Playing Catch-Up: October & November 2011

    I have to apologize to my readers for being so far behind in telling about my travels; my daughter and I got back to Saint Louis from our trip to Ireland and Scotland the first of October.  
    We were both exhausted from the trip.  She had to go to work the next day, but I got to lay around for a few days to recharge my batteries.
   I did post stories of most of my travels abroad while at my sister's house in Hickory NC and finished as soon as I got back home, but then I tired of the whole process and am just now getting back into the "Blog thing."
    Before I left San Diego, I had printed out Google maps for everywhere in the US I wanted to visit.  But before leaving Saint Louis, I wanted to visit some of the local sites.  However, rather than bore my readers with details by writing a single post for every site, I am going to lump several together and provide web-links to the sites so my readers can read further if they want to learn more. 

   One of the places we visited in Saint Louis was the Ulysses S. Grant National Historical Site.  The farmstead's name is White Haven and was Julia Dent Grant's home when she and Ulysses were courting.  Julia and Ulysses were married in 1848 and had four children:  three boys and a girl.
  The Dents were slave owners and relied on 30 or more slaves to work the farm.  In the 1840's the farm was substantially larger then than it is today.  
   Colonel Dent was pro-slavery and supported the south.  Grant was anti-slavery and supported the union.  One of Julia's brothers, Fred, fought for the Union while another brother, John, fought for the Confederacy.
  The Grants purchased White Haven from Julia's father in the 1860's but did not move there permanently until many years later.  After Grant purchased the farm, he shifted the enterprise from strictly agricultural to horse breeding.
   While Grant was president he hired a caretaker to run the farm.  When they left the White House, Julia and Ulysses toured Europe for two years and then retired to White Haven.

   The eight room house would be considered small by today's standards, but in its time was considered quite large.
   Besides a substantial horse barn, chicken houses, and other out buildings, here was a winter kitchen in the basement and a summer kitchen out back.
   For further information visit:  http://www.nps.gov/ulsg/index.htm 


   Across the road, on land that used to belong to White Haven, are the Clydesdale Stables which belong to Budweiser.  We visited them too "while we were at it."  

  After leaving Saint Louis, I traveled to North Lewisburg Ohio to visit a friend, Jan Mills, for a few days.  I then traveled to Dickson Tennessee to see my grandson, Harley Neal who is attending college nearby.  From there I traveled east to Hickory North Carolina to visit with my sister Sherry and her family for a while.  I wound up staying in Hickory almost three weeks.

  One of the reasons I stayed so long was so I could see the Balloon Festival at Statesville North Carolina.  I have seen balloons before but not up close.
    We were able to be next to the balloons while they were being inflated.
   We were only a few yards away as they ascended into a cloudless sky.

  Words cannot fully describe the feeling one gets while standing next to one of these colossal balloons.  These pictures do not do justice to what was happening.  
   We actually got to see the balloons be inflated and float away two times.  The first time it was about 4:00.  All the balloons were inflated and they all sailed away.  The chase vehicles all took off as quickly as they could.  

yone  While floating silently above us, the balloons did not seem nearly as large as they had on the ground.  About thirty minutes or an hour later, just before sunset, all of the chase vehicles came back.  They pulled out the balloons again, inflated them again, and sent them up one more time.
   The sun had just set and while there was still enough light to see, the fire from the heaters used to inflate the balloons, sent a glow inside the balloons that was quite beautiful.  Sadly to say, the pictures that I took of the glowing balloons did not come out very well - there was not enough light.  The chase vehicles took off again and then everyone had to leave.  
   This year, the festival will be held October 19th through the 21st.  If you are interested in going, or just want to learn more visit:  http://www.carolinaballoonfest.com/carolina_hot_air_balloon_fest_statesville_nc_usa.html

Another reason I had to stay at my sister's so long was the Carolina Renaissance Festival.  On October 29th we drove south to Huntersville North Carolina and spent the entire day at the Faire.  Unlike SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) events, people are not required to dress in period clothing; some do but most do not.  We saw jugglers, magic shows, visited craft booths, enjoyed food, and watched a jousting tournament.
   The picture above is of my two great-neices:  Ariel Jade Cabrerra (on left) and Lorelai Rose Jarman (on right).
   The site at Huntersville has permanent buildings that are reminiscent of a village circa 1600.  The festival runs for several weekends during October and November each year.  For further information visit:  http://www.royalfaires.com/carolina/
   Since I was planning to visit Florida next, I did not return to Hickory.  My next blog will cover my road trip and stops that were made between Huntersville North Carolina and home.  Hopefully, it will not be as long before I get that one written.  Thanks for being patient.