Category Archives: Travel

US Botanical Garden, National Museum of American Indians and The Spy Museum, Washington DC

May 22, 2011 jd

By Judy J. Pinegar

May 19, 2011 taking the Metro now, as it seems to have better hours than the commuter train; we arrive in DC on Thursday 5/19/2011, and walk to the United States Botanical Garden (near the Capitol). This garden was first established in 1820, by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison!! It moved to its present location in 1850. After a stroll in the outside garden with mostly native plants we enter the big glass walled garden. Here there are different sections devoted to almost any environment imaginable, from the desert to the jungle and everything in between. One area explores the use of plants as medicines, proving that the original medicine men and women really knew what they were talking about. There are some truly amazing orchid plants and dozens of other amazing flowers.

Then, basically across the street we find the National Museum of American Indian, the 18^th Smithsonian museum, opened in 2004, with a beautiful exterior design, reminding me of rock formations in the southwest of America, and even inside, everything is rounded, I don’t think there was a straight wall in the whole place.

Photo courtesy of Wikepidia — Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

And what really surprised me, was, this museum covered Indians from Antarctica to the Arctic, the whole of the “Americas”, South, Central and North, even Hawaii… and I had no idea that there were so many different tribes, customs and foods. Speaking of food, we went to the renowned native inspired Mitsitam cafeteria for lunch, trying foods from South America, Central America, and the Northeast. All were quite good, so we ventured on, learning of each tribe, their customs, beliefs, and lifestyles. The overwhelming sense was how badly most of the indigenous population of the Americas have been treated by the “conquering” Europeans, really, continuing to the present day. A very sad side of our growth as a nation.

In the afternoon, we went to the National Air and Space Museum, just up the street, but knowing that we would have to come back the next day to “finish.” We spent most of our time in an IMAX presentation about the Hubble Telescope, how it has been repaired multiple times in space, and what it has taught us about our universe, and millions of other universes. It is a truly amazing film, including the sensation of actually being in space with the astronauts, if you ever have the chance, please go see this IMAX film, the stars will virtually come to dance on your face.

May 20, 2011, returning to the National Air and Space Museum on Friday, we viewed many other historical aircraft and stories, from the Wright Brothers, delivery of the US Mail, WW I, WW II and the current day. The museum is quite complete, having full size airplanes, unmanned drones, and a replica of the first space craft on the moon. There were TONS of excited children there, and many interactive sites, one of the most child friendly museums we have seen. And the “cafeteria” was only McDonald’s!

photo courtesy of the National Archives — Photo courtesy of the National Archives

Moving on, we went to the National Archives for a peek at the founding documents of our nation, and a tour of the importance of the archives in recording the truth, researching the past, and even righting some of the wrongs that we have made as a nation. The National Archives and Records Administration is our national record keeper, created in 1034. Anyone is allowed to access the records, researching family trees, citizenship records, and any other research you are interested in. Through its records proof was found of the money the Nazis stole from Jewish families, resulting in a return of that money to relatives of the victims.

From there we went to the private International Spy Museum, with some chilling looks at the past, present and future of the damage that is possible to be caused by spies. There were truly some interesting stories of people in the past who were spies, including famous actors and actresses, I would have never thought it was possible.

There was a chilling glimpse of spy tactics and terrorism in the future that might be ahead for us, using the internet. It was a very scary ending. Thinking back over our trip, one day we were at cafeteria where the computers had gone down, and we witnessed the mass confusion that that caused, people with no cash, huge lines etc. …Just think what would happen if we had no electricity for an extended period of time, and it was a deliberate action, with no rapid repairs on the way??? Or any number of mass scale interventions in our country.

Judy J. Pinegar is a writer
She has written for numerous web sites and magazines

Travel

National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC

May 21, 2011 jd

By Judy J. Pinegar

May 18, 2011, Pat, John’s daughter’s husband’s mother, had arranged a Bus trip to the National Museum of Natural History, and it was perfect timing. Both John and I were very tired, with sore feet from the day before! Arriving we saw a performance of Tahitian and Hawaiian dance (although only a few of the dancers were actually Tahitians!).

We then spent the rest of the day in this wonderful museum. One of my favorite areas was following the beginning of life, from the “big bang” to present day, tracking both the plants and animals who lived in the seas, and those who adapted to live on land. Seeing that huge timeline, where mammals have only come to occupy the earth in the last few centuries, it really gives you a sense of how tiny we are in the whole scope of things, and what the future might hold. So many things have become extinct, we might even be next!

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Costa Rica Shoreline

We also saw an IMAX presentation on the Dinosaurs and actual relic research and reconstruction in Argentina today. The big screen and the 3-D really make an impressive viewing, Once, I had a dinosaur step on my face, and I definitely ducked when a prehistoric bird flew right at me!

The section on Mammals was very interesting, we certainly have some strange cousins, all with the three things that mammals all must have (1. Hair, 2. Milk for the young, and 3. An inner ear). We even saw a display of the first mammal, a little mouse like creature who lived in the time of the dinosaur, but actually survived that time to mutate and change over centuries to become the mammals of today.

Another area I loved was the Butterfly Viewing Rooms, although a little humid and warm to keep the butterflies in good condition, it was filled with beautiful plants and thousands of butterflies. Many types I have never seen, who actually come and land on your arm, or clothing, or the floor beneath your feet. You had to really watch where you were stepping in that area, and when you left they checked all your clothing for castaways!

This is one museum that really takes more than one visit to view, at least for us, but the bus soon left returning us to an early relaxing evening and sleep.

Judy J. Pinegar is a writer
She has written for many different websites and magazines

Travel

Newseum Museum, Capitol Tour and The Ford Theatre, Washington DC

May 19, 2011 jd 1 Comment

On Monday May 16, 2011, our day started with a Capitol Tour set up by our Congressman’s Office. We discovered this was a MUCH nicer way to go that the regular public tours. First we were in a group of about 10, instead of the 20-25 in the public tours, and secondly we were able to go three places the regular tour doesn’t go to: the “Old Supreme Court”, The “Old Senate Chamber”, and the overview seats in the House of Representatives Chamber. Unfortunately the Congress was not in session, so we didn’t get to see what is normally chaotic sessions, with yelling and such other good things that our congress men and women do.

From there we went to the Newseum, a fantastic (relatively new) museum. It is not part of the Smithsonian, but it was well worth the money, I would recommend it highly to anyone going to DC. We had only an hour or so, but the tickets were good for two days, so we knew we could be back. (and in fact we spent another three hours after our visit to the Ford Theater (below) and again Tuesday morning for another 4 hours. All historical events related to reporting of the news up to current day were recorded. We saw everything from a piece of the Berlin wall, to a replica of the Unabomer’s cabin, to the damaged radio tower from the top of the World Trade Center in 9/11, and everything in between.

At 2 PM we arrived at the Ford Theater for a viewing of the museum, followed by a ranger talk in the Ford Theater, complete with the Presidential Box where President Lincoln was shot. We learned there were two other assignations planned for that day (they were not successful) and John Wilkes Booth had about 8 co-conspirators who were all caught and all but one was executed. Even the boy who coincidentally (not knowing of the plot) held Booth’s horse in the alley was sentenced to 8 years hard labor!

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln - Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

On Tuesday 5/17/11, we returned to the Newseum, this time also getting to see a 4-D (the seats moved!) …….. Following this we walked to the “Castle”, the Smithsonian Museum central office and information center, on the National Mall. The landscaping was unbelievable.

As we walked off to the next museum, we discovered John had left his (brand new) I-pad with 3g somewhere in the information center. We rushed back, searched various locations and were about to decide it was stolen, when someone found it and returned it to a security guard!! John gave that nice lady a big hug! He had put it down while taking a picture of this orchid display.

Then we were off to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving, also set up by our Congressman’s office, for a small private tour of this facility, where money is MADE. This was very interesting, and we toured the four areas where the paper is first printed, checked, stamped with the seals, re-checked and serialized. We were told it wasn’t actually “money” until it had been received by the Federal Reserve, and the serial numbers entered into the computer. But we saw a stack of printed bills, about chest high, which represented $64,000,000!! And in the shop you could buy shredded dollars (bad printing jobs) for about $5.00 for a small bottle.

Travel

Lincoln Memorial, War Memorials and Arlington Cemetery in Washington DC, Day 4

May 18, 2011 jd

By Judy J. Pinegar

Sunday May 15, 2011 was supposed to be the day the rain really came in to DC. But the morning was bright and sunny, so Pat drove us up to Washington for an overview. We found a parking place near the monuments, and proceeded to view: The World War II Memorial, The Reflecting Pond (not reflecting anything right now, it is under reconstruction, so all we saw was the pile-driver and hundreds of piles being driven into the ground to support the concrete for the reconstructed reflecting pool), the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and the Vietnam War Memorial.

Following this, we drove to Arlington Cemetery, and took the bus tour to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (actually three unknown solders, from World War I, World War II and the Korean War) The day we were there they actually had two ceremonies to change the wreath, as well as the normal changing of the guard.

cataratas-nauyaca

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Upper Cataratas Nauyaca

We then moved on to Arlington House, which was built by George Washington’s grandson, partly as a memorial to the first president. But his only surviving daughter, Mary Anna Randolph Custis, married General Robert E. Lee, of Confederate fame. After he left to fight for the confederacy, Mary Lee was forced to leave when the Union army took over her house. Almost immediately they began burying Union soldiers in the gardens around Arlington House. The Federal Troops did this on purpose so that General Lee would never again occupy the Arlington House. That was the start of the present day Arlington Cemetery. We were told that every day except Sunday 18 to 25 people are buried there.

Robert E. Lee and his wife never legally challenged for the return of the home, as Lee felt it would be too divisive. In 1870, after his father’s death, George Washington Custis Lee, their eldest son, filed a lawsuit in the Alexandria Circuit Court. The case was ultimately decided by the Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision in United States v. Lee, 106 U. S. 196 (1882). The court found that the estate had been ‘illegally confiscated’ in 1864 and ordered it returned, along with 1,100 acres (4 km²) of surrounding property. In 1883, Custis Lee sold the mansion and property to the U.S. government for $150,000 (roughly equal to $3.5 million in 2011 dollars) at a signing ceremony with Secretary of War, Robert Todd Lincoln.

Arlington House photo courtesy Wikipedia

Judy J. Pinegar is a writer
She has written for numerous blog sites and magazines

Travel

Trip to Washington DC – Day 2 and 3 – Overview of DC and visit to Mount Vernon

May 15, 2011 jd

May 13 – 14, 2011

By Judy J. Pinegar

John O'Dell sitting with Abraham Lincoln in his booth prior to his assassination. (At the Wax Museum in Washington DC)

Awaking in time to catch the 8:20 am Train to Washington DC, we soon arrived at Union Station. Beautifully restored, with fantastic food venues I had to drool over even though my tummy was full from breakfast. On the way outside, we found a Double Decker Bus Tour, promising overview tours of the city, and decided that this was the best way to start… with an overview. After the “red line” tour through central DC and the monuments, we got off at Ford’s Theater, where President Lincoln was assassinated. We discovered reservations were needed (now set for next Monday afternoon) and that the house across the street where he died was closed for renovations!

Humm… so we visited a wax museum while waiting for the “yellow line” tour.

Judy Pinegar being questioned by J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI. (In the Wax Museum in Washingto D.C.) — Judy Pinegar being questioned by J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI. (In the Wax Museum in Washington D.C.)

The yellow line is more of a residential and hotel tour to the north and west of central DC. After a stop for lunch (Thai) we finished the circuit in time to get off in “foggy bottom” (home of George Washington University) for a walk to the JFK Performing Arts Theater where we had been promised a tour. Very nice, through the three major theaters, and many minor theaters with lovely sights along the way, gifts from other countries, presidential suites, etc.

That ended our first day in Washington DC (after Turkish Food)

Saturday, after a late sleep, Pat drove us to Mount Vernon, truly a wonderfully restored and very educational site to visit. We discovered much more about George Washington than two Californians had ever known. What a man! After winning the war against the British, he could have gone on to military rule of the country, a king, or a dictator as so many generals became after winning major wars. Think of Caesar in Rome as an example.

His enormous stature and political skills kept Congress, the army, the French, the militias, and the states all pointed toward a common goal. By voluntarily stepping down and disbanding his army when the war was won, he permanently established the principle of civilian supremacy in military affairs. And yet his constant reiteration of the point that well-disciplined professional soldiers counted for twice as much as erratic amateurs helped overcome the ideological distrust of a standing army. Yet, he wanted the people to be in control of this great nation and not to be ruled by a king or the military.

We discovered he was not one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence it because he was with his army at the time. And that he really thought of himself as more of a farmer than a soldier or statesman. He made wonderful inventions to assist in his farming process, and had over 8,000 acres of farms in Virginia alone (plus he owned land elsewhere in the country.) P.S. his teeth were NEVER made out of wood!

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Entrance to the Doka Plantation

Travel

Trip to Virginia and Washington D.C. – Day 1 – Quantico, VA

May 14, 2011 jd 1 Comment

May 12, 2011

By Judy J. Pinegar

Arriving at Dulles International late Wednesday, John and I were picked up by John’s daughter’s husband’s mother, Pat who drove us to Dale City, Virginia, her house, to be our base for the trip.

Sleeping to an embarrassing 11:00 AM local time, and after breakfast, we were dropped by Pat at a train station thinking to go late to Washington DC. NO Deal… it was a commuter train station. After reading all signs in the building and outside (the office [and bathroom] was closed from Noon to 3:00 PM), we decided our only option was a local bus to Quantico VA, about 15 miles south of our location. A helpful bus driver (and all of the passengers) encouraged us to stop first at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, off the Jefferson Davis Highway at the “Triangle.” A brief walk and we see the beautiful first view of the Museum.

After a quick visit to the Mess Hall, we spent a couple of hours in the museum.

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Rafael Angel Calderón Museum

Knowing we had to catch the local bus to go to the town of Quantico, we walked back to the bus stop, and with impeccable timing, the bus was there within 5 minutes (pure luck on our part). I was hoping to see the FBI training center and other sites I had read about (crime novels), but I was disappointed as the bus went through trees and more trees, with some turnoffs we didn’t get to take, until we got to the tiny town of Quantico. One of the residents told us it was “the only town in America totally within a Marine Base”… and indeed that was what we found. No museums, lots of housing, lots of barbershops, lots of military clothing stores, a few restaurants, and not as many bars as I had expected. Really very quiet.

But we toured the town, found a place to eat and were back at the bus stop by 8:00 PM for the ride back to the Woodbridge Train/Bus Station.

At least we were successful in doing something with our first half-day in Virginia! On to DC tomorrow… this time with an early wake-up call.

By Judy J. Pinegar
Judy is a writer who has written for numerous websites and magazines
She may be reached by email jpinegar@calwisp.com
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Camping, Hiking, Travel

A Hike to Grouse Ridge, Land of a 100 Lakes

August 25, 2010 jd 1 Comment

Jeff Toff, a local Grass Valley attorney took a hike around Grouse Ridge with his dog Logan a few weeks ago. Logan is an Irish Wolfhound, and when Logan puts his front feet on Jeff, he’s a lot taller than Jeff. Jeff took many pictures while he was there and I’ve combined them into a video showing how beautiful Grouse Ridge really is.

A beautiful area, it has a geologic display of the 100 million year old birth of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Just a few thousand years ago, the Rigde was further sculptured by volcanoes and glaciers, leaving over 100 lakes.

Today the story reveals the gentle and slow aging of the region: lakes reverting to meadows and gradual invasion of forests. Within its heart, scattered stands of mature trees offer stark contrast to polished and sculpted granite. Flowers are abundant and beautiful against the massive display of rock.

Grouse Ridge Campground is located approximately 24 miles east of Nevada City at an elevation of 5,600 feet. This campground has 9 walk-in campsites. There is no potable water but toilets are available. There is no trash removal service. Hiking, fishing and swimming are available from this campground.

Information on hiking trails can be found at the Tahoe National Forest website. There are four hiking trails listed. Scroll down towards the bottom of the page to find the information.

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Travel

Visit to the Nazi Dachu Concentration Camp

July 21, 2010 jd

Judy and I visited the Dachau Concentration Camp located in Munich, Germany, on June 11, 2010. The following says it well:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ims0ZZqaHps

“During the Holocaust, Germans extinguished the lives of six million Jews and, had Germany not been defeated, would have annihilated millions more. The Holocaust was also the defining feature of German politics and political culture during the Nazi period, the most shocking event of the twentieth century, and the most difficult to understand in all of German history. The Germans’ persecution of the Jews culminating in the Holocaust is thus the central feature of Germany during the Nazi period. It is so not because we are retrospectively shocked by the most shocking event of the century, but because of what it meant to Germans at the time and why so many of them contributed to it.” Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, Hitler’s Willing Executioners, Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust

What more can be said about this disgrace to humanity? The torture, the brutal beatings, the inhuman medical experiments on living persons, the extermination of human beings for no more reason than they did not fit some devils idea of a “superior race”. Indeed “superior race”, the very concept is an insult to all who have any trace what so ever of decency.

I remember the first time I saw the films of what the Nazis had done in the concentration camps, I quite frankly cried and for a year, I did not want to be a part of the human race. Visiting this concentration camp, reading and seeing pictures again about what the Nazis did to the people, again brought tears to my eyes. One has to visit the site, or just read what they did to understand the horrors of this infamous period in German history.

John J. O’Dell

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Travel

From Sorrento, Italy to the Amalfi Coast

July 14, 2010 jd

I forgot to post this from our travels. Saturday, May 29, and the last whole day in Sorrento, we took the Bus down the Amalfi Coast. First, getting off in Positano, you can see several shots of the area, and walking down into town (very touristy). Next, a view of Amalfi Town, with way to many tourists for us. We quickly took the walk into the next little town, Atrani. There Judy had a walk into the Mediterranean Sea, and we had a great meal at the local Pizzeria. After a stroll through town we went back (through the tunnel) to Amalfi Town. We then trekked up to the Museum of Paper (Cartas), and back past the fantastic Cathedral, a mix of Moorish and Byzantine flavors, built in 1000-1300, with a new Neo-Byzantine façade from the 19^th century.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vA2-9VyMcY

The topper for the night was when we got back to Sorrento; Judy had an e-mail from a Sacramento Home Winemakers Club friend, saying another wine club couple was in Sorrento that same night. We called them up (using Skype) and met for dinner, thousands of miles from Sacramento, California. Amazing how small the world is, with technology.

Travel

Hitler’s Eagle Nest, Berchtesgaden, Germany

June 21, 2010 jd 2 Comments

A place of great beauty, in which a residence was built for the devil reincarnated, Adolf Hitler. Situated upon a mountain top in the Alps, at an elevation of 6,017 feet above sea level, it has breath taking views of the mountains and valleys below. Since then, the idyllic setting and remarkable architecture of the Eagle’s Nest on the Kehlstein have been overshadowed by its close connection with the Third Reich. Although Hitler rarely stayed in the building himself, his wicked tyrannical image still hangs over it today.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrHYUlWNm1k

Given this background, it is not surprising that a plan to demolish the Eagle’s Nest was very nearly approved in the 1960s. Just as Hitler’s command centre on the Obersalzberg had been destroyed by the bombs of the liberating Allied forces, so, it was hoped, would the Eagle’s Nest be wiped forever off the face of the beautiful Bavarian landscape. As it turned out, however, history took a different course, and the building has been administered by the Berchtesgaden Regional Tourist Office since 1960. Today, the Eagle’s Nest is leased out to private operators who run it as an alpine restaurant. The engineering feats and mighty architecture of the building leave many visitors speechless. Even the approach from the carpark is imposing: a tunnel of 124 metres in length, lined with panels of natural rock, runs through the mountain massif. At the end of the tunnel there is a grandiosely designed brass-plated lift. The lift ascends to the interior of the Eagle’s Nest in just forty-one seconds. Inside, visitors are surrounded by metre-thick walls and mighty bulwarks. At 1,834 metres above sea level, the Eagle’s Nest commands a breathtaking panoramic view.

The Kehlsteinhaus was commissioned by Martin Bormann, with construction proceeding over a 13-month period. It was completed in the summer of 1938, prior to its formal presentation to Hitler on his 50th birthday on April 20, 1939. It is situated on a ridge at the top of the Kehlstein Mountain 1,834 m (6,017 ft), reached by a 6.5 km (4.0 mi) long and 4 m (13 ft) wide road that cost 30 million RMs to build (about 150 million euros in 2007, adjusted in line with inflation). It includes five tunnels but only one hairpin turn and climbs 800 m (2,600 ft).

The last 124 m (407 ft) up to the Kehlsteinhaus are reached by an elevator bored straight down through the mountain and linked via a tunnel through the granite below that is 124 m (407 ft) long. The inside of the large elevator car is surfaced with polished brass, Venetian mirrors and green leather (the elevator is still used daily). Construction of the mountain elevator system cost the lives of 12 construction workers.The main reception room is dominated by a fireplace of red Italian marble, presented by Mussolini. Much of the furniture was designed by Paul László.

The Eagle´s Nest itself and the unique Kehlstein road were constructed in an extremely short period of time despite the difficulties of wartime: the fortress-like residence took one year to build, the Kehlstein road thirteen months. The unique design of the road has no counterpart anywhere in the world. It makes no more than a single bend in its ascent of the towering 700 metres between the Obersalzberg and the Kehlstein carpark, traversing the steep north-west face of the Kehlstein twice as it does so. The road is now closed to normal traffic; it can only be accessed by a bus service.

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