Bite a legend

Minutes from the Gold Brook Campground is the Cold Hollow Cider Mill, where the legendary cider donuts are made fresh daily, year round.  These are old-fashioned donuts: cakey and 1950s size, delicately sweet and flavored with cinnamon and cider.   Even after they’ve cooled, they’re delicious or so Mike told me when he finally  had a chance to eat his at the end of the workday.

You can make these babies at home.  Cold Hollow sells a mix and a cutter and has a tutorial on their website.  Or, if you simply must have the real thing, they will ship two dozen anywhere in the country.

But there’s much more to Cold Hollow than the donuts.  This is an active mill, and you can wander into the back and see cider being pressed.  You’ll learn the difference between apple cider and apple juice.  You can also see the mill’s bees making honey that’s used in the products they sell.

Besides that, there are all kinds of Vermont-made foods and other products available for sale.  Only in Vermont would you find a maple walnut peanut butter!  Not sure what to buy?  Don’t fret; there’re plenty of samples to try.

Harley-Davidson Museum

The bronze Hill Climber statue in front of the museum weighs 5,000 pounds and stands 16 feet tall.

Once a month, from October through March, Mike teaches at Harley-Davidson‘s service school in Milwaukee, and the class always includes an outing to the H-D Museum.  I got to go this time, and so did Russ, Mike’s friend and new contract employee.  (Mike has more dealerships wanting training than he can accommodate, so he’s brought Russ on to handle the overflow.  Russ has a lot of experience as well as his own business with flexible hours.  So he’s an ideal person to help out.)

The Harley-Davidson museum is, to understate it, very cool.  There’s a lot of interactive stuff, like a build-your-own-bike station.   We got to visit the archives on our tour and see the restoration section where bikes are prepped for posterity.    The museum is packed with more than 450 motorcycles and artifacts, dating back to Serial Number One, the oldest known Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

My favorite part was the screen displaying a digital exploded engine diagram.  Mike liked posing by the WXA side-hack prototype.  With so much to check out, you’ll definitely want to devote several hours.  Not a bad way to spend an afternoon!

Um, stamp out walking? Funny how times change!

This made me want to bling out the motorhome!

Evil Knievel’s bike

Falls Park

Native Americans were the first visitors the falls of the Big Sioux River.  The Lakota and Dakota were nomadic bison hunters, and they used the falls as a place to rendezvous with French fur trappers.  As the land around the falls was claimed by European settlers, a 1,200-acre village sprung up.  Sioux Falls became an official city in 1883.  Railroads really put the city on the map, with a population spike from 2,164 in 1880 to 10,167 at the end of the decade.  Economic ups and downs over the years mirrored the nation at large, but through it all, the falls have been central to the city’s industry and recreation.

In pioneer days, the falls were used for water power to run the Queen Bee Mill.  When it was built, the mill could process 1,500 bushels of wheat and was considered one of the most advanced facilities in America.  Unfortunately, weak water power and a lack of wheat forced it to close in 1883, just six years after it was built.  A few companies attempted to  make the mill a going concern over the years, but nothing worked.  After a fire in 1956 compromised the structure, upper walls were knocked down until only two of the original seven stories of the mill remain.

Remains of the seven-story Queen Bee Mill

Millrace and dam

Today, Falls Park covers 123 acres with an average of 7,400 gallons of water dropping 100 feet each second.  With paved walking and biking paths, picnic tables scattered charmingly on the grassy spots, and a cafe in the old Light and Power Company building, the park is captivating place to spend an afternoon with family and friends.

Cannonsburgh Village

If you have ever been curious about what it was like to live in Tennessee in pioneering days, a walk through Cannonsburgh Village in Murfreesboro will scratch that itch.  The charming village encapsulates southern life from the 1830s to the 1930s.  A free self-guided tour of the six-acre area takes you by a gristmill, a school house, telephone operator’s house, the University House, the Leeman House, a museum, a caboose, the wedding chapel, a doctor’s office, a general store, a blacksmith’s shop, a well, and more.

We were there after-hours, so we couldn’t go inside the buildings.  Just wandering among the rustic structures was entertaining.  And I bet the interiors are even cooler than the exteriors!

Mike’s favorite part of the village was the tractor shed in back.  It showcases tractors used in Middle Tennessee between 1920 and 1950.  Mike was surprised to discover that one of the tractors was a Porsche.  Come to find out, Porsche’s first diesel model was the tractor.  There’s even a whole website devoted to these vintage farm vehicles!

Cannonsburgh Village is a nifty stop any time, but I imagine that it’d really come alive during Pioneer Days in April, when there’s storytelling, hayrides, cloggers and dancing, bluegrass music, an antique auto show, blacksmith demos, a craft fair and food vendors.  

Hazen’s Brigade Monument

The timing of our stop in D.C. was fortuitous.  We were there right before the government shutdown, so everything was open.  We weren’t so lucky when Stevi took us to Murfreesboro to check out some Civil War sites.  But we didn’t let that deter us, and we drove around until we found places we could still visit.  One of them was Hazen’s Brigade Monument.

Hazen’s Brigade Monument is a large stone structure built from thick limestone blocks that stands on the grounds of the Stones River Battlefield National Cemetery.  It was completed in May, 1863, four months after the Battle of Stones River. The monument is the oldest intact Civil War Memorial and was dedicated to the memory of the soldiers who perished during the battle.

The downside of the visitor center being shuttered (because of the shutdown) was that we missed the opportunity to check out the “time capsule” objects.  They were found in 1985 when the monument was being repaired.   Nine battle-related items were found, including symbolically arranged artillery shells and musket barrels.

There are two graves that lie outside the walls of the Hazen’s Brigade Monument.  William Holland and his grandson William Harlan were both U.S. military veterans.  William Holland lived long enough – 70 years – to go from being a slave, basically a piece of property, at the beginning of his life, to ending his life as a property owner and an American citizen.

Most monuments are built 30 years or more after the event by contractors.  Hazen’s Brigade Monument is unique in that it was built by comrades of the men buried there, mere months after they’d died.  How extraordinary that our modern fingers can touch those very same stones that Civil War soldiers assembled in loving tribute to their fallen brothers in arms!

A final goodbye at Arlington

Evelyn, Mike’s mum, passed away in early 2012.  She was in her 80s and had suffered from dementia for the entire six years I’d known her.

Despite her memory issues, she was a lovely, vibrant woman.  She had silvery hair, large, expressive eyes, and an easy, hearty laugh.  I occasionally caught glimpses of the woman she was before the disease gained its foothold.  She’d be feisty and funny, and I could picture her overseeing a household of boys and one adopted girl as well as the assorted cousins that would come over for Sunday dinner.

When I first started dating Mike, on the weekends, I would bring a big suitcase over to the house he shared with his mum and his brother Patrick.  Along with clothes and toiletries, I always packed several Z Bars for me and Evelyn.  She loved the chocolaty, kid-friendly nutrition bars as much as I did.  Maybe because we were both kids at heart.  I’d make us each a cup of tea and perch on the arm of her easy chair while we sipped and munched and shared stories.  I’d rub her back, and sometimes, if I’d had a bad day, she’d rub mine and tell me it’d be okay.

When Evelyn couldn’t be left alone anymore, Mike and Patrick were faced with how to watch her 24/7 when they both worked.  Unfortunately, she made too much money for assistance but too little to pay for the type of nursing home facility that can take care of dementia patients.  A godsend came in the form of one their cousins who lived in California.  Collette, a stay-at-home grandma, and her family were able to take Evelyn in, and they were close enough that we could still easily visit.  I would send Evelyn homemade cards with photos and news from our crazy life.  When Mike and I got married in 2009, one of Collette’s granddaughters brought Evelyn to Vegas so she could be there to celebrate with us.  One of my most treasured photos is of Evelyn with her own three granddaughters.  She’s in purple; the girls are wearing satin sheaths in varying jewel tones, and they’re all beautiful.

Once Mike got his pilot’s license, we would fly from Vegas to California, pick Evelyn up and take her to the bookstore.  She loved Danielle Steel, so we’d buy her the author’s latest installment.  It didn’t matter if she’d already read it.  She wouldn’t remember, so it’d be new to her regardless.  After that, we’d take her to dinner and have those heartbreaking conversations where the same questions were asked over and over again.  When we would leave her to return home, she’d cry and beg to be taken home to be with her boys.  We would explain, but no words could take away the sadness in her eyes.  I felt so badly for Mike at those times.  It was crushing for him to see her like that and to have to leave her behind.

After Evelyn passed, we went through her things.  I found all the cards I’d sent her, all the gifts I’d given her like the picket fence picture frame and the box with the bold flower print that once contained lemony tea bags.  She had saved it all.  I bawled like a baby, and  I still do when I think about it.

Mike’s dad, for whom he’s named, was buried in Arlington National Cemetery in 2003, and it was Evelyn’s wish that we reunite her with her husband of over 50 years.  It took more than a year for Mike’s, Patrick’s and their older brother Raymond’s schedules to sync up, so we didn’t make it to Arlington until late September 2013.  Before the ceremony, we toured the cemetery.  We talked and walked and marveled at the history of the place.  The changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns was particularly moving.

Finally, the moment came for us to bid Evelyn a final goodbye.  The chaplain’s ceremony was short and as heartfelt as he could make it for someone he didn’t know.  Raymond had brought along a picture and a small elephant to be buried with her.  Elephants were another thing Evelyn and I had in common.   She collected them, and I still do, although I’ve yet to find a place for all of them in the RV.

Before we left Evelyn for the last time, I touched both the photo and the trinket at the gravesite.  I am so grateful to have known this amazing, beautiful woman and so honored that she allowed me the privilege of loving her son.  Rest in peace, Evelyn.  You will always be in our hearts.

Air and Space

Our next stop after hanging out with Grant and Barbie was Washington, D.C.  We were in town to inter Mike’s mum with his dad, who was buried in Arlington in 2003.  Evelyn passed away in early 2012, but it took a while for all of our schedules to sync up so we could reunite her with her husband of over 50 years.

Although the reason for the visit was bittersweet, we managed to fit in some fun.  With Mike’s passion for all things flying-related, a trip to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., was a “must do”.   Luckily, we were in D.C. right before the shutdown, so all the museums were open.

Of course, Mike was in aviation ecstasy the moment he stepped inside the Air and Space doors.  🙂  I was pretty excited, too, especially about the Wright Brothers exhibit – coming so close on the heels of our visit to First Flight.  While were at Air and Space, we saw two movies in the IMAX theatre: Air Racers (which was in 3D) and To Fly!  Both were good and gave our feet a nice rest after all the walking.

(The Instagram photos were taken by me.  The others were taken by Mike.)

A walking tour of Colonial Williamsburg

As you might recall, we’re big fans of walking tours.  Instead of doing the Diva Dash I had originally planned for a Saturday in late September (which was based on us being in D.C. at that time, rather than staying in Virginia), we were able to score last-minute spots on a walking tour of Colonial Williamsburg, put on by, appropriately enough, Williamsburg Walking Tours.

Colonial Williamsburg is 301-acre living history museum.  It features 88 original Colonial-period buildings and was completely restored by the John D. Rockefeller Foundation in the late 1920s.  We had Trish, our knowledgeable and friendly guide, to ourselves as we started at the corner of the Palace Green by the Bruton Parish Church.  The Palace Green is a stretch of lawn, with trees lining the perimeter, that runs north from Duke of Gloucester Street up the center of Palace Street, with the Governor’s Palace at the far end and historic houses on either side.

There’s obviously too much history in Colonial Williamsburg for me to come close to capturing it all in this post, but here are a few interesting tidbits that we learned from Trish.

The Father of Colonial Williamsburg

The Reverend Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin was rector of Bruton Parish Church.  As a His full name was Williams Archer Rutherfoord Goodwin, but he preferred to go by his initials.   Commonly known as “the Father of Colonial Williamsburg”, Goodwin spearheaded the preservation of and restoration of Colonial Williamsburg by successfully soliciting funding from John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

George Wythe House

The First American Lawyer

One of Trish’s favorite Colonial Williamsburg’s characters is George Wythe, and when we learned about him, we could understand why.  Wythe was the first professor of law at the College of William and Mary, which was the first law school in North America.  He was also a legal adviser and law teacher to Thomas Jefferson.  Even more notable is that he was a signer of the Declaration of American Independence and served briefly at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.  He opposed slavery and was considered a great statesman.  Wythe’s accomplishments in life were somewhat overshadowed in death, however, because he was allegedly murdered by his grand nephew George Wythe Swinney.  The teenage Swinney supposedly poisoned his grand uncle to get his inheritance, but thankfully Wythe lingered long enough to change his will before he passed away.  In an unexpected twist, William Wirt and Edmund Randolph, who are two of George Wythe’s closest friends and colleagues, represented Swinney at the trial. Wythe’s friends are the same people who help get his murderer acquitted. Wythe, though, would probably have been okay with that because they were following the law, which he held so dear.

Ludwell-Paradise House

Loony Lucy Ludwell

The Ludwell-Paradise House dates back to 1755 and is a lovely example of Georgian architecture.  It was once home to Philip Ludwell III, a prominent member of London society who held a seat in the Governor’s Council. His daughter, Lucy, inherited the house when he passed away.  Lucy married John Paradise.   Although the pair traveled in the highest social circles in London, Lucy was an unconventional character in Williamsburg. Considered mentally unstable, she’d confuse herself for royalty, strutting down Duke of Gloucester Street with servants in tow, greeting her “subjects” with a royal wave.  This would apparently go on for hours.  She was also known for stealing dresses and compulsively bathing multiple times a day.  In 1812, Lucy’s delusions of grandeur and odd behavior landed her in the Public Hospital, where she died two years later.

A curious contraption

The colonists hung clay jugs and bottles near the eves of their homes so that birds would nest inside. In exchange for shelter, hungry birds provided free pest control by eating bothersome insects.

Sugar blues

During the Colonial period, refined white sugar came in the shape of cones and was wrapped in blue paper, hence the blue cones over the door of this shop.

Scaling the roof

In colonial times, roofs were equipped with attached ladders so that they could be more easily scaled in case of fire.

Where the best people resorted

Jane Vobe opened the King’s Arms Tavern in 1772, dubbing it the place “where the best people resorted.”  We didn’t dine there, but we’re told, if you do, your server will be dressed in 18th century fashion, ready to fill your table with Colonial eats such as game pie and a chop of shoat.

The shot heard round the town

Palmer House is one of Colonial Williamsburg’s original 88 18th-century buildings and was known back in the day as the W.W. Vest House.  The regularly spaced niches in the Flemish-bond brick façade are called putlog holes.  These holes supported the scaffolding as masons laid brick.  In most cases, putlog holes were filled with mortar when construction was complete. Today, the putlog holes in the Palmer House remain open until the holiday season when they’re filled with apples, a tradition that started in 1953.

The Palmer House served as the Union headquarters for the provost marshal (military police) in Williamsburg’s occupation during the Civil War.  In 1863, the Provost Marshal was newly commissioned, 19-year-old Lieutenant William W. Disoway.  On October 13, a Private William Boyle, of the lieutenant’s own unit, was arrested for disorderly conduct –  apparently drunk and surly – as he tried to force his way into Williamsburg past a sentry. He was escorted to Lieutenant Disoway, who was sitting in the front doorway of Mr. Vest’s house, reading a newspaper.  Disoway ordered Private Boyle taken back to camp to sober up and return in the morning. Instead, Boyle pulled out his service revolver and threatened to shoot the Lieutenant. Disoway tried to keep the situation calm by ordering the surrounding guards not to fire their muskets, but Boyle shot Disoway anyway, killing him instantly.

The Capitol Building stands at the east end of the Duke of Gloucester Street and was the last stop on our tour with Trish.  The current structure is the third capitol in that spot; it’s a complete rebuilding on the earlier foundations of the original structure.  The original structure was started in 1701 when the colonial Capitol was moved from Jamestown to Williamsburg, or Middle Plantation as it was first called.  Construction was finished four years later.  The capitol was subsequently moved to Richmond in 1780 during the Revolutionary War.  After two fires ravaged the building, Trish told us, the secretary insisted on having a separate building to work in.

Trish did such a good job on our daytime walking tour that we went back that night for her ghost tour.  We highly recommend taking a Williamsburg Walking Tour when you’re visiting Colonial Williamsburg, and be sure to ask for Trish as your guide.

Flying into history

The site of the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight is a pilgrimage for aviation buffs.  To be able to fly yourself there makes the journey even more extraordinary.  Mike was able to do just that in late September when we flew with his cousin Grant from Hampton Roads Executive Airport to the First Flight Airstrip (KFFA) in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.   It’s an unattended 3000’ by 60’ asphalt runway carved out of thick forest.  For Mike, who’s primary flight experience has been in flat, desert areas, seeing the runway was tricky.  Grant pointed the way until Mike spotted it.  Since there’s no light on the airstrip, it opens 30 minutes before sunrise and closes 30 minutes after sunset.

KFFA is located at the Wright Brothers National Memorial.   When you land, you’ll want to stop first at the Terminal Building and print out an official landing certificate to take with you.   Then, take an hour or two to check out the Memorial.

The 60′ ft. granite monument leads the way to the extensive National Park which features well-manicured grounds with markers, both big and small, indicating the successful launching and landing points, a visitors’ center, and a cluster of museums and exhibits which celebrates the last century of flight and beyond.  For a tutorial on all things aviation, from the first successful glide across the Kill Devil Hills sand dunes to the new breakthroughs from NASA, a trip to the Wright Brothers National Memorial is a must.

I found our trip to First Flight and the Memorial very moving.  What the Wright Brothers started in 1903 has led to the amazing opportunities we have today to see the world in a unique way.  Their efforts sparked a chain of events that, over a hundred years later, resulted in my husband taking us to the skies for aerial adventures.  I will be forever grateful to the Wright Brothers for that gift.

Heading out of Hampton Roads Executive Airport on the way to First Flight Airport

Near the coast on the way to First Flight Airport

Landing at First Flight with Mike as PIC and Grant as co-pilot

Coastal view heading back

A walking tour of Amana

The Amana Colonies have an interesting history.  German Inspirationists were persecuted for their religion in their native land.  That, combined with a poor economy, forced them to flee to the United States in the 1840s, settling initially in Buffalo, New York, and then moving in 1855 to the Iowa River valley when more farmland was needed to support their community.  Their community consisted of seven villages, a mile or two apart, that they named Amana, a word from the Song of Solomon that meant “remain faithful.”

The Amana Colonies would become one of America’s longest-lived and largest religious communal societies.

In the seven villages, residents received a home, medical care, meals, all household necessities and schooling for their children. Property and resources were shared. Men and women were assigned jobs by their village council of brethren. No one received a wage. No one needed one.

Farming and the production of wool and calico supported the community, but village enterprises, everything from clock making to brewing, were vital, and well-crafted products became a hallmark of the Amanas. Craftsmen took special pride in their work as a testament of both their faith and their community spirit. The Amana villages became well known for their high quality goods.

The unhurried routine of life in old Amana was paced very differently than today. Amana prayer meetinghouses, located in the center of each village, built of brick or stone, have no stained glass windows, no steeple or spire, and reflect the ethos of simplicity and humility. Inspirationists attended worship services 11 times a week; their quiet worship punctuating the days.

Over 50 communal kitchens provided three meals daily to Colonists. These kitchens were operated by the women of the Colony and well supplied by the village smokehouse, bakery, ice house and dairy as well as huge gardens, orchards and vineyards maintained by the villagers.

The Great Depression ended the communal way of living.  The history was well preserved, though, and in 1965, the Amana Colonies were declared at National Historic Landmark.  Communal kitchens are now restaurants, and high quality handicrafts are still made in the area.  Although they don’t attend 11 services a week, men and women still enter the churches through distinct doorways and sit in separate pews.

I highly recommend taking the walking tour of Amana.  It’s just $7 for adults ($2 for children).  There are also beer and wine events and food sampling tours.  Whatever you decide to do, you’ll enjoy discovering the historical aspects of communal life, architecture, and agriculture of the area.