After I finished walking around I went to Fort Moultrie. This was one of the forts that fired on Fort Sumter in the first battle of the Civil War. However, the displays were more about the 171-year history of Fort Moultrie. It was named in honor of William Moultrie, who defended Charleston from the British in 1776 at this spot. But not for long, as the British returned in 1780 and were successful in capturing Charleston. After the American Revolution, the fort was abandoned and neglected until war broke out between England and France in 1793. Congress authorized the First American System of nationwide coastal fortifications and a second Fort Moultrie was built. Fort Moultrie was later modernized in the 1870s and again as technology changed during WWI and WWII.
After walking around the fort I drove to Charles Pinckney National Historic Site. I had never heard of Charles Pinckney, but he was a man who dedicated his live to public service. He was an officer during the American Revolution, but spent most of the time imprisoned with the other American officers after the British took Charleston. After the war, Pinckney was one of the South Caroline delegates at the Constitutional Convention where he was an active participant and many of his ideas were incorporated into the Constitution. In 1800, he became the ambassador to Spain and helped facilitation the acquisition of Louisiana from France.
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My plan for today was to go to Atalaya Castle and Brookgreen Gardens on Murrells Inlet, but it was raining a lot and both are outdoor activities. I had already been to several gardens on my trip and I didn’t really know anything about the castle so I decided to head to Charleston instead where I hope they have better weather. When I got to Charleston it was gloomy, but there was no rain so my chance paid off. I went started with Magnolia Planation and Gardens. There were actually a lot of people there today. It has one of the most beautiful plantation gardens in the area. Since I had time, I paid for the gardens and a tour of the house.
We got through the different rooms on the second floor. The family continued to marry well and they accumulated a lot of wealth. With this, they were able to buy houses in Charleston and in other areas. They kept the gardens open to the public, but they didn’t like the lack of privacy. Tourists kept coming up to the plantation house and peaked in the windows, so they eventually moved out and opened the house to tours. They kept all of their furnishing in place though, so we could see the furnishings of the time in the bedrooms, dining rooms, and sitting rooms. The house is still owned by the descendants of the Drayton family, though no one has lived in the house for years.
Since I cut out 2 stops out of my itinerary this morning, I was way ahead of schedule. I was supposed to go to Fort Sumter tomorrow, but I decided to go now since I didn’t want to deal with the weekend crowds. I’m glad I did. I didn’t realize the fort was on an island, so the only way to get there is by ferry on a tour. The tour takes 3 hours, which is a lot longer than I had planned for.
The upper level was cool because you could see were the cannon were placed around the island. This was considered an excellent place for the fort because no enemy could sneak up on you since it was on an island. And with Fort Moultrie, Fort Wagner, and other batteries located on land, this created an impassible defense for Charleston. However, this ended up being bad for the Union soldiers stationed here when the Civil War broke out. When South Caroline succeeded from the union in 1860, they felt they should have control of all of the forts in the area. However, Fort Moultrie was garrisoned by Major Robert Anderson and was loyal to the Union. He concluded that Fort Moultrie was indefensible and secretly moved his garrison to Fort Sumter. This would protect him from a sneak attack by land, but guns on all sides surrounded him. South Carolina demanded he turn over the fort, but the U.S. government ordered him not to. As the weeks passed, Fort Sumter became the focal point of tensions between the North and South. On April 11, 1861, Major Anderson was ordered to surrender or the Confederates would open fire on the fort. He refused, and an hour later the first shots of the Civil War were fired.
Since I’m ahead of schedule today, and will probably only spend 1 night in Charleston instead of 2 I decided to go to the Old Charleston Jail as my last stop for today. The Old Jail is considered the most haunted building in Charleston and I can see why. The tours run every 30 minutes. I had booked a later tour because I didn’t know how long it would take the ferry to get back and my travel time, but I actually arrived before the tour prior to mine was leaving. Since I was only 1 additional person, they let me join that tour.
Throughout the tour our guide told us stories of the different ghosts that still inhabit the building. There was the guy that was insane that liked to growl and hurt women. According to our guide he pushed one of the female tour guides down the stairs. There was also Lavinia Fisher, who has been reported as the first female serial killer in the U.S. She and her husband would invite lone travelers to the Six Mile Wayfarer House. They would then drug their tea and kill them, keeping their possessions. They both claimed they were innocent up until they were hanged. Lavinia still haunts the halls, and our tour guide said that he had seen her and heard her many times. Our last stop was in one of the lower jail cells. For this one, the tour guide turned out the electrical lights and his flashlight so we could see what it used to be like before they installed electricity. It was pitch dark. While it was dark he told us one more story about an experience one of the guides had here when it was dark. The guide was alone and he pissed off one of the ghosts. The ghost told him to “leave” and put a hand on his shoulder. When he got outside there was a burn mark in the shape of a hand in that exact spot. He researched the legends of the prisoners and there was a legend of a warden that died in the prison that liked to burn prisoners. He was so hated that his fellow guards are actually the ones that killed him. Right as our guide got to the point of the story that the ghost said “leave” he deliberately dropped his flashlight to see if anyone would scream. I wasn’t one of the ones that screamed, but I definitely jumped a couple of feet. Luckily it was dark so no one saw it.
On the way the group next to me asked about if the different herds mingle together. The captain told them that the horses all stay on different sides of the island in their own herd, unless there is a hurricane. Apparently someone sent up drones during the hurricane and it discovered that when one hits all of the horses gather together in the center of the island. The weaker horses and the foals are in the center of the circle, and the stronger horses are on the outside with their butts facing out. And this is how they ride out the hurricane, by working together.
After I finished walking around I went to my hotel for the night. Funny story about that. When I was trying to reserve my hotel I kept getting an error message. I needed a place to stay so I kept trying over and over. Apparently I tried 4 times, because when I finally got to the hotel, that is how many reservations I had. Luckily they were able to cancel them, so I only had to pay for 1 room. Apparently I wasn’t the only person that had this issue. The lady at the front desk said there was another man that had the same issue, but apparently he only reserved 2 rooms; not 4.
It was really cool being here, especially since I have been to the monument in Ohio. It also surprised me how many people were here. When I went to the monument in Ohio, there was maybe 3 or 4 cars, while this place was packed! I started out in the Visitor Center looking at the displays before going outside.
Next I drove to Cape Hatteras National Seashore, which wasn’t far from the Wright Brothers monument. I checked in at the Visitor Center. While I was there I asked for the ferry scheduled. The guy told me that there was a 3 hour wait to take the ferry. Dang! I definitely did not have time to wait 3 hours. I looked at the map and realized that the seashore actually stretches for several miles before getting to the point where you need the ferry.
After walking around it was time for the movie. The movie was very interesting. It was based on a Native American legend. It spoke about 3 boys from different tribes on the island that formed a friendship. After the Europeans came, 2 of the boys returned with them to England, which changed their lives and their tribes. One of the boys that went to England came back wanting to become like the Europeans and supported them. The 2ndboy that went came back rejecting everything he learned but he feared them. The 3 boy, the one that remained, was caught in the middle as battle lines were drawn and the tribes fought among themselves until they remembered their friendship and became close once more. My last stop of the day was to Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. I went through the museum first, which talked about the different Roanoke voyages. The first voyage was in 1584 and was a reconnaissance mission by Sir Walter Raleigh. He came to the New World looking for a place to settle. In Roanoke, the Native Americans traded with them and taught them about the land. They felt welcomed and returned in 1585 to set up a military outpost. The outpost depended on the Native Americans for food, which created harsh sentiments after they began to die of European diseases. The fort was abandoned and the soldier returned home. The last voyage was in 1587, where John White founded the colony. Life was hard and the colonists were running out of food since the Native Americans did not like them being there. John White agreed to return to England for supplies. However, White was not able to return until 1590 due to England needing every ship to face the Spanish Armada. When he finally returned there was no one there, only the words CROATOAN carved onto a post. When White tried to reach Croatoan Island, a hurricane forced the ships to return to England. The fate of the colonists, including White’s wife and daughter, remains a mystery. There are many theories, that they were killed by the Indians, that they joined the Indians, or that they moved on to another location, but there has been no evidence to support any of these theories. It is America’s longest unsolved mystery.
My first stop for today is Colonial National Historic Park. I had only given myself an hour to explore, which was a mistake because the historic park is large. First, there are 2 visitor centers, which I didn’t realize. I was expecting to go to the one in Yorktown, so when my GPS started taking me out of the way I got confused. I ended up pulling over and using my phone instead. Once I got to Yorktown I realized that I could have just gone to Jamestown first. The historic park isn’t actually the city; it is a battlefield outside of the city. It is the last battlefield of the American Revolution. It was here on October 19, 1781 that the British laid down their weapons and surrendered. In the fall of 1781, Lord Cornwallis (the commander of the British army) occupied Yorktown in order to prepare for the winter. General Washington and his French allies under the Comte de Rochambeau saw an opportunity. The French blockaded Chesapeake Bay, which isolated Cornwallis and his army. They could not be rescued or resupplied. On land, the army under General Washington surrounded Cornwallis, leaving no path for escape. Finally, in October, surrounded and with no way of escaping, Cornwallis sent a letter to Washington to surrender. With no army, the British government agreed to peace talks and the U.S. won its independence in early 1783.
After driving around Yorktown, I took the Colonial Parkway to Jamestown Island. Jamestown was the first permanent British settlement in the New World. It was also here that the legend of Pocahontas was born when the leader of Jamestown, John Smith, claimed she saved him from execution. Life on the settlement was hard and brief. While the Native Americans originally supplied the town with maize, they eventually refused which caused death by starvation for many of the indentured workers. The Virginia Company of London had issues finding workers until they started sending poor women and children there to work.
After Jamestown I tried to go to Cape Henry Lighthouse, but the road my GPS tried to get me to go on was closed. I had to turn around and I ended up pulling into the State Park where I was able to get directions. The lady told me the only way to access it was through Fort Story. So I plugged that into my GPS. I didn’t realize there was a fort over here or else I would have added that to my itinerary. I quickly realized that the fort was still operations as a military base, but they allow tourists to see the lighthouse and the first landing site. I was able to pull into the parking lot right outside the first checkpoint after turning over my driver’s license. Then I walked over to the bus stop where they checked to make sure I had no weapon before I boarded the bus. I also got a pass with a map to show what area I was allowed to be in. It was a small rectangle and they warned me the path was not marked but if I was caught outside of it I would be charged with a felony. I made sure I did not go close to the edge of the marked area.
My next stop was the Discoversea Shipwreck Museum. I was really confused at first because my GPS took me to a souvenir shop. I looked for the museum but I couldn’t find it, so I decided to go in the shop since it had a lot of cool looking souvenirs. When I was inside on the back wall there was a sign leading up to a free museum. I had found the museum.
After looking through the museum I drove about an hour to Assateague Island. I thought it was just a state park, but it was actually a national park so I was able to get a stamp for my book. They also had a little museum talking about the diversity of plant life on the island and the horses. Assateague is famous for the wild horses that live on the island. After I got my stamp I went back to my car and drove over the bridge into the park.
I then drove 2 hours to Great Egg Harbor NSRR. I wanted to get a stamp for my book while I was here but I had problems finding it. First, this site apparently stretches across several counties and there were separate visitor centers, but they didn’t really give the address on the National Park Service website. So I found an address online that I thought was a visitor center. It turned out that it wasn’t and I didn’t have cell phone service to try to find another one. Instead I decided to give up and go to my hotel for the night
I meant to get up early to go to Gillette Castle State Park when they opened at 10am, but it didn’t work out. I ended up getting there at 10:30. I hoped I would be able to squeeze into one of the tour since I’m a party of one but it didn’t work out. I would have had to wait an hour before the next tour so I decided to move on.
After I finished on the path I decided to head back to the hotel. It started raining as I was leaving and I still had to drive to New Jersey. To get to New Jersey I would have to go through New York City, but the traffic looked bad on the map so I had to drive further to go around NYC. It probably took longer, but it was better than sitting in NY traffic.
I decided to start my adventure today at Blackstone River Valley National Historic Park. I went first to the visitor center, which wasn’t only for the national park. The guy there was very helpful. He gave me several brochures to all of the different locations. The park includes several different buildings that were instrumental in America’s Industrial Revolution. A lot of them are still closed due to covid, but the Slater Mill across the street he said was open.
Roger Williams was a pioneer for religious freedom in the United States. I knew that several people decided to colonize America due to fleeing religious persecution in England, but some of those people also faced it in the U.S. One of them was Roger Williams. He fled England to Massachusetts over religious differences, and then had to later flee Massachusetts. He came to Rhode Island, where he laid the principles that the government should have no control over how you worship. Eventually, he had to journey to England to gain a charter for the land, which he was successful in obtaining. England granted him land for the Rhode Island Plantation. With this, he was able to cement his beliefs into law for the state. Thomas Jefferson later used his ideas when he was drafting the U.S. Constitution and it is why we now have freedom of religion in the U.S. There really wasn’t much to see in the park. Mainly I just walked around and looked at the displays.
My next stop was Fort Adams State Park. I made it just in time to join the tour. The fort was very interesting. The engineer was Simon Bernard, who was actually a French man who had fought in the Napoleonic wars. Most of the American engineers were insulted so they refused to work with him. All except Joseph G. Totten, who became America’s undisputed expert on fortifications after Bernard returned to France. The fort was designed so no one could breach its walls. And if a lucky few did, there were back up fortifications so they wouldn’t get far.
After seeing these at Plymouth I drove 45 minutes to New Bedford to see the New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park. The museum at the national park headquarters is still closed due to covid, but the rangers gave me a map and a brochure. They recommended that I go to the Whaling Museum and the Seamen’s Bethel & Mariner’s Home since the second one is free. So that is what I did.
Now it mainly houses displays on Moby Dick. One of the most famous whalemen was Herman Melville. Melville lived on a whaling ship for 18 months, and after he left the crew he wrote the novel Moby Dick. The novel itself is fiction, but most of the descriptions are based on fact as he drew on his experiences as part of a whale crew.
Today I’m spending the day in Salem, which is known for the Salem Witch Trials. It is such a big part of our history that I’m interested to learn more about it. The first place I went to was the Witch Dungeon Museum. This is a recreation of where the prisoners lived. It isn’t the original one. Apparently that building is under a bank now, but they recreated it based on the original floor plans.
After the play we found out what happened to everyone accused of witchcraft. Basically after someone was accused they had a choice. If they plead guilty, they got to live but had to forfeit all of their possessions and wealth and remain in prison. If they plead innocent, they were put on trial and were hung. So either way it was a lose lose situation. One man refused to answer, so he was tied down and large stones were placed on him until he pleads innocent or guilty. His only response was “more weight” and the stones eventually broke his ribcage and he suffocated to death.
A voice came on to talk about the events in Salem at the time to show how an entire town was overtaken by witch frenzy. As the voice talked, the different displays would light up so you could see what was happening. It walked us through everything, how the town was poor and it was difficult to survive. Especially for women, who were very repressed during that time and had strict rules to follow. Nine girls spent the evenings with a slave woman owned by the pastor, who told them stories of witches and magic. It wasn’t long before the girls became sick and started seeing things. The doctor was called in, and could find nothing wrong with them. And then the girls began accusing different people in town of being witches and torturing them. They started with the outcasts, people that no one wanted in the town anyways, but they quickly started targeting the wealthy. One of the people they accused was John Proctor, who was a trapper. He was one of the few that stood up to the girls, saying that they were making it all up. For this, he and his wife were convicted of witchcraft. He was hung, but since his wife was pregnant at the time her execution was delayed long enough for the furor to die down and she was eventually pardoned. The witch trials continued until most of the town was locked up or had been accused. Finally, the girls accused the governor’s wife of being a witch. She was arrested based on the accusation and the governor finally acted. He disbanded the courts and ruled that people could only be convicted based on actual evidence, not based on the spiritual attacks. His wife was declared innocent and freed as well as several people that were in jail accused of witchcraft. The show ended with one of the girls admitting in church years later that they had made it all up and asking for forgiveness. After the show was over, we went into a different room that had displays. One of the missions of the Witch Museum is to make sure that witch-hunts never happen again. This room told stories on how our perception of witches has changed over time. A long time ago, it was elderly women, many of whom were midwives, which were accused of being witches. Over time the perception changes to women or men riding on brooms that looked like hags. And then you have the modern witches portrayed in movies, which are beautiful and can be good. Finally they went over modern witch-hunts like McCarthy’s search for communists, the Holocaust, or how the Japanese-Americans were treated during WWII. It also reminded me on how Asians are treated today because people are blaming China for the Covid pandemic. Basically a witch-hunt is started after there are stressors, and then some group of people gets the blame. Hopefully, by recognizing that this is happening we can prevent future witch-hunts from happening.
I then drove into Portland to see the Narrow Gauge Railroad, which is an actual railroad that you can get on and learn about the history of the area. There are also actors on the train that you can interact with. However, when I got there the area was under construction and I couldn’t find a place to park. I was already running behind schedule so I decided to visit Portland another day and see the railroad.
My final stop for the day was at America’s Stonehenge. I didn’t even know we had a Stonehenge, but we apparently do. With the name, I expected something like the one in Britain with the large stones, but it is nothing like that. Instead of large stones in a small circle, the site is spread out. There is an area where the people lived that is made out of stone and then a large area is spread out behind it. As you walk along that area, there are small stone monoliths that are positioned to tell the different astronomical events.
After I finished at America’s Stonehenge, I tried to make it to Lowell National Historic Park so I could see the area and get my stamp, but I didn’t make it in time. Instead, I decided to see it on another trip and booked a hotel in Salem to continue my journey.
Today I’m going to Acadia National Park. I wanted to get a hotel closer to the park so I could get there early, but the hotels close were expensive! It was going to cost me an extra $150 in order to be 30 minutes closer to the park. So instead I stayed in Bangor an extra night and drove an hour to get to the park. I didn’t get up early enough because of the time change, so I got to the park around 9 am. After stopping at the visitor center to get my stamp, I went to Jordan Pond. I found a trail there that was a 3 mile loop that I wanted to hike. Unfortunately there was no place for me to park. The area was packed with cars constantly circling trying to find a spot. I realized quickly that it was not going to happen. So I left the area but got turned around. At some point I ended up leaving the park and then I drove around in a circle trying to get back in. The roads were really confusing!
Finally I got passed it and then I had to hurry through the rest of the loop so I could get back to Cadillac Mountain before 12. My ticket is only good for 11:30-12. I ended up getting there a couple of minutes past 12, but the guy still let me through.
I then drove an hour to Prospect, Maine to see Fort Knox and the Penobscot Narrows Observatory. Both were located in the same area so I went to the Observatory first. The Observatory is located in one of the pillars of the Penobscot Narrows Bridge. They have an elevator that will take you to the top and when the doors open it is all glass so you can see out.
I found out that the sun rises earlier in Maine than it does at home. It woke me up at 6am so I closed the blackout curtains tighter and went back to sleep until 7. At 7 I woke up again, read a little, and then went downstairs for breakfast. After breakfast I got in my rental for my first day’s adventure.
I also went into the visitor’s center and got my stamp. It was the first place since I have been here where they enforced wearing a mask. They also only allowed 5 people in the building at a time so I had to wait outside for a little while. I even had to put my book at the end of the counter and step away so they could stamp it for me. After I finished here I drove another 2 hours to Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument. It was difficult because my GPS wouldn’t recognize the address to I found an area close by and then just followed the signs. The signs took me down a side road, which turned into a gravel road. I knew I was in the right place because I at least kept seeing the signs but I got so lost. I just kept making random turns trying to get somewhere, but I also had to go only 15 miles per hour because the gravel road had several potholes and I was worried about damaging my rental car. Especially since I didn’t pay extra for the insurance…
After I made it back out I went to Shin Pond Village, which had my stamp. It was an extra 30 minutes out of my way, but I felt I deserved it since I was lost in there for so long. Then I had another 1.75 hours to drive back to my hotel in Bangor. I wanted to get some seafood for dinner so I can try the lobster that Maine is famous for but all of the seafood restaurants were either closed or they were closing within the next 30 minutes. Instead I went to Longhorn Steakhouse and order to go so I could eat in my room. Now to get some rest for tomorrow’s adventures.
Today is the day I start my East Coast trip. I have the next 3 weeks off work so I’m going to fly to Maine and then drive back to Texas during that time. I had been hearing that the airports were super packed and people were missing their flights because of that. So I scheduled an uber to come pick me up at 9:30am so I would have plenty of time to get there. The uber was late, but I still got to the airport at 10:20am, so I have 3 hours to get through Security and catch my flight. It was lies that the airport is packed. There was no line to check my bag or to go through Security, so I had plenty of time at my gate to wait. While I waited I did a little work. It was almost time to board, so I bought some water and M&Ms and then went closer to the boarding area only to find out that the flight had been delayed because they were waiting on the crew. The crew showed up about 20 minutes late, but that wasn’t too bad. And then when the crew was doing their pre-flight check they found some maintenance issue that caused the plane to go out of service. So then we had to wait another 1.5 hours for them to find another plane. I was worried about missing my connecting flight, but when we landed I checked and that flight was also delayed. Instead of leaving at 7, it was going to leave at 10pm, so it wouldn’t land until midnight. There was another flight that left at 9pm, so I switched to that one. Apparently everyone else on the other flight also switched, because it was a full flight. I got the seat right behind 1stclass so at least I had a lot of leg room.
We finally landed at 10:45pm in Bangor, Maine. Unfortunately my bags did not change flights, so after I got my rental car from Avis I had to wait for my original flight. The good news is they were able to leave earlier than originally expected and they were only 20 minutes behind my flight. Literally everyone on that flight switched, because when the baggage came out it was only 4 bags including mine. And the other 3 bags were from people that were on my flight. I was so excited to go to the hotel and go to bed. But bad luck hit again. I got everything loaded in my rental car and then switched the car on only to find out that one of the tires had low air pressure. So I had to go back inside so they could give me a different car and then move all of my stuff to the new car. But I did eventually make it to the hotel to get some much needed sleep before tomorrow. We were debating between Garner and Lost Maples, but we decided to go to Lost Maples for our hike today. Yesterday I bought a park pass online so we will be guaranteed entrance. Still, it took 1.75 hours to drive there, so it was pretty far away. Once we got there, we had to check in at the station and then drive to the parking lot before we were off on our hike.
We were supposed to be in Marble Falls this week, but Dad is back in the hospital due to Covid complications. Because of this I came down to San Antonio a week earlier than expected. Luckily he is doing better now and he should be released soon. Since we couldn’t go hiking in Marble Falls we decided to go hiking in Castroville Regional Park.
It is supposed to rain all day today so we can’t really do anything outside. We decided to instead go to the casino and try our luck at gambling. We were definitely not lucky. Mom pretty much broke even and I lost $100. At first I was winning, and then it just went downhill.
We then went to a tire place where they were able to put a patch on my tire and switch it out. No one was wearing a mask so we didn’t either. While Mom was going to the bathroom I overheard the person at the counter talking to one of the customers about covid and how a lot of people weren’t wearing a mask. She said that she has been seeing the count rising on the news everyday but the city council hasn’t enforced a mask mandate. Just hearing that the count was rising made me want to put my mask back on, but they were soon done with my tire and we were on our way.
That pretty much took up our full day so we decided to make dinner and relax a little. That evening we went out and made s’mores in the firepit. The only problem was that we didn’t have a stick for the marshmallows so I used a wire hanger instead. It worked so I’m not complaining. Today is our last day in Broken Bow, as we head home tomorrow.
Afterward we went back to the cabin to eat lunch and relax for a little bit before going out for the afternoon. This afternoon we decided to go kayaking. I found a place online and Mom and I got ready and drove over there. When we got there there were a lot of people standing outside. The guy said it would be a 1.5 hour wait to rent the kayak. We decided that wasn’t worth it so we went back to the cabin and instead soaked for about an hour in the hot tub. It really made me want to get a hot tub. Otherwise we just relaxed and enjoyed our time off.
I’m off work this week and I wanted to go somewhere. My original plan was to go to New Mexico, but due to COVID the whole state is closed. If you go into the state you have to quarantine for 2 weeks, which is ridiculous since I’m not going to go to spend my entire trip in the hotel. Also, a lot of the attractions I wanted to see were closed. I also looked at going to Yellowstone since the park is still open but the plane ticket would be $1k and I would still have to get a hotel room, so that was out. I also looked at going to Big Bend, but apparently someone in the park got COVID so that is shut down too. Danielle mentioned that Broken Bow was pretty and has nice hiking so I decided to go there. Since I booked late, the majority of the cabins were already taken so I had to pay for a 2 bedroom instead of a 1 bedroom cabin. Still, the cabin looks cute even if it cost a lot. Then I told Mom that I had to rent a 2 bedroom cabin and she decided she wanted a vacation. None of her co-workers were off so she took the week off too. She drove up on Sunday and we spent the day getting ready for our trip. Then this morning we got up and drove the 3 hours to the cabin.
After we carried in all of our bags, we went back into town to get some groceries. We first stopped at Wal-mart and it was tiny! We couldn’t find anything that we needed. So we went to the other grocery store in town. It was nice! All of the fruits and vegetables were really fresh! As we were shopping I noticed a lot of people weren’t wearing masks. Down by where I live it is required when in stores, so I was surprised a lot of people weren’t wearing them here but maybe there isn’t a lot of cases. After we got the food we needed, we went back to the cabin to cook and relax.
Since I had to work yesterday, I caught an early flight to Tampa this morning. My flight left at 7:10am, so I had to get up early to get to the airport on time. It was only a 2.5 hour flight, but with the time change I ended up landing at 10:35 local time. Once I got my bags, I went to the rental agency to pick up my car and I was off.
I was starving so I stopped in at a Wendy’s on the way to Big Cat Rescue and I made it just in time for the tour. I was the last person there, but I made it. When we got there we watched a short video about Big Cat Rescue and the work they do. Then they passed out little MP3 players and headphones and we were on our way.
As they took us around the facility we got to see the “vacation” area, which was a large enclosure that is a couple of acres that they rotate the cats in and out of. It was hard to see the cats there, but we could make them out in the back corner.
We have a client in Birmingham now so I decided to fly in on an early morning flight and explore the city. The rest of the team will fly in on an evening flight. Either way, the hotel is paid for tonight so I might as well explore.
If you pay extra, you have the option of taking the elevator or the stairs up to the top of the statue. I paid the extra, and got to see more of the city, though the view was similar to the bottom of the statue.
I was able to walk through the huge site. I could just imagine what it was like surrounded by smoke and with hundreds of workers walking around. The self-guide pamphlet had a map and a walking path to follow. I walked around looking at the different equipment and what it was used for.
The museum was very interesting and informative. By the time I finished, they had resolved the technical difficulties and were able to play the movie so I watched it. After the movie was over, the screen went up and I was back to where I started in the museum. This time though I went through mostly without stopping since I had already walked around. I then went to the hotel to check in and drop off my bags after grabbing something to eat. I only had a couple of minutes of down time before I had to get in my car and drive to the airport. The rest of the team was flying in, so I was able to drop off my rental and hitch a ride back to the hotel with them.
I leave to go back to Dallas today. Everyone else is staying a couple more days, but I knew I would have to be home on Monday for work. I have a flight booked in the afternoon, but I still have all morning to do things. I decided to do a Segway tour. I wanted to do one that goes through a canyon but I knew I wouldn’t have enough time. So I booked one that would take me to different spots around Vegas. When I showed up in my uber, I found out I was the only person on the tour. I had already done several tours in Australia so I knew how to work the Segway, and after breezing through the obstacle course we were able to set off.
After we ate we took the metro back to the hotel so I could grab my things before heading to the airport. It was a nice trip and I was glad I got to explore some of Vegas while I was there. I doubt I’ll make very many trips here, since the main attraction is the casinos and I’m not very good at gambling. When I was at the airport they were offering people credit if they would give up their seats. I was going to do it, but then I found out the next flight would be over 2 hours later, and that wasn’t worth it for me. That would have me getting home after midnight, and I have to work tomorrow. I feel bad for the people that didn’t catch the flight, but at least I got a seat.
Mom and I got up the next morning at 3 am. I somehow convinced Mom to sign up for a sunrise hot air balloon ride. I have no idea how. Joe also signed up and was excited to go, but he was really sick in the morning. I don’t know what happened last night, but it made Joe sick so he decided to skip the ride. We got ready and went downstairs to get an uber to the location. We were the last group to arrive but we had only been sitting there a couple of minutes when they came to say that unfortunately they would have to cancel the ride due to the wind conditions. I was so bummed! I mean, saftely is important, but I was looking forward to my first hot air balloon ride. We rescheduled the ride for tomorrow so hopefully the weather cooperates. We caught an uber back to the hotel and went back to bed until it was time to get up for breakfast. I used the time to book a Cirque du Soleil show. I have always been amazed anytime I saw them on TV so I was excited to finally see them in person. Mom, Joe, Kendall, and Kyle were going to be at the rodeo during that time so I asked Dad and Lori if they wanted to join me. I bought tickets for all of us online. I researched the different shows, and decided on Ka. It looked cool and as a bonus it was in the hotel I was staying at so I wouldn’t have far to go after it ended. When it was finally time for breakfast, I coordinated for Dad and Lori to join us and we all went down to breakfast together. Kendall and Kyle met us while we were standing in line. The breakfast is a buffet and was pretty good! We of course started talking about the wedding, and Dad tried to get Kendall to do one of the drive in weddings while we are here. She was not going for it. She wants a big wedding.
We met at a hotel. I was a little early so I played on the slots while I waited. I didn’t do to bad and I was up $40 when I cashed out to meet the group. Our guide was dressed in a suit and when he talked he had a thick New York accent. He had actually grown up in the same neighborhoods that the Italian mob controlled so he knew stories or had met a couple of the guys he was going to talk about. After he checked to make sure everyone was there, we got in a van with a TV screen. He then played clips on the screen as he told us about the different people that were big in the mob scene in the 1950s to the 1980s.
Bugsy wasn’t at the top for long because he died in a hail of gunfire at his girlfriend’s home. It is believed that Bugsy was killed for stealing money from the casinos. Meyer Lanksy, aka “The Mob’s Accountant” brought in other people to run the Flamingo after Bugsy death and financed a string of mob backed businesses in the area. One of the people that ran the casino for a while was Virgina Hill, who was known as the “Mistress to the Mob.” She was also Bugsy girlfriend when he was killed. She also stole money and fled into hiding in Australia. She later died of “suicide,” but the people who new her said she never would have willingly left her children. In the 1970s, the Chicago mob sent Anthony Spilotro to take over the loansharking and other street rackets. He had one of his friends, Frank Cullotta, form a gang called the “Hole in the Wall Gang.” They were called that because they frequently broke into places to steal valuables and left huge holes in the wall.
The lead agent in charge got Frank Cullotta to flip on the mob. He had a recording of Spilotro ordering a hit on Cullotta. When Cullotta heard it, he turned into an informant and told the feds all he knew in exchange for immunity and Witness Protection. With this information, they were able to convict several of the mob bosses and caused the mob to lose its grip on the Strip.
We stopped at a couple of different places on our tour but didn’t leave the van. One of the places we stopped at was a parking lot where the mob attempted to assassinate one of its members by using a car bomb. They didn’t know that the model of car the guy drove had a steal plate under the driver’s seat. He was horribly burned, but he got out of the car alive. He also pointed out mob previously owned restaurants and businesses. After our tour we returned to the hotel/casino we started at. We got to eat Italian style pizza in the restaurant they have. The tour was designed by Frank Cullotta. He was in Witness Protection for a while, but decided to return to Chicago for his mother’s funeral. While he was there, he met up with guys in the mob he turned against and none of him blamed him. They thought that Spilotro did him dirty, and accepted that he flipped. After that, he decided to live openly in Las Vegas. The mob knows where he lives, but they haven’t ordered a hit on him. We had the chance to buy one of his books, but I decided not to. After we were done I caught an uber back to the hotel to meet up with Dad and Lori. They had been gambling the entire time I was gone touring Vegas. We went over to a restaurant to eat. I just got a dessert since I had just finished eating pizza. Then we gambled a little while we waited for them to start allowing people to enter the theatre for Ka.
We weren’t allowed to take pictures of the show, which was sad because it was amazing! I have never seen the acrobatics that were performed. From beginning to end there was no slow down. I kept thinking that it couldn’t get better, and then it did. During the show we followed the journey of a man and his sister who became orphans and had to learn to fight for their birthright. If I was staying another night I would return to watch this show again because it was amazing! After the show, I joined Dad and Lori in gambling, but I didn’t stay too long. I lost $200 is less than an hour and I decided I was done with gambling. So I went back up to my room to go to bed, but Dad and Lori stayed to continue gambling. How can they not be tired of it? They had just gambled for 8 hours straight!
I’m going to Las Vegas today. Kyle is going to propose to Kendall tonight and he wants the family to be there. Kendall has no idea, though she should have known something was up when Dad and I both unexpectedly decided to go to Vegas.
I was also worried about flight delays, but we left on time and landed on time. Then I had to hurry to the pickup point so my uber could pick me up. The lady that picked me up was really nice and I explained to her why I needed to hurry so I wouldn’t miss the proposal. She made a couple of illegal turns to make sure that I got there in time.
There is a zipline that goes over the strip. I booked a tour for Joe & me. It is supposed to be really amazing at night. We got there and there was a huge line outside, so we joined it. Mom stayed with us until we got to the front of the line. And then she went to the other side of the strip so she could take pictures when we came down. We only thought we were at the front of the line. We went up the stairs in the building, expecting to only have a couple of people in front of us, but there was another long line of people waiting to be harnessed. After an hour of waiting in the last line and this one, we finally got to the front again to be harnessed in. We were next in line and there were a lot of people harnessed up in front of us. Joe asked the guy how long the wait would be, and he said it would be at least another hour. Apparently people were getting on the line, but then they didn’t weigh enough to go pass the locking mechanism. The hit the mechanism and bounced back, so an employee has to get in a harness and go retrieve them. All of which was taking a lot of time. Joe and I decided that it wasn’t worth waiting another hour for, since we had already been waiting an hour. We went back down the stairs and got a refund instead.
When we got back to the hotel, we went to meet one of Mom’s cousins that also happened to be in Vegas. They were at the bar partying because one of their friends had won $20k. With the amount they were putting on his tab, he will definitely not be leaving Vegas with $20k. He will be lucky to leave with any money. I left after saying “hi” to everyone since I have an early morning excursion planned. Mom and Joe decided to stay a little while to visit and drink.
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June 2022
AuthorThese are details from my adventures around the world. |