I have included some links to places we visited. Please give them a click if you would like to know more about them.Some of the links have very nice photos...including some of the home interiors.


AWAY WE GO....

We started out before light as usual...as always we are eager to get going.We headed for the closest interstate to Dixie and Cuz had the pedal to the metal the whole way. Willie Nelson was very glad to be "On The Road Again", too.Please don't ask how many Willie tapes we have in Cuz's car...it is just too embarrassing. Let's just say we have a lot.

Cuz:Let's just say that there are more than 5 and less and 7 tapes! Each of these tapes is more than an hour long and I KNOW all the words to every song he ever did! This helped to keep The Bored Gypsy from trying to stick pins in the Cuz Voo-Doo Travel Doll!

On the Interstate...someplace in New York...we were able to direct a tourist from California to the best route to Harrisburg.Are we consummate travelers and darlings of the road, or what?

The first night we spent in Pottsville, PA. This has to be one of our most favorite cities in the world.We have stayed at the Pottsville Motel on three different road trips.I guess you could call us regulars, "Our usual room, please."Pottsville is about the most dismal place we know.Here is a link about Historic HA!HA! "Pottsvile"If you have ever been to Pottsville, like us you must wonder if they have the highest suicide rate in the nation.

Cuz: Gypsy was starting to groan and gripe that we were turning into vampires because we went to bed while it was still bright sunshine and getting up in the middle of the night.Oh I love traveling under the stars! Makes those miles disappear!

We start out again before the sun is up. In total, it took us almost three days to reach Birmingham. By this time Gypsy was banging her head on the dashboard because of an acute case of interstate-brain-numbness (known as IBN to the medical community); but Cuz never blinked; just zipped over the miles.What a woman!

Cuz: With all the sighing going on in the passenger's seat, it was hard to hear Willie, so I had to put him on the front speakers.You know about music soothing the savage beast.....it works!

By now, it is Sunday.We arrive in Birmingham and it is closed.The towns around it are closed.There seems to be only one spot in the state that is open; and we head for it!

In the sleepy little black town of Tuskegee, we visit the Carver Museum. Did you know that George Washington Carver knew how to crochet?Well he did.It wasn't all sweet potatoes and peanuts for George. Our guide wanted to know what we were doing in Alabama...just passin' through?

The Oaks is the home of the founder of the Tuskegee Normal School (now University) and was built by the students themselves from bricks they made on the grounds.A lovely home.

Hungry as we were, we resisted the urge to stop and have lunch at the Chitlin' Palace in beautiful downtown Tuskegee.

We zip over to Montgomery; but of course, it is closed.On to Selma... you guessed it.It is still Sunday, after all.We got to ride over the Pettis Bridge in Selma... famous for its part in the early civil rights movement.I guess they couldn't think of a way to close the bridge.We also traveled the highway to Montgomery...the famous civil rights march route. This was marked on our map as a "scenic highway." Well, I suppose that in comparison to other parts of Alabama, this might have been scenic.

Cuz: Here the Cuz became bi-lingual.Dying of thirst from looking at all the beauty of this "scenic" highway, I stopped at a local convenience store.Being the only white person in the store, I had to learn, by a crash course, how to speak the southern black dialect, or as it became known to the two of us - Abadah.Everything began with that one phrase!

Outside of Demopolis, City of the People, we came to a roadblock.Lots of grim-faced, over-weight, Bubba Cops (state troopers) with their mighty "Bubba Cars" blocking the highway, and every blue light a-flashing! We were so excited... A fleeing fugitive? An escaped convict? A mad bomber on the loose? It could be anything! It turned out to be a drivers license check.

Cuz:Again, we were asked "What y'all doing down here.....just passin' through?" They don't seem to understand the concept of tourism in Alabama. Lots of snide retorts came to mind, but you don't mess with Bubba and his bunch of good ol' boys. Suffice to say that things are slow in Alabama on a Sunday.

We spent the night in The City of the People; as we wanted to visit a old antebellum home the next morning. Gaineswood was open Monday morning and well worth the visit.

Before we left Demopolis, we watched a house burn down. The whole neighborhood was fascinated.They were all sitting in their yards in kitchen chairs, eating snacks and having a grand ol' time.

We crossed the border to Meridian, MS and there saw the Merrihope and Williams houses.Two beautiful places, one an antebellum and the other a Victorian. Lovely even though they were in need of cosmetic restoration.Merrihope was one of the few homes left standing when Sherman destroyed Meridian.

Since we hardly spent any time in Alabama to see sights: we have time to dip south to Biloxi.We first want to see about taking that shrimping trip that I told you about in my itinerary web page.We found the boat and what a disappointment.Instead of a shrimping boat, it looked like a little boat at the Disneyland Jungle Cruise.Hey, Com' on, folks; is this a joke? So we walked around the marina in the rain and looked at some real shrimping boats.

Cuz: The Gulf is something else and not meant to be visited by these pale-skinned and cold loving northerners.The humidity was 100% and when you left the air conditioned motel room your glasses fogged up, when you left the air conditioned car your glasses fogged and when you left an air conditioned store your glasses fogged up.Now this ain't your normal fog that dissipates.It STAYED there until you were either forced to remove your glasses and miss Biloxi, or take them off and pray to the heavens you are still on the road!Of course, people can sympathize with us because they think Maine is a constant 45 degrees in the summer.

Then off to see some more houses.... Beauvoir is a wonderful place, the last home of Jeff Davis.We got to learn a lot about this man and appreciate what a remarkable person he was.He has earned his place in history.

We also visited the Tullis-Toledano House. We have some great photographs of this place.We would love to show them to you when you come to visit us.

Rosemont is the family home of the Davis family. This was a remarkable place...we wanted to move right in.That was the problem everywhere we went...we wanted to live in the houses.Gypsies are like that.One of the things I love about these southern home are the large and beautiful galleries.I can imagine sitting out there on a warm afternoon, with a glass of iced tea, or a mint julep, and not a care in the world.

Cuz: It was at Rosemont that we first learned about the infamous Love Bugs.They are small black flies that fly together and "play" together for about two weeks, then expire!We called them by another quite literal name!They were everywhere and you would run into swarms of them on the highway.My car was black with the bodies of bugs caught "in the act"!The car was so covered that you could not, in fact, read the front license plate!!

Mammy's Cupboard is on the road into Natchez. She was a lot smaller and a lot uglier than I expected.We almost blew right by her!We had to stop here for lunch... we just HAD to.Surprise, surprise!The food was wonderful!I had sandwich and a jar of blueberry lemonade... heavenly. I wish we had left room for dessert, because they were spectactular.We found out that Mammy is popular with the people in Natchez; especially for dessert.

In Natchez we purchased tickets for two Fall Pilgrimage Tours.One for three houses that afternoon and one for three houses the next morning. The bad news is that you cannot choose the houses you want to visit; you must visit the ones scheduled for the tour at that time.The good news is that there is no such thing as a "bad" house!We had a lark of a time... it was one of my favorite memories of this trip.

Vicksburg is a charming city.We saw several homes here and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.Some of the homes were made into B&Bs and we have been thinking what a wonderful experience that would be.Hmmmmm.There is so much to see and do here; and we just didn't have time to see and do it all.On our next trip south, perhaps we can go through this river area again and spend more time.Who knows what we will do?

My favorite house in the Vicksburg area... maybe of all the south...is McRaven. It has a very interesting link...do visit it.Perhaps you will understand why we spent almost three hours touring this house and chatting with the tour guide!

You must be dying to hear about the Old Courthouse Museum; I know I couldn't wait to get there.Remember the Pregnancy Mini-Ball?Well, there it was--with its legend--in a case with Civil War medical equipment.It seems that I had the story wrong... the mini-ball didn't pass through the... aaah....the body of the boyfriend first. In fact, there was no mention of a boyfriend at all. It seems this poor young thing was struck with the fertile mini-ball and just plain got pregnant. I suppose there is a lot one could say about this...especially about the origin of that miraculous mini-ball...but who am I to dispute documented history? This courthouse also had the actual courtroom where the seven dwarfs were tried and convicted....

Cuz: See what IBN will do!I HAVE to take over here for all of you history buffs out there!This was the courtroom where Joseph Davis (Jeff's brother) sued the government to get his land back.STOP SNORING GYPSY!!!Also, it was where the Captain of the Sultana was tried and acquitted for that horrible sinking!There.....now the record is straight.See some of us do read all the wall plaques and don't go around with their head up a part of their anatomy that I won't mention and just looking for "junk" and stuff!

Cuz: Another license check!This time we were prepared!!!!However, the cop's comment was, "Maine? I got to look this thing over to see where everything is".I trust he meant my license and not me..........

Tuscumbia, AL is where Ivy Green is located.This is the childhood home of Helen Keller and the place where her education began with Annie Sullivan.We have all seen The Miracle Worker, right? This was a nice home and we enjoyed it.I am often surprised at how small places are.I suppose their importance or fame enlarges them in my mind.

Scottsboro at last.We drove here in a hurry from Tuscumbia...this is Alabama and tomorrow is Sunday! The Unclaimed Baggage Center was both more and less than I thought it would be.It was a very nice store... like any other retail store.It even had a lunch room.The goods were, for the most part, nicely displayed.But the Cuz and the Gypsy thought they were too expensive.These gypsies are something else, aren't they?I ended up buying an inflatable neck pillow and a Michael Crawford CD that had a broken box.I had in mind that the pillow would be good for the long interstates ahead...but nuts... it had a hole in it. Guess it will be back to banging my head on the dashboard.The CD is fine although I don't have a box to keep it in.

Sorry, folks. Gypsy made a mistake.It was right here in Scottsboro that the seven dwarfs were tried and convicted and executed....

Cuz: Again, folks, this is stuff you don't read about in the travel brochures!Gypsy, of course, doesn't have time for a lot of words!Actually, this sleepy little town was made famous by the horrible Scottsboro Seven trial back in the 30s.Did we see the courthouse?I don't think so as the one in the center of town was too modern.Gypsy gave a HUGE sigh of relief as she thought she would be FORCED to read some more factual information!

Well, I knew it had something to do with the number seven!Do you know what it is like traveling with a history/political/legal buff?She was in heaven when we visited the site of the Scopes trial a couple years ago.Imagine! Trying a monkey!

Hillsboro, WV is in some of the most beautiful country we have ever seen.Mountains, forests, lovely farms and ranches.This was the location of Pearl Buck's Birthplace.We were ready to move in here too.

Cuz: The tour guide here must think all northerners are deaf as posts, as she YELLED AT THE TOP OF HER LUNGS.We were the only two people on the tour and our ears were ready to fall off.Maybe she was practicing for a hog calling contest coming up!My ears are still ringing with the words, "AND THIS IS....."

The home was like the one the family had left in Holland.It was perfectly livable and in a gorgeous area.One of the most interesting things I saw here was a wooden model of a foot showing how the Chinese bound the girls' feet.I always wondered how they did that.We have all read "The Good Earth", haven't we?

Cuz: Of course the Cuz likes to have a laugh at the Gypsy's expense, so I got a wonderful photo of her standing in front of the town sign for "Droop, West Virginia".I am not making this up folks!The next day - vengeful gypsy that she is, I was photographed in front of the post office in "Odd, West Virginia".Now, I ask you!

Also, we have to give in to gypsies when they moan a lot, so we drove for six hours, ate baloney sandwiches at Biscuit World, and although we probably went about 300 miles, we ended up 40 miles from where we started out!GAWD! I would not give in, though, and stay in the beautiful "Cutlip's Motel" in Charleston, WV....and, again, I am not making this up!She was eager and scratching on the glass for me to turn in.....TAKE ME HOME COUNTRY ROADS....

Newell, WV and E. Liverpool, OH are two of our favorite towns.Being china and dish nuts we always have to stop here when we are in the area. Homer Laughlin China and Hall China are places we wouldn't miss for anything. We got some nice things here that we will love forever.If you have any interest in collectible china...or plain old china...your might enjoy these links.

Back on the interstates.... bang, bang!We bought a Globe, the scandal sheet, and I read the whole thing to Cuz.Boy, did we have a long discussion about John Kennedy changing his will.We even gossiped about people we didn't even know!

Cuz: I was wondering why all the truckers were flashing their lights, making gestures, etc. when I discovered that the Gypsy - to help the miles disappear - was waving to every GD trucker on the road!I think a couple of times she flashed my Triple A "Send Help" sign!!!Oh why do I put up with this????

Cuz: From my yelling "Stop It" so much to the Gypsy for waving at the truckers, her hearing was very diminished.After we exited from the New York Thruway, I said (and this is the truth):"Well Honey, I finally got you off the Interstate".I guess she wasn't use to Cuz speaking so sweetly to her and she interpreted it to say "Well, we're on the Houdini and Rossi Interstate".And you people think it is easy travelling with The Gypsy?

The interstates finally brought us back to New England, where we made a visit to Manchester, VT to see Hildene Wow, what a place this is.. I could move right in!!

Cuz: Being "leaf season" in New England and a Yuppie Mecca because of the designer outlets, we paid dearly to stay in a Four Star resort and the only room left in town.If you have NEVER done this, try it.It's nice to treat yourself to the "lap of luxury" once in a while.We had everything we needed except for someone to come in and sing us lullabyes

Now it is home again.. and here we are.We are safe and sound (of body, if not mind) and looking forward to our next journey.We hope enjoyed your trip with us and that you will visit us again on our next travel page.... 'til then... stay off those interstates!

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October 1999