Kathleen Walls's Blog, page 3
September 26, 2013
September 17, 2013
Baby Talk
I always write about travel so today, I am going to share another side of my life. I help feed feral or community cats and do some cat rescue. I recently “inherited” two tiny kittens when they were dumped at a local store. Here is a bit about that experience.
Bottle feeding can be hazardous to your health. You spent an inordinate amount of time cleaning bottles, preparing and warming milk, and then feeding. Afterwards, there is the potty training and burping, not to mention washing up.
Thanks goodness with orphaned kittens it only last for weeks not months. Our two newest babies are now eating on their own. Mork and Mindy, so named because both have a distinct letter “M” on their foreheads. They have big eyes and ears and tiny faces. (People of a certain age, will remember the Mork and Mindy and understand the names.) If you are too young to remember, just ask where Robin Williams got his start.
Some of the problems you encounter are similar to dealing with human babies. Potty training with three to four week old kittens is needed but instead of acquainting babies with a potty chair, you need to rub the kittens little bottoms with a damp washrag to encourage elimination. Their mother normally licks their bottoms until they “go.” Once they are going they tend to gravitate towards the litter box. In the beginning they will leave little presents on the floor or their bedding so be prepared for a lot of clean up. It helps to use a small litter box with low sides they can get into easily.
For more about Mork and Mindy check out http://freecats.us/News_Oct.html where you will find the rest of the story and lots of pictures of the kittens.
Do check out the back issues of the news letters for lots of other stories and helpful hints about cats.
August 30, 2013
Awesome Alton
Dessert at Gentlin’s. You can see why choices are hard here.
Travel Media Showcase’s post trips are always hard to choose between. This year was no exception. I picked Alton primarily for its Lincoln connections and its haunted history. I got so much more than I bargained for when I discovered Alton. Oh, yeah, I expected to find traces of Lincoln there and a ghost tour.
I didn’t expect the caliber of the restaurants we dined at. The food there rivals any town its size and probably most larger ones. There is Bossanova Restaurant and Lounge where we had appetizers and drinks. Everything was so good we all pigged out. So we weren’t hungry when we arrived at Gentelin’s on Broadway. Their scrumptious dishes made us dig in and enjoy anyway.
Fresh Peach Pie at My Just Desserts
The lunch on Saturday combines a Lincoln connection with top of the line food topped off with over the top desserts at My Just Desserts. It was all wrapped up in a quilt museum style. By then we were all convinced it could not get any better. Well, dinner that night at Castelli’s equaled our earlier culinary adventures.
Lunch on Sunday was upriver river in Grafton. The Mississippi Half Step kept right in step with all the other restaurants we had sampled.
Reluctantly I had to leave to catch my plane back to reality and cooking my own food. However my last memories of Alton/Grafton were the luscious peaches and huge blackberries at Eckert’s Orchard topped off with a wine tasting at Grafton Winery and Brewhaus.(More about that on the October issue of www.americanroads.net )
Stature of Lincoln at the site of famous debate. Douglas is just to the left.
With all this talk of food, you may think Alton is just one big buffet. Not so. we experienced so much more. Just to show how unusual Alton is, here are ten unique things about Alton I bet you didn’t know.
Home of the world’s tallest man.
Place where Lewis and Clark camped before they began the search for the Northwest Passage
Location where Lincoln fought a duel
Site of the final Lincoln Douglas Debate
Home of the first man killed over the Slave State/Free State issue
Named one of the most haunted small towns in America by “Fate Magazine”
Located on the only stretch of the Mississippi River that flows West to East
Has one of the largest lock and dams on the Mississippi River
The Navy’s first flying ace, Butch O’Hare, for whom Chicago’s airport is named, attended Western Military Academy in Alton
Paul Tibbits, the pilot of the Enola Gay that dropped the first atomic bomb in Hiroshima, was a schoolmate of Butch O’Hare at Western Military Academy in Alton.
During the two days I spent in Alton, I got to visit places that had connections with all of the above facts. The Alton Museum of History and Art is a wonderful starting point for an overview of Alton. There is a lot of information about Robert Wadlow, the world’s tallest man. His life sized stature is just across the street. You can pose next to him or perch in his giant chair.
Replica of Spirit of Discovery showing Lewis and Clark and Lewis’ dog, Seaman.
During the winter of 1803-04, Lewis and Clark spent their time at Camp Dubois on the east bank of the Mississippi preparing for the search for a northwest passage. The museum and confluence towers are a place you will want to explore thoroughly. For history buffs, there is so much more. Lincoln’s sites, the Confederate Jail and Eliza Lovejoy’s home and tomb will enthrall you. So much dark history combined with strange geological phenomena tend to draw restless spirits so ghost hunters will have a field day in Alton. (Check out the October issue of http://www.americanroads.net for an interesting article on that subject.)
If nature and the great outdoors is your bag, Alton is for you, also. Nearby, the Missouri River flows into the Mississippi and at Grafton, just upriver, the Illinois River also joins with the Mississippi. It’s a natural birding corridor, especially during the fall and winter. Not surprisingly there is a wonderful Audubon Center located in Alton with state of the art telescopes focused on the birding area around the river. You might see a trumpeter swan or an eagle. Even when the birds are not migrating, the center had lots of interesting exhibits about the birds who live and fly over this area. For more wildlife, Pere Marquette State Park is just upriver near Grafton. There is a super bike trail along the Great River Road . If you follow the River road, you get a few more treats. Of course, the scenery is breathtaking. There is the painting of the Piasa Bird on the side of a bluff. Don’t miss the tiny village of Elisah between Alton and Grafton.
Great River Road between Grafton and Alton
The Mississippi is an unpredictable force so man had made giant strides in taming Old Man River. The Melvin Price Lock and Dam is one such effort. Here you can watch a tugboat push a a group of barges thorough the lock. Inside the National Great Rivers Museum, part of the dam project, you can even simulate doing this yourself. You can also learn much about the river and man’s attempts to harness it.
If you are wondering why I am not giving you more detail about all the places that is because they will be featured on www.americanroads.net in upcoming issues so do go subscribe there.
August 27, 2013
Rockford Rocks
Fireworks display at Anderson Japanese Gardens
To say “Rockford Rocks” is such a cliché but what can I say. Sometimes things come to be a cliché because “everyone says it.” In the case of Rockford, “they gave their all” for Travel Media Showcase (TMS) this year. They started us off with a “Rollicking Riverfront Romp” for our opening dinner and never let up until the last exhausted and satisfied journalist departed through the doors of the hotel.
A Rockford representative was there at the Hilton Garden Inn to greet each travel weary journalists when I arrived on Tuesday. They were still there to bid us farewell when we departed on Friday. Did they get any sleep for those three fun packed days?
I arrived late so barely had time to rush to my room. I did notice it was spacious and very comfortable and filled with thoughtful little gifts from Rockford to welcome me. A quick smooth registration and then on to the bus that whisked us to the banks of the Rock River and a scrumptious reception and dinner at Prairie Street Brewhouse. The pulled pork was delicious as were the cupcakes and icees. We dined to the music of Sensations and Three Good Men.
Wednesday began with breakfast either at our hotel, which does not skimp, or at Giovanni’s next to the conference center. Then we buckled down to some hard work, 15 minute meetings with our choices of Convention and Visitors Bureau representatives. Hectic but pleasant. The mutual goal is to match writers with destinations. then at lunch time, we played hooky and took our designated city fam trips. I chose the history one (no surprise to any of you who know me.) Rockford has such a rich history.
Erlander Home Museum celebrating Rockford’s rich Swedish heritage
We headed for the Tinker Cottage and had lunch in the barn. It is a renovated barn so, no, we did not perch on cotton bales and munch on hay and feed corn. We sat a tables and ate a nice lunch while we learned a bit about Robert Tinker and his love for Swiss architecture resulting in a unique Victorian “cottage” and that word is used in the loosest possible interpretation as the home is very large and exquisite. (You will see more about it in the October 2013 issue www.americanroads.net/)
Next stop on our History of Rockford Tour was Erlander Home Museum which celebrates Rockford’s rich Swedish culture. As you browse around Rockford, you notice a lot of the local names end in “son” or “sen” such as “Anderson” or “Neilsen” going back to the old Viking custom of naming such as Lief Erickson, who actually is believed to be the first European to reach America, but got upstaged by Columbus. Lief was the son of Erik Thorvaldsson known in history books as Erik the Red thus Lief Eriksson.
The general store in Midway Village
The Laurent House is a more modern part of history. It was one of the last Frank Lloyd Wright projects and a home rather than the buildings he is most famous for. The home is unique in that was specifically designed to meet the needs of a physically impaired man and his family.
Our last stop was my favorite, Midway Village. Twenty six buildings, ranging from a hospital to a blacksmith shop with many other businesses and homes represented, offers a vivid picture of what life was like in Rockford during the 19th century. (You will see a lot more of this place aw well in the October Issue of www.americanropads.net/)
Our Wednesday dinner couldn’t have been in a more picturesque setting. They choose Anderson Japanese Gardens. Tinkling water ran through a cleverly planted landscape of timeless beauty. Tables were set on the lawn. Food was of the appetizer variety and there were many choices. Beer, wine and the specialty cocktail were splashing in time to the music provided by Myles Meilsen, a celebrated musician in his own right and the son of Rick Neilsen of the legendary Cheap Trick. Miles and his band, The Rusted Hearts are a talented group in their own right and have no need of a famous father to gain them fans. The surprise highlight of the evening was a spectacular fireworks show that lit up the sky with colorful displays.
Thursday we buckled down and had a full day of meetings split with breaks and a notable networking lunch. For lunch, Joanne, our “fearless leader,” had invited a “world renowned” traveler, Hugh Shoudbe Travelin, (AKA John Percy from Niagara Falls, NY) to explain J. Vero and Associates’ newest venture, TMS Family Travel Conferences. Hugh “strode manfully” to the podium while tearing off his tasteful??? plastic raincoat (just happens to be the kind used on Maid in the Mist at Niagara Falls. Good marketing ploy, John.) and stood before us clad in a Hawaiian shirt and a pair of Bermudas. After the laughter subsided, he spoke of the growing market in family travel.
Miles Neilsen and the Rusted Hearts entertain at Anderson Japanese Gardens
By our last appointment speculation was running high as to who was to be next year’s sponsor and where we would be visiting. Hate to admit that as usual, I was wrong, I was betting on Texas. When we arrived at Giovanni’s for the pre-dinner cocktail party, we were greeted with pirate flags and playing cards. Humm? Could be Galveston? They do have a Jean Lafitte history and are on the gulf but the cards? Casinos are possibly in the cards for Galveston but not there yet. Another journalists speculated it had to be Louisiana but both Lake Charles and Jefferson Parish/Gretna were represented at TMS so?
The hors d’oeuvres narrowed it down to Louisiana as they were Cajun Shrimp and boudin. That left us with tow possible destinations.
When the doors to the dinner hall flew open we were greeted with the sounds of a Zydeco band playing Cajun music. It was Lake Charles. We dined and frolicked for an hour or so and then it was back to the room to pack for our post trips. (Next blog will give you a glimpse of my trip to Alton.) And bidding friends “good bye and see you in Lake Charles next year.”
Note: the clichés are intended I tried to use quotes to set off all of them but I think a few slipped past me “Just Naturally”
August 16, 2013
Preview of the Alfond Inn
The entrance to the Alfond Inn
We were invited to a press preview of the Alfond Inn, a new 112 room boutique hotel in the heart of Winter Park, Florida. It is owned by Rollins College and they consider it “A Work of Heart” because the funds generated will go to a special scholarship to Rollins College. It opens August 18, 2013
It’s designed in the Spanish Mediterranean Style with lots of arches, columns, trellises and wrought iron both inside and out and is a work of art in its own right. The icing on the cake is The Alfond Collection of Contemporary Art for Rollins College. The 100-plus piece collection has not been exhibited elsewhere and is artfully displayed throughout the public areas at The Alfond Inn.
The pool sits atop the second floor overlooking picaresque Winter Park
The rooms there have it all. From the Signature Suite to the standard rooms, every one is a winner. They are elegant with a simple sophistication that is never overdone. They are styled in soft earth tones meant to sooth and relax a tired traveler. The art in the rooms are images from the campus of Rollins College.
When you go be sure to take time to relax at the rooftop pool. It’s on the second floor and has some great views from its courtyard. Then stop in at the fitness and do a workout.
Chocolate cake and cheesecake!! Need I say more?
You will need to burn off those calories before–and especially after– you visit Hamilton’s Kitchen. This the most down-to-earth upscale restaurant you’ll ever see. It’s designed to make you feel like you are sitting in Grandma’s kitchen.
Executive Chef J. Christopher Windus is passionate about the freshness of his food. He incorporates local products such as Apalachicola oysters, Florida Gulf shrimp and Florida grown produce and meats in his innovative menu. The menu will change to suit the seasons and will incorporate the best of Florida grown foods like tomatoes, strawberries, gulf seafood and naturally citrus products.
Alford Inn lured him away from his previous position as executive chef at Todd English’s Bluezoo at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel. Since he is a Winter Park native it’s a win-win situation.
At the press preview, the culinary offerings included samples of Chef Windus’ Apalachicola Oysters Rockefeller, Braised Short Rib, Kale Cesar, Glazed Sweet Potatoes, and so many others choices it’s impossible to remember. The dessert bar stood out in memory for its Crème Brule, cheesecake and chocolate cake but they were not alone. So I can state for a fact, he’s a gem.
The dining room at Hamilton’s Kitchen
Jane McLean, Director of Weddings and Social Events, said they were actually booked up for a few nights in August. How wonderful and especially so for a hotel with so much heart
This is going to be the Inn Roads feature on http://www.americanroads.net for the Oct. 2013 issue so do check there for more about the Alfond Inn and lots of other great travel destinations and dining. We also have a video posted on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1MfmB8LmeE&feature=youtube_gdata
[contact-form]
For more info: http://www.thealfondinn.com/
July 11, 2013
From Georgia to Rockford, Il
It’s been awhile since I have had time to blog. Last big trip was to the Georgia Travel Media Marketplace and Travel Media Showcase in Rockport, IL is upcoming fast.
Pullin’ Strings performs on the
Waterside Restaurant patio
The Georgia trip was like time travel. After the actual Marketplace which in itself covered a lot of ground, some familiar some new, but the post trip took me back 150 years to one of American’s most interesting eras. I did Civil War in Northwest Georgia. The Marketplace was set in Georgia’s Lake Country, focusing on the counties around Lakes Oconee and Sinclair. We stayed at Lake Coscowilla Golf Resort, nestled right up to the shores of Lake Oconee. What a gorgeous lake view! Of course we got to enjoy a pontoon boat tour of the lake with a very knowledgeable guide. Cuscowilla fed us well that night at their Waterside Restaurant where we enjoyed the cooking and conversation of Chef Gerald Schmidt. ( I have an article at http://americanroads.net/fork_in_the_road_summer13.htm about that.)
Next morning after a hearty breakfast at Cuscowilla’s Golf House Grill, we visited Milledgeville and some historical sites;. Andalusia, Flannery O’Conner’s home, (I have an article about that at http://americanroads.net/Literary_trails_summer13.htm ); Sallie Ellis Davis House, A tribute to a remarkable African American woman who devoted her life to teaching the young; The Old Governors Mansion, with its tales of the families who lived in that mansion. We did a drive by of other historic sites and then headed towards an unbelievable lunch at the Ritz-Carlton Lodge at Remolds Plantation again overlooking Lake Oconee.
Flo on our bus
Comfortably relaxed and well stuffed, we headed for Greensboro. Just before our bus pulled out, w harried looking waitress in a Waffle House uniform jumped aboard, introduced herself as Flo, began telling us all about herself and talking about getting back home to Greensboro. Before anyone had chance to tell her this wasn’t a public bus, we caught on to the game and realized she was an advance ambassador from Greensboro. What a wonderful experience, Both Flo’s monologue and the delightful small town of Greensboro. I couldn’t resist the charm and wrote an article about it at http://americanroads.net/off_the_beaten_trail_summer13.htm
We headed for Madison and a great reception at Heritage Hall with wine and cheese and carriage rides if we wished. http://www.americanroads.net/Tibs_Trails_Tastes_summer13.htm is a great article with more about Heritage Hall by Christine Tibbetts, a fellow journalist who also took this trip. We had a “Farm to Fork Dinner” in Madison’s Town Park where we were serenaded by live music by J. Scott Thompson and Peachtree Station.
Saturday, we had a real country breakfast in the barn at Crooked Pines Farms. No it was not a barn we shared with the horses and cows. It is a specially constructed events building built in the rustic style. We did get introduced to al the farm animals after the meal by the owner’s young son. Then it was on to Eatonton. Uncle Remus Museum is a fun spot for young and old. We learned the history of Joel Chandler Harris and then enjoyed a story told by the talented Miss Georgia.
Then it was down to work. We met in the Plaza Arts Center, a 1960 Eatonton school that has been revived as a performing arts center, with the CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau) representatives from all over Georgia and discussed what was new and exciting to write about in Georgia. I go every year but there is always something new.
Then it was off to our post trip, Civil War in Northeast Georgia. We headed for Country Inn and Suites in Calhoun and got settled in. Then it was off for dinner at Dub’s High on the Hog. Dubs bills itslef as “The only place in Calhoun that doesn’t need a sign.” They are right. That fragrant bar-b-que smell wafting on the air will pull you in from anywhere in smelling distance.
Battle of Resaca
Next morning, we awakened to the sound of rain. Not just a drizzle, a downpour. Still after breakfast at the hotel we set out for the Confederate Cemetery at Resaca. This
was the home of the
Green family. After the Battle of Resaca, they returned to find their plantation strewn with dead soldiers form the battle. They buried over 450 confederate soldiers who died in that battle. It was rainy and gloomy as befitting a visit to such a sacred spot.
The rain caused us to miss our next appointed place, the site of Fort Wayne. This was to be a preview of one of Georgia’s significant Civil War battle sites as the first major conflict of the Atlanta Campaign. I hope to return after it opens to visit. Instead we used the time slot to visit Tellus Museum. It was a wonderful substitute and indoors out of the rain.
We headed to Bowman’s for lunch. This is a our of the way restaurant that is well worth finding. All the dishes are slow cooked with fresh farm ingredients. They make everything from scratch including their biscuits and desserts.
The rain was still iffy as we headed to the day’s main event, The Battle of Resaca. We were all apprehensive. If it rained the cannon could not be fired and the battle would be called off. The gods smiled down on us. Well, not the Sun God but at least it stopped raining long enough for the battle to proceed almost to the end. There is nothing that can transport you back in time like an re-enactment battle. Occurring on May 14-15, 1864, this was the first major battle of the Atlanta Campaign.
The Gordon Lee Mansion
Our next stop was the Chickamauga National Military Park, the site of the battle of Chickamauga, and then to the Gordon Lee Mansion, a home that played a major part in that battle. We spent the night in a sight that is going to play a significant role in the upcoming 2013 sesquicentennial re-enactment of that battle this September, Mountain Cove Farms at McLemore Cove. I have a lot about this place, the battle and the re-enactment here http://www.americanroads.net/civil_war_trail_summer13.htm
We finished up in Rome. Rome, Georgia like Rome, Italy is a city of hills. We got our share of walking up and down these hills as we toured the historic downtown, Between the Rivers and Myrtle Hill Cemetery. So many interesting and famous people are buried in Myrtle Hill it would take a whole article to tell of all of them. (That’s a hint about a future article at American Roads.) The highlight was when we met “the widow” of a slain Confederate soldier. She told how “her husband” had been shot by a Union soldier when the two exchanged gunfire when their paths crossed as the Confederate headed towards Rome and his family. The victorious Union soldier then dismounted and held the dying Confederate until he passed. The Union soldier brought the dead man’s diary and last words to his widow. She said they offered her “great consolation.” The entire monologue lasted just minutes but it was a poignant reminded of the price of war and the suffering of the loved ones left behind.
Next stop was Chieftains Museum, the home of Major Ridge, a noted Cherokee chieftain. Again, I had to do an entire article to encompass this story. It’s at http://www.americanroads.net/native_trails_summer13.htm
I am looking forward to getting some more great story inspirations at Travel Media Showcase when I visit Rockford. I am signed up for the Alton, Il post tour and it has fantastic history and ghost stories all over town. Can’t wait.
May 27, 2012
Georgia Travel Media Marketplace
Carolyn Altman tells about the Farm house
This year’s Georgia Travel Media Marketplace started off with a roar. Unfortunately that roar was the sound of rain pounding on the roof or Statesboro Comfort Inn, our home base for the Marketplace. All turned out well however. The downpour ceased before we reached the kickoff reception at Georgia Southern botanical Gardens. It’s a lovely 11 acre garden combined with a historical and cultural heritage site that was once an early 20th century farmstead where we enjoyed a farm to table dinner under a rustic pavilion decorated with the most interesting centerpieces combining plant life with candles. We were encased in a flowering world filled with the scents of night blooming flowers.
Ashlee and Chris entertain at the Botanical Gardens
Director Carolyn Altman took us on a tour of the grounds which includes walking woodland trails, Bland Cottage, Heritage Garden, Rose Arbor, Children’s Learning Garden, Camellia Garden, Native Plant Landscape Garden, Native Azalea Collection and Bog Garden. and relayed the history of the gardens and its original caretakers, Dan and Catherine Bland
We were entertained during our meal by Ashlee and Chris Mitchell. owners of Plaid Dot Music Store. Their music was balm to a tired soul, especially their moving rendition of Me and Bobby McGee. What a way to unwind and set the mood for a totally natural experience in mostly-rural Statesboro and Vidalia.
The Mosasaur
Next morning we journeyed back in time 75 million years at the University’s Natural History Museum. Imagine coming face to face with a Mosasaur before your morning caffeine infusion. Actually he wasn’t a living breathing animal but a totally reconstructed skeleton of a beast that roamed the sea that covered Mesozoic era Georgia.
We were fed and enlightened at the same time by Director, Brent Tharp. When he had brought us into more modern times, we were allowed to roan the museum at will. Naturally I gravitated to the new Camp Lawton exhibit. For those of you who are not avid Civil War buffs, Camp Lawton was a short lived—six weeks—prison for captured Union Soldiers in 1864 until Sherman’s impending visit necessitated moving the prisoners to other camps.
Kevin Chapman explains some of the findings at Camp Lawton
Kevin Chapman, the man in charge of the excavation of Camp Lawton explained how he had been “suckered” into the project in 2009 Dr. Sue Moore suggested he do it as a theses project when he stated he needed a “very short simple subject” She assured him “There’s probably nothing there.” Over two years later he is totally adsorbed in an extensive excavation which had produced a unique window into the lives of CW POWs. A simple pipe made by one of the inmates out of a broken length of a longer pipe with a bowl constructed of melted lead, probably old musket shells, tells of a man who needed his tobacco so badly he was forced to create what we know today was very dangerous utensil to smoke. Aside from inhaling the tobacco, the lead from the bowl was hazardous, the stem made of a hard ceramic substance shows imprints where he would have bitten down on that stem hard enough to eventually erode those teeth he used to hold the pipe in his mouth. Why was it abandoned? Perhaps when he was evacuated to another prison he was not given time to return to his makeshift hovel to reclaim it. Or maybe he was one of the sad unknown dead who never left Camp Lawton.
Freedom soars across the field
Before I could learn more, we were yanked back to the 21st century by the need to depart for a tour of the college and a special surprise. One of the traditions of the Georgia Southern Eagles is the flyover by its famous mascot Freedom. Freedom is an American Bald Eagle who was found in Maitland Florida and a fledgling with a misshapen beak which would not have allowed him to survive in the wild. Steve Hein had to wait 12 years until 2004 to acquire Freedom but it was worth the wait. Today Freedom does a flyover before each home football game and at commencement.
To provide a fitting home for Freedom, Georgia Southern developed the Wildlife Education Center and the Lamar Q Ball, Jr. Raptor Center, over five acres featuring diverse habitats and species, an amphitheater and an indoor classroom. We visited and were treated by even more flyovers by other native and exotic bird species and then Steve asked for two volunteers to hold another wildlife species. On finding out that the creature she would handle was a Madagascar Cockroach. The female volunteer relinquished the field to fearless Doc. Lawrence, the male volunteer. Can’t say I blame her.
That’s me in the center and as you can see we are all fascinated by this beautiful creature.
I was one of the next set of four volunteers, all female this time. Our project was to hold a huge Burmese python named Monty. I want to report that all of us served bravely. He is a magnificent specimen and feeling his muscles ripple as he moved in our hands was a thrill.
On a press trip, you are never far from food. It’s either breakfast, lunch, dinner or an in-between snack time. So on to lunch which was served in the pavilion. The food was almost all Georgia grown and delicious, especially the shrimp and stone ground grits. Naturally we had peach cobbler for dessert.
Yumion greets us
Our next stop was the Vidalia Onion Museum where we were greeted enthusiastically by Yumion, the Vidalia Onion Mascot. The museum explained the importance on this sweet little onion. In fact the state of Georgia considers Vidalia Onions such an important product there is even an Onion Sheriff, Bob Stafford, to be sure no one misrepresents this local product. Did you know you are subject to $10,000 fine if you try and pass off another onion as a Vidalia Onion?
To learn more of the secrets of this valuable onion, we went to M and T Farm to watch them pack it for shipment all over. I was amazed at the ones discards and too imperfect to be shipped as Vidalia Onions. I have bought other onions in many groceries that were in worse shape.
Some of these rejects are usable in processing. One of the places that does this is Vidalia Valley in Lyons. This is where salsas, jellies and hundreds of other products containing Vidalia Onions are produced. Many of them are branded for other well-known companies. This stop had us all crying our eyes out. I would like to say there was some sweet sentimental reason for the tears but in reality it was the smell of thousands of onions being peeled and cut in their kitchen. Vidalia Valley proprietors offered comfort in the way of some tasty salsas and dips. (As you might notice, press trips are very heavily food orientated)
Our next stop was for supper at Elements Bistro in Lyons. Elements Bistro is one of the best restaurants in Southeast Georgia and focuses on local products. Chef John Mark Lane provided us a seven course meal with superbly crafted dishes most of which is locally grown. We waddled back to the hotel so stuffed we could hardly move and were met with some great Hard Iced Tea.
Some heritage carrots at the farmers market
Of course we were ready for breakfast next morning bright and early. We enjoyed our meal served in the historic Averitt Center for the Arts while many of the local providers offered us a taste of their food product and how they acquired an interest in producing it. Hunter Beef is one good example. They began just as a small grass fed beef farm and found a need to provide accommodations for the many visitors who are becoming interested in agritourism. To do this, they converted an old tobacco barn into two units and also have developed a campground for those who want to “rough it” in their own RVs. By now many of the family members have become involved in the operation.
Troy and Cindy and their chuckwagon
Statesboro Main Street Farmers Market was set up just across the street so we had time to browse before we headed to the Media Marketplace to learn about a different product, the entire state of Georgia and all it has to offer a travel writer and to its many visitors as well.
Of course, when we took a lunch break it was another unique culinary experience. We dined on some of the best Flat Iron Steak I have ever tasted cooked over open fires by Troy and Cindy Reddick who offer catered chuck wagon meals.
Keep coming back here as I will be posting all about my post trips to some very interesting parts of Georgia in a few days.
Georgia Travel Media Marketplace
Carolyn Altman tells about the Farm house
This year’s Georgia Travel Media Marketplace started off with a roar. Unfortunately that roar was the sound of rain pounding on the roof or Statesboro Comfort Inn, our home base for the Marketplace. All turned out well however. The downpour ceased before we reached the kickoff reception at Georgia Southern botanical Gardens. It’s a lovely 11 acre garden combined with a historical and cultural heritage site that was once an early 20th century farmstead where we enjoyed a farm to table dinner under a rustic pavilion decorated with the most interesting centerpieces combining plant life with candles. We were encased in a flowering world filled with the scents of night blooming flowers.
Ashlee and Chris entertain at the Botanical Gardens
Director Carolyn Altman took us on a tour of the grounds which includes walking woodland trails, Bland Cottage, Heritage Garden, Rose Arbor, Children’s Learning Garden, Camellia Garden, Native Plant Landscape Garden, Native Azalea Collection and Bog Garden. and relayed the history of the gardens and its original caretakers, Dan and Catherine Bland
We were entertained during our meal by Ashlee and Chris Mitchell. owners of Plaid Dot Music Store. Their music was balm to a tired soul, especially their moving rendition of Me and Bobby McGee. What a way to unwind and set the mood for a totally natural experience in mostly-rural Statesboro and Vidalia.
The Mosasaur
Next morning we journeyed back in time 75 million years at the University’s Natural History Museum. Imagine coming face to face with a Mosasaur before your morning caffeine infusion. Actually he wasn’t a living breathing animal but a totally reconstructed skeleton of a beast that roamed the sea that covered Mesozoic era Georgia.
We were fed and enlightened at the same time by Director, Brent Tharp. When he had brought us into more modern times, we were allowed to roan the museum at will. Naturally I gravitated to the new Camp Lawton exhibit. For those of you who are not avid Civil War buffs, Camp Lawton was a short lived—six weeks—prison for captured Union Soldiers in 1864 until Sherman’s impending visit necessitated moving the prisoners to other camps.
Kevin Chapman explains some of the findings at Camp Lawton
Kevin Chapman, the man in charge of the excavation of Camp Lawton explained how he had been “suckered” into the project in 2009 Dr. Sue Moore suggested he do it as a theses project when he stated he needed a “very short simple subject” She assured him “There’s probably nothing there.” Over two years later he is totally adsorbed in an extensive excavation which had produced a unique window into the lives of CW POWs. A simple pipe made by one of the inmates out of a broken length of a longer pipe with a bowl constructed of melted lead, probably old musket shells, tells of a man who needed his tobacco so badly he was forced to create what we know today was very dangerous utensil to smoke. Aside from inhaling the tobacco, the lead from the bowl was hazardous, the stem made of a hard ceramic substance shows imprints where he would have bitten down on that stem hard enough to eventually erode those teeth he used to hold the pipe in his mouth. Why was it abandoned? Perhaps when he was evacuated to another prison he was not given time to return to his makeshift hovel to reclaim it. Or maybe he was one of the sad unknown dead who never left Camp Lawton.
Freedom soars across the field
Before I could learn more, we were yanked back to the 21st century by the need to depart for a tour of the college and a special surprise. One of the traditions of the Georgia Southern Eagles is the flyover by its famous mascot Freedom. Freedom is an American Bald Eagle who was found in Maitland Florida and a fledgling with a misshapen beak which would not have allowed him to survive in the wild. Steve Hein had to wait 12 years until 2004 to acquire Freedom but it was worth the wait. Today Freedom does a flyover before each home football game and at commencement.
To provide a fitting home for Freedom, Georgia Southern developed the Wildlife Education Center and the Lamar Q Ball, Jr. Raptor Center, over five acres featuring diverse habitats and species, an amphitheater and an indoor classroom. We visited and were treated by even more flyovers by other native and exotic bird species and then Steve asked for two volunteers to hold another wildlife species. On finding out that the creature she would handle was a Madagascar Cockroach. The female volunteer relinquished the field to fearless Doc. Lawrence, the male volunteer. Can’t say I blame her.
That’s me in the center and as you can see we are all fascinated by this beautiful creature.
I was one of the next set of four volunteers, all female this time. Our project was to hold a huge Burmese python named Monty. I want to report that all of us served bravely. He is a magnificent specimen and feeling his muscles ripple as he moved in our hands was a thrill.
On a press trip, you are never far from food. It’s either breakfast, lunch, dinner or an in-between snack time. So on to lunch which was served in the pavilion. The food was almost all Georgia grown and delicious, especially the shrimp and stone ground grits. Naturally we had peach cobbler for dessert.
Yumion greets us
Our next stop was the Vidalia Onion Museum where we were greeted enthusiastically by Yumion, the Vidalia Onion Mascot. The museum explained the importance on this sweet little onion. In fact the state of Georgia considers Vidalia Onions such an important product there is even an Onion Sheriff, Bob Stafford, to be sure no one misrepresents this local product. Did you know you are subject to $10,000 fine if you try and pass off another onion as a Vidalia Onion?
To learn more of the secrets of this valuable onion, we went to M and T Farm to watch them pack it for shipment all over. I was amazed at the ones discards and too imperfect to be shipped as Vidalia Onions. I have bought other onions in many groceries that were in worse shape.
Some of these rejects are usable in processing. One of the places that does this is Vidalia Valley in Lyons. This is where salsas, jellies and hundreds of other products containing Vidalia Onions are produced. Many of them are branded for other well-known companies. This stop had us all crying our eyes out. I would like to say there was some sweet sentimental reason for the tears but in reality it was the smell of thousands of onions being peeled and cut in their kitchen. Vidalia Valley proprietors offered comfort in the way of some tasty salsas and dips. (As you might notice, press trips are very heavily food orientated)
Our next stop was for supper at Elements Bistro in Lyons. Elements Bistro is one of the best restaurants in Southeast Georgia and focuses on local products. Chef John Mark Lane provided us a seven course meal with superbly crafted dishes most of which is locally grown. We waddled back to the hotel so stuffed we could hardly move and were met with some great Hard Iced Tea.
Some heritage carrots at the farmers market
Of course we were ready for breakfast next morning bright and early. We enjoyed our meal served in the historic Averitt Center for the Arts while many of the local providers offered us a taste of their food product and how they acquired an interest in producing it. Hunter Beef is one good example. They began just as a small grass fed beef farm and found a need to provide accommodations for the many visitors who are becoming interested in agritourism. To do this, they converted an old tobacco barn into two units and also have developed a campground for those who want to “rough it” in their own RVs. By now many of the family members have become involved in the operation.
Troy and Cindy and their chuckwagon
Statesboro Main Street Farmers Market was set up just across the street so we had time to browse before we headed to the Media Marketplace to learn about a different product, the entire state of Georgia and all it has to offer a travel writer and to its many visitors as well.
Of course, when we took a lunch break it was another unique culinary experience. We dined on some of the best Flat Iron Steak I have ever tasted cooked over open fires by Troy and Cindy Reddick who offer catered chuck wagon meals.
Keep coming back here as I will be posting all about my post trips to some very interesting parts of Georgia in a few days.
Georgia Travel Media Marketplace
This year’s Georgia Travel Media Marketplace started off with a roar. Unfortunately that roar was the sound of rain pounding on the roof or Statesboro Comfort Inn, our home base for the Marketplace. All turned out well however. The downpour ceased before we reached the kickoff reception at Georgia Southern botanical Gardens. It’s a lovely 11 acre garden combined with a historical and cultural heritage site that was once an early 20th century farmstead where we enjoyed a farm to table dinner under a rustic pavilion decorated with the most interesting centerpieces combining plant life with candles. We were encased in a flowering world filled with the scents of night blooming flowers. Director Carolyn Altman took us on a tour of the grounds which includes walking woodland trails, Bland Cottage, Heritage Garden, Rose Arbor, Children’s Learning Garden, Camellia Garden, Native Plant Landscape Garden, Native Azalea Collection and Bog Garden. and relayed the history of the gardens and its original caretakers, Dan and Catherine Bland
We were entertained during our meal by Ashlee and Chris Mitchell. owners of Plaid Dot Music Store. Their music was balm to a tired soul, especially their moving rendition of Me and Bobby McGee. What a way to unwind and set the mood for a totally natural experience in mostly-rural Statesboro and Vidalia.
Next morning we journeyed back in time 75 million years at the University’s Natural History Museum. Imagine coming face to face with a Mosasaur before your morning caffeine infusion. Actually he wasn’t a living breathing animal but a totally reconstructed skeleton of a beast that roamed the sea that covered Mesozoic era Georgia.
We were fed and enlightened at the same time by Director, Brent Tharp. When he had brought us into more modern times, we were allowed to roan the museum at will. Naturally I gravitated to the new Camp Lawton exhibit. For those of you who are not avid Civil War buffs, Camp Lawton was a short lived—six weeks—prison for captured Union Soldiers in 1864 until Sherman’s impending visit necessitated moving the prisoners to other camps.
Kevin Chapman, the man in charge of the excavation of Camp Lawton explained how he had been “suckered” into the project in 2009 Dr. Sue Moore suggested he do it as a theses project when he stated he needed a “very short simple subject” She assured him “There’s probably nothing there.” Over two years later he is totally adsorbed in an extensive excavation which had produced a unique window into the lives of CW POWs. A simple pipe made by one of the inmates out of a broken length of a longer pipe with a bowl constructed of melted lead, probably old musket shells, tells of a man who needed his tobacco so badly he was forced to create what we know today was very dangerous utensil to smoke. Aside from inhaling the tobacco, the lead from the bowl was hazardous, the stem made of a hard ceramic substance shows imprints where he would have bitten down on that stem hard enough to eventually erode those teeth he used to hold the pipe in his mouth. Why was it abandoned? Perhaps when he was evacuated to another prison he was not given time to return to his makeshift hovel to reclaim it. Or maybe he was one of the sad unknown dead who never left Camp Lawton.
Before I could learn more, we were yanked back to the 21st century by the need to depart for a tour of the college and a special surprise. One of the traditions of the Georgia Southern Eagles is the flyover by its famous mascot Freedom. Freedom is an American Bald Eagle who was found in Maitland Florida and a fledgling with a misshapen beak which would not have allowed him to survive in the wild. Steve Hein had to wait 12 years until 2004 to acquire Freedom but it was worth the wait. Today Freedom does a flyover before each home football game and at commencement.
To provide a fitting home for Freedom, Georgia Southern developed the Wildlife Education Center and the Lamar Q Ball, Jr. Raptor Center, over five acres featuring diverse habitats and species, an amphitheater and an indoor classroom. We visited and were treated by even more flyovers by other native and exotic bird species and then ??? asked for two volunteers to hold another wildlife species. On finding out that the creature she would handle was a Madagascar Cockroach. The female volunteer relinquished the field to fearless Doc. Lawrence, the male volunteer. Can’t say I blame her.
I was one of the next set of four volunteers, all female this time. Our project was to hold a huge Burmese python named Monty. I want to report that all of us served bravely. He is a magnificent specimen and feeling his muscles ripple as he moved in our hands was a thrill.
On a press trip, you are never far from food. It’s either breakfast, lunch, dinner or an in-between snack time. So on to lunch which was served in the pavilion and catered by ???. The food was almost all Georgia grown and delicious, especially the shrimp and stone ground grits. Naturally we had peach cobbler for dessert.
Our next stop was the Vidalia Onion Museum where we were greeted enthusiastically by Yumion, the Vidalia Onion Mascot. The museum explained the importance on this sweet little onion. In fact the state of Georgia considers Vidalia Onions such an important product there is even an Onion Sheriff, bob Stafford, to be sure no one misrepresents this local product. Did you know you are subject to $10,000 fine if you try and pass off another onion as a Vidalia Onion?
To learn more of the secrets of this valuable onion, we went to M and T Farm to watch them pack it for shipment all over. I was amazed at the ones discards and too imperfect to be shipped as Vidalia Onions. I have bought other onions in many groceries that were in worse shape.
Some of these rejects are usable in processing. One of the places that does this is Vidalia Valley in Lyons. This is where salsas, jellies and hundreds of other products containing Vidalia Onions are produced. Many of them are branded for other well-known companies. This stop had us all crying our eyes out. I would like to say there was some sweet sentimental reason for the tears but in reality it was the smell of thousands of onions being peeled and cut in their kitchen. Vidalia Valley proprietors offered comfort in the way of some tasty salsas and dips. (As you might notice, press trips are very heavily food orientated)
Our next stop was for supper at Elements Bistro in Lyons. Elements Bistro is one of the best restaurants in Southeast Georgia and focuses on local products. Chef John Mark Lane provided us a seven course meal with superbly crafted dishes most of which is locally grown. We waddled back to the hotel so stuffed we could hardly move and were met with some great Hard Iced Tea.
Of course we were ready for breakfast next morning bright and early. We enjoyed our meal served in the historic Averitt Center for the Arts while many of the local providers offered us a taste of their food product and how they acquired an interest in producing it. Hunter Beef is one good example. They began just as a small grass fed beef farm and found a need to provide accommodations for the many visitors who are becoming interested in agritourism. To do this, they converted an old tobacco barn into two units and also have developed a campground for those who want to “rough it” in their own RVs. By now many of the family members have become involved in the operation.
Statesboro Main Street Farmers Market was set up just across the street so we had time to browse before we headed to the Media Marketplace to learn about a different product, the entire state of Georgia and all it has to offer a travel writer.
Keep coming back here as I will be posting all about my post trips to some very interesting parts of Georgia in a few days.
May 16, 2012
Mississipi’s Heritage Tour
The Illinois Monument at Vicksburg national Battlefield
The second part of the press trip was very different but just as fabulous as the first. Vicksburg was our first stop.
One of their most interesting attractions is the Vicksburg National Military Park, 1,800 acres of earthworks, cannons and impressive monuments. Also displayed at the park is the USS Cairo, a Union ironclad sunk by the Confederacy and raised after more than a century underwater. The park has monuments to the Union troops from various states and a beautiful sculpture dedicated to the African-American troops who fought there. The battlefield memorializes one of the most crucial battles of the Civil War. Capture of the city was crucial to the Union victory because it was the key to all travel on the Mississippi River. Defense was equally important to the Confederates for the same reason. Unable to capture it by direct attack, Grant decided to starve the defendant out. The people and defenders of Vicksburg were stubborn but eventually Grant’s tactics worked. After 47 days, Confederate General John C. Pemberton finally surrendered to Grant on July 4, 1863. The memory of this stinging defeat resulted in Vicksburg refusing to celebrate the Fourth of July until a visit by President Eisenhower in 1947.
A very full round table at Walnut Hills
The Old Town section of Vicksburg had many beautiful homes dating from the Antebellum period but due to time constraints we had to postpone seeing much of the city for a later visit. We did visit one recycled home on Adams Street in the historic district. The house was built in 1880 by the Rogers family and is typical of many Victorian homes in Vicksburg. Its wide porch with large front-facing windows and Vicksburg pierced columns. welcomes you to Walnut Hills, a round table restaurant, modeled on the old time boarding house style restaurants. It’s ability to meld the traditional with some of the best tasting food found anywhere have made it one of Mississippi’s most written about restaurants. (americanroads.net is soon to join the list of prestigious magazines that have praised this fine restaurant t. Watch for the July issue.)
Driving down the old streets of Natchez, it is easy to realize that prior to the Civil War, Natchez was home to more millionaires per capita than any other U.S. city, except for New York City. Everywhere you look, there are well maintained antebellum homes. that were once the palatial estates of the landed gentry. Today, more than a dozen of these showplaces of another era are open for tours. Of the ones that are not open to the public many may be seen during annual Spring and Fall Pilgrimages. ( Hint: That’s a wonderful time to visit.)
Longwood
Natchez Under the Hill, today a quaint section with shops, restaurants and of course the elaborate gaming casinos, feted out to resemble old riverboats, was once a haven for riverboat gamblers, thieves and ladies of the evening. We got to experience a taste of it all on our tour.
We visited Longwood, known in its day as “Nutt’s Folly.”. It was to be the largest octagonal home in America but never fulfilled its destiny. The home was begun in 1860 by the extremely wealthy plantation owner, Dr. Nutt, to showcase that wealth and all the exquisite things his money could buy. The War Between the States put his plans on hold. He died before the war ended. Ironically, after the war, his family was now destitute and moved back into the basement of the unfinished home and were often dependant for their food on the gardens of their former slaves. The tour offers glimpses of what this magnificent building would have been if circumstances were different.
Lobby of the Eola Hotel
Our lodging was an integral part of Natchez’s history. After the War Between the States, Natchez eventually experienced a revival. The 1900s saw Natchez once again as a glittering playground for wealthier visitors. One entrepreneur, a Mr. Isodore Levy, saw the need for a great hotel similar to those in Europe here in Natchez. He called in the prestigious firm of Weiss, Dreyfous, and Seiferth. Charles E Weiss designed the building to last for the ages. He made seven stories, the tallest building in Natchez-it still is. He gave it a European opulence it still maintains. No expense was spared. When it was completed it was named “Eola” in memory of the Levy’s pretty 16-year-old daughter who did not live to see her magnificence namesake. In July 1927, The Natchez Eola opened to rave reviews in local and out of town newspapers.
By 1932, it was made the headquarters for the Natchez Spring Pilgrimage. The Pilgrimage is the city’s premier event that sees thousands of visitors flock to Natchez to visit the magnificent Antebellum and Victorian homes that open to the public during this event. Then as now, the Eola with her graceful interior, arched doorways, antique furnishings, marble trim, stately columns and New Orleans style courtyard was the place to stay.
View from The Vue.
Time as always took her toll on the opulent hotel. By the 1960s, the old hotel was showing her age badly. It closed in 1974. Then, in 1978, new owners who appreciated the faded beauty bought the Eola. They spent six and a half million dollars restoring it to its former magnificence. It was money well spent. Today, from the moment we entered the lobby we were enveloped in old-world luxury and treated as well as traveling royalty of the Victorian era.
We dined like royalty as well at The Grand Soleil Casino Resort’s fine dining experience, The Vue. The hotel, which is named for The Great Sun, as the Chief of the Natchez Indians was known, perches on the highest point of the Mississippi River so The Vue lives up to its name. We could see almost 30 miles upstream. Sunset and the sharply lighted river bridge is an experience.
Rockets at Infinity
Next morning, we headed for yet another side of Mississippi, the Gulf Coast. Here history combined with ultra-modern to offer fun in the sun. First stop, Infinity at NASA Stennis Space Center, the 72,000-square foot, state-of-the-art facility, and the region’s first interactive science center. Sitting just next to the Louisiana border, this facility is brand new. It is a hands on facility that introduces all ages to the wonders of space and the newest innovations becoming part of everyday live through space exploration. One of the most interesting is the lettuce grown as it would be in outer space, with no soil and small amounts of water. This is science at its best. Along with introducing people to the wonders of space, the center plans a nature walk to introduce us to the wonders of nature.
The first sight of the blue waters of the gulf is so refreshing. Creative people have always been inspired by the sea and this is no exception. Known as the “Mad Potter of Biloxi,” George Ohr was considered an eccentric or worse, a madman, in 1880s Biloxi. Today his genius is celebrated in the brand new Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art.
The Biloxi Lighthouse
So much that was lost to Katrina has now been replaced or repaired but the iconic Biloxi Lighthouse still stands in the midst of traffic. It seems a symbol of Mississippi’s indomitable spirit. No matter what happens, it stands calm and serene and allows life to flow around it. Biloxi Lighthouse Visitors Center and Museum on the inland side is a great way to learn about the lighthouse and Mississippi’s coastal history.
Whether you want to pull the slot leaver, flip a blackjack card or play high stakes poker, The Beau Rivage Resort & Casino can accommodate you. In fact, even if you have no interest in gaming, you can shop, swim, surf or pool, get a massage or loll in a spa, dock at the marina or dine , be it snack or elegant cuisine, the Beau Rivage can accommodate travelers of any stripe. It fitted us to a “T.”
And speaking of dining, there are twelve restaurants, five lounges, an elevated cafe and bar. We enjoyed the BR Prime, the resort’s finest steakhouse. They boast “Enough swank to make the Rat Pack proud” and they aren’t kidding. Food is superb, drinks are icy and delicious and service is first rate. As if we hadn’t pigged out enough for dinner, we had breakfast at their buffet which offered everything from crawfish to omelets and anything else you might want for breakfast.
Beauvoir
Our last stop in the coast was the final home of Mississippi’s most famous son. Only one man can boast of being, a colonel in the Mexican War, a U. S. Senator, the son-in-law of a U.S. president, U.S. secretary of war, and the only president of the Confederate States of America. Although Jefferson Davis was born in Kentucky, his parents were from Mississippi and he spent his adult life in Mississippi and considered himself a Mississippian. His last home Beauvoir, was severely damaged but salvageable after Katrina. It was here that the southern leader retired to write his The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government.
Ruth Bailey Earl Exhibit at African-American Military Museum
On the last leg of our tour, we drove into Hattiesburg, home of the University of Southern Mississippi. Our first stop was the African-American Military Museum. This museum showcases the heroic spirit of African-Americans in America’s many conflicts from the Revolution on to today’s Middle-Eastern conflicts. The building itself is noteworthy as the only remaining USO building for African American soldiers left. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Next stop was the renovated Saenger Theater. Once a popular movie palace it fell into disuse when television replaced the movies for family entertainment. The proud old building now offers live entertainment in the form of plays and concerts. The highlight of the theater for me was the old projector that is preserved in the lobby. Amazing when you think the huge reels of film once used have been replaced by a small DVD today.
One of the cute prairie dogs pose
Hattiesburg offers a fine zoo. It is fun for all ages. There is a train ride which circles the park. The prairie dog colony was hard to tear ourselves away from but the highlight was the graceful male jaguar named Toby who painted some canvases for us. He is gorgeous and seemed to understand his trainer when she told him “paint.” He would put his par in the blob of wet paint and drag it across a canvas. The artwork is unique and just as good as many human abstract artists.
That night it was back to Jackson and a fun dining experience at Sal & Mookie’s New York Pizza and Ice Cream. The menu is large offering something for everyone. The best thing is you can build your own pizza or Stromboli. The kitchen is open so you can see everything being made. Everything is made from scratch so it is really good. As always, you will b e seeing more of this trip on www.americanroads.net so check in there often. New issues come out quarterly.
Next morning it was homeward bound until the next adventure. I will be traveling to Georgia tomorrow so watch for that when I get back.
