It has been over a month since I last posted and things have changed as they always do – remember the concept of flexibility.

It is late January and I am in Naples, Florida (not a bad place to be in late January).  However, my Indian Motorcycle is in Riverside, CT.  The reason for this is a long story and I will not go there at this time (or ever).  This creates logistical challenges that I will get to.

For the past few weeks, I have been planning and re-planning my itinerary for my 2019 Southwest ride.  Per my previous blog, I was planning to ride from New Orleans to San Diego – 1,816 approx. miles.  Unfortunately, that will not work as it would not allow enough time to explore the sites that I want to explore.  So, staying flexible, I have elected to start and finish my ride in Phoenix, AZ.

Phoenix, AZ, besides being the winter home of my brother Jon, is centrally located to many of the sites I want to experience including national parks, renowned motorcycle roads, historic routes, and famous scenery.  My current itinerary, subject to change looks like this:

I am starting in Phoenix, AZ on April 7th and going east to Safford, AZ (B) to catch the southern end of the Coronado Trail, Route 191, to the Northern end in Springerville, AZ (C).  This is rated as one of the best Motorcycle Roads in the West.  From Springerville, I am continuing north to St Michaels, AZ (D) to explore an area called the Petrified Forest.  The Petrified Forest is known for its fossils, especially fallen trees, and unique colors.

From St Michaels, I am continuing north to Chinle, AZ (E) to explore Canyon de Chelly which is known for its ruins and towering canyon walls.  After a one day stop in Canyon de Chelly, I am continuing to Kayenta, AZ (F) to explore and experience Monument Valley.

From Monument Valley, I continue my trek north into Utah to Moab (G) to explore Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.  I am planning, subject to change, to spend two days experiencing these famous sites.  From Moab, I change direction from North to West and head to Bryce Canyon City, UT (H) to explore Bryce Canyon National Park.  From Bryce Canyon, I will continue southwest to Springdale, UT (I) to experience Zion National Park and then onto Las Vegas (J).

From Las Vegas, I head south to Topock, AZ (K) to spend a day riding what is known as the Will Rogers Highway, the Main Street of America or the Mother Road, Route 66, one of the original highways in the U.S. Highway system.  Route 66, for me, ends in Seligman (L).  I will then head southeast to Sedona (M) and the famous Red Rock Country.  My ride will end back in Phoenix after a quick trip to Tucson, AZ to visit with some dear friends and catch-up.

It is interesting that the mileage of this ride is approximately 1,857 miles, close to the distance from New Orleans to San Diego.

But, before I can start my ride, I need to get my trusty Roadmaster from Connecticut to Arizona.  This is no easy feat.  Again, I am leaning on Mineola Moto, a great Indian dealership in Mineola, New York to help.  I am flying back to NYC on February 6th, praying for no snow or rain on the 7th, and driving my Roadmaster in the freezing cold from my house to Kenny Zagarek’s Indian Dealership.  There, the shipping company will pick up the bike and deliver it to Go AZ Indian Motorcycle in Scottsdale, AZ.

If all goes well, I will be heading to Phoenix Arizona on Friday the 5th of April and starting my ride on the 7th.  That is if all goes well.  Wish me luck and keep wheeling.

Hello – I hope the past year has been good to all of you and that this blog finds one and all in good health and good spirits.  Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and wishing everybody a Happy and Healthy New Year!

This Blog is as much a reintroduction to “Wheeling with Kramer” as it is a motivation to get my arse into gear and start planning my year two pilgrimage.

When I first considered my “retirement”, I knew that it consisted of exploring, first the United States and then broader geographies.  Last year I rode my faithful Indian Roadmaster from New Orleans, LA, back to Connecticut via, Lousiana, Missippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pensylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut.

This coming year, I plan to explore the west.  I look forward to riding, again from New Orleans, LA through Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California.   As last year, with the help of John and Denise Kuendig, I am once again leaning on my friends.  This time it is my friends Dan and Cindi Treadwell, who have a home in San Diego.  Dan and Cindi’s home is my destination target.  But, as I referenced in last year’s blog, I must remain flexible and ready to compromise my goals, based on time and what is reasonable.

There are so many places that I want to explore including parts of Route 66, Big Bend, Canyonlands, Bryce, Zion, Monument Valley, the Grand Canyon to name just a few.  I will not be able to get to all of them as my time is limited to April 5th to May 7th (32 Days).  Why the restriction on time?  Because I am blessed with so many exciting things to enjoy in my life and a family that, thank God, enjoys sharing the excitement with me.  In this case, our beautiful boat, Wakely, needs to come home for the summer.

So, like last year, I am just starting to plan my ride west from New Orleans.  I have fear (not knowing where I am going at this time), excitement (the adventure and planning) and anticipation (meeting new people) and I am just beginning the journey.

Stay tuned as the plan begins to materialize.

And, Keep Wheeling!

Paul Kramer

 

 

After traversing the Gulf and Atlantic Coast for the past weeks, I took a left-hand turn and went into the mountains of North Carolina.

The reason I rode into the mountains was that there were very specific motorcycle adventures I wanted to check off the bucket list and I am excited to have accomplished them all, with one minor refinement.

Background, the mountains of North Carolina are a motorcycle mecca.  An area that attracts motorcycle riders with beautiful vistas, twisty and challenging roads and hospitality that caters to the motorcycle rider.

My first stop after leaving Augusta was Highlands, NC.  Highlands, NC lies in the Southern Appalachians within the Nantahala National Forest at an elevation of 4,118 ft.  As I approached Highlands, I knew that I was about to experience something special.

The motorcycle appeal of Highlands was a destination called Bridal Veil Falls. The other appeal was the beautiful scenery and people known for the area.  Bridal Veil Falls is a waterfall that literally flows over the road so that motorcycles can ride under the falls.

Highlands also features covered bridges and beautiful streams.

Having achieved the Bridal Veil Falls goal, I was off to Robbinsville, NC and the dreaded “Tail of the Dragon.”  The 11-mile Dragon is said to have 318 curves. Some of the Dragon’s sharpest curves have names like Copperhead Corner, Wheelie Hell, Sunset Corner, Beginner’s End, and Brake or Bust Bend. The road earned its name from its curves being said to resemble a dragon’s tail.

At the end of the Dragon is an overlook that captures Cheoah Dam.  This is the dam that Harrison Ford jumps off at the end of the Fugitive movie.  Happy to say that I made it to the overlook.

As I have mentioned, the riding is great.  But just as great is the people you meet along the way.  In Robbinsville, I stayed at the Two Wheel Inn, which is a motel that caters to bikers by offering every room a motorcycle “garage.”

Before leaving Robbinsville, I had wanted to ride a road called Moonshiners 28.  This is a 28-mile road Moonshiners used to bring their illegal “hooch” out of the mountains.  However, I was informed that a more picturesque ride was the Cherohala Skyway.  The Cherohala Skyway is a 43-mile National Scenic Byway that connects Tellico Plains, Tennessee, to Robbinsville, North Carolina.

Having ridden The Tail of the Dragon and Cherohala Skyway and met some really interesting bikers, I was off to Cherokee, NC which is the Southernmost point of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  My last bucket list item for this trip was to ride the entire Blue Ridge Parkway.  Starting in Cherokee, NC and ending in Afton, VA.  The Blue Ridge Parkway is 469 miles.

To get to Cherokee, I elected to ride through the Great Smokey Mountain National Park which was another surprising thrill.

Today finds me on my 2nd day on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The Parkway offers more beautiful vistas and, so far, interesting lodging.

Let me comment on the fact that for days I have been at elevations that allow me to see for hundreds of miles.  The feeling of “Being a Little Closer to Heaven” is real.  At times it is spiritual.  A place of peace and contentment.  “Great things are done when men and mountains meet; This is not done by jostling in the street.” – William Blake.

The Parkway has very few cars and no commercialism is allowed on the parkway.  There are no “motels” near the Parkway and last evening I stayed in Little Switzerland Inn and tonight finds me in Glade Valley Bed and Breakfast owned by Jim and Margaret Connor.

And cozier is the Glade Valley B&B

It has been an incredible past week.  I have had the opportunity to see beautiful country, test my motorcycle driving skills and raise my adrenaline levels – which is what makes one feel alive.  I have met interesting people and enjoyed their company.  Bikers, like horseback riders, share a brotherhood.  A brotherhood of understanding the thrill and zen of motorcycling.

Over the past months, I have seen another part of America that not many of us have the opportunity to experience.  You can call it Middle-America, call it Trump’s America or call it the South.  Whatever you call it, it is America and deserves the same respect and attention as any other part of the USA.  I deeply enjoyed meeting people in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.

They are a proud and spirited people.  They have a rich heritage of state pride.  And, I have earned a new respect for them.

I am reaching the end of this motorcycle journey ( I plan many more in the future).  It has been a thrill. But now I am ready to get home and be with my family.  Traveling is great, but so is coming home and I am ready to come home.

I have enjoyed blogging and I hope you have enjoyed reading them.  I may have one more blog in me before I return home this Saturday.  Thank you for being a gracious audience and as I say, Keep Wheeling.

 

Paul

I rode my Indian Motorcycle into Savannah yesterday morning, April 29th, and spent a large part of the day exploring what I found to be one of the most beautiful historic districts of any city I have ever seen.

Savannah was founded in 1733, by James Edward Oglethorpe on the Savannah River and lies between Jacksonville, FL, and Charleston, SC.  The new Georgia colony was authorized under a grant from King George II of England.

Oglethorpe developed a town plan in which the basic design unit was the ward. Wards were composed of four residential blocks and four civic blocks, arrayed around a central square.  These square “wards” were also designed to protect the city from first, Indians and later the Spanish.  As I had limited time, I explored the center of the historic district starting in Forsyth Park and working my way north past Monterey, Madison, Chippewa, and Wright Square.

As I mentioned, one of the contributing factors to Savannah’s beauty is the fact that the city was one of the only ones left standing during Sherman’s famous ‘March to the Sea.”  This allowed many of the city’s Federal and Georgian designed homes to survive today.

As I have referenced in my past blogs, the South maintains a strong sense of heritage when it comes to the “War of Southern Independence.  I was fortunate to have arrived in Savannah on Confederate Memorial Day.   Confederate Memorial Day is a holiday observed in several Southern states since the end of the American Civil War to remember the estimated 258,000 Confederate soldiers and sailors who died fighting against the Union.  When I entered Forsyth Park, I found a Confederate Memorial Day service in the process and it reinforced that there is still a lot of pride in the South.

A statement regarding “Politically Correct”

 

Singing “Dixie” with a “Rebel Yell”

 

21 Gun Salute to the fallen

Turning back to the beauty of Savannah, each Square’s Park was unique in its own way.

And finally, Chippewa Square, known for Forrest Gump and his park bench.  Unfortunately, they removed the bench and it is now at the Savannah History Museum.

Leaving these beautiful parks, I discovered there is another side of Savannah, on River Street.  River Street runs along the Savannah River and is full with boutiques, bars, and street performers to fill many hours.

Loved Savannah and wish that I had more time to enjoy it.  But, tomorrow I am off to an area called the Highlands in North Carolina where I will challenge the “Tail of the Dragon”, Moonshiners 28, Bridal Veil Falls.  These are all part of this motorcycle shrine and I am looking forward to riding and hanging with my biker people.

Keep Wheeling!

 

 

My apology for the abrupt motorcycle “interuptus”.

After leaving Apalachicola on April 3rd, I made a b-line to John and Denise Kuendig’s home in Ormond Beach, Florida.  I left my motorcycle at John and Denise’s home and flew back to CT on April 6th.  I returned home so that Catherine and I could join four other couples in Costa Rica (Dominical / Quepos on the West Coast).

After returning home from Costa Rica on April 22nd, John and I flew back to Ormond Beach where I spent a day at John’s and Denise’s beautiful home on the Intercoastal.

John and Denise could not have been better hosts and I am so thankful for everything they did for me and allowing me to “rest” my bike at their house while I went to Costa Rica with Catherine and the gang – Thank you, John and Denise!

Starting round two of my motorcycle adventure, I left Ormond Beach this morning and followed the shoreline on A1A up the Florida coast and crossed into Georgia at Kingsland, GA.  This is just a quick rest stop as tomorrow I am focused on getting to Savannah as early as I can so that I can explore the city.

Savannah’s role in the Civil War is legendary—it was one of the only towns left standing during Sherman’s famous ‘March to the Sea,” preserved and given as a Christmas present to Abraham Lincoln in 1864.   Therefore the city is well preserved and I am sure it is beautiful.

The drive from the Kuendig’s home and up the East Coast of Florida on the Famous A1A was a great drive.

So, tomorrow I am off to Savannah and looking forward to seeing this famous city.

Keep Wheeling!

Allow me to show you where I have been over the past weeks so that you get an idea of my location:

We started in New Orleans, Louisiana – The Green Dot
B) Grand Isle, Louisiana
C) Thibodaux, Louisiana
D) Breaux Bridge, Louisiana
E) Natchez, Mississippi
F) Vicksburg, Mississippi
G) Ocean Springs, Alabama
H) Fairhope, Alabama
I) Gulf Springs, Florida
J) Sandestin, Florida
K) Current Location – Apalachicola, Florida

I selected Apalachicola, Florida as a stopping point because Tim Mcgraw referenced it in his “Southern Voice” track (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdT8Tlzto20);

“Smooth as the hickory wind
That blows from Memphis
Down to Apalachicola
It’s hi Y’all did ya eat well
Come on in I’m
Sure glad to know ya”

It sounded so friendly and it has proved to be as friendly and welcoming as the song suggests.  In fact, I was going to stay one night and extended it to two as Apalachicola was so welcoming.

Apalachicola was established in 1831 and quickly became the third largest Cotton Shipping Port in the Gulf of Mexico.  Its success was due to its location at the mouth of the Apalachicola River which still plays a huge part of the town’s appeal today.

By 1836, 50,000 bales of Cotton were being exported through Apalachicola annually.  By 1840, more than 40 Three Story cotton warehouses lined the downtown waterfront.  By 1853, approximately 140,000 bales of cotton passed through the port of Apalachicola.

The cotton boom of Apalachicola was not to last as first, railroads made it faster and more economical to send the cotton by rail and second, the Civil War, stopped the shipment of Cotton ending Apalachicola’s Cotton industry.

Apalachicola reinvented itself as a home port for a variety of seafood workers, including oyster harvesters and Shrimpers. More than 90% of Florida’s oyster production and 10% of the entire US Oyster is harvested from Apalachicola Bay.

I entered Apalachicola on Florida State 65 through the Apalachicola National Forest.  A pristine forest maintained by the US Parks Department.

Apalachicola is a small, quiet town along a part of the Florida Coast that has certainly been forgotten.  In fact, it is marketed as the “Forgotten Coast”.  The town’s waterfront, along the Apalachicola River, is beautiful as is the town.

The 1st video is state route 65 to Apalachicola and the 2nd video is looking out on Apalachicola River from Water Street in Apalachicola.

Apalachicola River as viewed from Water Street in Apalachicola.

 

 

 

 

Apalachicola’s Oyster industry is, unfortunately, going the way of the Cotton Industry due to a number of environmental issues and over-harvesting.  Once, over 1,000 Oyster Boats Oystered the Apalachicola Bay and today, that number is down to less than 100.

But, the characters and personalities that make Apalachicola so much fun continue to define the community.  I was fortunate enough to find the Apalachicola Ice Company Tavern – A dive bar of the first degree, and I say that with great respect.

The Ice Company was founded in 1885 and with the advent of electricity, went out of business.  However, the proprietors, a couple named James and Erin, opened the old Ice Company warehouse as a tavern a few years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I met Mark at the tavern and it turned out that his daughter, Erin, was the owner with her husband, James.  Under the heading of “don’t judge a book by its cover”, do not judge Mark by his overalls.  Let me tell you a little about Mark;

 

 

 

 

1. Mark was a lead roadie for Hendrick’s, Allman Brothers, Four Tops, etc.
2. Is a licensed riverboat captain and ran large barges up and down the Mississippi River
3. Is now developing an Oyster Farm in Apalachicola in conjunction with Tulane University and the University of Florida and is working towards establishing an Oyster farm that will employ over 500 workers.

These are the personalities that I looked forward to meeting on my adventure and was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to talk to this gentleman.

On a completely different end of the spectrum, I was in Apalachicola on Easter Sunday and had the opportunity to attend a 7 AM Easter Sunrise Service on the water that was absolutely moving.  The Minister talks about the rising of Jesus as the sun rose over the water.

 

After the sermon, I rode my bike to Carabelle Beach which is 19 miles east of Apalachicola, on the Gulf, and along Route 98.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A very interesting fact about Carabelle Beach is that it was the US Army’s 4th Infantry’s training site for the Normandy invasion:

I bid farewell to Apalachicola, FL.  It was a great two days, reminding me of the grace that is found in believing, the fact that we should not judge people based on their appearance and that small towns sometimes offer the biggest lessons.

Tomorrow, or today, I leave for Perry, Florida as my next stop on my march to Ormond Beach and the Kuendig clan.

Keep Wheeling!

 

 

 

 

 

 

After leaving Fairhope, Alabama and crossing into Florida at the “Flora-Bama Bar and Grill line”, I settled into Sandestin, Florida for the purpose of discovering the Destin to Seaside area.

SEASIDE

Seaside, Florida, created in the 1970’s and 80’s, is one of the first communities in America to be designed on the fundamentals of New Urbanism.  New Urbanism is based on principles that existed prior to the advent of the automobile when the only way to get around was by horse – if you were lucky to own one.  So communities were built to be highly accessible for walking with wide streets, everything within walking distance and a strong sense of community.

Seaside was built with the same principles in mind.  Seaside is privately owned, no other municipal governments have planning jurisdiction over Seaside, and therefore the developers are able to write their own zoning codes.  Some of these include wide “lanes”, everything accessible within walking distance, no private front lawns and only native plants, all signs are white with blue lettering, including signs that contain the name of the home and the majority of the homes, if not all, are built in Victorian or Neoclassical design.

Seaside is a whimsical community where children run around and parents sit out on the front porch greeting strangers as they walk by.

 

 

 

Seaside’s homes range from the simple whimsical to three-story mansions.Within walking distance of the community is Florida route 30-A.  On 30-A, in Seaside, is a cornucopia of food trucks that the community lines up to have dinner and enjoy the community spirit.

Seaside, Florida was truly impressive and if you ever get the opportunity to visit, I assure you of a great vacation location.

SANDESTIN

Sandestin is a nice resort community in Miramar Beach, Florida.  Sandestin and neighboring Santa Rosa Beach have some decent restaurants, beautiful beaches and a are a community where the streets roll-up at 9 PM.  Seriously, if you are out past 9 – 10 PM, do not count on any commercial transportation because many Uber and Lyft drivers are retirees and have gone to bed (a glimpse of my future? — NOT)

My evening started at Johnny McTighe’s Irish Pub, where else?  A great dive bar where the kids are invited as well.  Albeit, in another room, but the kids are hanging out while Mom and Dad, in the words of Billy Joel, slowly get stoned.  Really a fun Tavern with great bumper stickers – worth the visit.

And let us not forget the Bumper Stickers.

After leaving Johnny’s Mctighe’s, I was off to the Growler Garage as I heard that they served beer, wine, and motorcycles are on exhibit – they do, just not past 8 PM.  They were closed for adult beverages, but the door was open for Motorcycle viewing.

Growler Garage is owned by Mitch Omar, an artist of rebuilt motorcycles and the owner of O’s Custom Paints (ww.ospaint.com).  Mitch focuses on the custom hand painting of all makes and models of motorcycles.  O’s Custom Paints is the exclusive custom painter/designer for the “Elvis Presley Harley Davidson Series” (I didn’t even know they had one).

And, Beautiful custom Bikes.

Following an interesting conversation with Mitch at Growler and as the Growler Garage was closed, I wandered across the street to La Playa – A mixed age bar with a three-piece band.

OBSERVATIONS

As my adventure draws me East, I feel an evolution of the people and culture from Louisiana to Mississippi, to Alabama to Florida.

In Louisiana, at least in Thibodaux and Breaux Bridge, I was surprised at how open and welcoming the people are.  However, in North Western Florida (Sandestin, Miramar Beach, etc), I find the folks a bit jaded.  I don’t say this as a negative but as an observation.

When I passed small town and villages in Louisiana, the people were genuinely interested in my travels.  They simply do not get a lot of “strangers” in their community, so I was an anomaly.  A new ingredient.  Something to check out.

In North Western Florida, as this is a huge vacation destination, the NW Florida community is not impressed with “strange visitors”.  They are used to transients (vacationer) passing through.  This has made it more difficult for me to strike up interesting conversations and interactions.

But, I will continue to try as I make my way to John and Denise Kuendig’s house in Ormond Beach.  In the meantime, I’m off to Apalachicola, Florida.  Apalachicola harvests over 90% of the oysters sold in Florida and 10% of the nationwide supply.  Guess there are more oysters in my future.

Keep Wheeling!

 

 

 

 

 

I have spent the past three days in Alabama and crossing into Florida exploring the coast and I must admit, it is getting harder and harder to find the fun dive bars.  However, not to fret, because I did.

After leaving Vicksburg, I made the ride to Ocean Springs, Alabama and then onto Fairhope, Alabama.  A quick note on Ocean Springs — if you book yourself into a motel in Ocean Springs, Alabama that is listed for $59/night and when you pull in the sign says “Extended Stay for as low as $55/night,” you may have overrated the motel.  I slept on top of the covers.

Leaving Ocean Springs, the options were to ride through Mobile and down the East Coast of Mobile Bay to Fairhope or to extend the ride a bit and go to Dauphin Island and then take a ferry from Dauphin Island to Fort Morgan and then onto my destination of Fairhope, Alabama.   I decided on the Fairy. Ocean Springs can be missed so I will focus on Dauphin Island as it was a memorable adventure and Fairhope as it is a beautiful town. It has a beautiful waterfront park and truly one of the best oyster bars I have visited.  However, going to the Fairhope beach is not exactly like visiting Todd’s Point in Greenwich, CT.

On the Fairhope Municipal Pier, I found an Oyster Meca called Shux

Having found Shux, I will say that in an earlier blog I sang the praise of visitor centers.  Now, I will sing the praise of bartenders who are willing to give you the straight scoop.  At Shux, I met Mel who was a bartender who knew her stuff and she directed me to “The Mag” – the Magnolia Bar and Grill for some Karaoke.  Never one to miss an opportunity to sing, off I went.

Before I left Fairhope, I had the privilege, thanks to my Sister Inlaw, Cynthia Bell and Brother Inlaw, Jimmy Bell to tour the Mobile–Tensaw River Delta.  The Mobile–Tensaw River Delta is the largest river delta and wetland in Alabama. It encompasses approximately 260,000 acres in a 40-by-10-mile area and is the second largest delta in the Contiguous United States.

If you are interested in what a Delta is…

Saying goodbye to Fairhope, I was off to Gulf Breeze, Florida.  But not before I had the opportunity to make a 10AM stop at the famous Flora-Bama Bar and Oyster Bar.  A bar situated directly on the Florida / Alabama state line.  One can buy Florida Lottery tickets on one side of the bar and not on the other side (Alabama does not have a lottery as it would be gambling)

Tomorrow I am off to Seaside Florida which is where they shot “The Truman Show” starring Jim Carry.  It maybe a bit staid.

Keep Wheeling!

PEK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday was a long day of riding as I had to get to the Indian Dealership in Hattiesburg, MS for a rear suspension alignment – not my rear end, the Indian Motorcycle’s thank you very much.  The amount of stuff I was carrying was too heavy or as my daughter, Emma informed me, “Dad, you have too much junk in your trunk”.

Even though it was a long ride, one credo of riding is to avoid highways and interstates and look for county roads and byways and the more turns the better.  These roads are more fun and you find interesting sites and adventures.  As these roads are not well mapped or monitored, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.

And another win, like riding the Natchez Trace Parkway, this was De Soto National Park in Mississippi.  I miss pronounce it in the video – or maybe it is just my Northeast accent.

Even though it was over 7 hours of riding it was a great day, great sites and adventures.

Returning to the Gulf Coast.  This time in Alabama and Florida.

Keep Wheeling!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mississippi in general and Natchez and Vicksburg, MS specifically, drew me to their rich Southern Civil War History.  I spent a half day in Natchez and one and a half days in Vicksburg.

Consider for a moment if the United Confederate States had won the war.  The Southern border of the United States would be the Confederacy.  The United States, as we know it now, would not exist and in her place would be two countries.  The USA would be half the country she is today, both geographically and geopolitically.  This would not have been good and would have changed the history of the world.

I for one am pleased it turned out the way it did and all the people I spoke to in both Louisiana and Mississipi, today, agree.  They are first Americans and second Southerners.

My short visit to Natchez consisted primarily of a visit to Longwood Mansion.  Longwood is a fascinating story.  Originally planned to be a 40,000 sq ft (yes, 40K) antebellum octogonal home, the project was never completed.

In 1859, cotton planter Dr. Haller Nutt commissioned the building of Longwood.  Sixty to seventy-five Amish builders from Pennsylvania were hired to construct this opulent home for his family.  The builders completed the entire exterior of Longwood from 1859 to 1861 when the Civil War began.  When war broke out, the Pennsylvania builders left, leaving the structure far from completed.  Of the thirty-two rooms planned, only nine were completed in the basement.  Dr. Nutt died in 1864 and the family, due to the war, was left without the finances to complete the project.

 

 

With my completion of the Longwood, Mansion tour, I was off to find an adult beverage which led me to King’s Tavern.  The King’s Tavern building was built in 1769, making it the oldest structure in Natchez.  Unfortunately, it was closed.

Not to be denied, I found my way “Under the Hill”.  Under the Hill refers to the area along the Mississippi River, below the hill that Natchez is built on.  And, what would I find there, but the “Under the Hill” Tavern on Silver Steet, where I met my newest, best friend, Dave, a retired Captain in the Natchez Police Force.

But, the Under the Hill area and Silver Street was not just about the Tavern.  It turns out that at one point, prior to 1940’s, Silver Street, where the tavern is today, was not on the banks of the Mississippi, but five blocks back from the water.  In the 1940’s, the government decided to change the flow of the river and submerged five blocks of Natchez, and a horse racing track under the river.  This was to form two lakes.

 

From Natchez, I rode to Vicksburg, much faster than Ulysses S. Grant, on the extraordinary Natchez Trace Parkway.  This magnificent National Park Service Parkway has no commercial structures, advertising or trucks.  It is pristine.

Now, I return to the Civil War.

The most influential battle of the war, in my opinion, was the Battle of Vicksburg (which was more of a siege than a battle).  The reason being that Vicksburg allowed the Confederate States to control the Mississippi River.  With control of the River, the North could not move troops, ammunition, and commerce from the north to the south which hampered the North’s ability to wage war and hurt the economy.  Abraham Lincoln said, “The Key to the war is Vicksburg and we cannot win until that key is in our pocket.”

But before the Siege of Vicksburg could begin, the Northern troops needed to get there.  The Confederate army made their stand at a place called Champion Hill, about 45 miles east of Vicksburg, in a battle that became known as the Battle of Champion Hill.  This was the most bloody battle of the Vicksburg campaign and possibly the turning point of the war.

Champion Hill was, and to this day, owned by the Champion Family.  I was lucky enough to score a private tour of the Champion Hill battlefield from Sid Champion, the great, great grandson of Sid Champion, the owner of the Champion House site and most of the property where the battle was waged

 

 

The Federals won the battle and the Confederate Troops barely escaped back to Vicksburg.  The Union Army, under General Ulysses S Grant, cut the city off from reinforcements, ammunition, and food for what turned out to be a six-week siege.  Facing hunger and starvation for the Confederate troops and the civilians of Vicksburg, the Confederate General, Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton, surrendered Vicksburg on July 4th, 1863

Following the Battle of Champion Hill tour and a tour of the Vicksburg National Military Park, I visited the County Courthouse Museum where I was enlightened about the South’s embrace of the Civil War and their belief that it should not be forgotten.  As Sid informed me, the Civil War today is about “Heritage, not Hate”.

An interesting note is that the President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, never repented his involvement in the war and is celebrated in the Museum with a full room tribute.

In Vicksburg, MS, and I assume the rest of the deep South as well, they celebrate the heritage that is their history.  I am not saying whether this is right or wrong, I am just saying that this is the reason that the South defends the Stars and Bars.

One topic that consistently brought out the anger of Dave, Sid, and others I spoke to was the effort today to bury the history by taking down flags and statues that support their heritage.  To them, it is not hate, but their history.  I had one gentleman explain that “the war was an honorable battle, not to claim what was not theirs, but to defend what they felt was their State rights, much like the Revolutionary War.”

Today, I have a greater understanding of the South’s position and, may I add, a greater respect for their opinion.  Not about slavery, of course.  And, nobody I spoke to was defending slavery.  In fact, the Southern areas that I visited appear to be more integrated and diverse than some areas in the Northeast.  Today, in the minds of the people I spoke to, the effort is to maintain the history.

This is the type of dialogue we need to encourage.

Leaving Mississippi and heading for the Gulf Coast of Alabama.

Keep Wheeling!