Photos from Jamestown

Jamestown, Virginia was the first permanent settlement of the English in what is now the United States. On May 13, 1607, 104 men and boys landed on the banks of the James River in three ships and though most of them would die within a short period of time, the colony wouldn't. Here are a few pictures from our day at Jamestown.

This photo is of a monument placed by the federal government in 1907, the 300th anniversary of the settlement.

The National Park Service has a Junior Ranger program where kids can complete a series of tasks in a workbook and earn a certificate and a Junior Ranger patch. Here the kids search for answers to their booklet questions.

Here the kids hold up the patches they earned at Jamestown. They also earned them at Yorktown later that afternoon. (They also got them from Yellowstone five years ago, and you can also earn one at the Arch and Grant's Farm!)

Statue of Pocahontas at Jamestown. She married John Rolfe, moved to England and adopted English customs, dressing as a British woman. She is buried in England.

Annette and I standing on the banks of the James River, exactly where archaeologists have uncovered their original fort. Notice Annette's hair which is blowing sideways. It was extremely windy. The river is very wide at this location because it is so close to the Chesapeake Bay. One of the reasons the colonists chose this spot is because the river was deep enough for them to anchor their ships.

Return from Williamsburg

Posts have been sparse lately due to all the activity June brings. We just spent a week in Eastern Virginia visiting Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, and Washington DC. Pictures are on the way.

Whether you are a fan of American history or not, let me just give a ringing endorsement to Colonial Williamsburg. For a modest admission price you can literally step back in time over 200 years and walk the streets of Williamsburg in the 1770s. As we walked around, we spotted Redcoats from time to time. One morning several rode in on horses, including the traitor himself, Benedict Arnold. He addressed all of us on horseback and defended King George, then presented the British flag to be flown over the capitol building. Of course one of the colonial women standing right next to us saw that hideous flag and called it a "horse blanket." Later General Washington rode in and on our last afternoon Michael and I were able to March with the Continental Army as we prepared to head to Yorktown for battle.

You can stop at the shops in town which are 1770s era where they still produce things the way they did back then. For example, we went to a brickyard where they actually make bricks like they did over 200 years ago. And a shoemaker. And a seamstress. And we saw a printing press and book binding.

Jamestown and Yorktown were great, but our DC visit was awesome as we toured the monuments at night. We have never been there at night and it was beautiful. Fortunately for us the weather was cool all week so we were able to walk a lot in relative comfort.

Pictures are still being organized and bags are still being unpacked, but more to follow later.

Abbey, Take Your Mark!

All the kids are on the Union Swim Team this year and their first swim meet was last Saturday, June 6. Here is a short video I took of Abbey in one of her races.

Magnolias

On December 31, 1980 my family and I loaded a U-Haul and drove it from Hermann, Missouri to Tupelo, Mississippi, our new home. We arrived shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day, 1981. My dad’s job relocated him and although that relocation turned out to be temporary, we thought we were headed to Mississippi to stay. I recall not needing a coat down there but only a jacket, even though we were in the dead of winter. One day while in the third grade our school dismissed us early because of snow flurries, the first time Tupelo had seen flurries in over ten years. Even though I was only eight years old I knew the Mississippians had over reacted. They also had a school-wide celebration of Elvis Presley’s birthday on January 8. Tupelo of course was Elvis’ birthplace and 1981 was only four years after he died.

When spring rolled around our neighborhood came alive with fragrance as the blooming Magnolia trees woke from their winter nap. Their white cream puff blooms opened up all around us and filled the neighborhood with such a wonderful aroma. Our next door neighbors had a monstrous Magnolia tree in their backyard which permanently implanted the smell of Magnolia in my memory. It was absolutely amazing.

For years after we came back to Missouri I wanted to have a Magnolia tree of my own to remind me of that brief time in my youth. When we moved into our current home I finally bought one and planted it in our front yard. Usually around the first of June it begins to bloom and it has just started to open up in the last week. As the white blooms form and then open I usually walk over to it, put my nose down to the petals, and just breathe in deeply. If I close my eyes I can time travel back 28 years and return to Tupelo.

Here are some lilies we planted a couple years ago and which are in full bloom right now.

What a Difference

1994 in Review

As Annette and I approach our 15th wedding anniversary on June 4, it prompts us to reflect back on the changes in our lives since that time and to think about what the world was like back in 1994. Here is a glimpse of what was happening in the year we were married:

Major League baseball players strike and the World Series was cancelled as a result

NHL locked out players in a dispute over salaries

Nancy Kerrigan is clubbed on the back of the knee in January by Tonya Harding’s boyfriend.

Whitewater scandal begins to be investigated

On June 13, 1994 Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were murdered outside Nicole's house in Brentwood, CA. On June 17th, OJ and his friend Al Cowlings took flight from the police in his white Ford Bronco, in a low speed chase which ended up at his mansion where he surrendered.

Republican majority in both houses of Congress is won in the fall elections of 1994

Susan Smith drowned her two sons in South Carolina, and then lied on national television claiming someone kidnapped them.

President Richard Nixon died of a stroke on April 22. He was 81.

Michael Jackson marries Elvis' daughter, Lisa Marie

Hit TV Show Friends Was Released

In 1994 the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed by Mexico, America, and Canada. (Note: NAFTA was signed in 1992. It came into effect Jan 1, 1994)

"Darn" Birds

When we decided to move to our current home outside the city limits of Union we expected to love it completely, but now after more than three years living here Annette and I both recognize the limitations of living outside of town. Going practically anywhere is at least a seven mile journey one way, so it forces us into consolidating trips. Previously we lived inside the city limits, less than a mile from Wal-Mart. That makes for some spontaneous trips at any time of the day or night. No more of that. Now we have dust from a gravel road, no access to cable TV, and I have a summer filled with what seems an unending list of yardwork. But there are many aspects of living here we love very much. I like seeing the occasional deer or turkey, the peace and solitude is wonderful, having a large yard is great, and the house is just exactly the way we designed it, so all in all we come out ahead.

In the spring one of the things I most enjoy is the comfortable temperatures and sleeping with the windows open. I can lie in bed at night and look out my open window and see distant lights of Union and, before the foliage obstructs my view, even lighting from an industrial center in St. Charles County. I really love it. I also love waking up in the morning to the sight of the sun casting warm rays of light on our greening backyard and trees, and I especially enjoy being awakened not necessarily by the alarm clock, but by the beautiful melodies of the songbirds in our yard. Of course, they start very early, like in the five o'clock hour, but what a brilliant time of day. First light on our yard and beautiful music from nature to wake me gently. I can just rest there in bed enjoying the beautiful melodies with my eyes closed, that is, until I hear footsteps pounding over to the window. When I open my still tired eyes I see Annette grabbing onto the window and slinging it shut, then pushing closed the blinds and drapes. "Darn" birds she says with disgust as she marches back to her side of the bed and tries, with no success, to go back to sleep.

When I opened the May 2009 issue of the Missouri Conservationist (which by the way is free to any Missouri resident or $7 annually to non Missouri residents) and found this short article on Missouri Songbirds I had to laugh, and I mean laugh hard, and show it to Annette. I promised her I'd get her the CD and maybe when it gets hot outside and we have to close our windows we can pop in the CD around five a.m. so she doesn't miss her morning wake up call. Of course she laughs about it when I make fun in the evening, but to her it is no joking matter at dawn.

If you're looking for a gift idea for Annette, definitely do NOT get her this CD. Ear plugs might work better.