Across the plains

Children visiting the state capitol in Jefferson MO

Since we arrived Hermann late in the day we went straight to once the oldest continuously operated tavern west of the Mississippi, the Concert Hall Barrel Bar Restaurant, for a real German meal.  Bratwurst mit sauerkraut, of course!   

The next day we  toured  the 19th century town, including a stop at Tin Mill Brewing Company, which uses fine German barley and hops, and Stonehill Winery, established in 1847 on a hilltop by the original German settlers who said the area resembled their beloved Rhine Valley  By the turn of the 20th century Stonehill was the 2nd largest wine producer in the US.  

Then we took off and as we have often done, drove many of the miles off the interstate, venturing along the winding Missouri River (along the Lewis & Clark Trail) through Jefferson City—our first capitol city of this two-day part of our trip. The road also followed the KATY Trail State Park, a long rails-to-trails biking and hiking trail.  The night was spent at the nicely renovated, historic Hotel Bothwell in Sedalia, Missouri.  Harry Truman was asked to run for congress at a meeting here.  

Kansas State Capitol at Topeka, undergoing renovation.

In the morning we drove around Kansas City and into the great plains of Kansas.
  
Tom knew the past director of tourism for Kansas and always thought what a tough job that would be.  But our drive through the state was fascinating including a stop at another state capitol, Topeka, and a night in the surprisingly vibrant town of Hays. 

Gella's Diner & lb Brewing Co.

We always thought of Kansas as a flat place to get through as fast as possible, but when viewed with a more relaxing “destination” viewpoint, the rolling hills and 360 degree vistas with fluffy clouds in the sky were quite striking.  Hays is a military, college, agriculture town with a mixture of the old and new.  We enjoyed a nice evening at Gella’s Diner and lb Brewing Company, a nicely renovated place in the historic downtown section of town. The strange name is explained here (hint: liquid bread).

Downtown Hays, like an Edward Hopper painting

The next morning on our way out of town we had coffee at Gutierrez Cocina Mexicana, a very popular restaurant, and we understood why after a nice visit with the owner who made and served our cappuccinos. We’ll have dinner there next time.  The remaining drive through western Kansas and eastern Colorado wasn’t as pretty—well, it was pretty flat.

Wheeling to Hermann (Part 2)

First winning car at about 74 MPH. They are shown in order at the Speedway Museum

A colorful look at about 30 years of winners. The 2010 winner averaged 161 MPH.(pole speed 227 MPH) Indianapolis became a testing ground for many auto innovations like the rear view mirror.

A colorful sculpture at the Indianapolis Museum of Art

From Cincinnati, it’s only a couple hours to the Indiana capitol. Near Indianapolis (pronounced locally as In-din-AP-lis) we had a wonderful stay with Tom’s cousin Chris and Ike in Carmel (CAR-mel). The first highlight was an evening at The Rathskeller—dinner and music by PolkaBoy.

Yes PolkaBoy. If we told you the place was mobbed with mostly young people (not your normal 70+ polka crowd) you might say "not much going on in Indianapolis, eh?" But actually this is a great band with a strong sound only partially connected with polka, and very popular in the area. We sang along with “Beer Barrel Polka” and “That’s Amore” among many others in a wide-ranging repertoire, all with lots of brass and accordion.

A slow lap. The Indianapolis Speedway was our first Saturday stop and of course we did a lap on the track. OK, it was in a tour bus at about 15 MPH, but we started up at the brick starting line to the call of “Drivers Start Your Engines!” The museum has a great display of every winning car in the order of their wins. After Indy we changed gears to spend a couple hours meandering through the very nice Indianapolis Museum of Art.

Through Illinois, quickly. Chris & Ike’s daughter Sarah, and friend Kyle joined us for breakfast Sunday and saw us off for our continuing journey west. We spent some time in Terre Haute and Indiana State University (strolling on Larry Bird Avenue), then on across Illinois, skirting St Louis and ending up in historic Herman on the Missouri River.

Hermann, Missouri, was settled by Germans from Pennsylvania as a totally German town to preserve traditions and language, and named after the legendary warrior Hermann, said to have saved old Germania. Ruth’s mother Audrey spent some her younger years here. It’s now a town with 75 B&Bs, 20 restaurants, and dozens of wineries. We stayed in a practical B&B, the Harbour Haus Inn, with the most friendly, accommodating host anywhere, Frank.

Hermann Past and Present

An historic house in historic Hermann--many have been renovated like this one. Some are B&Bs now.

Town of Hermann on the Missouri River (Ruth's grandfather worked on the railroad, seen at the bottom of the bluff)

Wheeling to Herman (part 1)

One room school in Prosperity, West Virginia

Driving from D.C. and heading west, we followed I-74 through the western arm of Maryland, and then we chose to go “off-interstate” through very hilly, pretty West Virginia countryside.  We were struck by a throwback one-room school house along the way in Prosperity.

Wheeling West Virginia was delightful.  It’s a historic town on the Ohio River with a mining, manufacturing and river transport background.  We discovered the quirky Later Alligator Café right on the edge of the Old Marketplace, which is now an arts and crafts center through the oldest commercial district.  Later Alligator specializes in crepes, interestingly, and has many other dishes.  Our dinners of the sandwiches "Not Mush Room in Here" and "Deja Vu" (and house specialty tomato basil soup topped with puff pastry) and our lunch the next day were delicious.  Ruth took time to research Hofmeister family history at the county courthouse and historical society.

Later Alligator Cafe in Wheeling based their decor on local history, primarily Wheeling Steel a major influence on the city's past.

Granville Ohio is a pretty town that looks much like it probably did 100 years ago.  Houses and buildings are well maintained and it is set in rolling countryside about 30 miles from Columbus. We really enjoyed visiting Ruth’s friends Sue and Gary McKaig from mid-1960s days in Los Angeles days.  From there we again drove off-interstate, through rolling farmland and small towns including Bloomington, Ohio, on our way to Cincinnati.

Cincinnati is built on seven hills (actually more) along the Ohio River and those geographic factors define the historic city.  We visited Mariemont just outside Cincinnati, where Tom’s father grew up; we walked around central Cincinnati and its famous Fountain Square; and spent some time in the Contemporary Arts Center; then the Cincinnati Art Museum, a world class institution in this city that has appreciated the arts since the city's founding in 1788.

Cezanne "Still Life with Bread and Eggs"; Picasso "Still Life with Glass and Lemon"; Juan Gris "Still Life wiht Violin and Sheet Music"--Cincinnati

Unmuseum - one floor of the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati

Cincinnati skyline from our hotel. Macy's (Federated Stores), Proctor & Gamble, Kroger and many international companies are headquartered here.

Family, food and flutes in D.C.

Over the past several years we’ve visited the DC area due to either Tom’s business events or to see Ruth’s daughter Gudrun and Aunt Ruth (photo left), and took in many museums and monuments. This visit was mostly about family.

Spa Time. Gudrun took a day off to spend with her mom at Spa World located in Centreville, VA. Affordable and close they basked the day away in dry saunas, steam rooms, hydro jet pools, stretching, simply relaxing without interruptions: precious time, indeed! That evening was capped off by 6 of us having dinner together in Alexandria: Ruth, Tom, Gudrun, Malcolm (Gudrun’s boyfriend), Annmarie (Ruth’s ex-student and friend from Simi) plus Alexis (Gudrun’s childhood friend from Simi). Annmarie (everything she says is funny) kept us in stitches as did Alexis. Alexis delivered an hysterical monologue about her ongoing attempt to register at George Mason University where along with Moorpark High School in CA they have repeatedly lost, or misplaced or misinterpreted her transcripts, but led her to believe everything was in place, pulled the plug, and re-charged her application fees. We hope she gets accepted then finds time to go to Spa World.

Fish at Brasserie Beck

Dining at Brasserie Beck: Tom, Malcolm, friend Leonor, Gudrun, Ruth

DC Dining. Gudrun and Malcolm shared their favorite dining places in the DC area: Brasserie Beck (great tasting Belgian beer and Belgian food); Adega Wine Cellars and Café (well-priced good California wines, varietal menu) in Silver Springs, MD; and the very best, the Furgol residence where Malcolm’s parents hosted a fabulous salmon dinner. Conversation flowed easily as we parents got to know each other for the first time. No better way than over fine food and a delicious white wine.

Butterfly. Aunt Ruth deserves much more space than she’ll get here, but suffice it to know that she is the all time haute patron of DC culture. She treated us, plus Malcolm and Gudrun to an early supper at her place, then the India Festival display showcasing India arts, followed by the grand event, “Madame Butterfly” Opera, both at the Kennedy Center. “Butterfly” was exceptional! With a beautiful orchestra, compelling voices, and subtitles to guide us through a dramatic story, we were hooked!

Kennedy Center between acts of Madame Butterfly

American Art. Our other foray into high culture was the American Art Museum special exhibit: “To Make a World: George Ault in 1940’s America”. Simply click on his name to know why this show caught our eye.

New York, New York

Ruth in Central Park

March 16-18 It was the first nice day of the almost-spring season in NYC. Millions of New Yorkers and tourists (you can usually tell the difference) were out and about enjoying it.

We arrived at Penn Station after a 4 hour bus ride on DC2NY and walked to the home of Tom’s brother Dave and Alex Kelley on the upper West Side. Then we walked some more, spotted our favorite grocery store, Zabars on Broadway, and bought supplies for our first night’s dinner and family visit.

Zabar's, an incredible NY Grocery

On St Patrick’s day we browsed our favorite sections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, then spent hours on 5th Ave at the incredible St Patrick’s Day parade. We never knew that so many bagpipes existed in the world! There must have been hundreds of groups with full bagpipe bands that we saw in a couple hours watching the big parade. Our vantage point was between 62nd and 79th on Fifth Avenue.

Pissarro and T Kelley at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art

To finish the celebration we enjoyed a fun, relaxing evening with Dave and Alex at the best table in PJ Clarkes on Broadway across the street from Lincoln Center. Alas, we had to leave Friday, Dave's happy birthday, and walked 3 miles back to Penn Station to board the noon express bus to D.C.

Parade is coming up Fifth Avenue

Pipers in Place (a few of the thousands)

Happy parade watchers

Irish Freedom, a theme

Really happy parade watchers

Big green glasses

Kelleys at PJ Clarke's on St Pat's Day

PJ Clarkes, across from Lincoln Center, next morning

Snow, Rivers, Radio Waves

Potomac River South Branch, in Pocahontas County, but not one of the eight rivers that start here

It was a scenic drive through West Virginia, up and down mountains, through tiny villages, alongside fast-moving streams and rivers. We stopped at two magnificent places, both of which took our breath away.
• Snowshoe Mountain Ski Resort Village (4,848' elevation, temp 37 F): With our shoulders scrunched, hands folded into armpits, we were way under-dressed as skiers/snowboarders whizzed by in their neon outfits. After photo-taking we ducked into a crowded Starbucks. More here.

Ruth under-dressed on the mountain top

• Not far from Snowshoe is The National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, with its Robert C Byrd Green Bank radio telescope (100m diameter dish) set in a valley of 13,000 square miles defined as the National Radio Quiet Zone. Unlike optical telescopes set on mountaintops to avoid light pollution, radio telescopes require protection from outside technological interference. Radio telescopes are used to study radio emissions from stars, galaxies, and other objects in space. Want to know how they work? Discoveries made by the GBT? Read about the youngest stellar corpse and other amazing findings!

It’s been a long time since either of us studied science or thought about radio waves, which travel at the speed of light and require no “medium” as sound waves do. Like children we got completely engrossed with the informative, interactive exhibits in the Science Center. If you are ever in eastern WV this is a must-see! Or when in Australia you can visit the related Parkes Observatory radio telescope, which was famously used during the Apollo missions (or just re-watch Apollo 11).

There are many churches in WV, but this is not one of them. It's the Robert Byrd Telescope at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory

After a long day we happily arrived at the apartment of Ruth’s wonderful daughter Gudrun in Takoma Park, MD in time for a delicious, home-cooked dinner. Her handsome boyfriend Malcolm provided a quart of rich tasting Ommegang Abbey Ale (apparently the monks did more than copy text…).

Next we’ll be in NYC with Tom’s brother David and wife Alex to do some justice to St. Pat’s Day and reminisce about the auld sod. If you see us on TV wobbling in the Parade you’ll know we did.

On to Pocahontas

Cedar Tavern at the Mill Creek Cafe

Mill Creek at Goshen VA

Old Clark Inn, Marlinton, WV

Later Sat. March 12.  Leaving Lexington we had about an hour of light left as we drove through the mountains. Hunger overtook us at dusk in Goshen, Virginia, and luckily we found the Mill Creek Café.  The crowd was gathering for live blue grass music and we ordered a pizza and a beer while we waited. But we were told we had to get the beer next door at the connected “Cedar Tavern”  (it was family time in the cafe). So while we waited for what turned out to be a delicious pizza, we got to know owner T. Alexander Moore and his son Alex, who bought the place three years ago and were trying to make a go of it.  We recommend a stop here on your next trip to the land of Goshen.

With pizza on laps, we finished our trip in the dark to Marlington, West Virginia, and the Old Clark Inn & Travelers Hostel.  For a small town there was a lot going on there and surrounding Pocahontas County, "nature's mountain playground" including outdoor activities like biking, hiking, camping, kayaking, and skiing.  Our innkeepers Nelson and Andrea went out of their way to give us many helpful suggestions for our next day’s adventures.

Corncakes and Fried Green Tomatoes

Island Green Carolina Club

Friday March 11.
Driving north from the Evans home, somehow managing to hold back tears, we felt safe with the knowledge we’d all be visiting again soon.  An hour later we were on the Carolina Club golf course in Grandy, NC, bundled in layers to combat the cold and wind on an otherwise beautiful, sunny day.  No matter:  it’s always great to be swinging our clubs. 

You cannot drive through Virginia without noticing the abundance of early America settlement, Revolutionary and Civil War and Presidential history, depicted by highway markers, preserved in buildings on the National Historic Register, museums, events, and the collective countenance of its proud people.  Much of Virginia’s architectural charm has been maintained privately, such as this historical general store [photo below] we spotted along state highway 40, Darvills, VA.

Texaco Today

As we approached Lynchburg we saw a stunning western sky as the sun set over the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Thanks to Priceline.com (a favorite travel tool) we spent the night at a full service hotel in Lynchburg; dinner was enjoyed at a local Irish pub, important work as we prepare for St. Patrick’s Day in NYC. 

Saturday morning we worked up a sweat in the exercise room, took a swim then relaxed in the hot tub.  Lynchburg, of course, is a city chock full of historic buildings and monuments which we observed on our stroll to find a true local breakfast spot.  The Market at Main fit the bill.  Tom really liked his corncakes with fried apples on the side; Ruth savored Eggs Rebecca (fried green tomatoes with two poached eggs from Piney River Farm in Nelson County topped with house-made Hollandaise sauce on an English muffin, FYI).

After a zigzaggy, but gorgeous drive through and over the Blue Ridge Mountains, past a privately owned Natural Bridge attraction, we pulled up to the visitor center in Lexington at 2:30 PM.  The very nice woman in charge outlined a walking tour for us on a map and noted a beer tasting from 2-4 PM at the Washington Street Purveyors establishment nearby.  It wasn’t much of a dilemma deciding where to start.  A cozy store to begin with, its shelves are stacked to the max with hundreds of wines and beers, many of them local labels.  The cordial owner had four of his favorite beers open, talked to us about their taste properties, and poured us little samples.  We left with an armful of wine and beer.

Washington & Lee swings

We then continued our walking tour through Washington and Lee University campus and spotted the statue of George Washington.  Earlier our Visitor Center staff person told us how that statue saved the university from destruction by the Union Army. (insert photo).  We’ve always wanted to visit, because the Washington & Lee Swing was the fight song of Bloomington High School. Listen here. Right next door is the Virginia Military Academy.

VMI--the college of General Marshall

At VMI we spent the rest of our time in Lexington at the George C. Marshall Museum.  Responsible for crafting the reconstruction plan to rebuild Europe after WWII, General Marshall was probably one of the most credentialed and finest statesmen for leadership of our country, but he disparaged politics and declined offers to run for office.

Then we headed for West Virginia (see next posting).

Learing history, dining & drinking, shopping in Manteo

First English Colony. Jamestown is well-known as the first permanent English settlement in America, dating to 1607.  But the first actual settlement and the birth of the first English child on the continent was right here on Roanoke Island in 1587.  It’s Sir Walter Raleigh’s “Lost Colony,” which is commemorated by the longest-running symphonic outdoor drama in America.*  The first American born English child was Virginia Dare.  There are many theories about what happened to the settlers, well laid out on Wikipedia.

Quaint downtown. Manteo has a charming old downtown right on Shallowbag Bay of the Albemarle Sound with art galleries, working artists, various shops, a wonderful bookstore—Manteo Booksellers, plus restaurants and a lively pub, Poor Richards, where we spent part of an evening after dinner, which was at: Ortega’z Southwestern Grill has a menu more like the typical local seafood fare than the Mexican restaurants we’re used to in California and Arizona, but is very good. 

Learning history & lighthouses. Just across a short bridge from downtown over the channel is Festival Park with re-creations of the original settlement site, of Elizabeth II (a representational ship that interprets one of the English merchant vessels from the Roanoke Voyage of 1585), and an American Indian community similar to that which the English explorers found in Roanoke Island in the 16th century.  

Bodie Island Light House

The Park has art shows such as the current Priceless Pieces Quilt Show, where Ray’s sister Martha’s work is on view, the Roanoke Island Maritime Museum, and special displays such as one about the restoration of the Bodie Island Light House, where we spent much time learning all about lighthouses.

Our favorite Manteo store. Ace Hardware, got its start in a small building in the old town and is now on the main highway through Manteo. plus has expanded to six (about to be seven) locations in the Outer Banks under the leadership of Ray Evans, his parents, and family.  Not only can you get hardware, but also beach supplies, barbecue stuff, spas, quart jars of North Carolina Mountain Honey, and just about anything a traveler or resident could need.

*Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paul Green in 1937 to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the birth of Virginia Dare, The Lost Colony is an epic outdoor drama combining music and dance to tell a fictional recounting of the fate of Roanoke Colony. It has played at Waterside Theater at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site on Roanoke Island near-continuously since that time, with the only interruption being during World War II. Alumni of the cast who have gone on to fame include Andy Griffith (who played Sir Walter Raleigh), William Ivey Long, Chris Elliott, Terrence Mann, and Daily Show correspondent Dan Bakkedahl.

Family week in Manteo

Friday March 3 through Friday March 10. After a wonderful week right on the beach, we moved inland a few miles to Pam and Ray’s house in Manteo.  From there, we continued to visit with family, play some golf and explore for another week. We’ll divide our experience into three blogs: Family (this one), activities and history, and golf (part of our golf section).  

Evans and Kelleys at Lone Cedar

During this week the weather flirted with spring—cool and windy, some sun, some rain—but we still enjoyed the outdoors with walks and activities every day.

We started with a great family weekend.  Nephew Ryan, who now lives and works in Raleigh, came for a long weekend visit with his friend Malory.  She, like him, is a recent graduate of Lenoir Rhyne University.  Other nephew Darren was there of course, as well as the world’s most loved dog, Snickers.  Ray’s mother Ina came up from the Charleston, SC area to stay in her beach house in Kill Devil Hills.  We had a nice Sunday dinner with all at Basnight’s Lone Cedar Café, a local favorite, overlooking the Roanoke Sound on the causeway between Nags Head and Manteo. [See family photo above]

It was a weekend of games and fun meals together.  We played the board game Sequence several times, other card games, and Catchphrase of course to make everyone look silly.  There was the big challenge ping pong match between the Dare County High School champ Darren, his brother Ryan, and the west coast champ Ruth (results still being debated). 

West (Ruth) vs. East (Darren)

Speaking of games, everyone we met or talked to mentioned that Saturday night was set aside for watching the UNC-Duke basketball game for the conference title at 8 p.m.  This is a rivalry, at least in basketball, bigger than USC-UCLA or Stanford-Cal or U of Minnesota-(who is their rival for the bottom of the Big Ten?).  UNC won this one.

First days on the sea

We had almost forgotten how stunning the ocean can be.

Friday February 25. Our drive from Chapel Hill took us through Eastern North Carolina, over much flat agricultural land, then rivers, bays, inlets, and swamps and a long bridge over Croatan Sound, part of Albemarle Sound, to Roanoke Island where Tom’s sister Pam, Ray, Darren and Snickers live in Manteo. After a nice visit with them we all went to dinner at a famous beach place known for seafood, of course, Tortuga’s Lie, then to our incredible condo on the ocean in Kill Devil Hills.

Saturday February 26. The condo was generously offered to us by Ray’s mother Ina. We could hear the waves crashing all night, just forty yards away. Then we awakened to stunning views of the ocean from the top floor bedroom and the second floor living and dining room. Pam came over (we’re about 16 miles from their house) and we took a long beach walk, had dinner, hung out and caught up on family and friend news. [Our front yard at sunrise, at left]

Sunday February 27. The weather is warm one day, then very cool and windy the next. Sunday was nice, about 60 degrees. Monday looked about the same, so we planned our first coastal golf outing for then. Today we went with Pam to what seems like an anomaly on this stretch of beach, the Nags Head Woods Ecological Preserve, “one of the best examples of a maritime forest remaining on the eastern seaboard”. It is a Nature Conservancy project. We took a trail through the woods for a hike of about four miles and only got lost once taking us a mile off our intended path. [Photo: Swamp in the woods]

Classmates

Thurs. February 24. We got up early to make our 12:50 tee time at Finley Golf Course, University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, several hours east of Asheville. There we met area residents and former high school classmates, Bruce Runberg and Doug Boggie. Undeterred by rain we all managed many fine shots over the beautiful 18 holes re-designed by Pete Dye, now one of the top 10 college courses in the nation. (Scores still don’t matter!)

How to top that? Try pre-dinner canapés with classmates and spouses at the Runberg’s historic, tastefully decorated home, followed by dinner at a French bistro-style restaurant called The Kitchen. Mussels Provencal were delicious. Then back to the Runberg’s for more conversation, the sharing of family photos, reminiscing made rich by our common thread, Bloomington, Minnesota. What a day!

Friday, February 25. Since we didn’t have to hustle this morning we took a 2.5 mile round trip walk from the University Inn to Southern Seasons. Words cannot adequately describe the scope of this 28,000 square foot, specialty store. Take a virtual tour. Then we packed up and headed for the ocean.

Next up: Manteo, NC and the Outer Banks!

Early Girl, Tom Wolfe and The Wedge

Wed. February 23: Ruth, Tom, Kim, her dog Asa plus two other temporarily-adopted frisky, fun-loving neighbor dogs went for a brisk morning walk in the nearby woods. Kim went to work so we met our very fit nephew Brendan (recent Warren Wilson college graduate about to start his first career job) for lunch at a cute, southern cafe named for a tomato: “Early Girl”. [Tom, Brendan, Ruth in Asheville at left, figuring out directions, below.] Brendan is Tom's Brother Dave & wife Alex's son.

He then led us on a walking tour of Asheville, such a lovely city nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, full of art deco architecture, narrow streets, interesting galleries, boutiques, and home of the Tom Wolfe Memorial Historic House and Museum. Sadly none of us remembered reading Look Homeward, Angel. Since the tour cost $1.00 we said “why not?” and followed the guide into a huge, rambling boardinghouse once owned by Julia Wolfe, Tom’s mother. She rented out not rooms but beds, for $1.00/night. Want heat with that? It’ll be a penny per lump of coal. Tom slept in whichever of the 49 beds not rented for the night. The endless supply of characters, including him, made the boarding house an abundant resource for his novels.

Brendan suggested we all go to The Wedge, one of nine breweries in town, this one an old building in a dilapidated industrial section one would not look at twice, thinking it was slated for demolition. Hah! It opened at 4 PM and by 4:10 the narrow bar inside and funky, eclectic outside patio was packed. [Just before 4 PM at right.] You might be interested to know that Asheville has been designated as a great place to live by many organizations including Tom and Ruth. Now you know why.

Kim, Tom, and Ruth met for a salutary dinner at “Salsas”, a creative blend of Caribbean, Latin, Cuban, Mexican cuisine with BIG flavor. For breakfast, with Kim, we had wonderful homemade granola both mornings. Kim gave us the secret recipe, so we can continue to enjoy this delicious healthy concoction. Kim (nee Lathrop) and Tom reviewed family memories and hoped it wouldn’t be long before their next visit.