Thursday, 8 October 2015
Marching Bands have been sighted!
The highlight of New Orleans for me (Jean) was seeing a marching band on Bourbon Street. We enjoyed the music scene. Derek and I came for the music and we haven't been disappointed. A really great group of fellow travellers.
Wednesday, 7 October 2015
Another perspective on the National Civil Rights Museum
The most important place we wanted to visit on our free day in Memphis was The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Hotel - the site of the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr on 4 April 1968. (Says Sue and Brian)
We took the replacement trolley shuttle bus down there & came across a lady who said she was the last person to be evicted from the Lorraine Hotel. This was because the State was going to turn the building into the museum.
Standing in line for the security check & tickets we discussed how familiar the scene looked as we have seen these images so many times since that tragic day. This really is history in our life time.
You start with an art gallery then into a 12 minute film about the Civil Rights movement. We were welcomed by a young guide singing a slave holler song. After the film it was a self guided tour with so much to see. The multiple galleries covered in great detail all aspects of civil rights over the centuries.
After going through the hotel rooms where Dr King was staying before he made his fateful appearance on to the balcony we then went across the road to the building & the reconstructed bathroom from which the shot was fired.
This is one of the best arranged museums we have experienced as each exhibit flows on to the next so it was just about impossible to miss anything.
We spent 3.5 hours there & we still had to rush towards the end as it was coming up to closing time.
(Written by Sue and Brian: Kiwi.Brit, other people on our Great Train Journey through the Southern States of America.)
Tuesday, 6 October 2015
National Civil Rights Museum
The Lorraine Motel Memphis - Now The National Civil Rights Museum
Martin Luther King visited the Lorraine Motel on his tour making Civil Rights speeches in 1968. He and his aids, including his brother, shared rooms 106 (aids) and 107 (MLK). It had been raining hard and he had not expected people to come out to the local church to hear him speak, so he sent an aid to check the audience out. The aid found a full house waiting to hear a speech and telephoned MLK at the Motel (this was way before mobiles) to say the place was packed and they were waiting for him. (This was way before mobiles). Martin Luther King decided to attend but he hadn't written a speech and had to 'speak from the heart' about the need for action if his vision was to be achieved. The place erupted into applause, as the film shows him moving off the Dias. They returned to the Motel, relaxed, satisfied with the speech and woke in good spirits the next morning. On 6th April 1968 as Martin Luther King was leaving his room, just passing the door of room 106, a shot rang out and Martin Luther King dropped to the floor. There is a photograph taken seconds after the assassination with him slumped on the floor and his aids pointing towards the direction of the shot. James Earle Ray had shot through a bathroom window opposite the Lorraine and made off in the confusion.He was later discovered in London and stood trial in Memphis. He died in prison.
All this is illustrated in the Museum and so much more. As you walk through it takes you through the origins of slavery, the impact on black culture and shows the ways it was perpetuated; such as not allowing slaves to be educated, intimidation and violence to hold them down and legislation to keep them in their place. It was an up hill struggle for equal rights and Martin Luther King was just one of the many who were stopped by violence.
Martin Luther King visited the Lorraine Motel on his tour making Civil Rights speeches in 1968. He and his aids, including his brother, shared rooms 106 (aids) and 107 (MLK). It had been raining hard and he had not expected people to come out to the local church to hear him speak, so he sent an aid to check the audience out. The aid found a full house waiting to hear a speech and telephoned MLK at the Motel (this was way before mobiles) to say the place was packed and they were waiting for him. (This was way before mobiles). Martin Luther King decided to attend but he hadn't written a speech and had to 'speak from the heart' about the need for action if his vision was to be achieved. The place erupted into applause, as the film shows him moving off the Dias. They returned to the Motel, relaxed, satisfied with the speech and woke in good spirits the next morning. On 6th April 1968 as Martin Luther King was leaving his room, just passing the door of room 106, a shot rang out and Martin Luther King dropped to the floor. There is a photograph taken seconds after the assassination with him slumped on the floor and his aids pointing towards the direction of the shot. James Earle Ray had shot through a bathroom window opposite the Lorraine and made off in the confusion.He was later discovered in London and stood trial in Memphis. He died in prison.
All this is illustrated in the Museum and so much more. As you walk through it takes you through the origins of slavery, the impact on black culture and shows the ways it was perpetuated; such as not allowing slaves to be educated, intimidation and violence to hold them down and legislation to keep them in their place. It was an up hill struggle for equal rights and Martin Luther King was just one of the many who were stopped by violence.
Memphis to New Orleans 5th October 2015
It felt like we had taken root in Memphis. We were at the Holiday Inn Downtown Memphis for 3 nights and even had a day off yesterday from the pre-arranged trips. Which means we were able to have a lie-in, a leisurely breakfast at the Peabody Hotel across the street, (See other page for the Ducks) and make our own way across town to The Civil Rights Museum at The Lorraine Motel; where Martin Luther King was assassinated. (See other page)
Today it was time to say goodbye and leave Memphis. Oh! We had a really early start. The cases had to be outside our room by 5.30 am and we had to be assembled and on the coach by 6 am. It was far too early for the Holiday Inn Downtown Memphis or anyone else to be serving us breakfast so we were all hoping the Amtrak train would have enough food on board. Meals are served on a first come first served basis so like the Aldi ad "Once it's gone it's gone."
The train left Memphis at 6.50 am and breakfast service starts at 7 am so it couldn't have worked out better for us. Our seats in the train coaches were roomy similar to first class seats on BA flights but in comparison the dining car was quite small and cramped. None of the food was prepared in the galley 'kitchen' meaning they were warmed up and served. The continental breakfast seemed the safest bet; not requiring cooking. However, Alan, bravely chose the omelette, which he said wasn't too bad considering.
The train bumps and grinds it way from Memphis Tennessee through the Mississippi State Line on to the State Capitalof Jackson through the Louisanna State Line onto New Orleans at a steady 50 mph. Each town we pass is steeped in Civil War history. General Sherman is thought to have used the burning of Jackson as a practise for the burning of Atlanta. Atlanta is where we go after our 3 night stay in New Orleans.
It felt like we had taken root in Memphis. We were at the Holiday Inn Downtown Memphis for 3 nights and even had a day off yesterday from the pre-arranged trips. Which means we were able to have a lie-in, a leisurely breakfast at the Peabody Hotel across the street, (See other page for the Ducks) and make our own way across town to The Civil Rights Museum at The Lorraine Motel; where Martin Luther King was assassinated. (See other page)
Today it was time to say goodbye and leave Memphis. Oh! We had a really early start. The cases had to be outside our room by 5.30 am and we had to be assembled and on the coach by 6 am. It was far too early for the Holiday Inn Downtown Memphis or anyone else to be serving us breakfast so we were all hoping the Amtrak train would have enough food on board. Meals are served on a first come first served basis so like the Aldi ad "Once it's gone it's gone."
The train left Memphis at 6.50 am and breakfast service starts at 7 am so it couldn't have worked out better for us. Our seats in the train coaches were roomy similar to first class seats on BA flights but in comparison the dining car was quite small and cramped. None of the food was prepared in the galley 'kitchen' meaning they were warmed up and served. The continental breakfast seemed the safest bet; not requiring cooking. However, Alan, bravely chose the omelette, which he said wasn't too bad considering.
The train bumps and grinds it way from Memphis Tennessee through the Mississippi State Line on to the State Capitalof Jackson through the Louisanna State Line onto New Orleans at a steady 50 mph. Each town we pass is steeped in Civil War history. General Sherman is thought to have used the burning of Jackson as a practise for the burning of Atlanta. Atlanta is where we go after our 3 night stay in New Orleans.
Graceland - Wow - 3.10.15
Memphis. - Holiday Inn, Union Street for 3 nights
Had a good night's rest and an adequate continental breakfast. Now we are off to Graceland to see Elvis's adult home.
I didn't know what to expect from Graceland. Seeing Elvis's car in the music museum yesterday sort of hinted it might be a bit over the top. It didn't disappoint. Graceland was totally over the top; with its Jungle room in particular. The tour does not allow you upstairs so ghouls will be upset not to see the bathroom where Elvis is said to have died. Elvis did not allow visitors upstairs to his private quarters so the family, who still own the house, have kept that tradition; which I think is quite nice. However, I think once the immediate family (Priscilla and Lisa Marie) relinquish the house that will change.
I bought the book about Priscilla and Elvis's life there and you can hear her voice as she describes how the rooms were used and the house, although over the top to me, fitted Elvis's lifestyle and catered for the continual aids/visitors who flooded in and out of the house each day. Elvis was never alone and rarely just with Priscilla. According to the book, which I was glad I read on the holiday, Elvis was a typical man of his age, with what we would think of as sexist views now, very demanding and Priscilla's mentor teaching her how to dress, make-up and be a woman. This is why her photos with big, 'up' hair do and black eye lined eyes taken round her wedding bears no resemblance to the post divorce and more recent photos of Priscilla.
The Graceland tour is really well organised. They provide an I-pad, earphones and a bus up to the house. There is no let up with the tours. They say you can go at your own pace, but the hordes are silently insistent and you cannot go back because the I-pad goes forward. You quickly find yourself outside walking towards Vernon's office, where he and his secretaries took care of all the bills and 3,000 items of fan mail per day. Then on to the paddock where they look after rescue horses now as the horses owned by Elvis and the family have passed on. Finally, there is the memorial gardens where Elvis and the families remains are buried. You are then at the rear gate and a shelter where you wait for the bus. No one is allowed to walk up to or back from the house; everyone has to use the bus provided.
The afternoon was spent visiting Sun Studio, where Elvis's early records where recorded and Stax Studio where Johnny Cash recorded and Elvis visited. There is one recording, never released at the time, where a few artists were caught jamming but as Elvis was amongst them it could not be used as they would not have permission from RCA.
Had a good night's rest and an adequate continental breakfast. Now we are off to Graceland to see Elvis's adult home.
I didn't know what to expect from Graceland. Seeing Elvis's car in the music museum yesterday sort of hinted it might be a bit over the top. It didn't disappoint. Graceland was totally over the top; with its Jungle room in particular. The tour does not allow you upstairs so ghouls will be upset not to see the bathroom where Elvis is said to have died. Elvis did not allow visitors upstairs to his private quarters so the family, who still own the house, have kept that tradition; which I think is quite nice. However, I think once the immediate family (Priscilla and Lisa Marie) relinquish the house that will change.
I bought the book about Priscilla and Elvis's life there and you can hear her voice as she describes how the rooms were used and the house, although over the top to me, fitted Elvis's lifestyle and catered for the continual aids/visitors who flooded in and out of the house each day. Elvis was never alone and rarely just with Priscilla. According to the book, which I was glad I read on the holiday, Elvis was a typical man of his age, with what we would think of as sexist views now, very demanding and Priscilla's mentor teaching her how to dress, make-up and be a woman. This is why her photos with big, 'up' hair do and black eye lined eyes taken round her wedding bears no resemblance to the post divorce and more recent photos of Priscilla.
The Graceland tour is really well organised. They provide an I-pad, earphones and a bus up to the house. There is no let up with the tours. They say you can go at your own pace, but the hordes are silently insistent and you cannot go back because the I-pad goes forward. You quickly find yourself outside walking towards Vernon's office, where he and his secretaries took care of all the bills and 3,000 items of fan mail per day. Then on to the paddock where they look after rescue horses now as the horses owned by Elvis and the family have passed on. Finally, there is the memorial gardens where Elvis and the families remains are buried. You are then at the rear gate and a shelter where you wait for the bus. No one is allowed to walk up to or back from the house; everyone has to use the bus provided.
The afternoon was spent visiting Sun Studio, where Elvis's early records where recorded and Stax Studio where Johnny Cash recorded and Elvis visited. There is one recording, never released at the time, where a few artists were caught jamming but as Elvis was amongst them it could not be used as they would not have permission from RCA.
The Peabody Ducks - so quaint
The Peabody Ducks
4th October 2015
The Peabody Hotel is a fine Memphis Family owned Hotel in Downtown Memphis; opposite the Holiday Inn where we stayed. A quaint 80 year old tradition of marching ducks exists and is a tremendous draw into the Hotel every morning and afternoon. The Hotel has 5 resident ducks on the top floor which are looked after by a farmer and at 10.30 am each morning people start to gather in the Hotel Lobby in preparation of the 11 am Peabody Duck March. The Duck Master, resplendently dressed in a fine red coat, holding a black walking cane with an ornamental gold top rolls out a red carpet from the lift through the lobby to the fountain and puts a red carpeted staircase against the indoor fountain for the ducks to walk along and climb into the fountain pool. He tells the story of how 5 ducks were found in the Hotel fountain one morning after a hunting party had returned with their live decoys the night before/early morning. Being slightly worse for drink but having no where to put the ducks they popped them into the fountain expecting it would be fun seeing the staff chase the ducks around in the morning. However the ducks had stayed in the fountain and it was decided to keep them. Next the Duck Master chooses an Assistant Duck Master from the assembled audience. Today it is a very excited and prettily dressed 6th Birthday girl who gets a framed certificate, a model duck and use of a small replica cane. Her job as Assistant is to join the Duck Master on the lift to fetch the 5 Peabody Ducks down from their night accommodations. A military march with brass instruments rings out as the lift, Master, Assistant and The Peabody Ducks arrive. As soon as the ducks hit the red carpet they make a dash for the fountain, rushing down the red carpet, some jump up the carpeted stairs and into the water; a couple escape and jump in via the marble fountain wall. The Duck Master waves his stick at them and shouts, "Up the stairs", the ducks ignore him and are already swimming together in the fountain. Having waited 45 minutes throughout the preparation and sat as we were told to, the whole Duck March took 15 seconds or so. The well behaved crowd then came forward to take photos of these lovely ducks, patiently waiting for us to go away so their day in the fountain could begin. At 5 pm every day the whole process is reversed and the ducks go back up to the top floor on the lift.
4th October 2015
The Peabody Hotel is a fine Memphis Family owned Hotel in Downtown Memphis; opposite the Holiday Inn where we stayed. A quaint 80 year old tradition of marching ducks exists and is a tremendous draw into the Hotel every morning and afternoon. The Hotel has 5 resident ducks on the top floor which are looked after by a farmer and at 10.30 am each morning people start to gather in the Hotel Lobby in preparation of the 11 am Peabody Duck March. The Duck Master, resplendently dressed in a fine red coat, holding a black walking cane with an ornamental gold top rolls out a red carpet from the lift through the lobby to the fountain and puts a red carpeted staircase against the indoor fountain for the ducks to walk along and climb into the fountain pool. He tells the story of how 5 ducks were found in the Hotel fountain one morning after a hunting party had returned with their live decoys the night before/early morning. Being slightly worse for drink but having no where to put the ducks they popped them into the fountain expecting it would be fun seeing the staff chase the ducks around in the morning. However the ducks had stayed in the fountain and it was decided to keep them. Next the Duck Master chooses an Assistant Duck Master from the assembled audience. Today it is a very excited and prettily dressed 6th Birthday girl who gets a framed certificate, a model duck and use of a small replica cane. Her job as Assistant is to join the Duck Master on the lift to fetch the 5 Peabody Ducks down from their night accommodations. A military march with brass instruments rings out as the lift, Master, Assistant and The Peabody Ducks arrive. As soon as the ducks hit the red carpet they make a dash for the fountain, rushing down the red carpet, some jump up the carpeted stairs and into the water; a couple escape and jump in via the marble fountain wall. The Duck Master waves his stick at them and shouts, "Up the stairs", the ducks ignore him and are already swimming together in the fountain. Having waited 45 minutes throughout the preparation and sat as we were told to, the whole Duck March took 15 seconds or so. The well behaved crowd then came forward to take photos of these lovely ducks, patiently waiting for us to go away so their day in the fountain could begin. At 5 pm every day the whole process is reversed and the ducks go back up to the top floor on the lift.
Monday, 5 October 2015
Incline Railway at Lookout Mountain - Chattanooga.
Incline Railway at Lookout Mountain
Still the 29th September and our second historic railroad visit takes us to the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway on a wet, overcast afternoon. For Europeans the standout virtue of this place is its beautiful poetic name, although a few travellers recall that hard-hitting tennis ace Rosco Tanner came from here. So it is a little mortifying to discover that a very significant landmark in mechanical engineering development is here in the form of this cable operated railway which dates from 1895. It is a serious bit of engineering too! Ascending the mountain which gives it its name via a ramp of varying slopes it follows a not-entirely straight course of about a mile which includes a section climbing at 72.7% that is claimed to be the steepest passenger railway incline anywhere. Presumably, what exactly constitutes a "railway" comes into this somewhere.
The line is set-up for tourists now, but you have to be impressed by it. There are two passenger cars which alternate up and down the hill and are linked by a continuous steel cable running on rollers. The passenger vehicles are like a conventional tram or street-car, but the centre aisle between the seats is like a stairway because the cars are always standing on a slope! The electric winding-motor at the top of the incline is just 250 horsepower which tells you how little effort is required to overcome friction and inertia in a smooth running rail based system where the gravity component of the force equations is balanced out by one car going uphill while the other is going down. The line uses ideas which were adopted in other incline railways around the world such as a "three rail" section on the upper part of the slope which cleverly avoids a moving point-switch where the line divides to permit descending and ascending cars to pass each-other. Incidentally, that electric motor which powers the whole thing now is bolted straight on to the cast-iron baseplate of the vertical steam engine which once did the duty.
The summit is near to a Civil War battle site, but time constraints and the all enveloping low cloud and rain filled mist which covered the mountain during our visit prevented us from seeing anything of it. Chattanooga could just be made-out through the haze however, and one could be sure that on clear days the summit would afford spectacular views. This railway is certainly well worth a visit for anyone with an interest in mechanisms and can be thoroughly recommended.
Everyone seemed to enjoy our ride on this bit of history, although the slightly hectic pace of our two railroad visits made us all feel quite relieved to board our bus for the short trip back to the hotel in Chattanooga.
Still the 29th September and our second historic railroad visit takes us to the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway on a wet, overcast afternoon. For Europeans the standout virtue of this place is its beautiful poetic name, although a few travellers recall that hard-hitting tennis ace Rosco Tanner came from here. So it is a little mortifying to discover that a very significant landmark in mechanical engineering development is here in the form of this cable operated railway which dates from 1895. It is a serious bit of engineering too! Ascending the mountain which gives it its name via a ramp of varying slopes it follows a not-entirely straight course of about a mile which includes a section climbing at 72.7% that is claimed to be the steepest passenger railway incline anywhere. Presumably, what exactly constitutes a "railway" comes into this somewhere.
The line is set-up for tourists now, but you have to be impressed by it. There are two passenger cars which alternate up and down the hill and are linked by a continuous steel cable running on rollers. The passenger vehicles are like a conventional tram or street-car, but the centre aisle between the seats is like a stairway because the cars are always standing on a slope! The electric winding-motor at the top of the incline is just 250 horsepower which tells you how little effort is required to overcome friction and inertia in a smooth running rail based system where the gravity component of the force equations is balanced out by one car going uphill while the other is going down. The line uses ideas which were adopted in other incline railways around the world such as a "three rail" section on the upper part of the slope which cleverly avoids a moving point-switch where the line divides to permit descending and ascending cars to pass each-other. Incidentally, that electric motor which powers the whole thing now is bolted straight on to the cast-iron baseplate of the vertical steam engine which once did the duty.
The summit is near to a Civil War battle site, but time constraints and the all enveloping low cloud and rain filled mist which covered the mountain during our visit prevented us from seeing anything of it. Chattanooga could just be made-out through the haze however, and one could be sure that on clear days the summit would afford spectacular views. This railway is certainly well worth a visit for anyone with an interest in mechanisms and can be thoroughly recommended.
Everyone seemed to enjoy our ride on this bit of history, although the slightly hectic pace of our two railroad visits made us all feel quite relieved to board our bus for the short trip back to the hotel in Chattanooga.
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