Category Archives: Travel

Tredegar House – a ‘faire place of stone’

The Tredegar House dates back to the medieval age. The red brick house, described as a ‘faire place of stone’, was built in the 1670s by Sir William Morgan and his wife, Blanche. The wealthy couple turned the old stone manor house into an extravagant and fashionable country mansion. But it was really Sir Charles Gould Morgan, a brilliant businessman, who in the late 1700s expanded the estate to over 40,000 acres and with mining and shrewd investments solidified the family wealth for almost 200 years.

The Edney Gates were made and erected, between 1714 and 1718, at a cost of over £1,000. That would be over $250,000 today.

I found this a somewhat troubling courtyard. It is very large and completely enclosed in the center of the house with nothing in it except a lamp post and hand pump. You enter it through one of only two small doors. It has no access to outside the building. I asked the docent what was it used for. He said, “Ya know, stuff.”

Godfrey Charles Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar

The Crimean War broke out in 1854 when a 22 year old Godfrey was a captain in the 17th Lancers. He was anxious to make a name for himself and led his section of the Light Brigade into the ‘Valley of Death’ at the Battle of Balaclava. Both the Viscount and his famous horse, ‘Sir Briggs’, returned to Tredegar heroes. ‘Sir Briggs’ was well cared for and lived to be 28. He was buried in the Cedar Garden at Tredegar House with full military honors.

*Sir Godfrey Morgan & Sir Briggs at The Battle of Balaclava*

How The Mighty Have Fallen

Godfrey’s great-nephew Evan marks the end of the Morgan family at Tredegar House. Evan was a multi-millionaire that never even thought about working. He was considered one of the most outrageous and toxic eccentrics to ever stain the aristocracy. He threw wild parties, befriended occultists and practiced black magic. One of his favorite party tricks was to hide a parrot in his clothes only to have it emerge from the zipper of his trousers to the amusement of his drunken party guests. Although a notoriously promiscuous and flamboyant homosexual, he somehow managed to marry twice. First to an English actress and then to the Russian princess Olga Sergeivna Dolgorouky, which was annulled less than four years later. Evan died in 1949, disgraced, broke and without an heir. His relatives were forced to sell Tredegar House to pay debts and estate taxes.

Yo Ho Ho!

The Morgans certainly come from hearty stock. Sir Henry Morgan, a great grandson of the original Morgans, made his fame and fortune on the high seas. He is considered one of the greatest scoundels in history. He roamed the Caribbean as a Privateer plundering Spanish ships and settlements with the approval of the Crown. The ever-shifting political climate between England and Spain made staying in the good graces of the King a difficult task. Henry was responsible for so many atrocities and brutal rampages that eventually the King could no longer tolerate his lawless behavior and Sir Henry found himself arrested and imprisoned. In the end he bribed his way out of trouble and became a wealthy plantation owner and Governor of Jamaica.

His exploits have become the stuff of legend. He was immortalized by John Steinbeck in his 1940 novel ‘Cup of Gold’, Rafael Sabatini’s novels ‘the Black Swan’ and ‘Captain Blood’ were adapted for films that made Errol Flynn and Tyrone Powers stars and launched an entire swashbuckler genre. Even Sci-Fi writer Isaac Asimov took a swing at the buccaneer in ‘Robots In Time’ when time travelers meet up with the Captain while searching for a fugitive robot. He is probably most well known today as the Captain Morgan that stands proudly on bottles of rum around the world.

The Croome Boom

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Croome began with Thomas Coventry who had purchased Croome D’Abitôt in 1592, but the Croome Court we see today was really the creation of George Coventry, the 6th Earl of Coventry.

After inheriting Croome Court George quickly married the famous Irish beauty and London society hostess Maria Gunning in a move designed to prop up his dwindling fortunes. He then set about using all her money to update and transform the aging Neo-Palladian mansion. He commissioned Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown to redesign both the house and the expansive grounds. This was the architect and landscape designers first large-scale commission and is often described as his ‘first and favorite child’. He completely transformed the vast landscape, literally moving the entire local village out of view of the house and hiding it behind a newly planted veil of trees. He knocked down the old Medieval church and replaced it with a lovely Gothic church on a hilltop above the park. Brown cleared the grounds of everything formal and added flowering shrubberies, wooded walking paths, temples, follies, carriage drives, a Chinese Bridge, a lake and, even, a 1 3/4 mile long hand-dug illusionary serpentine river, all designed to create a perfect natural parkland as far as the eye could see. Although, now devoid of sumptuous furniture, paintings, tapestries, carpets and a small army of house servants, Croome Court remains stately and grand.

*The windows were designed to capture landscape views*

Unlike George Coventry, Maria didn’t inherit her status and fortune, she had to earn it, the ”old fashioned way”. In the early 1740s, the Gunning’s fortunes were so diminished that Maria’s mother encouraged her daughters to take up acting, a profession filled with “working girls” and considered very unrespectable. Still teenagers, the sisters, dressed as Lady Macbeth and Juliet, attended a ball in Dublin Castle and were presented to the Duke of Hamilton. He was so impressed with their beauty and, perhaps even a little more, that he granted the family a pension allowing them to flee Ireland and rejoin English society. While trolling for titled husbands, the girls attended scores of balls and parties where they eventually met the elderly King George II who was hugely amused by the notoriously tactless Maria. The King’s approval solidified her place at the Court of St James and newspapers began following her every move. She quickly became an 18th century influencer. In 1752, Maria married the 6th Earl of Coventry and became the Countess of Coventry. George’s marriage to Maria was short lived. Her love of fashion quite literally killed her. Her lead-based whitening make up caused skin eruptions, which then encouraged women to apply more make up to cover the blemishes, eventually causing lead poisoning. Considered a beautiful but vain woman, Maria eventually became known in society circles as a “victim of cosmetics” succumbing to the lead and mercury toxins in her beauty creams at the age of 28.

During their marriage Maria’s husband had became involved with the scandalous Kitty Fisher, which caused his wife much distress. The women even traded barbs in public. Kitty, a prominent British courtesan from her teenage years onward, was a brilliant marketer who developed a carefully molded public image This was enhanced by portraits done by Sir Joshua Reynolds and other well known artists of the day who emphasized Fisher’s beauty, audacity, and charm. These portraits, coupled with numerous newspaper and magazine articles promoted her notorious reputation and made her one of the world’s first celebrities, famous simply for being famous. She eventually married an Admirals son in 1766 and retired to the country only to die a year later at 26. It is thought that she died of lead poisoning as well.

So many books and articles claiming to tell Kitty’s life story were published, both during and after her life, that separating fact from fiction is difficult. She was portrayed by Paulette Goddard in the 1945 blockbuster film Kitty, which told a Pygmalion-like rags-to-riches story of a beautiful young cockney pickpocket who is completely made over by an impoverished aristocrat in hopes of arranging her marriage to a wealthy peer, in order to repair their fortunes and regain their social status.

Butte, Montana

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Violence, Vice and Pork Chop Sandwiches

Butte, Mt. was formally established in 1864, it began as a mining camp that lured would-be prospectors from around the globe. It was one of the largest copper boomtowns in the West. The city is still home to the largest number of Irish Americans per capita of any city in the United States.

This influx of miners gave Butte a reputation as a wide-open town where any vice was obtainable. Beer halls and brothels all thrived. The city’s red-light district, called the “Line” was filled with elegant bordellos and the notorious “Venus Alley”, where women plied their trade in small “cribs”.

The red-light district remained open until 1982 and was one of the last such urban districts in the United States.

German immigrants first opened breweries in the 1890s and were a large part of the city’s early economy. Everyone, including children, enjoyed all types of locally brewed beers.
Butte was also the site of various historical events involving its mining industry, labor unions, socialist politics, labor riots, civil unrest and lynchings. Between 1910 and 1920 hundreds of lives were lost in mining accidents, each followed by strikes, protests and walkouts. Between 1914 and 1920, the U.S. National Guard had to occupy the city six times to restore law and order.

Frank Little

Frank was an Industrial Workers of the World organizer in july of 1917 when he arrived in Butte to build strike support, picket lines and spread the strike to other trades in the city.
In the early hours of August 1st six masked men believed to be renegade police working for the despised Anaconda Copper Company broke into Nora Byrne’s steel block boardinghouse where Frank was staying. He was beaten mercilessly, tied to the bumper of a car, dragged through the streets to the Milwaukee Bridge and hanged from a railroad trestle.
A note with the words “First and last warning” and the Montana vigilante numbers 3-7-77 was pinned to his thigh.

An estimated 10,000 workers and 3,500 citizens lined the route of Frank Little’s funeral procession. The funeral is still the largest in Butte history. He was buried in Butte’s Mountain View Cemetery.

His epitaph reads “Slain by capitalist interests for organizing and inspiring his fellow men.” Days after his lynching, martial law was declared. Labor radicals were then arrested and charged with espionage. The miners strike and union were crushed. Nobody was ever arrested for the murder of Frank Little.

Pork Chop Sandwiches

Despite all the murder and mayhem Butte’s real claim to fame is the Pork Chop Sandwich, invented nearly 100 years ago. According to the Butte-Silverbow Archives, John Burklund created the first pork chop sandwich in 1924. He sold his popular sandwiches to hungry miners out of the back of a wagon at the corner of Mercury and Main streets.

Before long, demand for Burklund’s tasty treats grew and he opened his first shop with only a countertop, 10 stools and a window where customers could walk up and place their orders. The orginal location is still opened today

Uptown Historic District

Over the years the city’s Uptown Historic District has remained relatively intact and is one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the US, with almost 6,000 properties.

The Sheep Shearer’s Union

The Sheep Shearer’s Union of North American #1 was incorporated in 1903. The Sheep Shearers Merchandise and Commission Company, Inc. was opened in 1908. Still operating today, The Union and the Merchandising Company are one of only four in the world.

Smithers & Son

C. Owen Smithers came to Butte in 1921 and worked as a staff photographer for the Anaconda Standard. Over the years he became an avid collector of photographs from Montana’s frontier era and displayed them in his studio at 41 West Granite Street.

The Smithers Collection of Historical Photographs was listed among the city’s must see tourist attractions in the 1940 WPA Federal Writers Project’s Guide to Montana. After his death over 15,000 historical photographs were donated to the Butte – Silver Bow Archives.

The Metal Bank & Trust Company

The Metals Bank and Trust Co. was founded in 1882. One of Butte’s most well known citizens, Patrick Largey, was president of the bank. He also managed a company that had suffered a powder house explosion in 1895.

The accident cost one Thomas J. Riley a leg. As you can well imagine, Riley held a grudge and on January 11, 1898 Riley entered the bank, called the bank manager to the cashier window and an argument ensued. After five minutes Riley pulled a gun and shot Largey in the forehead, killing him instantly.

The Wah Chong Tai Co.

The Wah Chong Tai Company constructed its building in 1891 in the heart of what was Butte’s Chinatown. It housed a mercantile stocked with a general line of Chinese goods, including porcelain, teas and silk. In 1909 the company added the Mai Was Noodle Company. The “beautiful, luxurious” noodle parlor occupied the second floor of the building.

In the 1890’s, nearly 400 Chinese lived in this area. Chinese physicians, druggists, tailors, laundries and restaurants like this served the population.

The Leggat Hotel

The Leggat Hotel officially opened its doors on January 22, 1914 and was advertised as being nearly fireproof. The new hotel had the most modern conveniences including a buffet, Turkish baths, a barber shop and shower-baths located between the suites.

Gus’s Lunch

This building sits at an intersection that was the dividing line between Butte’s Chinatown and red-light district. The attached building was a Chinese boarding house and brothel called The Lucky Seven. Gus’s Lunch occupied the building from the 1930’s to the 50s. It is now the Silver Dollar Saloon.

Push Saloon/Silver Dollar Saloon

The Push Saloon opened at this location in 1894. At the time it was one of 165 saloons in Butte catering to Swedes, Frenchmen, Scots, Irish, Blacks and rich and poor alike. Just a four block walk up Main Street offered over 35 similar establishments. The Silver Dollar took over after prohibition in 1934 and is still a link to Butte’s colorful and distinctive past. Advertisements for Chili & Sandwiches and Blatz’s Old Heidelberg Beer still grace the sides of the building.

The Hotel Finlen

In 1924, the Hotel Finlen opened the doors to a grand, 9-story hotel with 250 rooms. It was designed in the second French empire style after the Hotel Astor in New York City and has been a center of commerce and culture since. It has been regarded as one of the grandest hotels in the region and hosted notable figures and dignitaries including John F Kennedy, Thomas Edison, Richard Nixon, and Charles Lindbergh.

The Exer-Dance Building

In 1892 John F. Kelly commissioned the Butte architectural firm of Freys, Bartlett and McMillan to design this Queen Anne style structure, known as the Exer-Dance Building. The ground-floor commercial space housed Kelly’s wholesale fruit and produce firm with apartments and lodgings available on the upper floors. Butte’s first radio station, KGIR, began broadcasting from a studio located on the third floor of this building on January 31, 1929.

The Scandia Hall

The Scandinavian Brotherhood endeavored to unify Scandinavians through fellowship, high standards of citizenship, and “to fulfill a vacancy in the social world.” This ornately embellished three-story meeting hall, Butte No. 1, was built in 1898. This was the “Mother Lodge” being the first lodge hall built by this national organization.

Club 13

This historic, once handsome brick building was built around 1884, and opened as the Milwaukee Beer Hall. Originally designed as an upper class place for drinks in the downtown area, aimed at the gentry class, but eventually the profits from prostitution were impossible to ignore.
The women had their “cribs” on the second floor of the clothing store next door. After a woman was chosen, the client would go next door, enter the clothing shop, and go upstairs. The woman would walk across the wooden catwalk to the second floor to meet him. The law was none the wiser or simply chose to ignore it.

Citizens Of Note

Robert Craig “Evel” Knievel

Over the years a vast array of successful and notable people have been tied to Butte including artists, sports figures, politicians and businessmen, but her most famous son is undoubtedly Robert Craig “Evel” Knievel. At the tender age of 8, Evel attended a Joie Chitwood auto daredevil show and from that moment on his career choice as a motorcycle daredevil was a forgone conclusion. He would make history over the course of his career by attempting more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps and, in the process, making himself a household name.

Knievel was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999. He is also in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most broken bones in a lifetime, 433.

Dashiell Hammett

In 1917, the author, Dashiell Hammett was working as a strikebreaker in Butte for the Pinkerton’s, and was offered $5,000 to assassinate Frank Little. He was filled with guilt and troubled deeply that a person would think him capable of committing murder. He would later depict Butte as the city, Poisonville, in his novel Red Harvest.

Some reviewers regarded his book as a remarkable achievement, on a parallel with Hemingway. It is considered the last word in atrocity, cynicism and horror in which every character is trying to deceive all the others and in which the truth slowly becomes visible through a fog of deception.

Wim Wender

In 2004, acclaimed German film director, Wim Wenders, made the film Don’t Come Knocking about a Western movie star fleeing Hollywood to seek his long lost love in Butte, Montana. Wenders worked with photographic images of desolate landscapes and themes of memory, time, loss, nostalgia and movement.

He began a long-running photographic project in the early 1980s that he pursued for over 20 years. The initial photographic series was titled “Written in the West” and was produced while Wenders criss-crossed the American West in preparation for his films Paris, Texas and Don’t Come Knocking.

A Magic Carpet Ride

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With the exception of a couple trips to Mexico, Wendi and I had never ventured out of the USA together until, in April 1989, some friends asked us to go to Istanbul with them. They planned to stay with an uncle for 3 weeks and assured us that we were all welcomed. The uncle worked for an accounting firm that sent him to Istanbul to help modernize the Turkish banking system. He was given the top floor of a really nice building, a car and two driver/bodyguards. The two bodyguards worked alternating 12 hour shifts and both lived in the ground floor of the building. The uncle told one of the men was Greek Orthodox and the other a Muslim and that they never spoke or even acknowledged the other’s presence as they would pass in the hallway twice a day, every day. He suggested this was a sign of religious intolerance. We discovered this just added a little more tension to an already anxiety filled household. The uncle was hugely fearful of kidnapping and was very careful about taking a different route to work each day. The aunt was so nervous she would never leave the apartment without a bodyguard. Assuming in our usual naive fashion that they were over-reacting, we headed out to gleefully explore every inch of this mysterious city.

The Gate of the Sultan – Dolmabahçe Palace

TV Shop – The Turkish Football team is playing the Romanians in the European Cup Semi-finals.

Egyptian Obelisk

They say the obelisks were originally covered with brass plaques figuring Egyptian symbols. When the Crusaders sacked Constantinople in 1203 their looting frenzy was such that they stripped the columns mistaking the brass for gold.

Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque

Hagia Sophia, built in 537, was the patriarchal cathedral of Constantinople until the fall of the city in 1453. It was then converted to a mosque by Mehmed the Conqueror who had all the Christian symbols painted over or chiseled off the walls. In 1935 the new secular Republic of Turkey changed the mosque into a museum. For years it has been the most visited tourist attraction in Turkey until July 2020 when, in the face of condemnation from Turkish opposition, UNESCO, the World Council of Churches and many international leaders, President Erdoğan reclassified it back into a mosque.

The Blue Mosque

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, the Blue Mosque, was built in the early 1600s. After a crushing defeat to the Persians the Sultan built the mosque to assert Ottoman power.

Prince’s Islands

We just had to get out of the apartment so we took a ferry out to the Prince’s Islands, an archipelago off the coast in the Sea of Marmara. During the Byzantine and Ottoman periods princes, princesses and Sultan’s families were exiled here, giving the islands their name. We got a room at the Splendid Palace Hotel on Büyükada, the largest of the nine islands. The island was like a trip back in time. It was small enough to cover on foot and, other than a few service vehicles, there was no motorized transport on the island.

Check Cashing

There were no ATMs, so we brought American Express Traveller’s checks. Cashing them was an adventure in itself. Merchants wouldn’t take them so we were left with two options, the bank or the AmX office at the Sheridan Hotel. I called the AmX office and asked when they were open. They told me occasionally. We opted for the bank.

The old bank building stood out on the corner like a grime grey ghost ship streaked with diesel exhaust. The 15’ high entrance was flanked by two uniformed police with machine guns. We entered a huge room with a giant portrait of Atatürk on the far wall and benches lining the other three. A tall podium sat in the exact center of the room with an older man perched on a high chair behind it. On the podium in front of him was a gigantic old leather-bound ledger with notes and odd pieces of paper sticking out in all directions. He motioned us forward and asked our business. We held up the AmX checks. He grunted, licked his thumb and, with practiced dexterity, located the exact correct page in the ledger and flopped the tremendous tome open with a loud thud. He signaled for the checks and our passports and began writing furiously in the ledger. He motioned for us to wait on one of the benches, then he leapt up and left the room with all our money and identification and disappeared through a small door at the back of the room. Being in a place where everyone looks at us like we just flew in from Saturn, we’re a tad apprehensive at this point. We sat very still and very straight with our eyes transfixed on the door that our entire security had just walked out of. After a long 10 minutes he pushed back through the door, briskly charged to the podium, hopped up on his high stool and completely ignored us. After an agonizing 20 more minutes a very tall stern looking woman in heels that clacked when she walked across the marble floor came through the door and headed straight for us. I was certain this is it, the gig’s up, we’re either going to the principle’s office or that prison in Midnight Express. She gestured for us to follow her. We scrambled to our feet and were led like ducklings to a small teller window at the far end of the room. She then handed a note to a small timid lady inside the cubicle who immediately began counting out Turkish lira. At about 2,000 lira to the dollar this made for a hell of a pile of bank notes. She pushed the mound of bills through the window to the stern woman who recounted it until she was satisfied then handed us the cash and a receipt. Finally, with a flourish, she produced our passports from some hidden pocket, smiled broadly and told us in perfect English to come again soon and have a lovely day.

Mohammed’s Hair

During our tour of Tokopki Palace we had to see the Jewel Room. We strolled by cases filled with jewel-encrusted scimitars and daggers, amazing diamond bracelets and rings and necklaces with emeralds so large that the Sultan had to sit to wear them. Out of nowhere a huge commotion erupted from across the room. A group of about 30 or so women dressed in burka were standing in front of a large showcase, chanting, crying and rocking frantically. I pushed through the crowd to see what all the hubbub was about. When I peeked into the showcase I saw a gold satin pillow with a single long hair stretched across the top. This single hair is worshipped by the faithful as being from the head of their most revered prophet, Mohammed.

The Angels Wrote My Name

The old walled city sits on top of the Basilica Cistern, built in the 6th century by Justinian I to hold the city’s water supply. For over a millennium it provided water to everyone inside the city walls as well as security when under siege. As the city grew each sultan would construct new fountains and wells so people would have easier access to water and there by increase the revered one’s status in the afterlife. The idea being that every time you fill a jug or take a drink you ask Allah to bless the Sultan and with each blessing the Angels write the Sultan’s name. Each new entry in the Book of Life improves the Sultan’s ultimate position in Heaven.

Statues of Roman Gods were dismantled and used to support columns. Tradition suggests the heads were inverted to negate the power of the Gorgon’s gaze.

This cup hangs above a fountain and is for public use.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Atatürk is the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first president from 1923 until his death in 1938. He undertook sweeping progressive reforms, which modernized Turkey into a secular, industrial nation. He is regarded as one of the most important political leaders of the 20th century. His picture is everywhere.

Occasionally when traveling things will happen that make you realize just how much we take our freedoms for granted. We were sitting in the Sultan’s Pub talking to a couple Turkish basketball players about how much they admired Michael Jordon. One of the guys bragged that he had 20 points and 10 assists in his last game. I jokingly exclaimed, “Atta Turk!” Both men quickly leaned across the table and whispered “Shhh, you can’t say that. Joking about or disparaging Atatürk is illegal. Be careful what you say. If anyone overhears you, life could get very complicated very quickly.”

Chinese Whispers

We found an old Hammam, Turkish Bath, that had been converted to a carpet market and sold new reproductions of classic Turkish carpets for export. We were curious how much they cost and how it all works, but the salesman couldn’t speak English. He began circling through the rooms and returned with two couples, one Dutch and the other German. He pointed to the Dutch couple who could speak English and German. We explained what we wanted to know and they conveyed our message to the Germans who could also speak Turkish. They, in turn, spoke to the salesman and round and round we went for a half hour. It all worked amazingly well and was clearly a method the salesman had used before. They didn’t ship the carpets, but instead rolled them, attached a cloth handle and had you hand carry them to the airport. At least I think that’s what he said. We never bought a carpet.

My Ottoman Princess

In the lobby of the Splendid Palace Hotel, Büyükada, Turkey

Wendi tells a joke at the Splendid Palace Hotel, Büyükada, Turkey

The Time Machine

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During this semi-isolation we live in now I’ve managed to get to some long forgotten projects. A quarter of a century ago, in 1995, we went to Sherborne, England for our first Home Exchange. We were still in an analog universe without digital cameras, cellular phones, social media and the high speed Internet we know today. So our negatives and journals, after a cursory perusal, went the way of all vacation memories at the time, deep in a drawer. We have decided to rediscover what we did and how we felt about it. Come along.

1995

Wendi has been organizing our very first European Home Exchange for over a year at this point. We fly out on March 23rd for a 5 1/2 week trip to England. We’ll be spending our first 3 1/2 weeks in Sherborne, Dorset at the home of the Rouses, two teachers at the Sherborne Boys School, one of a few exclusive institutions that molds entitled little rich kids into the leaders of tomorrow. Then we’ll be off to London for two weeks in a small studio flat in Covent Gardens.

This is a real act of faith for us. Leaving our home and business for almost a month and a half feels very risky. Our clients are a bit shocked and not particularly happy, as most are corporate types that get two weeks off at the very most. We’re not sure if there will be business when we return. Time will tell.

At this point I should tell you a little about the exchange. We have discovered that our exchangers, Tony and Jan Rouse, share the same last name but are, in fact, not married or even together. They are just good friends. When we were picked up at Heathrow it was explained to us that we could stay at either Jan or Tony’s house, but that Tony’s house, the Firs, was larger and directly across the road from Sir Walter Raleigh’s Castle. Wow, a house with a name, next to a castle, that’s the one for us. It was only after we were dropped off that the fatal flaws in our decision became apparent. Tony lives all alone, he’s a bachelor and all that entails, beginning with a very unfortunate kitchen and two bathrooms in crisis. As for the view of the castle, actually it’s about as charming as a huge crumbling pile of rubble can be.

I’ll feel better after a quick shower, but wait I can’t open my luggage. The name tag says Capt. Thompson. Who the hell is Capt. Thompson? I call British Airways, “Hello Mr. Peterson, we’ve been expecting your call. You apparently have Capt. Thompson’s bag. He’s on his way to Nairobi now, so we’re going to send a driver by your place to pick up the Captain’s bag and bring it here. We’ll try and get your bag out to you in a couple days. OK?” I pause as my jet lagged brain tries to think this through. “Mr. Peterson, you still there?” “Yes, but I’m afraid your plan won’t work for me. What I will do is exchange bags with you. Bring me my bag and you get the Captain’s bag.” After three solid minutes of dead air time she finally agreed. The driver arrives just after midnight, topping off the longest day of my life.

Sherborne Abbey

Christians have worshipped where the Abbey stands for over 1300 years. When Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in 1539 his good buddy, Sir John Horsey, acquired Sherborne Abbey with plans to demolish it. The townspeople, only about 2000 strong, rallied together and heroically managed to raise what would be over $445,000 today to save the church.

Our new friends have organized a little tour of the Abbey. Their friend is the cathedral organist and has promised to show us around.The organist was so kind and hospitable. To the surprise and delight of people visiting the cathedral, he even belted out a little ditty for everyone’s enjoyment. He then took us up the secret stairway to the roof for a view of the town.

After the tour we headed over to the Digby Tab for a few Imperial pints of Strong Bitter. The organist arrived after a couple rounds. I stood up and announced to the assembled crowd that he has the largest and most beautiful organ I have ever seen. I’m certain that they are still teasing him and laughing about the dumb American.

Don, Edith, Cyril and the Organist at Sherborne Abbey

Stonehenge

When you could still walk up and touch these magical stones.

Beer

A quaint little Cornish village perched on hillside overlooking the English Channel. We decided to stay here simply because it’s named Beer. Seemed like a no-brainer.

We stayed at the Colebrooke House. At breakfast we tried to chat with the owner and asked if he had grown up in Beer and what he did for a living before starting a B&B. He immediately dressed us down for being far too farmilar and explained that the English would never take such liberties with a stranger. As soon as he left the room the ladies at the next table came over, introduced themselves and told us the landlord was full of bullocks and just being an old grump.

Tintagel Castle

A medieval fortification located on the island of Tintagel, the castle was built by Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall in the 13th century.

It has been a tourist destination since the 1930s when visitors began coming to see the ruins of Richard’s castle. Tintagel Castle has long been associated with the legends of King Arthur.

Geoffrey of Monmouth created the Arthurian myths that are still popular today. In the 12th century he described Tintagel as the place of Arthur’s conception in his mythological account of British history. Geoffrey wrote that Arthur’s father, King Uther, was disguised by Merlin’s sorcery to look like the Duke of Cornwall, so he could sneak into the Duke’s bedroom and have his way with Igraine, Arthur’s mother. A sort of 12th century date rape.

Trevigue, Crackington Haven, Cornwall

We drove to Trevigue down a very narrow country lane after dark. The fog was so thick that we didn’t realize that just 15′ to our left was a 100′ cliff above the Irish Sea. Mentioned in the Domesday Book, Trevigue has been a farm since before the Norman Conquest.

Further North

Warwick castle

London

It’s Easter Sunday and we’re on the train to London for our last two weeks. We’ve rented a very small apartment in Covent Gardens from Mr. Almaz. Apparently it’s his son’s place and the old man puts him out whenever he can get a renter. It’s teeny but clean and the son has tons of movies. We haven’t turned on a TV in over a month.

The Imperial War Museum

Much to my surprise, this place is great. World War II is clearly England’s defining moment and this extraordinary museum gives you a real feel for the devastation and aftermath of the conflict. We even took a simulated bombing run over Berlin.

The Tower of London

It’s not really a tower, it’s a walled fortification that encloses a jail, an armory, a jewel house, chapel, royal houses and apartments. The Beefeater that served as our tour guide told us that in centuries past it was a very unpleasant place that the Royals would only come to when there was a threat of attack. The sewer system in particular was suspect. It was designed with the thought that the tidal river would wash the waste out to sea twice a day. Apparently it never worked and left the whole place smelling like an open septic tank. A lot is made of the famous beheadings that took place on the Tower Green, but apparently most executions took place outside the complex on Tower Hill so the bloodthirsty public could attend. Executions inside the complex were more solemn affairs not meant for immediate public consumption.

The Queen’s Apartments, The Tower of London

The condemned entered the Tower through this passage.

Anne Boleyn and countless others spent their final days in this very room.

Touring With Her Majesty

An Imperial Pint at the King’s Arms, London

Vacant Places

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With everything either closed or out of business, it feels so much more sedentary and unchanging now. The whole world is on pause and slowly turning into one big vacant place.

In town, all I see are solitary masked figures scurrying away in order to maintain proper spacing. Social distancing seems to becoming, if not easier, then at least more normal.

People seem very reluctant to engage at all. When you suddenly come upon someone they seems startled and taken aback, not exactly sure how to react in this new paradigm.

Of course that’s just for people. The world around us hasn’t even paused.

Quiet Roads & Empty Trails

Fair warning, if we live through this I’m going to hug more.

Strange Days

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“Strange days have found us
Strange days have tracked us down
They’re going to destroy
Our casual joys” The Doors

Road Sign – I’m thinking this is a passive aggressive reprimand.

Well, strange days have definitely found us, as to whether or not it will destroy all our casual joys, the jury is still out. I like to think there’s still a lot left to do just around the neighborhood.

“When you’re strange
No one remembers your name
When you’re strange” The Doors

We can all dress up in funny clothes. Sure she’s strange, but she’s festive.

Our Version of Isolation

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Isolation is a relative term. We live way out west in rural Washington and it can feel pretty remote sometimes, but during this period of self-imposed seclusion, it has been a blessing. We have friends living in city apartments and their idea of isolation and ours are two very different things. Even though we can’t hug and kiss friends and love ones, as long as we take precautions and avoid people, our mobility is in no way hindered. We have taken to long solitary walks on the beach. A beach that, now free of tourists and tire tracks, feels somehow more vast and expansive, and still has small untouched details.

Road Trips

Yes, like all good Americans, we just couldn’t wait to get out on the open road, at least for the day. So we packed a lunch, filled the gas tank, loaded up the face masks, latex gloves and hand sanitizer and set out on a little excursion to some very small towns where there just aren’t many people around in the best of times.

Fort Stevens, Oregon

Fort Stevens was an American military installation built near the end of the Civil War to help protect the mouth of the Columbia River. Now it’s a small settlement built around a military history museum.

Fort Stevens is named for former Washington Territory governor and slain Civil War general Isaac Ingalls Stevens. A little guy with a lot of courage. Isaac stood just 5′ 3″ . He is said to have died holding the Regimental Colors high and shouting “Highlanders! Highlanders! Follow your general!” while leading his men in a charge against Confederate forces at the Battle of Chantilly on September 1, 1862.

Brownsmead, Oregon

With the exception of a hand full of very creative souls there is not much in this tiny unincorporated community. It was built out on the flats on the south side of the Columbia River along Saspal Slough. Located on a bend in the river, Brownsmead’s chief claim to fame is as the northernmost settlement in the state of Oregon

Warrenton, Oregon

The area began developing as a small fishing community in the late 1840s. Warrenton was platted in 1889 and incorporated as a city in 1899. The town was built on tidal flats and relied on a system of dikes constructed by Chinese laborers to keep the it from flooding.

U.S. Coast Guard Sector Columbia River Warrenton, Oregon

St Francis De Sales Mission Hammond, Oregon

Raymond, Washington

Founded in 1907, Raymond was named for it’s first postmaster, L. V. Raymond. The downtown was originally built on slits, six feet above the tidal flats below. Starting as a rough and tumble lumber town Raymond fell on hard times but has now reinvented itself as Pacific County’s marijuana manufacturing hub.

To be continued. Stay safe.

The Road to Tonopah

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We left Bryce in the euphoria of early morning sunshine and set out on the long and uneventful journey from Utah across the center of Nevada. But, before we had crossed into the Silver State, ominous clouds began to form in the west. With the road stretching out across the desert before us, Wendi at the helm, we plunged head long into the maelstrom. For half the day she fought bravely through snow, sleet, hail, fog, rain, thunder, lightening and cattle.

“The storm is threatening my very life today. If I don’t get some shelter I’m going to fade away.” – RS’s

Tonopah, Nevada

By late afternoon the clouds parted revealing a welcomed oasis ahead. Tonopah, Nevada may not be paradise but it has everything people in our predicament could want; beer, buffalo wings, a bed and a 3,275 lb meteorite.

Rags to Riches

Legend has it that sometime around 1900 prospector Jim Butler went looking for his perpetually wandering burro. Having finally discovered the disobedient creature hiding under a ledge he picked up a rock in frustration but before hurling it at the beast noticed it was unusually heavy. He had stumbled upon the second-richest silver strike in Nevada history. Jim Butler, named the settlement, from what is thought to be Shoshone for “hidden spring”.

In 1902, a some time buckaroo and cattle drover, 24-year-old George Wingfield arrived in Tonopah. He dealt faro-cards at the Tonopah Club. Once he had a small bankroll, he talked Jack Carey, owner of the club, into taking him in as a partner. Wingfield began investing his profits in mines and by 1906 was worth more than $30 million.

The Mizpah Hotel

We’re staying at the historic Mizpah Hotel which sprung up in 1907 during the great Nevada silver boom. When it was completed the following year, the five story building was the tallest in Nevada. This high class hotel’s bar and restaurant was the center of social and economic activity in Tonopah all during those heady boom days. Many political and mining notables of the day frequented the bar that boasted boxing promoter Tex Rickard and future heavyweight boxing champ Jack Dempsey as bouncers.

The Lady In Red

“Lady in Red” – Charles Webster Hawthorne

It was in the 1920s when Rose, the lady in Red, was murdered in room 501 of the Mizpah Hotel. Stories vary but the most excepted version of the gruesome event suggests that Rose’s husband returned to their room after having missed his train only to discover his wife had been in bed with another man. The husband flew into a jealous rage and savagely stabbed and strangled Rose.

She still haunts the hotel, whispering in men’s ears and leaving pearls from her broken necklace on guest’s pillows.

Bryce Canyon

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The snow was already falling as we entered Bryce Canyon. It would continue to come down sporadically for the next two days. The snow was punctuated with magnificent sunbreaks. Each one would have us dash off to the next lookout point to discover another amazing vista.

The park has hundreds of trails that lead down into the various canyons. Most are weather dependent. Before you head down into the rocks you might want to have a quick look at James Franco’s great film “127 Hours”, just so you know what you might not want to do.

The Land of The Hoodoos

These spires and ones similar show up in various places around the globe and, as you can imagine, there is a lot of science and geology around their formation, but one thing they all have in common is that they are truly magical.

“Before there were humans the Legend People lived in that place. There were many of all kinds – birds, animals and lizards, but they had the power to make themselves look like people. For some reason the Legend People in that place were bad, so bad that Coyote turned them all into rocks. You can see them in that place now; some standing in rows, some sitting down, some holding onto others. This is the story the people tell.”

Indian Dick – Paiute elder – 1936

Parting Shot

Do they travel with their own booties or does the bus driver provide them?

BruceWPeterson Photography

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