Where the First Thanksgiving Really Happened and Other Interesting Things

Coastal Virginia is a historic area and we took advantage of a beautiful day to visit the Berkeley Plantation.

Williamsburg is about 45 minutes away and then the plantation is about 30 miles from there.

I think I may have heard about the Berkeley Plantation but I was reminded of it about a week ago while talking with a new friend at a group gathering we attended.  Wiley said, "The Berkeley Plantation is where the first Thanksgiving happened!"  Really?

I said I hadn't heard that one and he said, "Oh yeah, it's well documented."  Over the years I learn that  Christopher Columbus didn't really discover America and now this.  Hmmm.  Pam and I hadn't had a day trip in a while, so we drove out to see what it was all about.

Perfect day for a drive!  The major highway road construction near Newport News/Yorktown/Jamestown/Williamsburg is now complete and it was a great drive.  Especially the stretch from Williamsburg to Berkeley Plantation.

We arrived right when they opened up at 9:30 and had 25 minutes to mull around and see some things on our own at one of the little museums.

We joined a tour of the property led by a well-informed docent who was dressed up for the part.

Early settlers from England arrived at what would become Berkeley Plantation and observed the first Thanksgiving in America on December 4, 1619.  This was 13 months before the celebration and feast at Plymouth Rock.

Here is how Wikipedia makes the distinction between the two.

Pilgrims and Puritans who emigrated from England in the 1620s and 1630s carried the tradition of Days of Fasting and Days of Thanksgiving with them to New England. The modern Thanksgiving holiday tradition is traced to a well-recorded 1619 event in Virginia and a sparsely documented 1621 celebration at Plymouth in present-day Massachusetts. The 1619 arrival of 38 English settlers at Berkeley Hundred in Charles City County, Virginia, concluded with a religious celebration as dictated by the group's charter from the London Company, which specifically required "that the day of our ships arrival at the place assigned ... in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God." The 1621 Plymouth feast and thanksgiving was prompted by a good harvest, which the Pilgrims celebrated with native Americans, who helped them pass the last winter by giving them food in the time of scarcity.

Other noteworthy facts associated with the Berkeley Plantation:

• The first Bourbon Whiskey in America was distilled there 1621-1622.
• Plantation purchased in 1691 by Benjamin Harrison III, ancestor of two U.S. presidents.
• Was the first commercial shipyard on the James River, building 18 gun battleships for the Revolutionary Navy.

• Tobacco was the cash crop on the 1400 acres, making the Harrisons wealthy.
• The original plantation was built in 1726 when Benjamin Harrison IV built the mansion.   
• The three story brick mansion is said to be the oldest 3-story brick house in Virginia.
•  The eldest son, Benjamin V, operated the farm and became active in Virginia politics and was governor three times.  He also was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
• William Henry Harrison, son of Benjamin V, became the 9th president of the U.S. in 1841. He holds the distinction of holding the office only 31 days, dying of pneumonia after his long-winded inaugural address in freezing cold weather.  
• He served in the Northwest Territories with John Tyler who became his vice president and later  president after his short tenure.
• John Tyler’s plantation is just a few miles up the road from Berkeley Plantation.
• William Henry Harrison’s grandson, Benjamin, became the 23rd president of the U.S. in 1889. They are the only son-grandson duo in history to become presidents.
• George Washington and later the succeeding 9 presidents all visited the Berkeley Plantation.
• By 1862 the estate came upon hard times and was abandoned.  Union General George McClellan retreated here after the attempt to take Richmond from the Confederates in 1862.
• During that encampment in July, Union Major General Daniel Butterfield tinkered with “Taps”, changing it into what it is known as today.  It has been played at the end of the duty day since then at military bases and at military funerals throughout the world.

•  Later in 1862, President Lincoln visited Berkeley Plantation and visited McClellan’s Army 140,000 troops.
• The grave sites of presidents William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison are on the property.  Truly modest by most standards.

While there we wandered around the grounds and had a picnic lunch on the river.  As things would turn out, Jamestown was doing a test run of the ship “Godspeed” which added to the interesting things of the day.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Berkeley Plantation and recommend it!

Thanks for joining us today!

Road Trip Aug 2019 - Maryland State Capitol

We left our home in Norfolk VA mid-day on Saturday for Fairfax VA to see Adam and Melissa.  We we planned an overnight stay before heading to Williamsville, NY.  We changed it up a bit and drove to Fairfax by way of the Eastern Shore through Annapolis MD.

Since we hadn't seen the Maryland State Capital, we drove there for a quick visit in the middle of the afternoon.  We parked downtown near the Vistor's Center in the public garage and walked the two blocks to the capitol.

The Maryland State House sits atop the what seems like the highest point in the city.

The capitol is small by some standards but is rich in history.  It is the oldest State House in continuous use in the U.S.  That note is quite amazing to us since it goes back to 1772.  

It has a beautiful dome that is unique as it is made completely of wood with no nails.

The current State House is the third to be located on the site.  The first one burned in 1704, the second was completed in 1709 but was not adequate for the growing colony.  The current structure was started in 1772 and completed in 1779.

The State House has the distinction of being the only State Capitol to serve as the nation's capitol from November 26, 1783 - August 13, 1784.

I took the diagram from self-guided tour brochure that gives a layout of the the old portion of the State House at the top and the annex which was joined to the existing building during the 1902-1906 construction period.

The building included spaces for both the bicameral body with 47 members in the Senate and 141 representatives in the House of Delegates.  We took a self-guided walking tour and viewed the old House Chambers which was set up as a replica of how it appeared in 1876 - 1905.

Something I don't remember seeing is a walking area that was an additional thickness of the existing carpet pattern where viewers walked.  I don't know why that caught my eye.

Next we saw a collection of silverware from the USS Maryland housed in the next room on the same side.

The silver service was created in 1906 and depicts 167 scenes from Marlyland's 23 counties and Baltimore city.

Across the hall is the Old Senate Chamber's where General George Washington resigned his commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army on December 23, 1783.

A painting as well as a statute captures the event in the Old Senate Chambers.

The State House is also the place where the Treaty of Paris was ratified, ending the Revolutionary War.

The Senate Committee and Stairwell Rooms house two galleries with important paintings.

The walls are filled with paintings of key figures in Maryland's history including Washington, Lafayette and Tilghman at Yorktown, and John Hansen who was a delegate to the Continental Congress and at one time served as President of the Continental Congress.  I've never heard of him.  But that's one reason we go to these places -- to learn.

The Stairwell Room is surrounded with paintings showing important Maryland events.

Displays includes paintings showing George Washington's travels through the Revolutionary War, the four Maryland signers of the Declaration of Independence and the signing of the Treaty of Paris.

We spent about an hour at the State House trying to absorb as much as we could and then continued our drive to Fairfax to see Adam and Melissa and spend the night with them.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Fort Worth Area on our Road trip - Mar 2019

We drove from Abilene to Aledo TX on Thursday.  We arrived in Abilene the night before and found a La Quinta motel.  This was the first time in a long time that we have stayed with them and we were impressed.  The room with a king-sized bed was in the $70 range after taxes.  The room was in good shape.  We could pay more for a better room, but we had to pay what is costs for a Hampton Inn or a Fairfiled/Marriott.

We've been staying at Days Inn and that has been OK.  It has been costing over $70 after taxes.  The beds are OK and the rooms have been clean, but the furniture and rooms are a little beat up.   So we liked what we have found at La Quinta.  We will be giving them another try.

We asked for brisket BBQ recommendations at the front desk and were informed dinner at Betty Rose BBQ was pretty good.  So we gave it a try.

It was what we were hoping for and fit the bill.  We had overloaded in NM on New Mexican food, so it was nice to have a change.

After dinner we went to Walmart and also filled up the gas tank at Murphy's gas.  I took Pam back to the room and then went over to Starbucks to do more work on my manuscript.  I didn't last too long, but progress is progress.

We got up the next morning and shared a decent breakfast at Denny's.  Since we were in no hurry to get to Fort Worth, we took a leisurely windshield tour of Abilene after the morning workday started.  We liked Abilene.   The town has a few historical places and some museums that would be good to see on a future visit.  We were there early, so none were yet open, and we hit the highway and continued down the road.

After we got on the outskirts of Abilene Pam asked if I had anything to followup on.  I did, so she drove most of the rest of the way to Aledo.  I was able to correspond with USAA who handling our homeowners insurance.  I also got in touch with the mortgage company and did some things.  We are on schedule for closing next Friday morning, March 29.

We arrived at Brad's and Sue's place late morning and just hung out for a while.  Sue is a beloved high school counselor and at work so we ran some errands and got back to their place in time for some golf and NCAA basketball on TV.

We went out to dinner at Drakes's Yoke near their place and returned for the evening.  On Friday while Sue was a school Pam drove the golf cart while Brad and I played 18 holes at Hawks Creek Golf Course.

It was a gorgeous day and we had a great time.  I think we even got a birdie or two...

Next after golf, we had lunch in Fort Worth at the Railhead Smokehouse.  It was amazing and even better than the brisket we had in Abilene.

Yum.

Last night Jo and Andy came over for dinner.  We had the pleasure of meeting them while we were stationed at Norton AFB, CA in the 1980's.  Brad and Sue knew them before we did when Andy and Brad flew tankers while stationed at Loring AFB, ME.  It was a great evening full of reminiscing and catching up.

Pam and I have had a fantastic road trip and we are very grateful to be seeing friends and family during the last couple of weeks.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Mooch-Docking at Bob and Patty's

Now and then, you meet people in Moss Point, Mississippi that become friends. Before you know it, you reconnect years later in Dunedin, FL and end up parking your motorhome in their driveway for a couple of days.

That's basically what happened with us and our friends Bob and Patty.  We first met volunteering at a NOMADS Disaster Relief site in January 2011.  And then we met up again in Florida in January 2012.   A few months ago, after we posted our travel schedule for our NorthEast Trip, Patty got in touch and we made a plan to see them.  They live in Warren, PA and we could not find a campground close by.  They were generous enough to invite us to park on their property.  So we did!

 I first heard the term "mooch-docking" used by Howard Payne of RV-Dreams.com

We arrived in the early afternoon at Bob and Patty's and got set up.  They have enough room along side and in front of the workshop for us to maneuver a little bit.  That allowed us to get a good satellite TV signal.  With electric and water, we were all settled in.  Once that was done, we wandered over to their home and got a tour.  Patty keeps their very large A-frame Spic and Span clean.  It is immaculate!  They have a beautiful A-Frame that Bob built years ago.  But it looks like is less than five years old.  It's really a nice place.

We enjoyed hours on their deck reminiscing and hearing about their stories on the road.  They full-timed for over 8 years.

The next day, they took us on a tour to see the area.  We stopped first at Kinzua Viaduct (or Kinzua Bridge) that spanned Kinzua Creek and was 301 feet high and over 2,000 ft long.

It was built in 1882 to move coal from the mines to northern NY cities on the more popular railroad line.  It was originally built out of wrought iron and completed in 94 days and dubbed the "Eight Wonder of the World" at the time.  In 1900, it was disassembled and rebuilt using steel to carry heavy trains and cargo over the deep divide.

Tragedy struck in 2003 when a tornado struck and wreaked havoc. Ironically, the bridge was in the process of being upgraded in 2002 because it was showing wear.  They just didn't get the job done in time.

The bridge is owned by the State now and is a popular park with a good sized new Visitor Center.

It has a description of the history and decline of the bridge leading up to the destructive tornado.  An overlook is where the old train tracks were, going out to the farthest point.

Next, we headed to a local spot for lunch.  It had some interesting displays on the wall.

We had more time and made a couple more stops.  The first one was at Kinzua Dam.  Many times we see places and have no idea what the name means.  I assumed "Kinzua" was an Indian name but more than that, it is Seneca for "Place of many big fishes".

Our next stop was Rimrock which had a pretty great view overlooking the Allegheny Reservoir.

After our full day, we went back to Bob and Patty's place and chilled out for a while.  We had such a big lunch, we only had some snacks in the evening.  We had a great time on their back porch again enjoying one another's company and talking.  It was a beautiful evening and after a brief shower, it was quiet in the woods and we could only hear the birds, watch the deer and talk.

Our time with Bob and Patty was too brief, but we were able to make it count in our short visit with them.   We look forward to seeing our friends again.  We are so glad this lifestyle allows us to catch up with folks like these.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Time in Buffalo with Jon and Barbara

We are in the Buffalo NY area to see long-time friends Barbara and Jon.  We attended the same church while living in Hawaii in the 1980's.  We've been in touch ever since.  This was our third visit to their wonderful home and hometown over the years.

We started it off with a visit to the tennis courts where they have a weekly pickleball game.  Jon brings the nets and sets them up according to how many are there to play.  Tuesday night we had 7-8 folks and we had one net.  That worked out well so people could swap out and get a breather after their match.

It was great fun.  I had forgotten a lot of what I learned in Arizona when I started playing.  But it was good exercise, good company, and I loved it.  It helped to have a good group of folks who coached me through the scoring, strategy and Jon even gave me some 1-on-1 time doing some drills on another court.

We stayed at Darien Lakes State Park which was about 30 minutes from them.  It worked out well. On Wednesday, we all drove in to Buffalo and then over to Niagra Falls.  It was a very hot day.  We parked on the NY side and walked across the bridge to the Canada side.

It is such an iconic view from the bridge. And the views along the falls from the Canada side were equally beautiful.

We walked all the way up to Horseshoe Falls before turning around and finding a place for lunch.

We ended up at Hard Rock Cafe and enjoyed the air conditioning.

Next, we walked back to the U.S. side and then drove over to a new and trendy area near downtown Buffalo called River Walk.

It's an area off the river where old silos and warehouses along the waterfront have appealing places to play and eat.  There is a hockey rink, kayak rentals, paddle boats, rock climbing, zip lines and a large brewery.

It is great to see how areas of town that were past their prime have been revitalized and now are a hub of activity.

We returned to their home for a nice time of conversation leading to dinner.  It rained pretty hard for a few minutes but Jon was able to get the shish kabobs on the grill and we enjoyed a great time together.

On Thursday, we returned and ventured downtown again to see the Teddy Roosevelt Inauguration Site.  This National Park Service stop is where TR took the oath of office to become president of the United States.

President William McKinley was in Buffalo attending the Pan American Exposition.  A 28 year-old anarchist shot McKinley twice.  Doctors removed one bullet but were unable to locate the second one.  That proved deadly a week later when gangrene set in and caused his body to shut down.

Roosevelt was summoned and arrived after he passed away.  TR took the oath of office in the Wilcox home which is where he was staying.  That building is the site of the present National Park Service commemoration of the inauguration.  

We learned a lot.  I either didn't know or forgot (same thing?) how TR became our 26th president.  And I had almost no knowledge of the Pam American Exposition.  And I really knew very little about the impact of the Eerie Canal and development of Buffalo as an economic powerhouse in the late 1890's.

The Historic Site had a lot of great displays and interactive informational presentations.  In the first room, we watched a short video that gave the history of Buffalo and the Pam American Exposition which was attended by McKinley and six cabinet members.  It was a marquee event showing off the technological wonders of the present day.

Upstairs, there was a multimedia presentation using recordings and pictures that reminded Pam and I of the cycle-rama at Gettysburg.

There, it was a mural in the round which was the backdrop for stories off the Civil War.  As a story was told, a spot light homed in on a portion of the mural and told the significant story about that piece of history.

At the inaugural site, there were a number photos behind a glass pane that were highlighted as the story was told.  It was very unique and a great way to make it all interesting.

After our time at the Inaugural Site, we went to lunch downtown at one of the craft breweries.  Next, we drove out to the cemetery at Forest Lawn where president Millard Fillmore is buried.

We looked around the beautiful grounds before going over to the Buffalo History Museum.

It resides in one of the few remaining buildings from the Pan American Exposition built in the Renaissance Spanish architectural style.  It was a beautiful building with lots of displays.


I liked the one of Tim Russert who was from Buffalo.  The exhibit was in the Newseum for and has recently been returned to this museum in Buffalo.  He was a long-time host of "Meet the Press".

 It was also next to exhibits of sports figures that were from Buffalo or played for a Buffalo team.

 Jim Kelly's jersey from his time with the Buffalo Bills and a signed baseball from Warren Spahn.

The museum had three floor of displays which we wandered through.  The museum was getting ready to host an event for the evening.  It was time to go and we had seen a lot in the couple of days we were in Buffalo.

The special part of our visit was spending it with Jon and Barbara.  It another great memory we have on the Roadrunner Chronicles.

Thanks for joining us!