One long, last day

On Monday, I did some traveling on the east coast of Virginia and North Carolina.  Using U.S. Route 17 most of the way, I traveled through the Hampton Roads/Newport News area of Virginia and into North Carolina.  Near the border of the two states, I passed some of the largest cornfields I had ever seen.  They went on for miles!

I visited several towns along the NC coast with common Civil War histories.  In each of these places, Union and Confederate troops clashed over control of waterways.  Each had waterfront parks which remembered this history and gave locals a place for recreation near the water.




At Elizabeth City, in February of 1862, Union ships destroyed a group of Confederate boats that had been harassing U.S. shipments.  The waterfront park had a boat ramp, a gazebo, and great views.







In Edenton, there was a pretty town square, and an antebellum home had been brought to the waterfront to act as the visitor center.  Like Elizabeth City, this was a departure point for boats that were part of the Underground Railroad.  In 1866, a small lighthouse was built on the Roanoke River;  it had been recently restored and was open for visitors.

Washington, NC, also had a river lighthouse.  After a land-and-naval battle there in 1862 (which for a time looked like a possible Confederate victory until Union reinforcements arrived), Washington was actually burned by the Union army when it finally left town.

After crossing one of the long, modern bridges leading into New Bern, I detoured to Union Point Park to get a panoramic view of all the area bridges and the waterfront.  After being affected by the Union blockade during the war, this was a big commercial port in Reconstruction days. The park had fishing areas, a gazebo, a long walkway that includes an area where you can walk right up to the water, and interpretive exhibits that tell about history, wildlife, and scenery.


When I checked the time in New Bern, I determined I could still make it home if I left right away.  This caused me to save my trip to Charleston for another time, and I drove well into the night to sleep in my own bed.  The trip was GREAT, but it's good to be home!!

Colleges and Monuments

Sunday's travels took me through Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania (again), Maryland, and the District of Columbia.  The main attractions on this day turned out to be college campuses and various impressive monuments.  Toward the end of the day, I stopped at a location that was historic, but had no markings at all.

My first stop was Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.  It is an architecturally-beautiful campus, but my main interest was in seeing the building once named for John C. Calhoun whose name has been changed to the Grace Murray Hopper College.  Since Calhoun's name is actually carved into the façade, I don't know to what lengths they will go to remove it.

The beautiful structure on the left is NOT the Calhoun/Hopper building.  It is north of it.

On the right is the inscription above the door of the Hopper College above the courtyard gate.

I passed through a small portion of New York state, but turned on the outer loop in order to avoid the traffic.  In Westchester County, I stopped at the "Great Hunger Memorial," which pays tribute to Irish immigrants who came to America during the time of the potato famine.  The statue of a family, nearly starving, is lifelike and touching.



This route took me across the Tappan Zee bridge (being replace by a spectacular new one) and through New Jersey.

I visited Princeton, NJ, on my ride down the Lincoln Highway a few years ago.  This time, I their HUGE battle monument (American Revolution, George Washington) and drove by Princeton University.  I read quite a bit about Princeton when I was studying Woodrow Wilson, who was president there.

I also tried to avoid most of the Philadelphia traffic, since I had seen the downtown sights there as well.  I moved south into Maryland and Baltimore.  On an earlier trip, I had seen the sports stadiums and Fort McHenry, but not the downtown area.  I was surprised to see that they had a "Washington Monument," which is in a downtown square next to a statue of the Marquis de Lafayette on horseback.

As a kept moving down U.S. 1 toward Washington, I passed through Laurel, Maryland.  Right on the highway is the Laurel Shopping Center, where Alabama's George Wallace was campaigning for president on May 15, 1972, when he was shot several times here by Arthur Bremer.  Wallace survived, but was paralyzed for life.  The details and the film remnants are sketchy, but historians believe the most accurate assessment of where it happened was in the direction that the old "Giant Food" sign is pointing.  Between that and the actual grocery store is a Bank of America, and the shooting happened somewhere behind where that building is located today, near the shopping cart storage.


Here is the only proof I drove through DC.  It was getting dark, but (driving by) I saw FBI, Justice, some Smithsonian museums, the African-American Museum, the Vietnam wall, the Lincoln, Washington, and Jefferson Memorials, Arlington, and the Pentagon.

Spent the night near Fredericksburg, VA.

Two kinds of Patriots

Most of Saturday was spent in Massachusetts.

Just northwest of Boston I visited the Minuteman National Historic Park.  This includes the Revolutionary battle sites at Lexington and Concord and the "battle road" in between.  Armed conflict between Great Britain and her American colonies began at these sites on April 19, 1775.  British soldiers marched from Boston toward Concord, where rebels were purportedly storing arms and ammunition.  On the way, they clashed with colonials at the Lexington Green, then moved on to the Concord area.  The battle at the North Bridge at Concord was immortalized in a poem as the "shot heard round the world."  All the way back to Boston, the British were ambushed by minutemen at places like Barrett's Tavern, where I saw a musket demonstration.

Memorial Statue at

Lexington Green

Old North Bridge at Concord. Minuteman

statue at this end, memorial at the other.  The

Americans forced the British away from the

bridge from this direction.

Barret's Tavern, left.  On the right, park employees give musket demonstration.

Despite the rain, it fired on the 3rd shot!

In the early afternoon, I got a look at the home of another group of "Patriots," the ones who play football in the National Football League.  This is in Foxboro, Massachusetts.  The New England Patriots' home field is called Gillette Stadium, and it is part of a modern complex with a hall of fame, restaurants, and shopping.  There were many people there doing sightseeing, having lunch, and enjoying the shops, despite the fact that there won't be a game there for a couple months.

Soon afterward, I passed through Rhode Island and its capital, Providence, then moved on into Connecticut on I-95, a road which continues all the way back home to Georgia.

The White Mountains

After departing Norwich at about 2 p.m. on Friday, I traveled east into New Hampshire and was soon in the heart of the breathtakingly-beautiful White Mountains.




This is the town of Littleton, NH.  This is their Friday afternoon traffic!








I saw a couple of these signs in Vermont as well.  We don't have these in south Georgia!!

Following U.S. 302 East, I came to Twin Mountain, New Hampshire, and started seeing some impressive ski resort communities with spectacular mountain views.









Mount Washington resort...







The highway then ran through Crawford Notch State Park, where I saw a railroad depot at a location where the railway line had to be cut through a stretch of solid rock at the top of the mountain.  As I was checking out the depot, some hikers came off the Appalachian Trail and took a break there.  From there, the road descends quickly from the pass to the valley below, passing a pretty waterfall on the way.




All along the roads of Vermont and New Hampshire were these gorgeous mountain rivers.  They are lined with stones in most places and run pretty rapidly at times.







From New Hampshire, 302 travels through the southern regions of Maine.  As you gradually fall out of the highest mountains, there are some huge, beautiful lakes.  When darkness fell, I crossed through a very small part of New Hampshire and into northeastern Massachusetts, where I spent the night.

Note:  This is much farther north than I had previously traveled.  The summer solstice arrived while I was in Vermont, and the sun was rising at about 5:00 to 5:10 a.m.  It sets around 8:45 or 8:50 p.m.  That's a LONG day!

Graduation !

On Friday morning at Norwich University, the summer commencement exercises were held.  Even though many online candidates like myself are still in the process of completing their capstone projects, the graduation is held as a part of the annual residency program.  These pics are from the night before, when we were dressed similarly but received our hoods.  You can still see the pride on the faces of students and faculty members.

I'm on the right; my buddy Kyle Gomez from California

is on the left.  We are "classmates" on our capstone projects.

Wednesday evening in Montpelier, Thursday at Norwich

Wednesday evening, I decided to drive up to Vermont's capital, Montpelier.  It is only 12 miles from Northfield where Norwich is located.  It is the smallest city to house a state capital in the United States--only about 7700 people live in Montpelier.  If it were stripped of its government buildings and hotels, it would be about the size of my hometown in Georgia, which isn't even the county seat. 








The capitol building is pretty, however, and has a great statue of Ethan Allen standing by the door. Allen and his "Green Mountain Boys" are famous for their role in the American Revolution at Vermont's Fort Ticonderoga.

Today was the last full day of the residency program at Norwich.  It will end with the graduation ceremony tomorrow morning, then after lunch everyone will head for home.

This morning I visited the Sullivan Museum on Norwich's campus.  It tells the story of the university by explaining its role in American history.  For any university, it's outstanding.  For a school this size, it's remarkable.

I worked on an assignment for my final class for the rest of the morning at the library, then went to lunch.   Afterwards, we had graduation practice at the Shapiro Field House.  Our line-up for the event will take place next door in the Kreitzberg Arena, which is home to the Norwich hockey teams.  The Cadets have won four men's NCAA Division III championships (including 2017), and the women have won once.  It is a beautiful facility, and they were getting it into shape for the visitors that will be coming to campus tomorrow.



Thursday evening, graduates of the History and Military History programs had their "hooding" ceremony.  I took some photos there; however, since we won't be able to have cameras tomorrow, I'll use those photos on tomorrow's graduation blog.

Faculty presentations today

On the second official day of our residency at Norwich University, faculty and guest speakers gave presentations on topics of interest to graduates with Masters degrees.  This morning, before all of that started, I had volunteered to help transcribe some historical letters into digital form in the archives at the library. 

Here are some more photos of this campus...

My presentation day

Today at Norwich University was filled with presentations by students reflecting the research they have been doing toward their Masters degrees.  I went first this morning in my group, and the other guy who was supposed to split the 75 minutes with me didn't show.  Therefore, I led the group for the entire period in a discussion of John C. Calhoun.  Later, I heard five other presentations, ranging in topics from the Marshall Plan to Confederate Hospitals to the Marines in Korea to Helicopters to Gettysburg.  Just before supper, I had time to walk around the campus snapping photos...

Bridge linking dorms to academic buildings

Library with mountain background

Football stadium  (Saw, but didn't

get a picture of, Kreitzberg Arena

where their outstanding hockey team plays)

Armory where our reception took place last night

Alden Partridge, school founder

Student center where cafeteria is

Finally in Vermont !

After four days of travel, I arrived in Vermont on the fifth morning, crossing from Whitehall, New York, to Rutland, Vermont in the Green Mountains this morning.


Before heading to Norwich University for my residency conference, I stopped at the Calvin Coolidge Historic Site in Plymouth Notch to see the small town where Coolidge took the oath of office after learning of the death of President Warren Harding in San Francisco.  Coolidge won a term as chief executive in his own right, and he presided over much of the "Roaring Twenties" from the White House.  Not far from the home site is the community's cemetery, where Coolidge is buried.

Here are some shots of the Green Mountains...

I arrived at Norwich around 3 p.m.  After registration, I unpacked at my dorm in a steady rain, then went to supper.  Afterwards, the school administration hosted a reception in a big armory (it's a school with a military tradition), and several administrators gave inspiring talks.  No good pics of Norwich so far; the weather was too dreary.

The Hudson Valley

Much of Sunday was spent in the valley of the Hudson River in Eastern New York. 


I visited the United States Military Academy at West Point, stopping at the West Point Museum and at the Battle Monument at Trophy Point on the Academy grounds.  The museum had exhibits about the history of warfare, American wars, the Academy itself, and ancient and modern weapons.  The Battle Monument, erected by Union Civil War veterans, overlooks the Hudson River.  All around it are collections of cannon from different wars in which the United States has been involved.

From there I traveled north to the Franklin D. Roosevelt historic site at Hyde Park.  In addition to the family home, Roosevelt's presidential library is also on the grounds.  Franklin and Eleanor are buried in the rose garden not far from the house.





About an hour north, near Kinderhook, was the home of the eighth president, Martin Van Buren.  The first president born as an American, van Buren was descended from the Dutch who settled the Hudson Valley as part of their colony of New Netherland (before the English changed the name to New York).  We had a great guide on the house tour, and he waited for me for just a few minutes as I arrived at the last minute and his was the last tour of the day.  I also visited van Buren's grave in the cemetery in Kinderhook.









Continuing north, I saw another president's grave in the Albany Rural Cemetery.  Chester Alan Arthur of New York succeeded James Garfield after the latter was assassinated in 1881.  I spent the night in the Albany area.