a late lunch on the terrace at Belford’s, situated in a landmark building that was built in 1902 for Savannah’s Hebrew Congregation. Although thunderstorms had been predicted, the weather could not have been more perfect as we shared crab cakes, shrimp, grits, and a frosty bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. For dessert, we stepped into a sweet shop for a free praline sample. Jake drove me around so that I could jump out and take photos of historic buildings, decorative ironwork, and misplaced headstones at the Colonial Park Cemetery. Joined fellow guests of our hotel for a glass of wine in the parlor, where we enjoyed talking with couples from Texas, New Jersey, and Ontario. Still full from lunch so decided to skip dinner again. But we did eat the cookies they left on our pillows.

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Tuesday, April 2 to Spring Island, SC Left Savannah at 9:45 and drove the short distance to Beaufort SC, arriving by 11:00. Spent an hour exploring the Point, stopping to photograph a number of beautiful homes almost dwarfed by moss draped live oaks; were surprised by the number of houses for sale.

Wandered through the 300-year-old cemetery surrounding St. Helena’s Anglican Church where many of the tombstones had been used as operating tables during the Civil War. Shopped on Bay Street where I bought a handbag designed by a woman on South Carolina’s Daufuskie Island. The saleslady assured me that its label, Spartina 449, would never be found in Chicago.

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Beaufort, SC 47

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St. Helena’s Church Cemetery Beaufort, SC

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After Jake called to let his sister know we were on our way, we continued to Spring Island, a 3,000-acre preserve and private community off the Island of Callawassee.

Arrived just after 3:00 and Ann and Mark settled us into their separate guest cottage. The four of us drove around the island on the single perimeter paved road. There are 220 home sites on Spring Island that are primarily on the water and reached only by dirt roads. The majority of the island has been designated a wildlife preserve and can only be developed according to strict guidelines. Several naturalists are on site and a nature center with tanks and displays serves as an educational venue for residents and school children alike. Ann describes the island as an adult camp: an Arnold Palmer golf course, two clubhouses, an arts center (which retains an artist in residence), stables, tennis courts, boats, and a fitness center are available without extra charge to the residents. She showed us the ruins of the 18th century family estate of cotton-grower George Edwards; all that remains are the tabby walls, constructed of lime, sand, and oyster shells. We returned along an easement through a forest of live oaks and pine in time for cocktails. Ann and Mark’s charming home is a sprawling single-level structure surrounded by porches and a huge deck overlooking Port Royal Sound. Ann has decorated it with warm textiles and whimsical primitive antiques. We sat around the massive kitchen island and peeled fresh shrimp and shucked oysters, while listening to Mark’s stories of their encounters with the Gullah people, descendants of slaves who live in the Lowcountry regions of Georgia and South Carolina.

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Wednesday, April 3

to

Charleston, SC

I walked around the house taking pictures at low tide before we said good-bye to Ann and Mark. Departed at 9:30, taking the long way off the island in order to look for wildlife. Retraced the road to Beaufort and turned off on Ashley Road to see Middleton Place and Drayton Hall. After securing 3:30 tickets for Drayton Hall, returned to Middleton Place where we spent three hours strolling through the oldest landscaped gardens in America. The land was first owned by Henry Middleton, a president of the Continental Congress, and has remained under the same family’s stewardship for over 300 years. Ponds reflect mountains of pink and red rhododendron and live oaks laden with moss that trickle down to the water. The camellias were just past their March glory but still lovely; we enjoyed walking through the stables and barns where craftspeople demonstrated blacksmithing, candle-dipping, and weaving.

At Drayton Hall, took an hour-long tour of the best-preserved Georgian home in the US. The estate was purchased in 1738 by John Drayton when he was only 22 and has remained in the family ever since. The Drayton family has extended every effort to preserve the home as it was adapted by each succeeding generation, choosing preservation over restoration. Although it is devoid of furnishings, the home is fascinating for retaining evidence of each generation’s attempt to display its own style. I loved taking photos of the unique details in each room.

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Drayton Hall

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African American Cemetery at Drayton Hall

As it was nearing 5:00, we drove the last 12 miles or so into Charleston and found the Carriage Inn down in the Battery area.

The street was lined with vans and trucks and equipment and people standing about, and we learned that we had arrived in the midst of the filming of a new CBS show, Reckless, right in the house where we are staying. We have a lovely little room on the garden level, surrounded by hedges. Joined other guests for a glass of wine in the lobby; particularly enjoyed talking to Terry and Kim Knight from Calhoun, Georgia. Terry is an artist and potter and Kim is an English and Drama teacher. They told us about artist Mary Whyte and her paintings of the Gullah people on Johns Island that they had seen at Coleman Gallery near our hotel. After talking to Mark and Ann about their experiences with the Gullah, I am intrigued and hope that we will be able to visit the island while we are in the area. We eventually walked up East Bay Street looking for a place for dinner; finally settled for seats at the bar at Amen Street where we ordered fresh red snapper and a bottle of South African Sauvignon Blanc. Brisk walk back in the chilly night air, as stormy weather is on its way.

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Thursday, April 4

Charleston, SC

A breakfast tray was delivered to our room at 9:00, and after our coffee and yoghurt we headed up Meeting Street to the Nathaniel Russell House, considered one of the finest examples of Federalstyle architecture in the US. The three-story brick home was built in 1808 for wealthy merchant Nathaniel Russell, and has been restored to look just as it did when he and his family lived there, with original paint colors, faux finishes, and exquisite detailing. Mrs. Russell kept a detailed journal that made it possible to replicate the décor. The signature feature of the house is its “flying” staircase, a freestanding spiral that circles up, seemingly without support, to the third floor. The crown moldings are like nothing I have ever seen: incredibly ornate, they are detailed with 22-K gold leaf. After Hurricane Hugo destroyed the roof and much of the third floor in 1989, it was decided that the upper floor would be preserved rather than restored so that funds could be concentrated on restoration efforts on the first and second floor. The rain was falling steadily as we explored Charleston’s historic area by foot, walking past wonderful old houses and noting details of ironwork and architectural touches as we made our way toward the Old City Market.

Passed through the open air sheds where tee shirt and beaded jewelry vendors share space with purveyors of food items and Sweet Grass weavers. After some asking and looking, located St. John’s Reformed Church on Anson Street so that I could take a picture of the Heart Gate that opens to the churchyard, designed by master blacksmith Phillip Simmons. I tried to ignore how bedraggled I was looking by then and we shared a Lowcountry bouillabaisse with crusty bread and a light Albarino at Magnolia’s. On the way back to the Battery area, stopped at Coleman Gallery so that I could buy a copy of the book of watercolors by Mary Whyte that the Knights had told us about last evening. Spent a quiet afternoon out of the rain, reading and napping.

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Rainy Day! 74

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Friday, April 5 to Aiken, SC By 9:30 we were on our way. The day was grey and misty as we drove towards Johns Island in search of Bohicket Road, named in the title of Mary Whyte’s book. Detoured down a muddy road to see the Angel Oak, the oldest tree east of the Mississippi River, standing over 65 feet with a circumference of more than 25 feet. Attempts to date the tree range from 400 to 1,400 years.

Whatever its age, it is impressive, its gnarled branches meandering across the sky and bending to the ground. Our purpose in visiting Johns Island was to find Hebron Zion, a small African church that was depicted in Whyte’s book. This took some doing, as the church is actually beyond Bohicket Road on the way to Kiawah. I recognized it from the car, and Jake pulled over so that I could take pictures of the church and the surrounding graveyard. Mary Whyte had painted the church with the graves, several of which had heart shaped headstones. I found them just as she had painted them.

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The Angel Oak

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Doubled back and continued towards Aiken where we will be attending the wedding of my cousin Richard Thomason’s daughter, Laurie. Our rural route took us 120 miles through several small towns, mainly on SC 64. In Walterboro, billed as “The Front Porch of the Lowcountry,” we stopped in the historic downtown area and poked into a couple of antiques stores. The lady in one looked up from her crocheting to invite Jake to sit in a well-worn rocker and listen to Benny Goodman playing on the radio.

“The more comfortable the husbands are, the longer the women shop,” she explained.

Olar and Elko were small towns along the highway where we paused to take pictures of abandoned and decrepit storefronts and gas stations, many with fading signs.

Patches of sun came and went but the day remained chilly.

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Reached Aiken around 3:00 and found the Houndslake Country Club where we have reservations at the Guest Lodge as part of the wedding party; 27 of the 30 rooms are occupied by wedding guests. After checking in, drove around downtown Aiken, a pleasant community oriented towards equestrian matters. This evening we attended the rehearsal dinner for Laurie and Jeff at the Aiken County Historical Museum, housed in a 1930s mansion called Banksia, once a part of the Aiken Winter Colony where wealthy and accomplished people from the Northeast spent the winter months. Sat with my cousin Ann, Richard’s sister, and her husband Myron, and friends of Richard and Betty from their years in graduate school at Duke. The dinner buffet was followed by toasts and speeches and funny stories.

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Saturday, April 5

Aiken, SC

While Jake joined the men at Carolina Barbeque, eight miles south of town, I attended a bridesmaids’ luncheon at the home of one of Betty’s bridge club friends. It was a beautiful day, and we sat at tables out on the deck and enjoyed egg casserole, fruit, and broccoli cornbread.

Jake and I lazed around in the afternoon, relaxing and making some plans for our start back to Chicago tomorrow. At 5:30, Jake and I drove to St. John’s Methodist Church for the wedding of Laura Leigh Thomason and Jeffery Alan Gazaille. The wedding was large, with nine bridesmaids and five children in the party, and was filled with sweetness and joy; all one could wish for. The reception at the Houndslake Country Club was packed to the walls. An opulent buffet, flowing wine, a good band, and a goofy photo booth all contributed to a festive celebration. Jake and I were very glad we had come and been a part of the Thomason family celebration.

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Sunday, April 6

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Corbin, KY

Stopped by Richard and Betty’s house just long enough to say good-bye, deciding to get on the road to Edgefield rather than stay for breakfast. A 40-minute drive from Aiken, Edgefield is considered part of the Augusta, Georgia metropolitan area. Little Edgefield is home to ten SC governors, including Strom Thurmond. It is also famous for its alkaline-glazed stoneware pottery that was first made by slaves before the Civil War. We had hoped to be able to see some of the pottery, but both the small museum and the shop are closed on Sundays. Sundays are certainly the bane of the tourist’s plans! I took some fun pictures around the old public square, including a hardware store that advertised Glocks and several giant painted turkeys. Continued along backcountry roads through Johnson (“Peach Capital of the WORLD!”) and Saluda (with its abandoned meat factory) to Newberry, stopping to take pictures of rusty signs and evocative old buildings along the road. In Newberry, drove through the neat brick campus of Newberry College and had a late brunch at the Flying Pie on Main Street. Fun and funky décor and the amazing dill pickle soup made us excited about the place; unfortunately, our Solar System Sampler missed the mark. By the time we paid the bill, it was nearing 2:00 and we realized we were only 60 miles from Aiken, so we thought we’d better make up some time on the Interstate. Took I-26 to Asheville and I-40 to Knoxville where we picked up I-75 and promptly got into a long traffic jam. Beautiful scenery through the Blue Ridge Mountains made the drive more enjoyable; I felt a wave of nostalgia as we passed the exit for Maggie Valley where my parents built a summer home in the late 1970s. Memories of walks in the woods, the mica mine, and my little boys throwing endless rocks in the water came flooding back to me.

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Edgefield, SC

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The highway traffic precluded our reaching Berea as we’d planned. Instead we pulled off at Corbin, famous as the place where Colonel Harlan Sanders developed his Kentucky Fried Chicken with those eleven herbs and spices. I was guilty of directing us off at the wrong exit, resulting in a ten mile drive through this decidedly unattractive town, so when we discovered that the Colonel’s Saunders Café was located where we’d just come from, Jake refused to go back. We will just have to be satisfied that we were in his town, if not his original house of fried chicken. Had dinner at Sonny’s BBQ, adjacent to our Hampton Inn. Mother would have a fit if she knew we’d given them our business, as my father always swore that Sonny’s was not REAL barbeque. (Sonny himself used to live down the street from them in Gainesville.) And after our very mediocre meal, I would have to agree.

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Monday, April 8

to

Chicago, IL

Got away early and were at the Kentucky Artisans’ Center in Berea by 9:15. A huge array of crafts from all over the state was arranged in a beautiful new facility: jewelry, woodcrafts, quilts, baskets, and foods and honey were in colorful abundance. We bought a miniature basket made of herbs by artist Virginia Petty, and another small one made of boiled honeysuckle vines and hickory bark by fourth-generation basket maker, Patsy Mosley. Continued into town and drove through the shady brick-built campus of Berea College, founded by abolitionists in 1855 for the education of the youth of Appalachia. The unique liberal-arts school offers a totally free education; in exchange, the students work at least 10 hours a week in campus service jobs. After making up time on the Interstate, exited at Shelbyville and drove through Kentucky farmland, past rolling green hills, horses, and red barns in the distance. The sky had turned grey and the scenery became more characterless as we neared Indiana.

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Took the deteriorating Milton-Madison Bridge across the Ohio River to Indiana. A massive project is underway to rebuild and strengthen the bridge using a “truss sliding” method. While Jake crisscrossed the streets of Madison, I jumped out to take pictures of the lovely houses and unique architectural details I found. The 133 blocks of Madison’s downtown area are designated the largest contiguous National Historic Landmark in the United States. Noticed that the President Madison Hotel where we’d spent what might have been our worst night in a hotel (think fuzzy purple men’s underwear peeking out from under the bed and fly-covered doughnuts) was now the Riverboat Inn. It didn’t look much better. Took Route 7 to Columbus where we picked up I-65 to Indianapolis. Just then, the sun came out and we had a pleasant drive back to Chicago, stopping in Merrillville for dinner at the Steak and Shake. As we approached Chicago from the Skyway, we remarked, as we always do, how proud we are to call our beautiful city Home.

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Madison, IN

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Itinerary MARCH Monday

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Tuesday

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Route: Chicago Skyway, I 90 and US 41 to Henderson; Pennyrile Parkway to I 24 Sites: Clarksville Historic District Dinner: Blackhorse Pub & Brewery Hampton Inn CLARKSVILLE, TENNESEE 393 miles Route: I 24 to Nashville; I 65 and I 565 Sites: Nashville: Music District and Music Row, Capitol Hill, Vanderbilt University campus; Parthenon replica; Historic Mooresville: Mooresville Post Office; Huntsville Historic District Lunch: Limestone Bay Trading Co., Mooresville Dinner: Monroe home Home of Jane and Gene Monroe HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA 181 miles

Wednesday 27

Sites: Huntsville: Historic District, Maple Hill Cemetery, The Ledges Lunch: Hildegard’s German Cuisine Dinner: Greenbrier Barbecue Home of Jane and Gene Monroe HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA

Thursday

Route: I 565 and I 65 to Montgomery; US 231 to I10; US 90, FL 263 and FL 61 Sites: Montgomery: Capitol District; Dexter Avenue, King Memorial Baptist Church; Edward Ball State Park Dinner: Wakulla Springs Lodge Wakulla Springs Lodge WAKULLA SPRINGS, FLORIDA 403 miles

Friday

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Route: FL 61 and I 10 to Jacksonville; I 95 and US 90 to Fleet Landing Sites: home of Suzanne and Al Phillips, Atlantic Beach Dinner: Phillips home Seahorse Oceanfront Inn NEPTUNE BEACH, FLORIDA 202 miles

Saturday 30

Lunch: Barbeque Sticks and Lemon Bar, Neptune Beach Dinner: 90th Birthday of Suzanne Phillips, Coleman Center, Fleet Landing Seahorse Oceanfront Inn NEPTUNE BEACH, FLORIDA 6 miles

Sunday

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APRIL Monday

Brunch: Selva Marina Country Club Route: US 90 to I 95 and I 16 Savannah Sites: Visitor Information Center, Historic District, Factor’s Walk The Gastonian SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 152 miles

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Sites: Old Savannah Trolley Tour; Owens-Thomas House; Colonial Park Cemetery Lunch: Belford’s Savannah The Gastonian SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 14 miles

Tuesday

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Route: I 16 to I 95, US 278 and SC 170 to Beaufort; SC 170 to Spring Island Sites: Beaufort: Historic District, Old Point and Bluff area, St. Helena’s Episcopal Church and cemetery; perimeter and amenities of Spring Island Dinner: Hawley home Home of Ann and Mark Hawley, Spring Island SPRING ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA 75 miles

Wednesday 3

Route: SC 170 to US 21 and US 17; Bee’s Ferry Road to Ashley River Road Sites: Middleton Place; Drayton Hall; Charleston: The Battery, Historic District Dinner: Amen Street Fish & Raw Bar The Battery Carriage House Inn CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA 94 miles

Thursday 4

Charleston Sites: Nathaniel Russell House; Historic District, Old City Market, Row Houses Lunch: Magnolias The Battery Carriage House Inn CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

Friday

5

Route: US 17 to Bohicket Road; US 17 to SC 64 to SC37 and SC78 Sites: Johns Island: Bohicket Road Scenic Highway, Angel Oak, Hebron Church; Walterboro; Olar; Elko Rehearsal Dinner: Aiken County Historical Museum (Banksia Mansion) Guest House at Houndslake AIKEN, SOUTH CAROLINA 182 miles

Saturday

6

Event: Marriage of Jeff Gazaille and Laurie Thomason Lunches: Bride’s Maids: Carolyn Heffnes home; Carolina Barbecue, New Ellenton Wedding Reception and Dinner: Houndslake Country Club Guest House at Houndslake AIKEN, SOUTH CAROLINA 8 miles

Sunday

7

Route: SC 19 to SC 121; I 26 to I 40 and I 75 Sites: Edgefield; Newberry: Opera House, Newberry College campus Lunch: Flying Pie, Newberry Dinner: Sonny’s Bar-B-Q, Corbin Hampton Inn CORBIN, KENTUCKY 391 miles

Monday

8

Route: I 75 to I 64; US 421 to Madison; IN 7 to Columbus; I 65 to I 90 Sites: Berea: Kentucky Artisan Center, Old Town, Berea College Square; Madison: Historic District Dinner: Steak n Shake, Merrillville CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 447 miles Total driving on trip:

2,554 miles

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Journal kept by Susan Hanes during a two week trip to the Southeast US from March 25 - April 8, 2013. Photos by Susan Hanes, copyright 2013.

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Š 2013 Susan Hanes