Cleveland Ohio - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - Friday April 24

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland Ohio was a really interesting. We arrived at 10 and were surprised when 4 rolled around and we were still there.

There were several cars hanging from the ceiling.

 Lots of information on Elvis, of course.

Lots of posters, ticket stubs and costumes from several artists.

A whole section on Paul Simon; pictures, artifacts, audio and video clips. Some from 

Saturday Night Live that were hilarious.

This video had comments and footage of the Beatles while they were recording each of their albums.

"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" This one is for you, Robin!

The Supremes were the most successful female group of the Sixties.
These Bob Mackie gowns were first seen on an NBC-TV special and
then on the back cover of the Supremes and Four Tops album, The Return
of the Magnificent Seven

This wasn't a first draft, but its the earliest known manuscript. 

Lots of really interesting stuff on a broad range of entertainers. They also featured information on the technical side of radio, disc jockeys and music history. 

So ends our trip. We arrived home in Kitchener around 11pm on Friday. We visited 15 states, traveled 7500 km, saw many place to which we need to return and bought a lot of fabric!
Thanks for following along with us - I hope each of you has the chance to check out these places some day.

Thursday April (although it feels like December) 23 The last of the Redbud

Frost on the car roof this morning. Brrrrr! The heater ran all night so we were toasty warm. By 8:30 when we left Eagle Valley Resort in Kentucky the temperature was 4C or 38F; cold no matter what you measure it in. The campground was 16 km from the highway cut off for Sparta, not a fun drive in the dark. Screen doors on the restroom/shower building, so no showers this morning. Sunny though. We saw 3 deer on the way in last night and 2 more this morning.

We stopped at McD's for breakfast and to update the blog a bit . Bob also booked a hotel for tonight near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland OH. We left spring in Nashville, we won't likely have the top down again this trip.

We stopped in Columbus OH at Joann's for a fabric fix and bought an OTT light too. We arrived in Independence, Ohio, just south of Cleveland and are ensconced in a lovely Residence Inn suite. Hurray for Marriot points! We enjoyed (and brought back most of) an Outback steak dinner. Too much bloomin' onion! One more blog entry tomorrow once we get home.

Wednesday April 22, 2015 West Point, Mississippi and the Natchez Trace Parkway

 

Sunrise!

Okay so this campground was near Columbia Air Force Base. At least they didn't start their maneuvers before 7am. The birds woke us up first.

 We saw the first of 7 wild turkeys before we left the camp ground.  West Point was a nice little town with some vintage buildings. 

We stopped for a stretch break at a Cracker Barrel restaurant near Tupelo Mississippi. Sorry  Kerry, we didn't order the double chocolate Coke cake.

We joined the Natchez Trace Parkway. It reminded us a lot of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It runs diagonally from the south west corner of Mississippi all the way to the north east corner, bisecting the state. It continues across the north west corner of Alabama then into Tennessee, ending at Nashville. It was originally used by Indians, runaway slaves and boatman among others. The boatmen would travel by boat down the Mississippi River with their wares then sell them at Natchez at the beginning of the trail and then WALK back up north. Bob figured it must have taken about a month to walk it. Lots of wildflowers and dogwood in bloom. We enjoyed having the top down for a good portion of the Trace.



Dogwood

These thistles were huge. I don't know what the pink ones are called but there are a lot of them in Mississippi

We stopped at another Cracker Barrel for a late lunch - still no Coke cake. We did, however have baked sweet potatoes with butter, cinnamon and sugar. I'll definitely be serving these at home! Now to find a campground. They are few and far between in northern Kentucky. We finally found the Eagle Valley Resort after driving what seemed to be a ridiculously long way off the highway. Just when we'd about decided to give up, another sign would appear to encourage us on, never saying how much farther it would be. It was after 8:30pm by the time we found it. We put the heater on right away as the temperature according to the car down to 9C. Not many people here, but adequate facilities - no wifi again, so we'll be heading to McDonalds in the morning to post several days worth of this blog. Lots of stars.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015 Biloxi, Mississippi

We were awaken early this morning - 5:15 and 5:30 by a motorcycle, 6:00 Reveille from the Air Force Base and 6:30  the garbage truck . The campground itself was very nice, but so much noise so early in the morning! Maybe we'll try Gulf Islands campground east of Ocean Springs next time, it's not too far from New Orleans.

This is about as close to a "selfie" as we're likely to get

We walked along the beach this morning for a bit and then stopped by the visitors' centre where we picked up  an historical walking tour map.  Lots of pictures.

 The Biloxi Lighthouse has a cast iron shell

with brick on the inside. One of only 3 in the USA.

Biloxi was discovered on February 13, 1699 by the Lemoyne brothers with their escort of Canadian voyageurs.

The Magnolia House had several Mardi Gras king and queen costumes on display. Apparently there was 6 feet of water in the building thanks to Hurricane Katrina.

We saw several vacant lots were the houses had been completely destroyed. Like New Orleans, many are working hard to restore buildings both old and new.

This witch riding the moon made an interesting weather vane atop the People's Bank cupola in the picture on the left.

 

We shared a Po Boy BBQ beef sandwich and salad at Rena's Deli for lunch. We tried to find two quilt shops in Ocean Springs and Gautier, but both were out of business. Apparently my quilt radar isn't working very well.

At 1pm we turned north after enjoying so much lovely warm weather.

We found Premier Fabrics - how I wish I needed to do some upholstery or at least cushions for outdoor furniture, they had a great selection as well as a few batiks, so I bought those. They also directed us to the Village Cloth Shoppe in DeKalb,  Mississippi. Imagine a used book store with books piled in every direction, almost to the ceiling. Now imagine each book is a bolt of fabric. I told the proprietress it was like Aladdin's cave - only better! Needless to say, I added even more to my stash. She even gave me 10% because I was a tourist!

We followed  a long country road eventually finding Town Creek Campground. Once again, now that we're heading north, the campground is nearly empty.  It is so blissfully quiet here - not a train, plane or motorcycle within earshot. It's not even windy or raining. It's quiet, too quiet. Just kidding - we're enjoying the silence. Even the crickets are subdued. We're near the river where I took this sunset shot.

Monday April 20, 2015 New Orleans

After Evergreen headed east to New Orleans. We have a impeccable timing - getting to another large city in time for evening rush hour. Canal and Claude Streets, along with others were under construction so we pretty much drove in and drove out again. Sorry Becky, we didn't stop to eat anywhere - maybe next time! We will definitely have to come back here some day.

We continued east to Biloxi, Mississippi where we ate mangos in the moonlight under a magnolia tree by the Gulf of Mexico. We were camped just across the road from the beach.

Monday, April 20, 2015 Evergreen Plantation

 

There were branches down in the campsite next to us and in the pool this morning, but thankfully nothing on our trailer. It was really windy last night.

We drove to the Evergreen Plantation near Edgard, Louisiana. It was recommended by Glen and Ashley as a more authentic, less Hollywood version of a plantation. We got there just in time for the 2pm tour. We took many pictures of the grounds and buildings. We couldn't take pictures interiors as it is privately owned and the furnishings, though generally of the period were not original to the house.

It was surprising how small the main house would have been in its day. They would have done almost all of their living on the outside front and back porches, as there were only 6 rooms inside - 3 up and 3 down, with doors from each opening out onto the porches and into each other. The kitchen and bathroom were in separate buildings away from the main house. The guide was very friendly and knowledgeable - we really enjoyed our tour of the main house, the grounds and the slave quarters. The property is still over 2000 acres, about 400 of which is still cultivated with sugar cane.



The back of the house with the porch closed in.

 In the 1800's there would have been over 10 slaves working with the sugar

cane and taking care of the family of 8.

This crazy looking caterpillar decided to hitch a ride on my hat!

 

The younger of the live oak groves festooned with Spanish moss

 

Friday, April 17, 2015 Good bye John and Becky & Texas Quilt Museum

We said good bye to John and Becky around 10:30 this morning with promises to see them again before too long. Such a great visit.

We drove down through Austin and to La Grange for the Texas quilt museum. Say Haworth Roofing, sorry, no picture.

I enjoyed the Texas Quilt Museum in La Grange, Texas. Nice exhibit of log cabin, pineapple and court house step. along with a modern featured quilter, Sue Benner. I brought a pin and a book – 500 Traditional Quilt, so I’m inspired. There was a quilt/yarn store next door, so I bought some more fat quarters. 

No picture taking allowed in the museum, but this mural and garden were lovely.

Meanwhile, Bob had the lube, oil and filter done on the car and then walked around La Grange taking pictures of the court house with its atrium.