Gettysburg Day 2: Explorations

Welcome back to another installment of the Quick Whit Travel Blog! This time, Lydia and I are rounding out our Gettysburg stay and exploring the sights and scenes of this small town's big history!

First up today: Exploring the Fairfield Inn B&B:

Continuously operating since 1757!

Patrick Henry Room. Awesome! 

Since it is so historic, they have a self-guided walking tour you can take and get to know the place. Since we were the only ones staying there the night before, we got to go into all the rooms--some of them are VERY fancy! 

We had noticed coins all over the place--on windowsills, in cracks in the walls, in the floorboards, etc.--and wondered what that could possibly be all about. Well, it's like the whole building is a wishing well! People leave coins in all sorts of places, and at Christmas, the owner collects as many as he can find and donates them to a local charity. Very cool! Here are some coins in the wall of one of the dining rooms: 

And here is Lydia next to the 1757  fireplace, still fully functioning:

And this is breakfast! WOW!

 The chef came in as we were touring the place, and he was so friendly! Breakfast is usually served at 8:30, but he went ahead and started getting things ready for us before 8:00! Coffee and juice awaited us at the table, and then when breakfast came out, we were just flabbergasted at well, everything! Or at least I was. We both cleaned our plates, though!

After breakfast, we finished our tour, including the JEB Stewart room, Grumble Jones Room, and the underground railroad exhibit! There was a separate battle fought in the Inn's backyard (Battle of Fairfield), and it's in a spot that was certainly traversed before and during the Revolution as well!

Lydia made a friend before we left. =) 

Now that we've fueled up, packed up, and checked out, let's go! There's an auto tour of significant sites related to the Battle of Gettysburg, and two of the stops were on our way into town. We figured that would be a good thing to do while it was raining. The auto tour was pretty well done. Most of it was on a road specifically made for the tour--which means no unnecessary pass-through traffic or annoyed locals having to watch out for silly tourists. =) The other good thing is that is follows the battle more or less chronologically. Stop #1 describes the first moments of the battle at 8:00AM on July 1, 1863, and the rest follow the events of each day. 

I was really amazed the first day to see all the monuments in the fields, but this time we got to see them up close, and in crazy remote areas. Most of the monuments are from NY and PA from what we could tell, but there were a LOT of markers from the Army of Northern VA as well. Those are all the closest neighbors, so it makes sense that most of the men fighting would be from those places. And out of nowhere, without looking specifically, we found a TENNESSEE monument! I think the website that lists all the monuments said there are three TN monuments, but that's the only one we saw. It looks very different from the vast majority, so it was easy to spot! Marble, gold, three stars. Love it. 

Now we're on a mission to find a WISCONSIN monument! That's where Lydia is from! We went about following the tour in order. We ended up having to double-back on one part, but we found it!

There she is... Miss Wisconsin! Soon to be a MRS. =) 

Now, into the town to see how the locals lived during a rough three-day battle. The Shriver House Museum does just that. It was built in 1861 with the intent of being a saloon and ten-pin alley (bowling alley), but before the house and business could open, George Washington Shriver, the head of the Shriver family and proprietor, decided to join up with the Union army, leaving his wife and two daughters in the safety of their new home. 

Fast forward just under two years to June 1863. The Confederates have surrounded the town. The Union is coming in. Many families, including the Shriver ladies, got out of town. The Shrivers stayed at a farm about 3 miles away, but that was not far enough. While the battle raged for three days, they took care of wounded soldiers from both sides. When they came home a week after the battle, that stench I mentioned earlier greeted them. Their home looked like this: 

Messy and bloody. Upstairs in the attic, they found dead sharpshooters (Confederates) and plenty of shells up there as well. They had cut out holes in the brick walls of the attic to shoot through, but some of the Union soldiers must have been pretty good shots as well to shoot the sharpshooters through those holes. 

Mr. Shriver came home at Christmas that year, but only for a few days. In January he was captured and taken to Andersonville, GA, where he dies of scurvy and starvation. 

Sad story, so I apologize for the downer. The story of the family and the house is fascinating, though. You'll have to tour the house to hear it all! 

There were still plenty of things Lydia and I wanted to do--the Gettysburg museum, the Jennie Wade House, etc., but what we really wanted was lunch at the historic and beautiful (and ever so haunted!) Dobbin House Tavern. 

Fun fact: Parking on the streets of Gettysburg is a mere 25 cents per hour. HOUR. The previous night's expense in the faraway parking garage was more than that! Fortunately for us, I had lots of quarters in my car's cup holder. We were set for the day! 

So we put in another quarter and walked off to lunch! The tavern portion of the inn is in the deep, dark recesses of the basement. The only light there came from candles--very atmospheric! 

Their menu was quite extensive, but we both opted for sandwiches. But you know what took the prize for best food item? The potato salad! I don't know what they put in it to make it fabulous, but it was delicious. See? 

It's a bit dark, but you get this gist. Mr. Peabody Pembroke liked it, too. =) 

After lunch, we stopped off at the B&B to pick up some cheese fudge that we left in their fridge while we were out for the day. Lydia, being from Wisconsin, brought back some delightful cheese fudge for Steve and me to try! She and I snacked on it on the way back to VA, sweetly rounding out our adventure. 

Thank you for joining us! Please see more pictures here, in case you didn't see them in the previous post: 

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I'm off again at the end of the week, so be watching for Quick Whit's next adventure! This time, my husband is taking me along on one of HIS trips! 

Lydia and Quick Whit Take on Gettysburg! Day 1

And we're off again! This time it's with my newly-engaged friend, Lydia! Just wait to read about what we get into in just over 24 hours...

Lydia and I decided we needed a short trip away, and after weighing some options, we decided on Gettysburg. Reasons: 1. We've never been before; 2. It's only 80 miles away, much shorter than we thought!

First stop: checking into the B&B, the Historic Fairfield Inn, operating continuously since 1757! It is beautiful and adorable, and its charm simply radiates! They let us check in early (a benefit of traveling during the week!), and we put our things in the Patrick Henry Room. Again, beautiful and charming! There was a claw-foot tub in the huge bathroom, and plenty of living space. Patrick Henry stayed there in the late 1700s, and as a matter of fact, his aunt was one of the proprietors!

And we're off! Let's go to the battlefield. Since neither of us had ever been before, we didn't know the vast area, nor that there are literally hundreds of monuments there. I knew it was the biggest battle as far as number of people, but this wasn't a battle fought in someone's field... this was fought in EVERYONE's field and back yard. The town was surrounded by Confederates, then occupied by them. Many people chose to flee the small town, but several families stayed. Soldiers told the civilians to stay in their basements, and as one woman said, it was a credit to both sides that only one civilian died during the conflict, and that was by accident, not with malicious intent.

Moving on along... We were not really impressed with the huge Visitor Center/museum/cylorama (which, I found out, is a 360-degree painting), and honestly I felt like it was exploiting the battle and those who died more than honoring it. So, we decided to head over to Eisenhower's home, which, we learned, is adjacent to the battlefield(s).

So, why there? Because he was a military man, and military men like military history! He actually worked at a military base there during WWI, and after his successes in WWII, he and Mamie decided they wanted to retire in the country, and Gettysburg held positive memories for the 5-Star General. He wanted a house that had seen the battle. They found one they thought had been built in the 1850s, so it fit the bill, but come to find out, it had actually been built in 1745! So it also likely saw some Revolutionary action as well! A lot of the original house had to go, however, but they used the boards from the original wooden structure for ceilings and floors elsewhere! They also made some additions. You can see the difference in the bricks in this picture: See where the drain pipe is? Look at the bricks to the left, then the ones to the right. Very different!

Anyway, the inside was the same type of 50s and 60s style (clutter) that you might expect. But the clutter is actually pretty cool! There's a mantle from the 1860s White House (there when Lincoln--Ike's favorite president--was in the White House. Ike loved this place, and while he was president, he would bring visiting officials and dignitaries there and take them on tours of the battlefield. He wanted people to come to a home because it would make them feel, well, at home.

Back to the battlefield grounds we go! We decided that since there was a 100% chance of rain for the following day, we'd try to do as much outside stuff as we could, saving the indoor things for the next day. We walked to the Soldiers' National Cemetery, where a very rude volunteer, after asking where we were from, to which I answered Tennessee, let us know that no Confederates were buried there because the Union won the battle. Nice. Thanks for the condescending tone and reminder.

Anyway, that's where the Gettysburg Address was given, and we walked around a bit to see what was there, and off we went to see the downtown area. We walked around, found where our ghost tour was to start, and found a place for supper!

Farnsworth Tavern it is! And what a meal we had...

 Watermelon rinds (pickled) and Jennie Wade bread

Spoonbread (tastes a bit like grits)

Mr. Peabody Pembroke helped me enjoy the game pie and sweet potato pudding (to the left), and Lydia and I split the Shoofly Pie on the right! 

Next up: Ghost Tour! Hooray for cannons! This one is haunted.

Meet our tour guide: Sean of the Dead. He was great! Funny, entertaining, and from all I know, factual as well. I was really (really grossly) fascinated by his story about the smells of the area. They have these "phantom smells" that come up every now and then. You see, when the bodies from the battle died, the townspeople had to bury them. Well, being inexperienced and overwhelmed with the number of bodies, they dug shallow trenches and put the bodies in them, covering them over with dirt. A big rain storm came up a couple of days later, and guess what washed back up. Decaying, bloated, gassy dead bodies. And they smelled. They smelled so bad and for so long, people in Harrisburg, 30 miles away, could smell it! Can you imagine living in it? Especially if bodies (keep in mind this is July, one of the hottest months) had died and started rotting in your house? Oh my! People walked around with lavender- or mint-scented hankies over their noses, but who knows how well that worked! So now, there are bad phantom smells, and there are lavender and mint phantom smells. Oh my! 

And we're walking... We also saw where dead horses from the battle were burned (phantom smoke smell), as well as a house that was built in 1776. The Dobbins House. Now it's an inn and restaurant, but previously it was home to Irish Reverend Alexander Dobbin. And his wife. And their 10 children. And after the first wife dies, it was home to him, his second wife and their 9 children! The room they use as a banquet hall now was then used as one huge room for all the kids (I'm sure not all at the same time, however, since some of them would be of age to be on their own by the time some of the others were born!). So what's the ghost part? It's haunted! The home was used as a field hospital (like pretty much all the other buildings) during the battle, so many soldiers lost their lives here.

Pop quiz! What was the most common surgery during the war?

.......

Amputation! As a matter of fact, at one point there were so many limbs stacked up outside this house, they almost reached the second story window. Now the fireplaces light on their own. Just for some ghostly fun! Here's the house:

The rain had started just before the tour, but it mostly held off until after. But by the time we got to the car and started back to the B&B, it was really coming down! We got ourselves cleaned up and basically collapsed into bed. =) Whew! 

More to come! Next time we'll explore the statues and monuments of the battlefield, learn about the civilians who lived through it, and have a fine meal at the Dobbins Inn! Join us, but in the meantime, here are the pictures! 

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Walkin' in Memphis! Day 3

"Walkin' in Memphis! Walkin' with my feet 10 feet off a Beale! Walkin' in Memphis! And do I really feel the way I feel!" --Marc Cohn. Love the song!

Carol and I had the greatest time! First up: The Mighty Mississippi! Big Mud! The Nile of North America! We stopped over at Tom Lee Park, named for a black man who saw a ship capsize in the River and took his personal boat out to save several of the people onboard.

Tom Lee Memorial

And the bridge! 

And then off to the Peabody! We had a little time to spare, so we parked the car and went inside the hotel to get an eyeful of the beautiful and famous hotel. The weather wasn't too awful just yet, so we also took a jaunt down Main Street, ending up at the famously bluesy Beale, where our history tour was to start. 

And what a tour it was! We saw everything there was to see. Our guide, Michael, was very knowledgeable, and he was cool with my being a fellow tour guide. Sometimes other guides are nervous, so I just don't say anything about it, but he was doing us a favor by giving us a private tour on a day when they don't usually do tours, so I let it slip, and he was even excited about it! 

So, why is Beale Street so cool and historic? Because it was predominantly black as early as the late 1800s, and that's where the blues were born! W.C. Handy wrote the first official blues song as early as 1900. This is also a street where black people owned businesses and met with much success. Particularly in music! In the 1920s, Memphis was known as the Harlem of the South.

First fascinating fact: Memphis was founded in 1819... by Andrew Jackson! Yes, our 7th president, the only one to run the country with a balanced budget, and the first of three presidents from Tennessee founded this great city. Who knew? 

Another fascinating fact is that Memphis became a sort of safe place for runaway slaves during the Civil War because it was occupied by the Union. There was a fort where slaves could stay called Fort Pickering--built by the Confederates, occupied by the Yankees. Memphis's population quadrupled during the way, and half of those were blacks. 

In 1866, Race Riots broke out between some Irish whites and the black population. Of course things like that don't just get erased from memory, so several years later, yellow fever broke out in 1878. Legend has it, this is due to a voodoo curse put on the whites. It was believed that blacks were immune because so few of them contracted the disease, which is the same thing people believed in some cases in the 1700s and possibly earlier than that. Anyway, the fever ended in 1878. 

And now... off to the Peabody! We must see the ducks! We were just a minute or two late, but the ducks had already marched into the pond. We got some pictures there: 

And we decided we'd come back to see the ducks when they march back out at 5:00 pm. For now, up to the rooftop for the best views in town: 

"Big Muddy" is a nickname for the mighty Mississippi. Why? Because it's mucked up with silt and Aluvium! Michael, our tour guide, said people sometimes ask why we don't dam the river and use all that power. And the answer is, because it's too goopy. It would clog things up all the way to St. Louis or farther, so it's best to just let it flow! The joke is that it's too thick to drink and too thin to plow. 

So, that's the view from the top of the Peabody. But what's the big deal about this hotel? Why is it so fancy, and why is it well-known? Where did the name come from? Well the original hotel, located on Main and Monroe Streets and opened by Robert Campbell Brinkley in 1869, was named for the owner's late friend, George Peabody, in honor Mr. Peabody's contributions to the South. And actually, former President of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis lived there in 1870. That hotel closed in 1923, but an exact replica of the hotel was built at the current location (Union Avenue) in1925. 

A few years went by, and in the 1930s the hotel manager thought it would be great (after a hunting trip and a few Jack Daniels) if he and his buddy brought back some live duck decoys and put them in the lobby fountain. When they awoke the next morning and realized what they'd done, they panicked! They thought the ducks would be terrorizing guests, pooping all over the place, etc., but no, they were still in the fountain, charming the guests! It's been a tradition ever since. 

But my favorite part is what happened in 1940. A Mr. Edward Pembroke, former animal trainer for the Barnum and Bailey Circus, volunteered to care for and train the ducks to march to and from the elevator. He was the first Duck Master, and he held the position until 1991. Needless to say, it's adorable! Pictures to come momentarily. Keep reading... 

Anyway, every president since Truman (current president still has a couple of years to be included) has stayed at the hotel. Elvis Presley's prom was held in one of their ballrooms in 1953, Society folk have always gone there to "be seen," several writers have written famous things there (songs, poems, novels, etc.), and actually, Elvis Presley's contract with RCA was not only written up here, but it was written on Peabody Hotel letterhead! Rumor has it that Neil Diamond wrote "Sweet Caroline" at the hotel when he got bumped from recording something else because Elvis decided to record that day, and Elvis took precedence! 

All fun facts. Hope you enjoyed them as much as I!

Moving along... Back to the river. Indians settled here centuries ago, but Spanish conquistador de Soto thought it would be great if he claimed the land for Spain and used the Indians for breeding and as warriors. That didn't exactly fly, and de Soto died a year later, across the river, of malaria. About 100 years later, French-Canadian explorer Louis Joliet came to town, but the Indians were all gone by then, likely from European diseases from de Soto and his men. 

Fast forward to the time of the American Revolution, and the area now known as Memphis was considered part of the colony of North Carolina--it was the far frontier! The years moved on, and that's when Jackson came along in 1819, made a bum deal with the Indians currently inhabiting West Tennessee, and gained Memphis for the state of Tennessee. 

And there you have it! After that, this was Cotton Country. King Cotton. That area has amazing topsoil, 50 feet down in some places. This discovery at the beginning of the 19th century and the growing market for cotton combined to mean more labor. And that happened to manifest itself in the form of slavery. In the late 1700s, people really thought slavery would go "out of style" soon, but now that there's this new need for labor, slavery seemed to be there to stay. 

Memphis became a sort of safe haven for runaway slaves both before and during the Civil War. There was a stop on the underground railroad just outside of town: The Burkle Estate, now called Slave Haven. Carol and I took a tour of the house, and it was very informative! During the war, the Union occupied Memphis, so blacks felt safer there if they could get to town. 

I know that sounds like I've bounced around a lot, and I guess I did, but I hope you followed! Anyway, we ended up our tour at what used to be Confederate Park. The name was changed to Memphis Park, but it's still more widely known as Confederate Park (even on Google). Michael was a fantastic tour guide, and I'm so glad he showed us around! We left him at Tamp & Tap, a restaurant across the street from the Peabody. We were hungry, and it was great! They even have strawberry chess squares! 

And we happened to time things just perfectly. It came an absolute downpour while we ate, but it stopped when we finished! We wanted to go to the Slave Haven museum, which was just past walking distance (especially with the possibility of more rain!), so we drove there. And we were so glad because it came a real live thunder-and-lightning storm while we were in there! Sorry, no pictures inside the museum. 

We really learned a lot at the museum. Quilt patterns had special meaning, drums were universal communication devices, and of course songs has special meaning, too. Slaves would come to this house, wait for the owner to give them the go-ahead, and RUN the distance of two blocks to the River, where a boat would be waiting for them. And then they were off. They just needed to make it to the Ohio River, and they'd be able to cross over into Canada and be free. Of course, no one kept records of how many slaves came through as runaways, and there is any number of homes on the underground railroad that we don't even know about. No one kept documentation because if any of that had been found, they'd be thrown in jail or killed! The only reason we know about this house is because of Mr. Burkle's granddaughter, who listened to her grandfather's stories as a girl and told the oral history to others in the 1970s. Fascinating! 

Again, with the threat of rain, we decided to just drive around downtown for a while and look at the buildings. They're amazing! Some of them must have such a history, but many of the businesses in the buildings have gone out of business, and no one who wants them can afford to own and maintain an historic building. Here's an example: 

Amazing building. This is the Tennessee Brewery. After a quick Wikipedia search, we discovered it was a HUGE brewery in its heyday. We heard later that someone has indeed bought this one and is planning to renovate and reopen, but WOW! What an undertaking! 

And then it was time for the ducks! We got back to the Peabody around 4:30 for the 5:00 event, and people were already filling the lobby! The Duck March was about to commence...

Getting ready...

Here they come! 

Here they are! 

And there they go!

SO CUTE! And in honor of the Duck March, I decided to make a new friend...

Please meet Mr. Peabody Pembroke! Named for the Peabody and the original Duck Master, Mr. Pembroke. He's my new travel companion. Please like him on Facebook! =) 

https://www.facebook.com/mrpeabodypembroke?ref=hl

He will be accompanying me on subsequent trips. Thanks for joining me in Memphis! Subscribe to my blog (at the top of this post) or check back in the next few days for our adventures in Gettysburg! 

More pictures are here:
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Coastin' in Collierville: Memphis Days 1 & 2

And here we are in the western most part of West Tennessee: Memphis! I flew in Tuesday afternoon, but the excitement started even earlier than that...

So there we were, all the people on the airplane and me. First leg of the trip: DCA to Newark, NJ. Business suits everywhere. And there we went, backing up from the gate. Taxiing to the runway...

BUT WAIT! A man, wearing shorts and a polo, unbuckled his seatbelt, got up, and rushed to the flight attendant. He'd left his laptop bag in the airport, right there on the seat. She made a quick call and said that as soon as we landed in Newark, they'd try to get him on the first flight back to DC to pick it up. And then we waited. And then, we started moving again--back to the gate! And we waited. And suddenly there she was, some lady doing the ground work bringing his bag to the plane! Something about having backed up his files, but his glasses were in there... a million dollars worth of material or intellectual property... and at long last, the man was reunited with his bag! And off we go!

Or do we. All of a sudden, the pilot comes over the loudspeaker and says, "Well, folks, the good news is that man got his bag back. The bad news is, our new take-off time is 11:59." We were supposed to leave at 11:18. Oh dear. Glad I had a long connection in Newark! So there we sat, waiting... Thankfully, once we did get in the air, the flight was easy and we were only 5 minutes late! Amazing!

After just over an hour in Newark, it was off to Memphis at last! Carol was waiting for me in the airport, and a happy reunion was had by all! First stop, Shelby Farms Park for paddle boating!

Paddle paddle paddle... it's hard work, but we got it done! Yes, it was hot. Yes, we were disgustingly sweaty. Yes, we saw ducklings. And yes, we were glad we did it! 

As soon as we got back to Carol's house, Carol showed me where to put my stuff and told me I should jump in the pool. Now that's a true friend. =) Her husband grilled filets, we had creamed corn (my favorite form of corn) and squash and quinoa salad, and for dessert, it was Hershey Bar Cake for us! After visiting and mapping out a plan of attack for the next day, bedtime arrived at 8:30. It was a good night! 

And what a morning! It was already muggy by 6:30, but time to run! There's a great little trail out by their house, and I explored the neighborhoods, too. Looks like a good ol' Tennessee subdivision: Beautiful, big homes, large porches and driveways, a yard--not at all like the town homes in the DC area, and quite a lower price tag as well. It's amazing what a factor location can be!

Shower, breakfast, and out the door! Next activity: Square Beans coffee shop at the Collierville Square! 

SO cute! They have old theater seats in there, pictures that were taken over a hundred years ago upstairs, and memorabilia from Collierville over the years. I wish I could go there every morning! 

We walked around the square sipping our coffee for a while. The buildings have been very well-preserved from what I could tell, and though many (but not all!) have changed owners and purposes, it seems many have been in continuous use through the years. And they have a great mural, too! 

Water tower in the background=very Southern! 

The other fun things on the square are the train cars that you can actually walk through and take pictures with: 

Carol in the hallway of the 1940s Executive Car--virtually unmodified since the '40s. 

And a true Southern girl, hoppin' on the caboose! 

The Executive Car was cool because it looks very much the same as it did when it was new--original light fixtures, colors, etc. It was small, of course, but quite swanky! It has a shower, a couple of bathrooms, a dining car, kitchen, living area, and of course sleeping rooms! (More pictures in the link below!)

And then it was time to discover Davies Manor Plantation! It's a former plantation house that stayed in one family, the Davies family. It's now a house museum. We arrived about 10:50 under the belief that they opened at 10:30. When we arrived, however, we quickly discovered they open at noon! We called the phone number on the sign to see what we could do about this, since there's nothing else in that area to really see or do. The woman in the office said we could take the road around to the back and walk around the grounds if we liked--and we did! There are several outbuildings there, as well as many, many deer! 

Eventually someone came around, and I quickly used my docent status and friendly Southern skills to befriend her. =) She gave us some more information and some water, and said the docent should arrive in 20 minutes or so. The tour was nice. There are several family pieces in the house, as well as antiques of the time. The house itself had been added onto over the years, which is always interesting to see--walls that don't exactly match, etc. Here's the house from the walkway:

Satisfied with our tour and on a time frame, it was time to go to tea! My mom's friend Debbie runs a tea restaurant and shop out of her home, so no trip to Memphis is complete without tea at Debbie's! 

And someone was there to greet us! Debbie does a lot of parties for ladies and groups for holidays, get togethers, etc., but this day, it was tea for three! We enjoyed a lovely meal, and it was so fun to catch up with Debbie! Here is our meal: 

Chowder and tea sandwiches

Tea sandwiches, scones, lemon bars, and tarts

If ever you're in the Memphis area, you will definitely want to see if Debbie has some space for you! She's an excellent cook, and her home is beautiful. Her husband built it specifically so she could have her business there! 

See more pictures here, and follow along next time... We have a tour scheduled, and we'll be walking' in Memphis! 

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