God Bless America

This upcoming weekend is a time for remembering, especially for memorializing our veterans.  Last year I reminisced on Memorial Day about growing up, enjoying family and good friends, and about honoring those who died so that we would have the life we do have. I could say all those things again, but I won’t. If you want to read it, here’s that post.

I did do one thing that I’ll repeat.  That’s recalling a deceased veteran in the family.

One of my uncles who served in the U. S. Army in World War II was: ~ Jim Stull “Shad”~  He earned the Silver Star for gallantry in action in 1944 at St. Lo, Normandy, France, and the Purple Heart when he was shot by a sniper in Essen, Germany.  We are all grateful for his courage and service, as we are for all who fought.

 

 

 

 

We aren’t on-the-road this time, but we send best wishes to old friends who we’ve enjoyed some nice times with on holidays. We’ll travel to friends and family within 100 miles and have more good celebrations. Meanwhile, to anyone reading Hurley Travels, have a very safe and happy Memorial Day weekend. …No matter what choice you make for your activities.

Extraordinary People on an Extraordinary Trip

We think we know what we would do in an emergency or when it came time to be brave….or not.  Do we really know?  Do you think the crew on the Titanic had any idea? 

We watched the PBS movie tonight portraying the story once again of the sinking of the Titanic.  I guess I didn’t really absorb some points or details in the past.  I didn’t realize just how heroic the crew were who stayed in the bowels of the ship to keep the power running so that there were lights.  They stated that this action is thought to have saved perhaps 100 lives.  The lights were still glowing until the ship went down, allowing more people to find their way out of the massive passageways to a life boat, or maybe to just jump into the icy water.  This portrayal depicted the captain giving the choice to the crew whether they stayed below to keep the coal fires burning, and some of them did. 

I’ve heard that the architect of the ship survived by getting on a life boat at the last minute, even though some people were still on the ship.  Would you have done that in his position?   They interviewed a descendant of his who explained that the man said afterwards that no one else would have taken that last seat on that life boat as it was already loaded and ready to leave.  So, he got on.  He was hated for the rest of his life for surviving.  Wow! What a thing to live with.  What would you have done?

Makes you think!

I found this graphic on Geni.com that has some very interesting stats and stories of some of the people who did and didn’t live through what was to be the most exciting voyage of their lifetimes. (Hope it posts so that you can read it.  Otherwise, it’s clearly readable at geni.com if you want to go there.  http://bit.ly/HnYSM9 )  The tragedy and unbelievable nature of the sinking of the Titanic keeps the story from fading after 100 years.   

Have you had any close calls on a cruise of any kind? I remember a leak in our sailboat in Tampa Bay once many years ago.  It wasn’t too much fun.  But just imagine the water rushing into this 46,000 ton ocean liner.   And then you decide you will stay at the coal furnaces to keep the lights on!  There were some extraordinary people on board.

Thanks for visiting with us on Hurley Travels.  Stay safe.

Reflection: Good or Bad?

I was about to write a summary of Hurley Happenings for the past two weeks.  After only a few quick moments of reflection I came up with a dozen topics.  That many, and probably even more, events or interactions or good moments or unpleasant ones filled our lives in just fourteen days. It’s amazing how looking back brings up various kinds of feelings and thoughts. Now I’m writing about that instead of our events themselves.

So, you say, “For Pete’s sake, where are you going with this Nancy?”  Well, wait just a second.  I do have a point here.  Lately, there’s been quite a bit of reflection going on with me and around me.    For instance, our recent adjustment to a home base other than on wheels resulted in revisiting travels of the last eight years. Sharing old memories and writing family history for two family reunions stirred all kinds of thoughts in my mind over the past three months.  And now, as a nation we are at a point of deep reflection as we look again at that horrendous day ten years ago on 9-11. Jerry and I remember our experience in Ireland on that day….. unbelievable, shocking, lonely…. while at the same time a tremendously-moving outpouring of sympathy. 

Some say we shouldn’t dwell on the past or relive old times. Is it good or bad that we reflect back?  Should we as a country be spending so much time thinking about the tragedy of 9-11?  What about when we gather with family or friends and tell old stories; are we wasting our time?  Should we avoid bringing back  the emotions connected with the past? Many think recalling these times serves no purpose.  

I guess my opinion is that a limited dose of reflection and reminiscing is good for the soul.  Even though there may be a few tears shed.  Aren’t there usually some bright moments that come to mind?  Occasionally we gain some wisdom from the hard knocks.  Discussion with friends can help resolve feelings. Thinking about the bigger picture of experiences Jerry and I have yearly, or over ten years, makes me realize our good fortune.  Yeah, not all of our ‘happenings’ are the best. We sure wouldn’t choose to repeat them all in the future.  Some are very sad.  But many of those scenes that reflect back are generously-colored ones. 

The key to the good or bad of our reflections may be in sharing and limiting it.  The victims of 9-11 were robbed of the years of opportunities to reminisce.  Maybe the best we can do is to give thoughts to them momentarily and respectfully.  And then, have a safe and happy day of new experiences for next year’s reflection. 

God bless all those who died on Sept. 11, 2001 and their families. 

Have a safe and happy day.  Thanks for stopping by at HurleyTravels.  Talk to you later.

A Few Thoughts on Memorial Day

What should we be about on this day? Should we be enjoying our gatherings, cookouts, shopping the sales or catching up on chores? Should we be absorbed in the hundreds of activities that are currently consuming our own day-to-day lives?  Or should we be stopping the mad rush of everything to remember those who preceded us and made it all possible?  I think maybe both.

But for the brave souls who put their lives on the line we wouldn’t have the luxury of living as we do.  We wouldn’t be free to criticize and protest and vote in this imperfect, yet still grand, country that we call ours.  As far as our own dna, we can’t deny that we are all a conglomeration of our departed family. So, on Memorial Day, why not do it all!? Let’s remember our personal loved ones who had so much influence in our lives. Let’s thank our lucky stars for those who died preserving our freedom. Let’s enjoy this day with friends, family or just in any way we choose to do.  Because we can.

We were thinking this morning of past Memorial Days; for instance the ones on the road, sometimes visiting cemeteries decorated with red, white and blue. We were also doing some reminiscing about raising children. This led us to looking back on growing up in Indy, listening over ‘race weekend’ to the 500, as we did yesterday. One of our favorite parts was always the moving tradition of the national anthem and the flyover that salutes our armed forces before the race each year. We remember visits to family graves, leaving a few flowers for parents and grandparents.  Just these old folks getting sentimental for a short time.

Later we’ll gather with our children, adding to our memories.  It’s a great life. Thanks to everyone involved.

Glad you stopped by at Hurleytravels.  Postings have been sparse, but we will be doing more updates soon. Talk to you later.

Remembering Our Veterans – November 11

We travel this country -- free to enjoy the splendor of it all.  On Veterans Day we stop to contemplate how we came to have the freedoms that we do.  Since the Revolutionary War our military forces have stepped up to protect the freedoms of every United States citizen. We will never be able to thank them enough.  

Our recent travels held a few reminders of our veterans’ accomplishments. During our trip this summer in Canada and Alaska we traveled the entire 1,422 miles of the Alaska Highway, built in the early 1940s to establish a defensive route to protect the country against attack by Hitler and his allies via Alaska.  It was eye-opening to learn about the situations the soldiers working on the road endured to build a path through the wilderness connecting Alaska to the lower 48. They chopped the way across treacherous terrain to make our lives safer.    There are stories told and markers laid remembering the Alaska Highway workers. Thanks to them, we can explore the area slowing only for the frost heaves that continue to plague the highway crews each spring. As we continued through Alaska we encountered memorials to veterans of all stripes.  They gave us pause to count our blessings. Below are a few examples from our Alaska trip.

If you are a veteran reading this, Jerry and I want to say “Thank You.”  For every veteran, whether still here enjoying our freedoms with us or traveling in the heavens, we appreciate all you did and do.  

Stay safe.  Talk with you later.

Random Highway Happenings – Alaska Adventure 2010

I think we’re actually beginning to prefer the Alaska names instead of numbers for the highways. Even though along the highways there are numbered signs, locals use the names, such as “the Richardson” or “the Glenn.”  Somehow, the names seem to be better-suited to the independent nature of this state. Regardless, over the past week or so we’ve covered about 400 miles going south on the Parks, Glenn, Seward Highways and north on the Hope Cutoff. 

In general, the vast wilderness, the glacial mountains and wild-river scenery continues.  But also generally, our weather turned from sunny to gloomy.   The rain that we heard was to be expected as  summer weather in southern Alaska became our companion on this part of the trip. But, the rain seems   intermittent and hasn’t restricted us at all. 

There are still “Random Highway Happenings” to share:

June 11 – From Denali to our overnight, roadside pull off near Trapper Creek, we traveled the Parks Highway south for about 150 miles.  About midway through the day, The Milepost (the road guide/bible that gives us mile-by-mile information, maps and all kinds of good stuff) let us know that the Alaska Veterans Memorial was a few miles ahead. Sounded like a good time and place for another sampling of the state.  We found the memorial impressive.  There are histories of each branch of service in the state and specific tributes to the Alaska Medal of Honor winners. The state did a notable job in paying respect to veterans at this site that is situated at a Mt. McKinley viewing point.   We appreciate. 

June 12 - Continuing south on Parks Highway, we stopped in Wasilla, attempting to find cell and Internet service with our Verizon accounts.  No luck.  But a few miles further,  in the small town of Eagle River,  we had service.  Why so important right now? Our reason:  To find dental care for my (Nancy) lingering gum problems.  Not a welcomed reason to go anywhere, but a must. Our first stop was a convenient and roomy Fred Meyer store  that allowed overnight parking. Later, we found a pleasant state park campground on the edge of town.  No need to go into details.  I now have a stronger antibiotic. Here’s hoping it works.  Oh well, we experienced another small town that we might have missed otherwise.

June 15 - We got back on course, making our way south on the Glenn, then onto the Seward Highway, dubbed “scenic byway.”  There is very good reason.  The scenes were fantastic, even though our time on that road was gray and wet.  We watched for Beluga whales at the point and enjoyed seeing the glaciers towering over Turnagain Arm. Here the Cook Inlet makes a cut inward, taking a slice out of the state. This portion of the inlet has one of world’s highest tides, that can surge to a  6-foot foaming wall, called bore tides. This results in mud flats along the coasts that create interesting designs where the water cuts swirls in the mud.  It’s a great ride along this stretch of highway that edges the bay, sharp cliffs on one side and the clapping sea on the other.  When we came through the area the winds were tossing the seas so that they looked like blades slicing across the channel.  No whale viewing for us today.  But we did stop to take a look a closer look. 

Coming around again on the Seward you swing back toward the west coast, but before reaching that point there are a few choices of cutoffs.  Hope, Alaska, called us.   So we took the Hope Highway cutoff, traveling about 20 miles north. Besides, we could always backtrack.  If we found the place to be interesting and attractive, for whatever reason, and there was a good-looking camping location, we would stay.   We drove into the tiny town and saw the tiny campground at the end of the road – there next to the inlet, the roaring creek, the green flats and the mountain backdrop.  Where else would we want to stop?  More later……

An Afternoon at Arlington - The Cemetery and The Home

Our history tour continues with the day we spent at Arlington National Cemetery and Arlington House, also called the Lee Memorial. We've both visited here before, but felt compelled to go again. We found our way across Arlington Memorial Bridge over the Potomac, into the entrance where we were reminded that you must park outside the gates in a pay lot if you don't have the forms proving that you have a relative buried in the cemetery. Paying to park at a national cemetery was a little offensive to us, but, oh well, here we are. We entered via the visitors center and decided to purchase tour tickets so that we could take advantage of the bus transportation and guide commentary. As we entered, it was nice to notice the busloads of teenagers on high school trips learning about their heritage. Then, we boarded the bus that stops at the major interest points, the Kennedy tomb, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
and Lee's Home. You can walk from
any of these points throughout the cemetery and reboard circulating buses at any stop.

We spent time watching the mesmerizing changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It's one of those sites that makes everyone respectful, thoughtful and thankful. The inscription on the tomb says it all: ""Here Rests In Honored Glory An American Soldier Known But To God."

The Tomb of the Unknowns has been guarded continuously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, since July 2, 1937, by a special platoon within the 3rd U. S. Infantry Regiment. A guard takes an average of 6 hours to prepare his uniform, which is solid wool regardless of the time of year. Tomb Guards are required to memorize 16 pages of information about Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, including the locations of nearly 300 graves and who is buried in each one. It is considered one of the highest honors to serve as a sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknowns. Less than 20% of all volunteers are accepted for training and of those only a fraction pass training to become full-fledged Tomb Guards.

After seeing the young men go through their paces and exchange duty at the Tomb, we took a walk in the vicinity. We wanted to see just a few of the other 300,000 buried there. These include many other graves marked "unknown." For instance, here's the section in which 163 of the soldiers and marines killed in the explosion of the U. S. S. Maine in the Havana, Cuba Harbor in 1898. This event spurred the Spanish American War that resulted in the U. S. acquiring Cuba. Also in nearby is a monument to the astronauts killed in the space shuttle Challenger in 1986, a shocking and sad event that most of us recall. As we walked further we came upon the impressive memorial placed by Canada honoring the soldiers that fought and died before the U.S. became involved in WWII. There are any number of memorials in Arlington that can make you stop and think of the people involved and the service they rendered.

But soon it was time for us to board the bus to our next stop, The Arlington House. We enjoyed walking through the home and grounds built by George Washington's step-grandson, whose daughter married General Robert E. Lee. Their family lived in this mansion perched overlooking Washington, D.C. Our photo on the right is of the view from the front yard. (The tomb in the photo is that of Pierre L'Enfant who designed Washington, D. C. in 1791).

Here at the Arlington House, Lee made his difficult decision at the beginning of the Civil War to support Virginia and the Confederacy and to resign his U. S. Army commission. This homestead has quite a story. It involves confiscation of the property by the government for unpaid taxes during the war when Mrs. Lee was unable to pay the money in person.

The setting of the porch with it's massive stone pillars and the view of the country's seat of government tells one story. The slave quarters behind the home tell another one. There is also a museum on site with artifacts of the family.

Arlington House holds a multitude of tales. If you want to read more about it, click on the title of this blog post above.


As we exited the cemetery on our bus and came down the hill directly in front of the Arlington House, we saw the newest memorial, dedicated to Women in Military Service for America. It is said to be an outstanding tribute, but it was after closing time. So, we'll have to see it another time.

So went our latest event in the magical history tour. It was a day of reflection. As before, stay tuned for more!

Memorials and Portraits in D. C

We planned a day in downtown D. C. having chosen to visit the World War II Memorial and the National Portrait Gallery. We chose to drive rather than take the Metro this time, taking the challenge of maneuvering in the snarl of traffic and finding a parking space on the street. So prepared with our GPS, we headed east from Fairfax, over the Potomac River on US 50.
Aha, we got lucky! There was a spot right on Constitution Avenue across from The Federal Reserve (with armed guards patrolling) and just a short walk from the memorials.


As we walked the winding sidewalks past the Vietnam Wall and the impressive sculpture honoring the battlefield nurses, the clouds and rain gave a certain peace.



Our first thought was that
anyone should be impressed by the WWII memorial. As you step through the massive columns, one for each state, all adorned with wreaths, you read quotes describing the impact of these events of 1941 through 1945.





A remarkable display of bronze plaques telling the story from Pearl Harbor to the celebration of the end of the war give a clear picture of this episode in history.



This memorial is situated so that standing in the array of fountains in the middle, facing west, you look directly over the Reflecting Pond at the Lincoln Memorial. And then, doing an about face, directly in your site is the Washington Memorial and the Capitol. What more appropriate than that the sacrifices of many during this time would be honored in this spot. Well done.

After taking as much time as we needed at the memorials we worked our way about a mile northwest to 9th and G St NW to our museum site for the day. As I mentioned, driving through the city can be frustrating, but if you get advance directions, maneuver carefully and take your time, it is possible. The attendant at the subterranean parking garage assured us that for a nominal fee of $12.00 we would get back to our vehicle, as long as we were there by 9:00 pm. So we found a spot four floors underground and left the Jeep for our six to eight hours of exploring. It turned out that we had a nice lunch, an interesting museum experience and topped it off with a libation at a local watering hole.

But what about the museum? Why this one? Of course, there are numerous choices in our nation's capitol, but we chose to start with one that neither one of us had visited before, the National Portrait Gallery. We knew little about it except that the portraits of the presidents are there. As we learned , there is much more to know. Actually the building itself is spectacular. Begun in 1836 and completed in 1868, it includes porticoes modeled after the Parthenon in Athens. One of the displays inside commemorates Abraham Lincoln's inaugural ball held in the building in 1865 in the stupendous third floor hall that was also a Civil War hospital. The building was originally the U. S. Patent Building holding displays of many American inventions. In addition to the Portrait Gallery it houses the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

The art, of course, is the reason for the museum. But the complete attraction is the way that the story of America is told using the art. Each piece includes a snippet of history taking place at the time, how the subject of the piece fits into the history and the relationship of the artist to the events of that time. Just one small example...... there's a photograph of President Eisenhower in the reviewing stand of his inaugural parade in 1953 being lassoed by Cowboy Monte Montana on horseback. The short historical vignette tells about how Dwight Eisenhower won 36 of 48 states in his presidential race against Adlai Stevenson. It talks about how he was very congenial about this wild west stunt. It also noted that the secret service on duty were not too pleased. The photograph and the information conjured up thoughts about how it might play out today. Can you imagine? In fact, we ended up in a discussion there in the hallway with another couple looking at the photo at the same time. There's something about having a visual image along with a story that stimulates the mind, right?

Everybody would find something of interest in this museum. There are works spanning more than three centuries and every medium, sculpture, oil, photography --- contemporary, folk art, murals, impressionism, etc, etc. I mentioned that we thought we would have more than enough time to see the museum. Well it wasn't. We had to leave a portion for another visit.

However, we took the opportunity to take in a program called “Face to Face.” The head curator of the National Portrait Gallery, Sidney Hart, gave a 30-minute presentation in the gallery about Thomas Jefferson and the artist who painted two of his portraits, Charles Willson Peale.
He took us to each piece, giving us background on why this artist and why at this specific time in history....and why he as the head curator thought of the work. Of course being the historian that this man is, there was a lot more to the story he gave us. Hanging next to Jefferson's portrait in the gallery of vice presidents, is John Adams. Mr Hart told the tale of the relationship of these two men, and others to them, such as George Washington. He was easily coaxed into details of his knowledge of Adams and Jefferson, their up and down friendship, and much more.

All in all, our minds, our feet and our legs had a workout, but it was worth a few aches. Of course, there are benches to rest occasionally and a pleasant courtyard for refreshments. And, oh by the way, have you ever experienced a waste container that speaks to you? Well these do. They say “thank you” when you deposit your trash? We even heard one clever user respond, “your welcome,” with a wry smile.

Both of us give a thumbs up to anyone who is curious about visiting your National Portrait Gallery. I haven't touched on the magnitude or variety of artwork that you can see and stories behind them.

By the time they closed the doors on us at 7:00 pm we were ready to relax for a few minutes before heading home. So we stopped at the little bar we found above our parking garage. This turned out to be a nice close for the day as we were surrounded by people flowing in to what was an after-work spot, sharing their lives and whatever it is that all of them do in D. C. It was a jolt back to today after stepping outside for a few hours. Another a slice of life!

Getting out of the city at 8:00 pm was smoother than entering in the morning. All was well.

Another Great Find

As we were meandering across west Texas, traveling the state highways through the communities as we like to do, we chose to stop in the little town of Andrews. What a hospitable place. Behind the Chamber of Commerce there are six parking places for RVs, complete with electric, water and sewer, all of them level and FREE. We noticed as we drove in some kind of display of flags and memorials. Of course curiousity pulled us to see what there was to see. We've happened across many veterans memorials in other small towns and admired them all. But this one was absolutely outstanding. The entire exhibit is done with so much class and reverance. It's a salute to courage and a thought-provoking history lesson. There is a marker for each conflict beginning with the Revolutionary War to Operation Enduring Freedom. Each has a quote from the President during that era and a collage photo depiction. On the back of the stone marker is a short historical outline of that war. In the circle around the flagpoles are memorials to all the veterans of the county. Here are a few photos. Thank you to any veteran who may be reading this message for defending this country. And also to all those who came before who we appreciate on November 11 and every day we live in a free country.

Exploring Fredericksburg Area

Today was a gorgeous day and it was our day to explore some of the “Hill Country” surrounding Fredericksburg (Tx.). Why not make the first stop the Sister Creek Winery in Sisterdale, population 25. The trip would take us 25 miles through the rolling hills southeast of Fredericksburg. Turns out this little winery is in the 1882 Sisterdale Cotton Gin, a place showing evidence of it's age but still a great spot for producing some good wines. Since it was a Monday the tasters were scarce at the wineries. Nice for us. Sometimes we learn interesting facts just talking with locals and this was one of those times. The wine merchant mentioned that in the little town of Comfort, Texas, about 10 miles away, there stands the only monument to Civil War Union soldiers in the south.

Sounded like somewhere to go - just to see for ourselves. The monument honors a group of German immigrant settlers who because of their decidedly anti-slavery views were determined to join the Union army. They were on their way east when massacred at the Neuces River in Mexico by Confederate sympathizers who pursued them across the border. After the war a group of their friends and family brought their bones back to Comfort and erected this monument to them. Hence, here stands the only monument in the south to Union soldiers.

Comfort is a pleasant town that suffered the same fate as many whose railroad business dried up in the 1900s. But wait just a minute, now there are Bed & Breakfasts and antique stores and quaint cafes recovering some of the life of the old place. We enjoyed our few hours there reading about the historic sites and having lunch at Cathy's Hen House, near the Comfort Hatchery.

Traveling the countryside today we saw some beautiful scenery and a part of that is the ranches indicative to Texas. Most of them have an elaborate gate with a stone wall or towers marking the road onto the property. But this one seemed so imaginative, a fence of drift wood and a lovely tin vulture perched ready to take on anything weaker.

Gave us a chuckle.

Tomorrow we'll pull out of this area and find other places down the road to explore. See you later.

9/11 A Day We Will Always Remember

Just a few thoughts on this day for remembrances: No matter where we were on this day six years ago, all Americans will always remember how we felt when the planes hit the towers, went into the Pentagon and went down in that field in Pennsylvania. There are many viewpoints about the resulting actions of our leaders, but I believe we do all agree that our lives changed that day directly due to the evil actions of these murderers. And, also, we will never forget those who perished. Our lives go on but their's were ceased unfairly. For Jerry and I Sept. 11 was a day we wished we could instantly travel thousands of miles to be near our family. We were traveling in Ireland. However, our experiences in that country are a lasting memory that we will always feel thankful for. The Irish people reached out to us to offer condolences and give us support. It was quite a week we spent before it was clear to fly back to the U.S. It was great to be back home. So I guess this brings me back around to being appreciative of the life we are living.

On another note, plans are underway for us to get back on the road in good ole Ferd soon. After Jerry's cousins reunion this week, we'll be rolling along to points south and west. The list of possible stops for the next six or eight months is getting longer, first Nacogdoches, Texas, the Hill Country in Texas, then maybe Tulsa or Bartlesville, OK, and who knows..... Roswell, Socorro, Ruidoso, NM.... Congress, Goodyear, Quartzsite, AZ.... Anze Borrego, CA.......Ely, Carson City, NV...... and places beyond. For now we are still enjoying our vantage point here in Fishers, Indiana. Today especially, it's an absolutely beautiful day, sunny and 70s.