Mmmmmmm, Rice!

Day 12 of our epic voyage took us from Houston to College Station, away from the big city and out into the gorgeous rolling countryside to the northeast.

Farewell to the seemingly endless sprawl of Houston...

We did stop, on our way out of town, at Rice University, the Cambridge of the Southwest, to look at the surprisingly picturesque campus. And, of course, to acquire a few mementos from such a lovely school - Blythe and I would willingly travel to Houston if Allegra chose to attend this prestigious university (#17 in the latest US News rankings, not that those mean everything)..

It looks almost just like St. Catherine's College at Cambridge

We really like Rice

It was a really nice drive through the Brazos River Valley, rolling from maybe 100 miles from Houston to College Station. A nice short drive (for once) as well.

Our fourth Presidential Library was on the agenda for today, the George Bush, #41, on the campus of Texas A&M University. Why is it there, when President Bush is from Connecticut or Maine (depending on who you ask)? 

Even the flags are too hot to wave

The introductory film poses that question to the President, who answered that he 'just loved the feeling, the energy of the campus.' I presume it was solar energy, because the sun was almost painful out there today, our first in the triple digits! 

The George Bush Museum seemed very different from the other three that we've seen so far, with many fewer source documents on display, even electronically. There were a lot of laudatory letters (from the public and officials), some publicly issued reports, but that was about it. The one document that wasn't in that category was a letter President Bush sent to Saddam Hussein in August 1990 after the invasion of Kuwait.

At least they let you have a little fun with the President - nice glasses, George!

Way to aim high!

The other museums had a large number of memoranda and previously classified materials on display, even the Clinton Museum. It's difficult to believe that 20 years on there are still classification and presumptive "national security issues" that prevent more source-level materials to be widely shown to the public. It would make the museum a more engaging place.

Truly a piece of history 

Like the Bush presidency, the installations about foreign policy, including the Gulf War, dwarfed the domestic stuff. The piece of the Berlin Wall in the museum is very evocative, and while there are a lot of items and information about the Gulf War itself, the whole of that part felt a little stiff. The photos of the environmental damage from the oil field fires and spills were more emotional.

We took a little drive around the HUGE Texas A&M campus, snapped a photo of the imposing Kyle Field  and found our way to the bookstore, which has been temporarily relocated into the former volleyball arena (who new they had one at A&M?).

Is that sign big enough? Can you see it from space? It seats more than the population of the town!

We actually found a place to get a good salad for dinner tonight, our vegetable intake had fallen to dangerously low levels. We are off to Austin and the final president on our trip, LBJ, tomorrow. Talk to you later!

An ironic visit to NASA...

Standing in front of a rocket engine at NASA - feel the irony?

Another day on the road, rolling through the bayous of Louisiana and the petroindustrial hellscape of the Texas Gulf Coast (no offense to any Texans out there).

We started the day trying to take a look at the Tulane University campus and pick up some gear, but we had to go off-roading on Audubon Blvd and then we couldn’t find a place to park, since there are all of four parking spots for non-students. How are we supposed to show support for the Green Wave? (No offense, Emily M. and all other Tulane alums).

Naturally we stopped for a quick photo op at the Louisiana State Capitol bldg in Baton Rouge. Interesting that it's an office building rather than a classic legislative building (dome, gold statue on top, two wings, etc.). It was VERY quick, because the heat at 10 am was unholy. Also, the roads in the entire state of Louisiana are in poor to awful shape - and we know because we've driven a lot of them! (No offense, Sarah H. and any other Cajuns out there).

Which floor is the governor on?

We were finally able to get a good photo of the stateline sign coming into Texas, where they are kind enough to put it on the grounds of a rest stop. The next sign down the I-10 says "El Paso 847". It is a shorter drive from Los Angeles to El Paso than from the eastern end of Texas to El Paso! 

When we finally arrived in Houston, we zipped over the the NASA Johnson Space Center for some good space learning. 

Rockets, rockets everywhere...

We ended up on a very "touristy" and somewhat disappointing tour around the JSC in a tram that felt like they got it used from Universal Studios. Blythe and Allegra felt that it was very watered down and that NASA needs to jazz it up, make it more like Disneyland. It was cool to see the Mission Control room from the Gemini and Apollo missions, refurbished to its 1960's glory, but those consoles are primitive! And the seats in the observation gallery are clearly original from 1965.

Has anyone seen my slide rule?

We also got to stand next to an actual Saturn 5 rocket, which is unbelievably massive.

I can't even see the other end

Blythe said that, from an art history perspective, the Apollo 8 mission logo had the greatest impact. Allegra and I agreed. 

While at the JSC, where every tour guide was bemoaning the end of the space shuttle program (the last launch, of Atlantis, is scheduled for July 8th, we heard about 59 times), I was expecting to be accosted by someone for my choice of shirt, but it never happen (no offense intended to any space shuttle program veterans out there).

We finished the day off at dinner with aunt Mary Beth, her boyfriend Lou and her son Androsh. We had a very fun night out, and a late one, too - until 9:30!

And after that late night, time to sign off. More Presidential Library-ing tomorrow in College Station, so we will talk to you later!

Now we are REALLY in the South!!

After ten days and more than 2,900 miles behind us, we have reached the farthest point from home, the lovely and humid New Orleans. Today we didn't have any emotionally evocative experiences, but not every day has to be so serious. This is our vacation, after all.

Our view for most of the past few days has pretty much been this.

the open road in the South

The home of the King

We started the day at Graceland - why else come to Memphis, the ducks? Graceland is a large home, but not unbelievably so, and we only took about 45 minutes to get thru the house and mediation garden, where the King is laid to rest. The audio tour is excellent, which is good because a tour guide would be hopeless...there is no room for a guide AND a bunch of shuffling tourists. The house wasn't built as a museum.

Mr. and Mrs. Presley, you have a lovely living room

The Jungle Room is cool, especially the green shag rug on the ceiling.

The TV Room is cool in yellow and navy blue, but what is with the white monkey on the table?

The racquetball court is unreal, with the walls covered from floor to 25 foot ceiling  with gold and platinum records.

Did you enjoy the tour? Thank you very much...

And the JUMPSUITS!

Yes, Steve wishes this was his closet

There is certainly more to see at Graceland, including a car museum and the King's airplanes, but we had many miles to go today, so we took off to the south.

Yes, the plane is called the "Lisa Marie"

Somewhere on the road thru Mississippi, we saw this obelisk - what the heck?

Next stop was Jackson, Mississippi, near Pearl, the hometown of our good friend from Brooklyn, David H. We stopped at the state capitol building of course, so a little southern photo op.

Our destination for the day was New Orleans, which we hit in the late afternoon. We walked thru French Quarter, taking in the sights (and smells) of Bourbon Street. It was crowded, loud and bright, and we saw a gay pride parade, so it was kind of like being in New York, but even more humid. We got caught out in a little rain, and had some coffee and beignets at Cafe du Monde, a typical tourist time in the Big Easy.

Bourbon Street as few see it, in daylight

No, we did not partake of any of the magic green elixir

On the banks of Old Man River

Tomorrow we are off to Texas. Time to sign off, and we will talk to you tomorrow!

Memphis Tonight

Something funny happened when we got to the hotel in Memphis. The registration desk at our hotel had, instead of offering mints or cookies to guests, offered ear plugs, because the hotel is less than a block from Beale Street, the entertainment and nightlife heart of Memphis. Beale Street is like a mini-me Bourbon Street in New Orleans, a hedonist, booze-soaked 2-block pedestrian mall. And hot as hell in the middle of the day. We hope the noise won't bother us, since the bars are allowed to stay open after 3 am (from a special exemption from the state legislature). Ear plugs at the ready!

a hot crowd on a hot day

We went to the Peabody Hotel to see the 5 o'clock duck march, a daily Memphis tradition. But the crowd in the hotel lobby was crazy, and the Peabody Hotel duck wrangler just went on and on about the history of the duck march, so we left before the main event. We got this shot of Allegra sitting on the fountain with the famous ducks a while before the grand ceremony. If you're interested, you can see the event here.

cute duckies!

Dinner was at a place recommended by many people - The Rendezvous for ribs. This is a rub, not a sauce, place, and the family was split on the ribs. Blythe and Steve were definite thumbs up (best ribs Steve ever had), but Allegra was a partial thumbs down - she prefers sauce to a rub. If you are in Memphis, definitely try this place. The menu is simple, there's no dessert, but the food is great and it's not real expensive.

Have fun finding the entrance!

We see the King and Graceland tomorrow, then hustle down through Mississippi to the Big Easy, so we will talk to you later!

Happy 17th Anniversary!

Happy 17 Years!!

What a great way to spend the first half of Day 9, also our 17th anniversary, at the Clinton Library & Museum. Steve and I met and got married, and Allegra was born during the Clinton presidency. In many ways, Clinton speaks to our generation. The building is on a beautiful site right on the banks of the Arkansas River, which Steve and I floated on in 1993. The first time I met his family was driving in a Winnebago with Martha, Betsy, Martin, Henry (1 year old), Diane, Andy and Adam, from Pittsburgh to Hot Springs for the The Coates Family Reunion. At that time I was thoroughly vetted by the Coates side of the family (all 6 aunts, 1 uncle and their respected spouses and Steve's cousins) and I guess I passed the test. We're going to reunite with some of them when we're in Texas in a few days.

Very post-modern

The Clinton Library did a very good job of presenting a very balanced picture of Clinton's presidency. Allegra learned that Bill had 5 saxophones that were specifically made for him (4 of them were tenors). This was the first presidency that we became acutely aware of the positive impact his decisions had on our lives. We were reminded of his decision to allow graduate students to not have to pay tax on tuition remission. Clinton emphasized globalization and the information age. He was adamant about equal rights for all, health care and education. President Clinton brought our economy out of a deep post-war recession into the most successful American economy in 100 years. We miss Bill!

That silver mouthpiece is supposed to be the best

Strive for the best, then give back to our community/country

President Peelor gives the Cabinet the business..

We've landed in Memphis and are about to head out to Beale St. and the Peabody Hotel to do some sightseeing. Stay tuned...

Arkansas

We made it to Arkansas today, after a very tree-filled drive through the Ozarks. We stayed off the interstates for the most part, on the back roads, like we did a lot of in the Dakotas on our last road trip. We managed to avoid stopping in Branson for a little (very little?) entertainment; I was really lobbying to see the Yakov Smirnov show, but Blythe and Allegra stayed the course and got us thru Missouri.

Our drive through nature let us see the World Wonder of the Natural Bridge, bit of sandstone deep in a valley outside Clinton (yes, it seems like every state has a town named "Clinton", I'm surprised there's only one in Arkansas). They also had a replica whiskey still, guarded by a fierce looking gentleman. At $15 for the three of us, that may have been the most expensive, measured by the minute, tourist trap we've ever been to. The guy who worked there was nice, though, made some barbecue recommendations for Memphis (tomorrow's destination).

Not exactly sure why they built this bridge...

Old Jeb, still guarding his still from the Revenue Men

When we got into Little Rock, we really knew we were in the South because it was hotter than hell!

like 97 degrees today, in June - Texas next week is going to be a blast...furnace, I'm sure. Our first stop in the city was, you guessed it, the state capitol building. For the first time, there was no construction going on! A very nice building, thought they could use some gold leaf or something on the dome.

no scaffolding in sight

Next was Little Rock Central High School, a National Historic Site. It commemorates the conflict (understatement) over the attempted integration of the school by 9 black students in September 1957, three years after Brown v Board of Education. We've all seen the photos of soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division escorting the Little Rock Nine through a crowd of literally bloodthirsty white folks. The museum across the street from the high school (which is still active today) has a very powerful exhibit about the 1) events that led up to and of September 1957, including video interviews of the Little Rock Nine, and 2) descriptions of other actions, both protest and positive, in the fight over civil rights for minorities. 

The exhibit was not as shocking as the Brown v Board site (see yesterday's post here), but is very emotionally evocative. This crisis was one of the first times people throughout the US, even the world, could watch the personal battles over racial discrimination in real time with the television coverage of the day. They say that 100 million people watched President Eisenhower's address on September 24, 1957. Part of the site is a preserved Mobil gas station, restored to how it looked in 1957. It's directly across the street from the high school, and because it had a pay phone it was an important meeting place and was the main connection the throngs of media had to their varied headquarters in the pre-cell phone era.

Little Rock Central HS itself is a very imposing building. At the front, around the reflecting pool, are nine marble benches, each inscribed with the name of one of the Little Rock Nine. 

One of the benches

This trip has been unexpectedly educational so far, as the two sites we've seen so far, in Topeka and Little Rock, have really driven home personal stories of the fight for civil rights. Hopefully we will find more as we continue on our journey.

Tomorrow morning we are off to the Clinton Library, then quick drive (for us) to Memphis. Talk to you later!

We're just wild about Harry (S Truman)!

Finally a day with a short drive! We only had 200 miles to cover today, from Salina, Kansas to Independence, Missouri.

We stopped Topeka, the capital of Kansas, for a quick photo of the capitol building (under repair, again).

We also saw a sign for "Brown v Board of Education Historical Site". This was unexpected, so we had to see it. We followed the signs and came to Monroe Elementary School, which has been preserved by the National Park Service, and has a couple small but powerful exhibits about the conflict and violence that resulted from attempts to desegregate schools like Little Rock Central High School and the University of Mississippi. We're glad that we got to see an important landmark like this on our trip; Allegra felt it was historic as well (she's never seen an elementary school that was just one building before).

Brown v Board of Ed National Historic Site

Our next stop was at the University of Kansas to see the campus and get a t-shirt or two. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!!!

"Allegra, can you see going to school here?" "Nope."

Lunch was at the world famous Gates & Sons Bar-B-Q in Independence. Delicious BBQ, delicious french fries, and ENORMOUS drinks - yikes! Geoff DiBello, thank you for the tip!

Before

After - is that lemonade big enough?

The Harry Truman Presidential Library and Museum was very impressive. The first Presidential Library built (1957), President Truman kept an office there until the late 1960's. It was also the first time that a former president gave all of his papers and state gifts to the National Archives for research and public access, and he was very active in making the library happen.

The (obligatory) introductory film, describing his life up until becoming president, was less aggrandizing than the Eisenhower film yesterday, and it led into the exhibits of Truman's presidency and associated world events in the post-war era. Rooms depicting the economic problems in the US and in Europe immediately after WWII were especially striking, as these aren't things often highlighted in how we learn about that time. There was also extensive coverage of the campaign of 1948 (of course), with very little equal time given to Governor Dewey - oh well, to the winners go the spoils!

The museum also has a replica of President Truman's Oval Office (furniture replicas, most actual accessories), with some narration recorded by President Truman himself. The (figurative) centerpiece is a huge globe that was given to President Truman by General Eisenhower (Eisenhower kept it when he became president).

Excellent words to live by

We also did a drive-by of the Truman House, where Harry and Bess lived before he was elected to the Senate in 1934. Bess Truman came from a prominent local family, so Harry had to marry into money to get this sweet house!

Harry Truman's house on Truman Street (what're the odds?)

Time to sign off, we have a long drive through the wilds of Missouri and Arkansas tomorrow. We'll talk to you later!