Yesterday we were in Staunton, VA only an hour from Virginia Tech when we heard about the massacre. At first, I thought it was just a rumor as we overheard people at the restaurant talking about it. Then our worst fears were verified when we got back into the car and turned on the radio.

Cho Seung-Hui, a resident alien from South Korea, was the shooter. This psychopath killed 32 innocent people. Since he killed himself the blame game has already started. People are searching for someone or some group to hold accountable. I’m sure since he was an immigrant; they will start there with a “whack a mole” blame game.

As soon as I heard the shooter was dead I told my wife they would immediately start searching for the sacrificial lamb. First, they wanted to blame the police for not knowing two murders in a dorm would grow into the worst massacre on a college campus in American History. Then, they jumped on the school for also failing to read his mind. Now they have started a witch hunt for any students, faculty or staff who might have known about anything. Who could have predicted this? Even if he would have told somebody, who would have believed it? Punishing somebody would be ludicrous.

Very soon they will find out what kind of music he enjoyed and blame the artists. Then they will find out which video games he played and try to ban them. I am sure they will also try to blame the gun shop who sold him the guns, even though he legally bought them and even waited the legal three days. He was an English student who read Shakespeare and Edgar Allen Poe. Do you think they will try to ban books by those authors now?

Now they are probably going to try to pass a slew of laws, none of which would have saved any of these innocent people, but will be a major loss of liberty to every law abiding citizen in the country. There will be stupid law suits against the school, so now every University will be forced to lock campuses down like prisons or face similar stupid law suits. Where will it end? I don’t know.

My heart pours out to the families of the innocent victims but the reality of the situation is, in a free society, there is no way to stop random acts of violence like this. No amount of laws or loss of freedoms will ever stop this kind of behavior. This is the price we all pay for living in a free society. The alternative is to regulate EVERYTHING and to sacrifice liberty for safety; this is the definition of fascism. Don’t buy into this!!!!

Pray for the families, mourn with them but don’t jump on a fascist bandwagon which will accomplish nothing except to eliminate the freedoms our grand-parents have paid for with their blood. Like it or not, the right to bear arms is a Constitutional right which cannot be sacrificed for safety’s sake or convenience sake.

This guy was a psychopath, plain and simple. Don’t let his mental illness influence the rights which we fought so hard to obtain. The fact of the matter is no amount of changing of the laws will ever keep us safe from psychos; they will always find a way to be psychos. But don’t apply the least common denominator principle and treat all of us like this psychopath.

Our vacation continues. Yesterday we toured Endless Caves and the Woodrow Wilson birthplace. Today we saw the Manassas Civil War battlefield and Mt Vernon. Enjoy some pictures from the past two days in Virginia.


Endless Caverns


A family of bats on the cave wall. They don't like to be petted and they hate Skittles.


Mt. Vernon, home to George Washington, the father of liberty. He died of a sore throat which became infected. If they only had Triaminic he might still be alive today.


Woodrow Wilson's birthplace. They actually had the bed in which he was born (and conceived) in the house.


I'm sitting on GW's back porch enjoying the view of the Potomac River. You can actually see my duck feet in this picture.


Manassas National Civil War Battlefield. An early battle won by the Confederates thanks to the leadership of Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson. He acquired that nickname at this battle.

In other news, I've also changed my mind about the Dodge Charger, it is a piece of crap. It might look fast but it has no pick up at all. We were having troubles passing 18-wheelers. My Monte Carlo can run circles around it. There are many more inadequacies with it: the horn sounds when you lock the car, the lights turn on when you unlock it and they stay on after you lock it for quite a while.

We arrived in Virginia yesterday but too late to see any of the Presidents’ homes. So we drove across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and hung out along the coast. We then spent the night in Charlottesville so we could get an early start to see as much as possible today. There were eight Presidents born in Virginia and today we saw three of their homes: James Madison (Montpelier), James Monroe (Ash Lawn), and Thomas Jefferson (Monticello).

Many of you know I am an avid reader of biographies and stories about the founding fathers. My favorites are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Benjamin Franklin. Needless to say I was quite overwhelmed to see two of my favorites.

James Madison’s home is called Montpelier and is currently being renovated by a $30 million DuPont grant. But I still got to see the most important room in the house, his office. It was in that office James Madison wrote the Bill of Rights, which I contend is the most important document ever written by man. Madison was just a 25 year old Congressman but his intelligence was greater than his years. The renovations will be finished in the fall and I must return again to see it again in its glory.

At the time Madison was writing the Bill of Rights, Thomas Jefferson was in France but he lent Madison many books from his impressive library to do research. It is important to note that Jefferson had the second largest library in the country (only the National Library had more books). In the war of 1812 when the British burnt down the National Library it was Jefferson which replenished it with his own books. He later wrote he could not live without books and again built an impressive collection of literature which survives to this day.

Anyway, I stood in the very room in which James Madison wrote this important document and was immediately entranced in thought. I often wonder what he would say if he knew the kind of inhumanities our own government is involved with today. I don’t think anyone else on this tour realized where they were standing and the importance to American history, and humanity for that matter, it signified.

Thomas Jefferson’s home is named Monticello and was just as impressive. Jefferson wrote the Constitution and as I stood in his office staring at his pen, chair and desk, I got the same feelings of pride for my country as I did while standing in Madison’s office. Both of these men were good friends. Both were intellectuals, rebels and liberals; they would not fit well today into our heavily regulated society in which human rights have taken a back seat to security. Many of their greatest ideals have been undone by our current administration.

We also saw the historic Michie Tavern which serviced travelers since 1784. In those days it was rumored body oils would protect you against disease so people did not shower much. The tavern only washed linens and clothes twice per year, and people bathed only during the summertime (if that). They carried a small bag of potpourri in their pockets and would press it against their noses when encountering other people to cut down the smell of the stench. I don’t know how people had sex back then with the stench of their bodies being so strong but they had many children so it must not have bothered them.

Michie’s Tavern offered separate rooms for men and women but there were few (if any) women traveling alone. Mostly the women’s quarters were used for private rooms for richer patrons which would pay up to a weeks salary for one night in a private room. Most travelers stayed on the floor of the main lobby. For a meager amount (no one knows exactly how much) they would get a hot meal, usually soup, and be offered the floor or a chair to sleep through the night. The main lobby also had gambling tables and unlimited drinking for travelers. Alcohol was sold by the glass, mostly whiskey or wine.

James Monroe was another important player in American history. He was integral in the Louisiana Purchase as he was the ambassador to France and a good friend of Napoleon. Under Thomas Jefferson’s Presidency, Monroe went to France with a millions dollars and came back with the title to land which more than doubled the size of the US.

James Monroe was a farmer and his home, Ash Lawn reflected his meager living. He wrote about defeating a king during the Revolutionary War and did not believe men should live as kings. Most of Ash Lawn was burned down and rebuilt by another family but it is still impressive to see this man’s home. One of the most impressive pieces of art was the bust of Napoleon given to Monroe by Napoleon in honor of their friendship. There was also a portrait of Napoleon’s daughter hanging in the parlor as their daughters were also good friends. They even attended college together.

Enjoy a few pictures of my travels and come back tomorrow for more. Mount Vernon is on the itinerary, home to George Washington.


Historic Michie's Tavern in the pouring rain.


Monticello, home to Thomas Jefferson - still raining.


Barboursville Ruins. This historic home was designed by Thomas Jefferson for Governor James Barbour and was built in 1814. It was destroyed by fire on Christmas Day in 1884.


Our hot rental car is a 2008 Dodge Charger. When my 2001 Monte Carlo is replaced, I want one of these.


Ash Lawn home to James Monroe. This house is very small compared to the other famous homes; I feel like a giant.

Blogger was having fits the last two days of my vacation so I could not post anything. The last two days were spent visiting Graceland and the Memphis Zoo. Graceland was too expensive and over hyped. The Hermitage was more beautiful, older and cheaper. Graceland was not what I expected and the over commercialization only added to the frustration. While I am glad I went, I will never go back again.

The Memphis Zoo was a hidden gem as it contained two adorable pandas. LeLe and YaYa are only allowed together a couple of times a month and usually ignore each other. However, on this day they were playing together. So I was lucky to take pictures of two pandas playing and wrestling together.

I like my vacations to be an adventure and a learning opportunity. So with every vacation I like to reflect on what I have learned. This vacation I learned the Stones River Battle was an important win for the Union army. Before this battle the Confederates were winning but this battle changed that. The first monument to the Civil War was erected on this battle field, only six months after the fighting stopped. There are only a few Civil War battlefields preserved, this being one of them.

I learned the home and distillery of Jack Daniels is located in a dry county. They have a special permit to sell sealed bottles of whiskey from the gift shop only but none can be consumed in the county. Also Jack Daniels kicked his safe out of anger and later died when the broken toe turned into gangrene. I took a picture of the safe. The water used to produce this whiskey is collected from the mountain; it is from a stream running through the distillery.

I also learned much about Andrew Jackson and his home. I found it interesting he was a strict disciplinarian but often disobeyed his superiors. He owned 150 slaves and although it hurt his personal finances, he still fought to free the slaves. After the Civil War, many of his slaves elected to stay on the farm; one was buried in honor right next to the former President.

Tennessee was a beautiful place and the people were very friendly and made my vacation very enjoyable. All pictures will be available on my Flickr page shortly.





Graceland

We actually went back to Nashville, which is where we are tonight. Today we saw Raccoon MTN Cave, Jack Daniels distillery, the Chattanooga Choo Choo, Russell MTN Cavern in Alabama and various old buildings along the way. During this trip I discovered that I am not a small town man. I cannot stand dry counties and when everything closes at 4pm. Because of these reasons, we went back to Nashville to see Andrew Jackson’s house, and the Sam Davis Home before traveling toward to Memphis.

We would like to see more State Parks and historical sites in southern Tennessee but when everything closes at 4pm, it makes it difficult to see everything. I don’t want to end my day at 4pm; I stop when the sun goes down. This is the first state that closed so early. I am not sure if this is a Southern thing or just a Tennessee thing but it sucks.

The Eerie Green Ivy

According to our tour guide through Raccoon MTN Cavern, the eerie green ivy is called Kudzo. Kudzo was brought from the orient a while back to combat some problems. But the problem it created far outweighed the problems it fixed. Since there is no natural enemy for Kudzo in the US it grows unabated; as much as one foot per day. Now we can’t get rid of it and it seems it is here to stay.

See you again tomorrow, hope you enjoy these pics:



Site of General Bragg’s Confederate Headquarters in July, 1862. Chattanooga Tennessee



The ceiling in Raccoon MTN Caverns.




A rare rock formation called a shield found in Raccoon MTN Caverns. There have only been five known found in the US.



This is a picture from the tour of the Jack Daniels distillery which is located in a dry county, so we could not sample the whiskey. Thank God for the Baptists.



Clowning around.

Day three of our vacation leaves us in a little Days Inn in Ridge, TN. We drove through the Smoky Mountain and the Appalachian Mountains; the scenery was incredible. Our only problem was the road constriction on Highway 441 which made the final eleven miles unbearable. As a result, we missed Clingmans Dome which was closed. Thanks Tennessee!!

We drove through Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia and saw two National Forests: Nantahlia and Chatahoochie. The strange thing I noticed was the eerie green ivy growing over the forests like the Martian Red Weed from War of The Worlds. It covers the grass, blankets the trees, crawls up utility poles and along power lines, and engulfs abandoned cars and buildings. It makes the trees look like huge bulking green ghosts. I don’t know what this crap is but if it is not stopped, I can see it doing much damage to the forests.

Word to the warning: stay out of Gatlinburg, TN!! It is nothing but a tourist trap. We wanted to eat lunch so we stupidly went to Gatlinburg but had trouble finding a free place to park. If I am paying to eat at your restaurant, I’ll be damned if I am going to pay to park. I have standards. I don’t pay a cover charge to enter a bar either. Why would I pay to enter a bar and then pay them for drinks too? I will never understand why idiots pay cover charges. If nobody pays they will have to let you in for free.

Anyway, enough of my ranting; I hope you enjoy these pics from today’s adventures.



A slow running stream.



The Great Smoky Mountains





The eerie green ivy



The beautiful "Burning Tree"

BTW: I fixed the broken links from yesterday, so you can now click and view all the pictures at full resolution. Sorry about that.

Day two of our Tennessee odyssey and we made it as far as Lenoir City, TN. Tomorrow we will travel down Highway 321 and see the Smoky Mountains. Today was awesome, we visited,: The Carter House, Carthon Plantation, and a Confederate Cemetery and two of the oldest cemeteries in Tennessee (Rest Haven and the old City Cemetery) in Franklin TN, Stone Creek battle site from the Civil War, and Fall Creek State Park.

First of all, we did not see any ghosts in any of the cemeteries. I did not bring my PVR so I did not even get a chance to record any EVP’s. The ghost hunting has been a bust but Tennessee is a beautiful State and we are enjoying every minute of it.

Also, thanks to everybody for the awesome comments. I do not have time to respond but I appreciate all of them.



This is the exquisite Carthon Plantation, home to the McGavock family. John McGavock dedicated a plot of his land to the biggest private Confederate Cemetery in the country. It is still well maintained to this day.



Fall Creek Falls, a breathe-taking 296 foot waterfall.



City Cemetery in Franklin, TN. I would like to come back here at night with my PVR-this place really gave me the creeps. Most of the graves dated from the early to mid 1800’s.



Our rental car dragging some TP (typical)

I have noticed a couple of things about Tennessee. Many of the towns end with "ville"; we drove through a dozen "villes" today. Where is the Second Baptist Church? We found plenty of Firsts.

See you all tomorrow. Hopefully, I will have some shots from the Smoky Mountains.

We made it to Franklin TN, which is where we are staying for the night. We managed to see Adams, TN where the infamous Bell Witch haunted and eventually killed John Bell. Then we drove to Nashville where we saw the Country Music Hall of Fame and ate an awesome BBQ dinner at Jack’s on Broadway.


This is the oldest documented haunted house in America.


A wall of gold records.


A picture of me at the historic Bell Witch marker.


The Nashville skyline near the Gaylord Center where the Predators play hockey.

Tomorrow I should be checking in from fucking Knoxville.

Well, I’m on vacation in Tennessee. We just arrived at the Comfort Inn in Clarksville, Tennessee. Tomorrow we tour the Bell Witch Cave and then we are off to the Smoky Mountains. As usual, I will keep a daily journal of activities complete with pictures. This is all dependent on if the hotel has Internet access but that is a requirement for me.

Hopefully tomorrow I might capture a ghostly image from the Cave.

The last couple of days were amazing. We saw Scotts Bluff and Chimney Rock Nebraska. All I can say is, “Wow!” Both of those historic landmarks are visually astounding.

We also stood on the original Oregon Trail at Mitchell’s Pass. You can see evidence of wagon crossing and people carved their names in the rock along with the date; most were 1880’s and earlier. We ran into a family of wild rabbits that were friendly enough to come to me when I called them.

Right now we are in a Days Inn in Sioux City, Iowa. Tomorrow we visit the Blue Bunny ice cream factory in LaMars, Iowa and the Villisca Axe Murder House. This will be a tour only as I scout the house for a possible overnight excursion with the paranormal team later this summer.

See the bunny in his hole. As first they were scared but when I squatted and held out my hand they came right to me.





Chimney Rock





Scott's Bluff, NE

Today we spent the entire day driving to and visiting Devil’s Tower. I took over 200 pictures of the Tower and the surrounding area. Needless to say this was the best monument/national park we visited this year. Here are a couple of the lower resolution pictures, as this wireless connection is not cooperating.





This trip I have discovered a fondness for prairie dogs. I spent some time in a field of them running all around me. I discovered I can make the same noise that they make, so I think they thought I was their God. Maybe not, but they performed some unique moves I have never seen before. I only have high res pictures of them and I cannot upload any of them. Do you think the cats would mind if I brought one home?

Right now we are at the Clarion Inn in Gillette, Wyoming. Tomorrow we will probably be in Scottsbluff, Nebraska near Chimney Rock. BTW: thanks for all of your comments.

Today we saw Wind Cave and Jewel Cave. On the way to Wind Cave we drove through many fields of buffalo and prairie dogs. My camera malfunctioned early in the day and I had to buy a new one. That was cool because I needed a better camera anyway. I bought a Canon Sureshot S21S and it rocks!! Much better than the old Olympus. The following pics are still from the old camera.

Well, I lucked out; our first hotel has wireless Internet. So here is a quick vacation update from Custer, South Dakota.

After driving almost the entire way from St. Louis to South Dakota on Friday night we arrived in the Badlands this afternoon about 1pm. In addition to touring the Badlands, we also saw Mt. Rushmore (no big deal) and Crazy Horse monument.

Mt. Rushmore is not a big as I imagined. You pay $8 to park your vehicle but the park is free.



Crazy Horse is a bigger monument than Mt. Rushmore but it’s not finished. It cost $25 to get in and you have to pay an additional $4 per person to ride a van to get closer to the monument. I thought that was kind of a rip off; if you pay $25 you would expect that to cover seeing the monument, right? Wrong. It covers the gift shop only and the craft shops. Big deal!

Badlands





Mt. Rushmore & Crazy Horse





I call this one "Ass Rock"

My whole life ass has followed me. When you turn onto the street going to my house, you turn onto ASSumption street. Everywhere I go I always see rock formations shaped as ass; this year is no exception.