Archive for the ‘Road Trips’ Category

Georgia Traveler Features the Wren’s Nest, Amelia, and Curtis

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Georgia Traveler, everyone’s favorite travel show not starring Michael Palin Anthony Bourdain Rick Steves, stopped by the Wren’s Nest a few months back for a segment on their “Book Tour” episode.

Amelia did most of the talking:

Curtis did most of the storytelling:

And Georgia Traveler did a bang-up job.  Thank you, Georgia Traveler! Watch the entire episode online, here (just click on the “Watch” icon next to the page title).

Our segment starts about 4 minutes in, but the whole episode is worth your time.  They stop by the Uncle Remus Museum, Flannery O’Connor’s Andalusia, the Margaret Mitchell House, and the Grit.

P.S.  Do you know how hard it is to find a screen grab where people don’t look like they’re drooling?  It’s medium-hard!

Assassination Vacation — My Kind of Book

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I just finished Sarah Vowell’s book Assassination Vacation, and let me tell you, it’s a trip.  (Pun intended.  Always.)  The book follows Vowell as she travels around the U.S., her path determined by presidential assassinations and the history surrounding them.

Naturally, our delightful narrator is visiting a ton of monuments, landmarks, and — you guessed it — house museums!

Vowell’s perspective is hilarious and, frankly, super, super spot on.  Her take on all the different styles of her tour guides — like the one who quizzes middle school girls on every obscure historical figure who relates to Lincoln, resulting resounding silence — is a delight.

I also appreciated how well Vowell uses specific, often trivial, elements of history to really paint a picture of the era.  For example, when she’s talking about the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo (where McKinley was shot) she notes all the new technologies that were on display, including… a room full of preemie babies “demonstrating” incubators.  Imagine asking a new mother now if you can borrow her underweight, premature infant to put on display.

I bring this up because we often try to emphasize the sensitivity (or huge, tremendous lack thereof) of Joel Chandler Harris’s time.  It can be hard to illustrate the fact that we’re judging Harris with our current sensibilities — until you show them the piece of an elephant he received for being famous.  Something makes me think PETA might try to get in the way of resurrecting that tradition.  History is a whole lot of context, and Vowell uses it so, so well.

History geeks, non-fiction fans, slightly morbid folks, and those who appreciate the funny — this book’s for you.  Thanks to my dear chum Rebecca for insisting that I read it (and not just because I fall into all of those categories).

Sidenote: I recently read “Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer” and let me tell you, these two pieces complement each other like you wouldn’t believe.

Previously: Inserting Modern Standards into Classic Literature — Cool?

Capitalizing on History — Mark Twain and Walt Disney Boyhood Homes

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Keith Eggener of Design Observer gives us this thoughtful post on capitalizing on the historic homes of the famous, focusing on the Missouri homes of Mark Twain and Walt Disney –

“People go to Hannibal to walk the streets where the real children who inspired Huck and Becky walked; they go there ready to believe that an otherwise unexceptional white wood fence is the one Tom painted, or, at least, the one that inspired Twain to invent his story. Disney’s stories, on the other hand, are pure fantasy….”

Items discussed: history’s exploitation vs. its preservation, marketing dead public figures vs. live ones, how the Mark Twain Boyhood Home is like a snow globe.

Items not discussed: how Walt Disney’s recreated boyhood home — called “The Happy Place” — is not all so different from the story, “Brother Rabbit’s Laughing-Place.” Coincidence?

Last Thanksgiving I had the opportunity visit several great historic homes in Missouri (1, 2, 3, 4) on a

house museum road trip.  I’m sorry I missed these two, especially given their unique relationships with Joel Chandler Harris (Twain, Disney).

Photo: Keith Eggener

1955 Brer Rabbit Car Commercial for American Motors

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Before Brer Buick, there was the Nash Rambler by American Motors.  It was the lowest-priced air-conditioned car in America!

According to Disney historian Jim Korkis, Disney produced commercials when budgets were tight in the 1950s.  It was unthinkable at the time for a motion picture studio to aid the cause of television, but hey — Disneyland wasn’t going to build itself.

The accents the characters use are fascinating — sort of a cross between Cletus the Slack Jawed Yokel and the jive-talkin’ caricatures in Coonskin.

You might have noticed that Brer Rabbit looks nothing like he did in Song of the South.  Lainey* explains that legendary character stylist Tom Oreb probably designed the commercial. 

* No relation.

Flat Stanley Loves The Wren’s Nest, I’m Just Saying

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Have you met Flat Stanley?

Years ago Stanley had the misfortune of being flattened by a bulletin board.  He’s made the best of his situation for decades and traveled around the world by envelope.

As someone who has had the pleasure of buying a lot of plane tickets lately, I have to say, I’m a tad envious.

Really, the Flat Stanley Project is a teaching tool for young students to learn about correspondence (and awesome places like The Wren’s Nest and a cauldron full of boiled peanuts).  Last week, Lain and I each received a Flat Stanley and a delightful hand-written letter from two first grade students in Illinois.

As you may have guessed, we have taken our responsibilities very seriously.  The four of us have been all over the place, having a grand old time — even suburbia.

Well, that was probably the least grand part.

Are  you looking for a good place to visit with your Flat Stanley?  Might I suggest The Wren’s Nest?  I assure you, should you arrive at our Spring Break (Woo!) Storytelling Extravaganza this week with Stanley in tow, he will be treated like a (paper) king.

Salt Lake City, Utah — The Beehive House, Home of Brigham Young

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Saturday: The Beehive House is the historic home of Brigham Young, who some call the American Moses.  Me, I just call him the Briggity Briggity Briggity Mack for short.

The Beehive House has a lot going for it — excellent downtown location, nearby attractions, free admission, 9 am to 9 pm hours(!), and surprisingly excellent transit access.

(No kidding — Salt Lake City’s light rail network is nothing to sneeze at.  They’ve got at least three more lines to be delivered by 2015.)

Plus, I’m not sure if there are always fur protests across the street, but it was definitely an added bonus.

Where things get weird is the execution of the museum.  First off, instead of volunteers or part-time staff, there are missionaries.

Our docents, Sister Kai and Sister Gasmin, were on 18 month mission trips from Hawaii and the Philippines, respectively.

They each held a copy of the Book of Mormon for the entirety of our visit.

The house feels like a crazy labyrinth when you’re inside, but the tour itself only lasts for about 20 minutes.  Half of the information on the tour skims the history of the Brigham Young, his (ahem, extensive) family, and his home.  The other half is a wacky adventure in proselytism.

I can’t say we were surprised by such an overtly religious presentation, but it did make me wonder — just how objective can volunteers or staff of any museum remain when giving a tour?

If your job is your honest-to-goodness vocation, I’d say it’s impossible.  If you can’t or won’t separate history from, say, divine prophecy that relatively few people recognize as truth, there’s obviously going to be a disconnect.

I do my best not to be too subjective.  Then again, I’m a direct descendant of Joel Chandler Harris and our mission is to preserve his legacy.  How different is my tour than Sister Kai’s tour?  I guess there’s less talk of the appropriateness of polygamy.  And I can wear short sleeves if I want.

But I’m still preaching, to the choir or otherwise.

The Beehive Museum did offer candy at the end of the tour, which was a nice touch.  Then they made you fill out a tour survey, which was mostly a thinly veiled opportunity to collect your contact information so they can send someone to your house and talk to you about the Church.

Topics Discussed: Is Skiing in Jeans a Sign of Idiocy or Confidence or Both, Tithing Can Spur Economic Development Like Whoa, Was Sister Kai Born With a Sly Sense of Humor or Was She Trained That Way, White Corn Tortillas

From Denver, Colorado to Salt Lake City, Utah — Three Quick House Museum Stops

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Thanksgiving:  We had another long day of driving ahead —

532 miles to Salt Lake City.

We considered imposing on our hosts — “Hey!  Why not invite us to Thanksgiving dinner with your extended family!” — to stay another day and really see the sites.  But frankly, I’m not that excited about house museums.

Thanksgiving week is perhaps not the best time to tour house museums because they’re not so much open as they are closed.  In some ways, this was helpful — at this point in the trip Susie wanted nothing more than to be out of the car, and Hazel had conceded defeat.  In other ways, well, we didn’t get to go inside too many museums.

Regardless, we hit the road and stopped by three museums en route to Salt Lake.

First, the home of “Unsinkable” Molly Brown.

Fans of the film Titanic will no doubt remember Molly Margaret Brown as the unforgettable something something.  I still haven’t seen that one.

The exterior was surprisingly graphic.

Just down the street was the Byers-Evans House Museum.

It had decidedly less frontal nudity than the Molly Brown House.  Both houses have what looks like an excellent location: the heart of the Golden Triangle Museum District.  I’ll have to go back.

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Farther up the road, we looked for the Historic Governor’s Mansion in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  Unfortunately, I really had to go to the bathroom, so we gave up and headed straight to Laramie.  We stumbled upon the Historic Ivinson Mansion.

It’s the home of the Laramie Plains Museum.

By this point it was snowing and getting dark, and we were so over Wyoming.

Not far before the Utah line we stopped at the Flying J in Rock Springs for Thanksgiving dinner.

We had grilled chicken sandwiches.  They were reasonable.

Topics Discussed: Bailey White’s Thanksgiving Stories on NPR, How Butch Cassidy Was a Real Dude Surprisingly Enough

Just West of Atwood, Kansas on U.S. Route 36

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Wednesday: …

I got pulled over for doing 80 in a 65.

Did I get a ticket?  No, no I did not.

Maybe it’s my boyish good looks or maybe it’s my voice cracking in front of police officers, but I’ve been pulled over for speeding six times in my life, and I’ve never gotten a ticket.

Topics Discussed: Shucks Officer, It Being Almost Thanksgiving and All

Red Cloud, Nebraska — Willa Cather Childhood Home

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Wednesday: Red Cloud, Nebraska is a town just north of the Kansas border with a population just north of 1000.

It’s also the hometown of Willa Cather.

Thanks to Christa T for the suggestion.

We pulled into Red Cloud at quarter til one, with plenty of time to spare for the 1:30 tour.  There are about seven different sites in Red Cloud on the Willa Cather tour, so we were I was pretty stoked.

Soon we realized three things:

1. The Willa Cather Foundation was open that day in the AM but closed in the PM.
2. Red Cloud is a town where an author’s home helps drive the economy.
3. Everyone knew who we were within four minutes.  And I mean everyone.

We stopped in for questions, coffee, and internet at the Cather & Company Booksellers.  The owner let Susie bring Hazel inside, and was shocked that the foundation was closed.  Apparently, they usually only close for about three days each year.

We picked up a map of all the sites, but grossly overestimated the size of the town.  We drove to Willa Cather’s childhood home, approximately 2/3 of a block away.

After peeking in the windows, we stopped in Cutter’s Cafe, the best place to eat in Red Cloud.

This time we drove approximately 1/3 of a block to get there.  On our way in, three boys in the front seat of a pickup simultaneously turned 180° to check out Susie and Hazel walking down the street.

When we walked into Cutter’s the manager said, “We were wondering when you’d mosey on in!  I was on the phone with the book store when they let your dog inside.”

The man at the bar next to her said, “And I was at the newspaper office when I saw you walk by with that dog.  I was surprised nobody came out to interview you!”  Celebrities!

We ordered the special–a feast of spaghetti and meatballs–and asked permission to tie Hazel up outside.

…she has dependency issues.

In the end, I didn’t really mind missing out on seeing the Cather House–we had too much fun getting to know the characters around town.

But what I did miss was talking to the folks at the Willa Cather Foundation to see what it was like to have your author’s home anchor the local tourist industry.  Which, in the words of the Cather and Company Bookstore and Coffeehouse owner, was what kept her business afloat.

Topics Discussed — Toto (the band), Chicago’s Power Ballads, Other Songs on MacGyver’s iPod Shuffle, Toto (the dog)

From St. Louis, Missouri to Kansas City, Kansas to Denver, Colorado

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Tuesday: We thanked David for letting us stay with him in St. Louis, picked up Hazel from the cleaners, and headed for Kansas City.

Wednesday: We had planned on seeing a few house museums in Kansas City (most notably, that of Alexander Majors — the guy who founded the Pony Express), but our gracious Kansas City host Suzannah had to leave early.  Plus, we needed to be in Denver to stay with Tom and Lauren at a reasonable hour.

Couch-hopping around Thanksgiving forced us to stray from our my ideal itinerary.  Oh well.

Just before 8 am

we took off for Denver by way of Red Cloud, Nebraska.  Sorry, Kansas City.