Travel is fast approaching…

The lovely Tina and I are off in a couple of days… to the Caribbean, the tropics, to escape, to explore, to cruise, to relax… god knows we need to escape and relax…

There is also an escape from what for us is cold, frigid weather… it will get near 32 degrees tonight… too damn cold… (there is a fire on the hearth a few feet away as I write this…) it is warmer where we are going… But before you can escape and relax you have to plan, and pack, and prepare…

We both seem to be as prepared at work as we can be… Tina more than I, but generally we are prepared… There is a project going on at the house, but I think I have done what I can in advance, have a crew coming in Wednesday to more the last of the furniture, and have to just accept I have done that that can be done…  I am close to setting up my summer camp program for the summer (summer camps in summer, who would have thought)

The Packing has started… suitcases down from the loft in the garage today… there are piles of stuff… growing piles… guided by lists… stuff to take, lists of stuff to find, to buy, and eventually to pack.

I am probably more addicted to technology than I should be… there are cameras (three) with battery chargers, memory chips, cables, extra lenses and such… an Ipad (I blog on the road on the Ipad) with its charger… a journal (sometimes I resort to paper… )  The cell phones need chargers as well… collectively it is a computer bag… a fat, heavy computer bag.

There are books… and clothing… we need something to wear… They expect us to wear clothing...  I have formal stuff (a white dinner jacket, and stuff… it is a cruise… ) swim suit and water shoes… there are tee shirts, shorts, and more… There are mardi gras beads… 

The planning is nearly done… there are guides purchased, guides downloaded and printed, and a plan, 7 pages long, 1,200 words or so, a very personal guide for the two of us…  Flight schedules and reservations, hotel reservations, a rental car, guided tours reserved in advance and “ideas”…. Places to explore once we have done what we planned to do.

Our plan…

We leave SFO on Wednesday evening after work… flying about 8:00 pm… red eye to Ft Lauderdale… Jet Blue… not my beloved Virgin, but a good airline… We arrive in Ft Lauderdale near dawn… then change planes for San Juan…  Two long flights… still domestic… 

We arrive in San Juan early afternoon on Thursday… We have a really nice hotel in Old San Juan, near the cruise pier… not the pier our ship is leaving from of course, but a cruise pier… our ship is leaving from a different pier, the Pan Am pier… an homage to Pan-American Airlines, aka Pan Am, who landed their clippers, large sea planes, here, before World War II…

We have Thursday afternoon, all day Friday, and much of Saturday in Old San Juan…  By chance there is a significant street festival going on… The St Sebastian Festival… parades, music, crowds, a zoo… we will explore and enjoy, but likely will not linger much…  We will likely use the local ferries, buses and subway to explore beyond old San Juan… We have visited San Juan before… I have blogged about it before at http://randyhees.blogspot.com/2010/11/san-juan.html That trip generated a album of 12 photos… found at https://picasaweb.google.com/108652524348276372534/November2010CarribeanCruise12Photos

Saturday evening we board our ship… the Celebrity Summit… We have sailed with Celebrety before, but never on the Summit… a new ship for a new trip.  We sail at 8:30, after dark… 

We visit St Croix, US Virgin Islands the next day… we will take a cab across the island to Christianstad to explore the National park… as in National Park Service, the US National Park Service, the guys in the magic Smokey the Bear hats…  having explored the park we will return to Fredrikstad and its attractions (and our ship) to wander about…

It is St Kitts the next day… Ft Brimstone… and some local low key explorations…

On Dominica we are canyoning… repelling down a waterfall… I haven’t repelled in near 40 years… it will be exciting.

On to Grenada… probably a ship’s tour to a nutmeg processing plant… a former plantation… then explore town and a local bar… I expect a good day.

 A day at sea… 

Then St Thomas, where we plan to take the ferry to St John…  

Then San Juan again… and how to waste a day before a 3:00 flight to Ft Lauderdale… rental car, hotel, a visit with the son… The son lives in Ft Lauderdale… we get to see the dog… We will have a brunch at Johnny V’s (we ate there before… it was good… ) then fly home.

At least we have a plan…plans are important...

Late Saturday night… A story about paint archeology

It’s a rare weekend with few job related responsibilities…  And I end up at work… not for work, but for other things… for all the right reasons…  A friend shows up with a 1875 locomotive headlight, and permission to sand through and explore the various layers of paint…  The friend, a museum curator, expert in Victorian paint and industrial design is in position of the headlight from Glenbrook… a locomotive owned by and undergoing restoration by the Nevada State Railroad Museum… He is doing a paint study… I participated in a similar study for a 1868 passenger car owned by the museum recently… We sand, discuss expectations, findings, and such…

But first, Jim hasn’t visited the farm before… (Ardenwood Historic Farm, a joint project of East Bay Regional Parks and the City of Fremont, 210 acres of a once 12,000 acre Gold Rush era grain ranch) we explore… the farm yard, the butterfly grove, the house, and the new railroad building… then set up a table outside (in bright sun) and attack the headlight with sand paper, 3in1 oil, magnifying glasses, and enthusiasm.  We are professionals, you should get out of our way… 

We are looking for evidence of 19^th century decoration… we fail, or in reality, the headlight fails us.  We sand windows in likely spots… we find primer, black, bright orange, with a stripe of yellow orange, and more black… There is a yellow layer in places… but no layers of wine, or rich brown, no decoration or other expected (documented) 19^th century colors… Somebody stripped the old paint off, circa 1938, and has erased the evidence…  At least that is our story… And we are what you call “experts”… We do find traces of wine or maybe brown… The likely original or second color, but not wine with decoration as hoped for… The decoration is gone, likely erased by a skilled painter preparing the headlight for repainting after the locomotive left service…  We have failed to find 19^th century paint, but Jim has a statement about the search and lack of physical forensic evidence for his report.

During the search, park guests stop by to ask questions, to find out what we are doing… they seem interested… They have not heard of paint archeology… they peer through magnifying glasses at paint samples exposed by sand paper and knife…  Their (young) children dream of Blue engines named Thomas but don’t see blue…

Back home, hours later… after dark… a fire on the hearth… a baked pasta for dinner, the 49’ers win… I am working on the planning for a  cruise vacation in a few days (canyoning on Dominica!)…  now late… a glass of cheap red wine at hand, I blog…

Trip planning, a cycle…

A week from now we will be off again… This time to Puerto Rico for a few days, then a Caribbean cruise, followed by a night in Florida to visit The Son…

The trip has been in the works for some time… booked last spring… airfare purchased in July or so… a hotel in San Juan… then the trip kind of sat at the edge of our brains, while life, work, holidays and a dozen other things demanded our full attention.  Both of us are really looking forward to the trip… but we have limited plans once there… that planning has finally started and we are getting excited…  Normally we would have already researched and booked a few local guides… This time we haven’t.  There is a “roll call” for our sailing at Cruise Critics, but neither of us has been real active there.

Now, evenings, I am googling (by the way, Microsoft Word doesn’t recognize the word “googling”, I am not surprised, but a bit disappointed, even worse, Blogger doesn't... very strange) the various islands (St Croix, St Kitts, Dominica, Grenada, and St Thomas)  Tina and I have been to San Juan and St Thomas before, but the other islands are new…  I had picked up a good guide book a few months ago from my favorite used book pusher… Tina had printed our a couple of web guides many months ago… I discovered that AAA no longer publishes a Caribbean tour book… at least I have an old one…

We are unlikely to “do” the typical cruise trips which are seemingly offered at every cruise stop, world wide…  glass bottom boats, zip lining, or two hour “sights of…” bus tours with shopping opportunities (never underestimate the power of shopping opportunities).  St Kitts has a scenic railway, which to Tina’s surprise we will miss… or maybe avoid.  We are much more likely to get a local cab to a historical site or local market, or walk about town.  Several of the islands have significant national parks which we may visit…  Some islands have rum factories… we may miss the overly corporate Bacardi Rum Factory, but since it’s a fun ferry ride across the harbor maybe we will go anyway.  We are likely to visit the bar that is credited with inventing the Pina Colada…

By chance, we are in San Juan for the annual St Sebastian festival. That should be interesting (or overwhelming… we will soon know).  Last time we were in San Juan we spent all our time in Old San Juan… this time we will venture beyond…

So, with the trip a week away, there are packing lists… a box is starting to gather “stuff”… a GPS, maps, cameras and batteries and chargers.   I had problems with one camera a couple of months ago… that has been addressed.  I am trying to choose a few books to take… I keep a shelf filled with “to read” books, some have been there for several years… others are new to the shelf… 

The vacation is becoming real

Virginia, So Far... Or... Chasing Ghosts...

I started in Fredericksburg... Site of a Civil War Battle, some 150 years ago... That anniversary being the genesis for this trip.  One of my Great-great grandfathers was there...

The battle took place over several days, in December of 1862... Climaxing on December 13th when Union attacks on the "sunken road" and Prospect Hill were repulsed... But today is Sunday, December 9th, not the anniversary, but the "anniversary observed"

I arrived in town early, at dawn, drove about a bit, then drove to the far eastern end of the battlefield, Prospect Hill, where Pvt. William J B Sherman found himself, a member of the 55th Virginia, under command of Stonewall Jackson...

Much like the day of the battle, 150 years ago, it was cold and foggy... I had Prospect Hill to myself... I walked, to the rear, where troops were likely camped, and possibly sheltered during the Union shelling... Someone has left a makeshift memorial to their confederate ancestor who fought here...  Quite moving... Like my great-great grandfather he survived the battle... He survived the war as well, while my great-great grandfather was dead of fever within a few months.

I hiked the confederate trench line, then down the hill to the west where Meade and his troops broke through the confederate line...  Where there now stands a stone pyramid, a monument to the battle, erected by the Richmond, Potomac & Fredericksburg Railroad who's tracks bisected the battlefield then, and continue to today.

I hiked back up Prospect Hill, by now crowded with people here for the celebration or commemoration, or festivities, or whatever...

I return to town, to the NPS visitor center, now open... I "do" the sunken road walk... There are rangers and park volunteers everywhere... Buildings, not normally open are open... Guests are dressed in Civil War clothing, dodger and civilian, both northern, and southern...  I encounter people with pins, and patches sewn into jackets and vests... Each commemorating their visit to a previous 150th anniversary of another Civil War battle.

I move down into town, find a place to park, and walk around, finding a coffee house...  Most stores are closed (at least until noon)... It is Sunday, and while it might be the 150th anniversary celebration of the battle, it is also Sunday.

The local event committee has arraigned free shuttle busses... I find a shuttle stop, and ride across the river to Chatham House, where the re-enactors are... (the NPS will allow re-enactors to camp at Washington's boyhood home, and allow them to set up public displays at Park headquarters... But won't let them reenact the battle on the battlefield...

The shuttle buses were burrowed or rented from a local Christian school.  Our driver was more than a bit snarly...  We drove past the entrance of Chatham House, and into the parking lot of a strip mall.  The shuttle stop for Chatham House was in front of a closed retail store... When ask the driver referred us to the volunteer outside who told us it was his first day, and didn't know...  Several of us took off in search of Chatham House... It turned out to be behind the closed stores of the somewhat bleak retail strip mall...  Down an alley, through some trees and across a field... The house had a long history;  built before the war, it was the headquarters of a large plantation.  Durring the War it was a headquarters, a hospital, and a battery..  Of course by then of the war the place was a shambles, the slaves freed, the families fortune gone...

Eventually the land was sold off and it became the big house on the hill, now with formal gardens instead of tobacco.   It is hard to correlate what today is grand home with its plantation and wartime history...

Having seen Chatham I chose to walk back, rather than brave the shuttle...  It was a quick walk into town... By now the stores, having observed Sunday morning, were open.   I bought a cup of Brunswick Stew to go from a cafe... (Traditionally made with squirrel meat... I didn't ask)

At 1:00, there was a commemoration, and a walk, organized by NPS...  A bit of background... During the battle, the Union Army threw itself at well the well dug in army... The Union troops were mostly Irish units, raised in New York.  It was a blood bath... A waste of brave (mostly Irish) troops...

Now, today, the commemoration will include a current New York National Guard unit, the descendent of the Irish Battalions who fought here... In modern combat uniforms... They have a pair of Irish Wolfhounds with them, but I suspect they were found locally... There is a small contingent of the Irish Defense Force, flown in across the pond... Then the re-enactors... Re-enacting one of the Irish units, followed by confederate re-enactors, followed by the public... They are to walk the route taken by the Union troops as they attacked the confederate positions.

But first... Speeches, mercifully short, followed by two minutes of shelling... Really fireworks... 100 shells a minute... For two minutes... In 1862, the shelling went on for hours...  It was a powerful message.   Visceral… It raised thought of the town folks, hiding in basements… the shelling overwhelming… Then, the procession started... And the church bells began to toll... Each member of the public was offered a carnation to carry...

Eventually, the public was divided into three columns, each following one of the attack routes.   Once the stone wall, marking the sunken road and the confederate line was reached, the carnations were to be laided down.

Somehow, the Irish remembrance (not inappropriate or unwelcome) had taken over the remembrance of the total battle, and the Irish, as Union troops, had eclipsed the memory of the Confederate Troops also here.  Great-great Grandfather was there as a confederate solder… a somewhat unwilling one… but he was there, and this celebration (woops, commemoration) forgot that…

By then, I had abandoned the official commemoration... I had my own plans... And for now, my plans were to join my niece and her family in Lorton, where my nephew, and wife, and Max would join us...

I would have a second chance to remember and commemorate, without the crowds with patched recalling all the battle fields they had visited, and the people who like public celebrations what ever for…

Off, to DC

6:28 pm... SFO...  Virgin America flight 942... ( best damn airline in the world)

The area in front of the terminal is deserted... A single taxi competing for empty curb space...  There was no line at security...

I am here to catch a flight to LA, once there, to catch a connection to Dulles... Arriving about dawn... Tomorrow, I will visit the battlefield at Fredricksburg Virginia... A civil war battle field... There will be a re enactment in progeress... A celebration or commemoration of the battle which was fought there 150 years ago.

My great, great, grandfather was there, a member of the 55th Virginia... In A. P. Hills corps... But at this battle under command of Stonewall Jackson, A. P. Hill having just received news of his son's death.

It seemed like a good time to visit...

I also have family nearby, nieces, nephews, their spouses (in our family also nieces and nephews, and great nieces, and great nephews...

There also libraries nearby... I have books that I would like to pull at the Library of Congress, and records To  pull at National Archives.

I am busy at work... But things are tense, and the escape may help, and will at least offer a short escape...

Boarding was easy... Seat 23a... A window... Get settled, book out, headphones... I pad... Eventually the plane pushes back... Taxis... And then comes to life for the takeoff roll...

We climb, turn north... Fireworks are visible near fishman's warf... We turn again, this time westward, then southward... It is dark out... San Mateo is below... Then the bay peters out near Santa Clara, now as we fly south, the houses and their lights are getting scarcer as we escape the Bay Area....

The one hour flight south is too short for sleep... That will wait for the east bound leg...

Few lights a visible below... Those that are, are far to the east... Likely in the great valley... The San Joaquin... It is bumpy... But the "fasten seat belt" light is off...

I seem to be wallowing in Lenard Cohen on the entertainment system... Strangely calming...  They announce we are about 20 minutes out... We should prepare to land...  below there are only one or two lonely lights...   Soon, seat belt light on, descending... Over LA... On the ground... Waiting for my turn to get off... Find the next gate... And take a deep breath...  I have an hour before boarding... So I find a place for a beer and fish and chips. Gladstones... But the airport is not the same as Malibu...

I sit for a few minutes at the gate... for the next leg of the flight... the flight is far from full, but they make the peremptory announcement about carry on's anyway, and offer to gate check...  We board quickly... I fall asleep quickly... to awake as we are on approach at Dulles... Its dark... its raining... I get my rental, and go off into the night... which will soon be dawn, but there is no sign of light... off on my adventure.