Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Home Again to the Real World

We left the ship in Memphis early Sunday morning, March 15, 2020, and found our truck to be lonely but in good shape at the bottom of the hotel where we had left her.  We headed north and had good weather in which to drive so we made it almost 700 miles to Coldwater, Michigan.  Bill got in to see his dentist Monday morning in Dewitt, luckily, as the last patient before they shut down for two weeks due to COVID-19.

After stocking up on groceries and supplies (no TP!) we found Frederic to be snow-covered as usual this time of year.  However, we made it into the house with little trouble and began to unpack.

Here is our yard as we found it before shoveling.  
Bill began to tap his maple trees and found sap to be running.
We had a great winter get-away in Texas and a wonderful cruise in the last week.
We would recommend American Cruise Lines to anyone wanting to take a cruise.
Now, like the rest of America, we are hunkering down to allow the COVID-19 virus to pass.
Thanks for sharing our travels with us.
👫

Saturday, March 14, 2020

We Dock in Memphis and Tour the City

Early Saturday morning we arrived in Memphis, Tennessee and tied up at the Beale Street Dock.We had signed up for the Memphis City Exploration Excursion so we boarded the motor coach soon after we had breakfast on the boat.
Our first stop was here at the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King was shot and killed.
It is now the National Civil Rights Museum but we did not go inside.
Note the wreath above the old white Cadillac.

On the balcony behind the red and white wreath is where Dr. King was standing when he was shot and killed.
From this center building across the street from the motel is where James Earl Ray fired his rifle. It was from the small widow on the upper floor (bathroom).

This small building houses Sun Records where Elvis recorded his first record.  Until then he was trying to become a truck driver.  We drove past St. Jude's Children Hospital but could not go in because of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Next we visited the famous Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis.

It is a splendid old fine hotel that welcomes visitors to come in and look around.

It is a lot like the Grand Hotel on Mackinaw Island in Michigan, only maintained better.  This room show pictures and documents of some of the U.S. Presidents and famous people who have stayed here.
The Peabody has a famous tradition of a twice-daily Duck March that we watched.

Here you can see the ducks in the fountain after the morning march.  If you are interested in this famous but weird tradition - Google -->"Peabody Hotel Duck March".

Tomorrow morning, Sunday, we disembark and head for home.
Hopefully, our truck will still be in the underground garage where we left it a week ago. before we got on the train.
🚙


A Day On the River

Friday we were northbound on the Mississippi River with no stops.  It was cloudy skies but smooth sailing.
The river is often over a mile wide and sometimes the bank is very distant.
Yet other times the shore is extremely close as the ship tries to avoid the swiftest rapids to save fuel.
River traffic is less dense up above Baton Rouge but we are still seeing occasional large tows.

We sometimes see tugs deadheading to their next barge assignment.
Our ship has a happy hour every day with complementary top shelf liquors, beers, and wine.
Here is our dining room where we have been receiving excellent food and open seating during meal hours.  The wait staff are all young American college-age people who are very well trained and easy to talk to.
We have a superb historian and entertainer on board named Bill Wiemuth, and we have been enjoying his presentations and musical ability.  He has taught us much about the Civil War and the River in general.  He also does a great imitation of Mark Twain.
We have seen five different acts of entertainment.

This duo named Dan and Eddie are terrific with numerous stringed instruments.
We love the smaller cruise ship format, and American Cruise Lines has a done a swell job.

🚢

Friday, March 13, 2020

Vicksburg, Mississippi

Thursday, March 12, 2020 brought us another sunny warm day to check out Vicksburg.  Our ship had to turn to the northeast off the Mississippi  River onto the Yazoo River to get us there.

We took an "Antebellum Vicksburg Experience" shore excursion that started with a walking tour of a mansion named Anchuca.  It is owned by the fellow above with the white shirt,above, who is a great-grandson of Jefferson Davis.  They open their home for tours to help pay for upkeep in the historic district of Vicksburg.
Above the fireplace is Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy, who had a plantation outside of Vicksburg.  He was here when he got the message that he had been elected president and his wife cried.
Back at the riverfront is this large flood wall to hold the river back when it is trying to overflow.  On it are beautiful large mural paintings.  Each of the 32 murals has a brass plaque explaining the scene and explaining how it fits into history.
This one shows where a man in town first discovered how to bottle Coca-Cola.

This mural depicts the time when Teddy Roosevelt came to do a bear hunt nearby.  A local hunter caught a bear in advance and tied it to a tree for Roosevelt to shoot.  He decided not to kill the animal and got the nickname of Teddy and thus was often seen in cartoons with a small teddy bear.

Here is the other (river side) of the wall.  Note the  marks where and when high water was held back.  The Mississippi river varies in depth each year by 40 feet, but these are the flood years.

Vicksburg, Mississippi was a very important city during the Civil War.  It was situated on an important vantage bluff on the River, and was also a railroad hub.  A critical  battle happened here like at Gettysburg.  It took a 47-day siege by the Union forces to make the city surrender.

We visited the Vicksburg Military Park and was given a tour by a Park Ranger.  We learned that there are 17,000 soldiers buried here, second only to Arlington.  It was very similar to Gettysburg.

Here is the ironclad battleship USS Cario that was dug out of the mud and reconstructed.

This is what it looked like when it was shelling the town from the river.

The military park had an excellent museum.  Here are different kinds of ordnance that were shot out of the cannons.  Note the bottom row - center hollow ball.  That kind had explosives inside that were lit by a fuse before the ball was fired from the cannon.

We got back to the ship in time for a departure up river toward Memphis.  When you leave or return to the ship you have to touch your badge to this small screen at the door.  This is how the ship keeps from leaving passengers behind.
🚦


Thursday, March 12, 2020

Going Ashore the Old Fashioned Way (kind of)

Because the Mississippi River is so high right now we could not tie up to the dock in Natchez, Mississippi the normal way.  Instead, we were driven up on land across the river in Vidalia, LA. and tied the ship to trees kind of like the old steamships used to do when ports were not available.
Instead of a large gangplank that just flops down, like the old steamships, our modern ship has a hydraulic nose that opens up to allow passengers to access a small gangway to shore.

 We parked next to another American Cruise Line ship named America.  Above that ship, above, is the bridge we cross to reach Natchez going east.

Vidalia has a river sidewalk that extends for about a mile.
It was a good day to take a walk.

We boarded a motor coach for a trip to, and guided tour of,  this mansion in Natchez called Longwood, which is the largest octagonal house in America.

A tour guide showed us around the mansion and told us its history.
Above is Karen listening to the dialog.

We also got to ride around Natchez on the bus and see a few other grand old houses of the South.

This beautiful home overlooking the River is owned by Greg Illes, a fiction writer that we have both read.

After  our morning excursion we enjoyed the beautiful weather by having lunch outside at the ship's Back Porch Cafe.

🍜

Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Out to the Louisiana Swamp and Back to the City Museum

On Tuesday we boarded the bus for a trip to a Cajun Louisiana Swamp.

We wanted a tour of a swamp by a real Cajun boat captain....

...and we got one.  This is Captain Bishop near the town of LaPlace, LA.

We soon passed the cabin of Black Water Hatti, a swamp witch.

Look closely and you will see her pet on her front step.
That is a real alligator, not a plastic one.

We saw plenty of alligators, there are five on this one Cyprus log.
A warm weather spell had brought many out of hibernation early.

On this bank of the bayou we saw a few of the alligators' favorite live food. under a bird feeder.

Back near the ship we visited the Louisiana Art and Science Museum.

This Egyptian Mummy was still resting peacefully.
The sign said his black face and curly hair were unusual for a mummy.

This huge modern electronic globe would show you thirty different ways to see the World today and in the future.
In the Baton Rouge harbor near where we docked is the USS Kidd, a WWII destroyer.  It has been turned into a veterans museum.
We also toured the old Louisiana State Capital Building that is right next to the river.
The Grandville Castle in Michigan has nothing on this design.

The old capital has been turned into a free state museum.  This is the dome.

It is a beautiful old building and worth a visit.
Baton Rouge was a fine state capital city to explore, and a much nicer city than we expected.
🏰