There are many historic sites throughout the nation where important battles were fought, but none more important as the one in Little Rock, Arkansas.  In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that racially segregated public schools and the policy of “separate but equal” was unconstitutional.  The first southern high school to be integrated was in Clinton, Tennessee in 1956.  Months later, on a Sunday morning, three massive explosions demolished the entire building.  School integration was a hot issue, especially in the south. 

Little Rock Central High

Despite this, Mrs. L.C. “Daisy” Bates who headed the Little Rock Chapter of NAACP was committed to the integration of Little Rock Central High School in 1957. Letters were sent to families with children at Dunbar High School, the black school, asking for student volunteers.  Over 400 students and their families responded.  Dunbar was separate, but far from equal in any respect. When used, outdated textbooks provided by the Little Rock School District were delivered; it was in a garbage truck that dumped them at the front door.  

The Little Rock Nine return 50 years later.

Over 1956-57 school year, the 400 student volunteers were narrowed to nine, the very best students at Dunbar, and the ones best able to meet the many difficult challenges they would face.  Everyone realized it would be an intense struggle, but they were totally committed.  There were training session and detailed plans were made.  But, no one expected that Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus would activate the Arkansas National Guard to prevent the black students from entering the school.  

On September 2, 1957, the day before the ten black students were to enter Central High, National Guardsmen surrounded the school. In a televised speech that night, Governor Orval Faubus explained that he had called the National Guardsmen because he had heard that white supremacists from all over the state were descending on Little Rock. He declared Central off-limits to blacks and the black high school, off-limits to whites. He also proclaimed that if the black students attempted to enter Central, “blood would run in the streets.” 

The black students did not attend the first day of school.  Early on Wednesday, September 4, Daisy Bates called to tell them that they were to meet a few blocks away from the school and walk in together. Unfortunately, Elizabeth Eckford did not receive the message and attempted to enter the school alone through the front entrance. An angry mob met her, threatening to lynch her, as the Arkansas National Guard looked on. She turned to a white women in the crowd asking for help and the woman spit in her face. Finally, she was able to escape.  The other nine black students were also denied admittance by the Arkansas National Guard, under orders from Governor Faubus. 

101st Airborne Escort.

President Dwight Eisenhower received an urgent call from the Mayor of Little Rock asking for federal intervention to avoid a potential “race riot.”  When negotiations between the state and federal officials failed to resolve the situation, President Eisenhower ordered 1,500 troops of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky to Little Rock. On September 25 (three weeks after the first attempt), federal troops surrounded Central High and escorted the nine black students into the school.  It would be easy to say this was the end, but it was just the beginning.  

The events of the following months are well documented in several books, two films, and numerous internet sites.  The troops were removed after several months, but harassment of the black students continued.  However, in May 1958, Ernest Green, Jr. (of the Little Rock Nine) became the first black student to graduate from CentralHigh School.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. attended the graduation ceremonies. 

Governor Faubus continued his crusade against school integration.  He was able to secure a public referendum that closed Central High School and Horace Mann High School, the new black school, for the 1958-59 school year.  Called, the “Lost Year” many white citizens blamed blacks for causing the closure.  The Little Rock School Board opened the schools the following year. 

At this time the American Friends Service Committee (Quaker) was working with both white and black community leaders to improve race relations and move ahead with school integration. I was on the communications staff at the Service Committee’s nation office at the time and knew Thelma Babbett who headed the Little Rock program.  To visit Central High fifty six years later was a emotional experience for me. 

Today, Little Rock Central High School is the leading academic school in all of Arkansas.  Fully integrated it attracts the best students in the city and surrounding school districts.  The National Park Service, with offices across the street from the school, operates informational tours of the building during school hours. This is the only way to visit inside the school and well worth the time.  Learn more at the National Park Service website.  http://www.nps.gov/chsc/index.htm

**The Joseph Manigault House** 

A delightful visit to one of the most unique historic homes can be on the history menu for those visiting Charleston. A bold three story house built in 1803 designed for Joseph Manigault, a wealthy plantation owner and businessman, by the amateur architect and Joseph’s brother Gabriel.

Known as Charleston’s “Huguenot House” because of it’s close association with the large number of French Protestants (Huguenots) who anxious to leave France and escape the religious troubles of the time and  began arriving in Charleston in the 1690′s.  Patriarch of the family Gabriel (The Wealthy) Manigault became one of the richest men in the colonies.

The thirty minute tour is one that details the house, the furniture and collections on display giving visitors a peek at the lifestyle of the wealthy elite in early Charleston. The unique history of the property and its relative importance to the preservation movement in Charleston is also detailed.

The replicated period gardens and a unique Temple Gate building from 1803 as well as signage for where some of the outbuildings were located complete the visit.

The CharlestonMuseum owns the Manigault House (located directly across the street) and also the Heyward -Washington House both open for tours as well as the museum. Tours and discounts are available for visits to more than one site. The museum is wheelchair accessible but neither of the historic homes. School age children enjoy the tours.

Please see the museum website: www.Charlestonmuseum.org  for more details and to help plan your visit.

**Magnolia Gardens**

 This was my second visit to the beautiful historic Magnolia Gardens but the previous visit was about 5 years ago and they seem to have expanded on their tours quite a bit. 

One of many beautiful ponds at Magnolia Gardens.

If you wanted to go all out and take every tour as well as walking around a bit it would take about 5 hours. The paths are sort of crushed gravel and you could push a wheel chair and stroller on them but it will be a workout. Most of the grounds are fairly flat and there is a lot of shade. If it’s a cooler day the breeze coming in off the Ashley River will demand a light jacket or sweater. 

They have an orientation Theater just as you enter and a short but very interesting film on the history of the Plantation and the Drayton Family. There is also a small café serving lite fair and the real bargain a full bag of microwave popcorn for $2.50. We saw some families had brought their own food and were eating at the picnic tables. There are two picnic areas. 

Ponies at Magnolia Gardens.

There is a great petting zoo, a horticultural maze, nature center, playground and walking and biking paths through the many historic gardens, along the lakes and the Ashley River all included with your basic entry fee $15 adults $10 children. 

The home at Magnolia Gardens.

The additional tours ($8 adults and children) include the nature train, the house tour, the From Slavery to Freedom Tour, the Nature Boat and the Audubon Swamp Tour.  

There a number of plantation tours in the area with a variety of pricing ie Charlestowne Landing ($7.50 adult), Middleton Gardens ($28 general admission for adults additional $15 for house tour)

www.magnoliaplantation.com.  843 571 1266

**The Heyward-Washington House and Gardens**

     As one of the most visited cities in America, Charleston has many different attractions with history and historic sites and one of the best is the Charleston Museum owned Heyward Washington House along with its’ beautiful gardens to the rear.

    The name of the house or anything with the Washington name attached brings almost instant recognition and interest to most visitors to Charleston although the Heyward name is in many ways equally important as Thomas Heyward Jr. was one of the four signers of the Declaration of Independence from South Carolina.

   Heyward was also one of the power players from the historically rich Charleston colonial era.  President Washington stayed at his house for eight days as part of his southern tour of the states in 1791.

    The house also has an attachment to the Grimke sisters of Charleston, Sarah and Angelina who were huge figures during the early years of the Abolitionist movement as well as the women’s right struggles in the 1830′s and 40′s.

Heyward-Washington House from the street.

    The Georgian architectural style of the house offers two floors of history as well as the largest collection of Charleston made furniture in one place in the country including the fabulous Holmes-Edwards bookcase library built in 1770.

     Personally the delight of the tour was the opening of the rear door by one of the informative tour guides and immediately walking into a “wow” moment with a view of the rear of the property. Its incredible recreated colonial gardens and the early outbuilding including the only colonial era kitchen open to the public in Charleston and as well as the original privy ! Now updated and used by visitors.

Rear of Heyward-Washington House with Gardens and outbuildings.

   The gardens contain many of the herbs and flowers that were popular during the last quarter of the 1700′s. Benches and paths give you a relaxing feeling as you explore. Unfortunately for now the house is not accessible by wheelchair. Foreign language guide books are available in French Spanish and German.

      The Heyward-Washington House and Gardens are open from Monday thru Saturday fro 10.am.-5 p.m. and Sunday from 1-5 p.m. Tours are $10 each for adults and 5.00 for children under five. Relative discounts are available for Seniors ,AAA and AARP. Multi site tickets to explore the three properties of the Charleston museum are also available. (The Charleston Museum three properties are the museum, the Heyward-Washington House, and the Joseph Manigault House).

      To obtain further information, locations and directions on any of the properties of the Charleston Museum please visit www.charlestonmuseum.org

Arnold Palmer, one of the world’s greatest golfers with 95 professional tournament wins including five Masters Championships, has a new business venture that offers golfers the chance to play the course where he learned the game, the Latrobe Country Club located in Pennsylvania’s beautiful Laurel Highlands.

Springhill Suites Latrobe.

In June 2012, SpringHill Suites by Marriott Latrobe, a four-story, 109-room hotel just south of Latrobe, Pennsylvania (30 miles east of Pittsburgh), Palmer’s hometown. opened for business with a flourish. Palmer’s hotel offers a perk that others can’t duplicate — an opportunity to play a round of golf at Palmer’s Latrobe Country Club, less than a mile away.

The course at the Latrobe Country Club.

The hotel reception staff will gladly arrange a convenient tee time and you can store your golf bag in special locker room off the lobby.

Arnold Palmer Exhibit

Palmer developed his hotel with Marriott International, but it is not a typical chain hotel. The first floor is a showcase of Palmer golf memorabilia, including photos chronicling his career from the time he was a young teen playing at Latrobe Country Club to his rise as the nation’s top golfer. Murals outside the elevators doors on each floor show a panorama of golf courses he owns or has played.

In a presidential suite hang photos of Palmer with past presidents and letters he received from presidents over 60 years. Among them are a message from President Dwight David Eisenhower, who apologized for not recognizing Palmer during a 1958 visit to nearby Ligonier. A pre-Watergate President Richard M. Nixon congratulated Palmer in a January 1969 letter, and Gerald Ford thanked Palmer as the new president faced the challenges of the office.

Springhill Suites patio.

SpringHill Suites and the Latrobe Country Club are a must visit for all Arnold Palmer fans and golf enthusiasts.  Learn more at www.laurelhighlands.org    

      Millions of flowering tulips in a myriad of colors can be enjoyed in a spectacular setting at Keukenhof Gardens in Amsterdam, but check your calendar because this dazzling display can only be seen in the spring during late March and April in Holland.

       A delightful excursion into this cornucopia of colors is made easy by riverboat.  My husband and I recently returned from a “Tulip Time” cruise aboard the AMA Prima, launched in 2013. The 9-day cruise began and ended in Amsterdam and visited the port cities of the Netherlands and Belgium  including: Volendam, Edam, Arnhem, Nijmegen, Antwerp, Ghent, Willemstad, Kinderdjik and Ultrecht with an optional excursion to Brugge.   

      The AMA Prima has a luxurious two story lobby accented by sparkling white marble floors, a glass enclosed elevator, with dual spiral staircases and a rich walnut wood reception area.

       Four decks with a sun deck, heated swimming pool with spacious lounge chairs atop, the riverboat features deluxe accommodations, superior amenities, and attentive service. We enjoyed our stateroom with its French balcony and separate full size outside balcony. We also relaxed amid the scenery in the comfortable main lounge and cozy fireside library. 

Phyllis and Arvin in the Main Lounge.

       The Dutch captain and mostly Romanian crew spoke English and were efficient, friendly, and helpful. Many passengers were from the U.S. Other nationalities included British, Irish, Australian and Canadian. The pleasant aspect of a river cruise is the opportunity to meet and enjoy the company and dine with people of many countries. The ship’s capacity is 164 and by the conclusion of the cruise, we had the chance to get to know many of the passengers. The open seating policy in the dining room allowed passengers to sit with different people throughout the voyage. The dining room had comfy booths as well as tables, a rare occurrence on riverboats. Free-flowing red and white wines from different regions of Europe, beer and soft drinks were included with every dinner. 

       The ship caters to adults, mainly seniors with some younger couples. There is quite a lot of walking, so people should be physically fit to have the most enjoyable time.  In each port of call, the ship took passengers on complimentary escorted tours, mostly half-day with some walking. Three levels of walking tours are offered: gentle walkers, groups that go at a leisurely pace; active walkers, that cover more ground; and late starter tours for those that prefer to sleep in. Optional tours are offered at additional charge. Passengers are given Quietbox portable headsets with earpieces providing excellent reception for commentary on tours.

       Often the ship stayed overnight in port allowing passengers to experience dining and nightlife in the areas. Bicycles were available for short rides along the rivers and nearby towns, and Nordic sticks with small seats are available for the hikes.

        Other amenities on board included free wi-fi, a 24-hour coffee and tea bar, and an alternate gourmet dining venue. The ship also had a state-of-the-art exercise room, a spa, and beauty salon. Evening entertainment included local talent and dancing in the main lounge.

Dancing to the piano music.

        Our tour of Amsterdam included a scenic cruise along the historic harbor and canals of the city. Later in the day we had a panoramic city tour and were surprised to see that most of the city’s residents use bicycles as a means of transportation. 

Bicycles in Amsterdam

   Amsterdam has several Jewish points of interest. We arranged for a guided Milk and Honey Tour online before our cruise and we were glad we did as we were able to cover more sights than trying to find them on our own. Our guide, Daniel Metz, escorted us to the magnificent Portuguese Synagogue, Jewish Cultural Quarter, Gassan Diamond Factory, Jewish Children’s Museum, and the Ashkenazi synagogue complex. He was well informed on all of the Jewish sights and helped to make history come alive for us.  

Portuguese synagogue in Amsterdam.

     Exploring the city of Antwerp was one of the highlights of the trip.

This Belgium city is easy to see on foot, but using the city’s buses and trams is easy. The downtown area has an underground tram line that connects to the Old Town and train station that is convenient for visitors.  Check out the world famous Diamond District. The city also has superb architecture and many outstanding museums. The Museum Aan de Stroom (MAS) is a 10-story structure contains exhibits about the city, river, and the connection between Antwerp and the world. Escalators take visitors floor by floor, and the roof of the MAS offers a 360 panoramic view of the city, the river, and the port.    

MAS Museum, Antwerp

The last day of the cruise was spent at the Keukenhof Gardens 70-acre park with its Dutch windmill and flowering gardens. Tulips in dozens of varieties and color combinations were stunning to the senses. The bulbs were available for sale to visitors that wanted to recreate a flowering memory when they returned home.       

Surrounded by Tulips!

  For information, log on to www.amawaterways.com.

   For Jewish tours, log on to www.milkandhoneytours.com. 

It’s a small structure built of fieldstone and clapboard, sacred ground that few were allowed to enter.  A black and white sign at the entryway read: “I am working, so please do not disturb. I do not sign autographs.”

To reinforce his wishes: “Beware of the dog.”

For seven decades the space was Andrew Wyeth’s private world. A spot where he created many of his most iconic works of art, including those inspired by the farms and open space of the Brandywine Valley that internationally stamped Wyeth  as a best-selling, much-beloved artist, and America’s foremost realist painter.

On a steamy early July morning in 2012 a fife and drum corps dressed in colonial garb marched up Route 100 in the village of Chadds Ford, Pa. The firing of a 19th century cannon heralded the official opening with studio tours. George “Frolic” Weymouth cut the ceremonial ribbon.

“Andy would have loved it, simply loved it” said Weymouth, artist, founder of the Brandywine Conservancy and longtime friend of Wyeth.

An A-frame structure originally built as a schoolhouse in 1875, the structure was purchased by his father and celebrated illustrator N.C. Wyeth in 1925 when the school closed. After Andrew Wyeth married his wife, Betsy, in 1940 the structure became their home, where they raised their sons Nicholas and Jamie, as well as Wyeth’s art studio.

“Andy did a great job of keeping the place under wraps,” said Christine Podmaniczky, a curator at the Brandywine River Museum.

The family moved nearby in 1961 but Wyeth kept the location as his studio for the remainder of his life. After Wyeth’s death in January 2009, Betsy Wyeth donated the studio to the neighboring Brandywine River Museum which is famous for an unparalleled collection of works by three generations of Wyeths.

Extensive work was necessary before the building could open to tours. The River Museum worked with a team of specialized architects, trained in historic preservation, to maintain the integrity of the building and its legacy as the artist’s retreat.

“Structurally it was a mess,” Podmaniczky said. “The wood-shingled roof needed replacing, the foundation had to be stabilized and the chimney was pulling away from the rest of the structure. Every piece of the studio’s contents also was scrutinized, from the smallest paintbrush to the largest piece of furniture.

“We sent things out to conservators,” she said. “Everything was catalogued and numbered, all the artwork was copied and the copies were hung in the exact same places as the originals.”

Born in Chadds Ford on July 12, 1917, Andrew was the youngest child. A benevolent tyrant, N. C. dominated his five children– a clan that was an exceedingly eccentric and creative family. Henriette Wyeth Hurd, Carolyn Wyeth and Andrew were painters.  Ann Wyeth McCoy was a composer and son Nathaniel was an engineer and inventor with many patents to his credit.

At age 15, Andrew began his artistic training in his father’s studio. At the nearby Kuerner farm he found subjects in the animals, buildings and landscapes for hundreds of works of art over more than 75 years.

Wyeth’s early watercolor landscapes, influenced by the work of Winslow Homer, met with enormous critical acclaim at his first one-man show at the William Macbeth Gallery in New York City in 1937. The entire inventory sold out in one day. His work took a different path, avoiding the highly abstract styles of his contemporaries.  He created his own ground with deft brushstrokes creating vivid portrayals of varied subjects.

Extremely critical of his own work, the immediate success did not reassure Wyeth and he returned to his father’s studio for further concentration on technique. Wyeth soon began working in egg tempera, a renaissance technique introduced to him by his brother-in-law, the painter Peter Hurd.

At the studio Wyeth painted thousands of egg tempera paintings, drawings and dry brush watercolors in his spare and luminous evocations of rural Pennsylvania and coastal Maine which attracted an enormous public following. The works range from the dark self-portrait “Trodden Weed” to his hundreds of secret Helga paintings, which generated worldwide publicity– including the covers of Time and Newsweek– and controversy when they were suddenly revealed in 1986.

Known for his complicated persona, dark depths and reclusive ways, the essence of Wyeth’s art is best expressed in his own words, “I search for the realness, the real feeling of a subject, all the texture around it…I always want to see the third dimension of something…I want to come alive with the object.”

His studio is just down the hill from his father’s studio. The contrast is striking.  N. C.’s studio’s huge Palladian north facing windows still command what the artist called “the most glorious sight in this township.” Later additions provided space for mural painting. A stickler for accuracy and detail, the elder Wyeth filled the place with costumes, props and decorative objects for use in composing pictures that were so reflective of the golden age of illustration.

Andrew’s studio is smaller and more subdued. In the entranceway photographs of celebrity friends such as Errol Flynn, Henry Fonda and Wyeth fencing with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. line the walls. There are also pictures of fellow artist and brother-in-law Peter Hurd and Wyeth’s good friend Karl Kuerner whose farm he prowled for decades. Fencing masks sit on a windowsill while on a nearby wall, phone numbers are jotted down next to the telephone. The family lived here until 1961 so the lower floor and kitchen area have a 1950’s feel. Andrew, Betsy and the boys’ bedrooms on the second floor are off limits.

Tour guide Wawa Ingersoll walks visitors about Wyeth’s creative process. There are streams of shelves spotlighting art books, clusters of World War I uniforms and helmets, stacked film canisters, 1,250 military miniature figurines and an old projector.  One focal point of the tour is Wyeth’s admiration of the “The Big Parade,” the 1927 war movie directed by King Vidor. Jamie Wyeth reveals that his father would routinely set up the projector and estimates he watched the film alone and with others more than 300 times. Its landscapes and other imagery were seen in many of Andrew’s pictures.

The room where the projector still stands also served as Jamie’s first studio, now a cordoned-off workspace, where he painted many of his early works, including Draft Age and his posthumous portrait of John F. Kennedy.

The main room is where Andrew painted. The sketches and studies for his paintings are fixed to the unpainted plaster walls. Long cracks run across the ceiling, north facing windows usher in the best light. At his workspace you find a round stool, a paint-stained apron, an assortment of brushes as well as an immense mirror behind his painting station that lent a different perspective to his work.

Egg tempera, a thick mixture of yolks, pigment and distilled water, became his signature medium. Wyeth said that it forced him to slow down the execution of a painting and enabled him to achieve the superb textural effects that distinguish his work.  An open egg crate sits next to the legendary artist’s palette.

“He always used Wawa extra-large eggs for his egg tempera,” Ingersoll said. “They had to be white eggs because he thought brown eggs had an oilier consistency.”

It’s all at his artist’s retreat, a spot that that inspired the genius of one of America’s best loved painters.

Wyeth at Work– Thomas Hoving, former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City,  filmed Wyeth at work in 1993, This session took place at his sister Carolyn’s studio just up the hill from Andy’s studio. It is believed to be the only record of Wyeth painting. Hoving narrates. You can view it on You Tube www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QglPwQXrs0.

http://www.brandywinemuseum.org

 www.brandywinetreasures.org 

Musical entertainment reigns supreme in Branson. This family-friendly city has more than 100 shows, some in theaters with as many as 2,000 seats and the theme that runs throughout is one of  patriotism,family values and religion. Veterans are acknowledged and asked to stand at every performance I attended in Branson. Family values and references to religion are included in most of the performances.

That’s not to say that all of the performances are the same. Branson entertains visitors with a variety of shows from Pop and Country to Rock ‘n’ Roll, Gospel, Broadway and Bluegrass Jazz.      

The Legends

There are magic shows, Chinese Acrobats and classical performances. I enjoyed the Legends Show at the Dick Clark American Bandstand Theater featuring a variety of impersonators singing with their own voices that were almost as entertaining as those of the talented artists they were portraying.

 Shoji Tabuchi, a violinist from Japan has been in Branson for more than two decades and performs with his daughter, Christina Lingo, and a talented cast of memorable performers. The musical evening includes a variety of songs from classical to country and jazz. The 2,000 seat theater has one of the most elaborate bathrooms in the city. Crystal chandeliers and elaborate décor decorate the Ladies Room and the Men’s Room has a pool table with a dozen chairs around it.

Chicago at Red. Hot and Blue.

 “Red, Hot and Blue” at the Clay Cooper Theatre is a show with   dazzling dancers. Dozens of costume changes and more than 60 hit songs from Broadway and country to rock-n-roll are sung by a talented cast. Spectacular sets take theater patrons on a musical journey of Broadway shows.  The energetic cast dances across the stage with vim and vigor giving a spirited performance that garners a standing ovation by audiences. My favorite segment was the tribute to the musical, “Chicago.”

 The Sight and Sound Theatre, the largest faith-based live theatre in the nation is worth a visit whether or not you are a Christian. This theatre’s purpose is to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ by visualizing and dramatizing the Scriptures,  through inspirational productions. The theater opened to the public in May, 2008, and it is an immense theater. The 339,000 square foot building has a seating capacity of 2,085 plus designated spaces for 22 wheelchairs. The 300-foot long stage wraps around three full sides in the main-floor audience with action also taking place in the theatre aisles. I saw the production of “Joseph” which included live camels and donkeys walking down the aisles and appearing on stage. The main stage has 22,550 square feet of acting area. You have to see this magnificent theater to appreciate it. The sets and costumes are elaborate and the story is based on the bible. While it is a ministry, the company is not affiliated with any external organization or any particular church denomination.

 Another show-stopping performance is the “Cat’s Pajamas” at the Andy Williams Moon River Theatre, another 2,000 square foot majestic auditorium and theater. The five male cappella vocal band gave an energetic performance. A sound track tended to drown out their voices, but there’s no denying the talent of this group of singers.

But shows aren’t the only thing to do in Branson. You can golf in the Ozark Mountains, fish for Rainbow Trout and other species and visit Silver Dollar City, the next stop on my exploration of the region.

A fudge maker at Silver Dollar City.

Silver Dollar City is one of those old fashioned amusement parks with plenty of activities for all age groups. There’s the Outlaw Run, double barrel roll 720-degree wood coaster,  that drops more than 16 stories, with a top speed of 68 miles per hour. Thirty rides of varying intensify offer plenty of choices including the steam-powered train that circles the park. There are bands that perform daily at the park, more than 100 resident craftsmen including woodcarvers, glassblowers, potters, leather crafters, candle makers, knife makers and a candy shop where you can sample some of the most decadently delicious homemade fudge. 

The Titanic Museum.

The Titanic Museum attraction is a fitting memorial to the people who lost their lives at sea. The family owned museum has many outstanding memorabilia and replicates the ship’s interior and exterior with stories and photos of the people who sailed on the ship.  Step on board the museum and you will get a sense of what it felt like to sail on the Titanic on that fateful voyage.

Dogwood Canyon

 Dogwood Canyon Nature Park, a 2,200 acre park located southwest of Branson has beautiful natural rock cliffs, tree-lined fields, waterfalls and streams. Visitors to the park can take lessons on fly-fishing, ride a Segway or a bicycle and fish in the streams for rainbow-trout.  There are biking trails and a chance to get up close and personal to animals by taking a tram tour around the park.

 Adventure seekers can also enjoy a zip-line tour at Wolfe Creek Preserve and shoppers can have a wealth of choices from antique shops to modern outlet stores. This was my second trip to Branson, but certainly not my last.

       For information, log on to ExploreBranson.com. 

The alert came after American sailor Kyle Bruner was murdered during an armed robbery last Sunday.

“Armed robbery remains a major threat facing US citizens in The Bahamas,” the statement said.

“Since the beginning of the year, a number of US citizens have fallen victim to armed robbery with some having been seriously injured in the commission of these crimes.

“The Royal Bahamas Police Force issued a message earlier this year citing concerns about the increased number of armed robberies in Nassau.”

Police said between January 1 and April 15 there were 328 armed robberies in The Bahamas.

Bruner, 34, of Chicago, Illinois, was shot during an armed robbery, police said.

Police said two men followed Bruner, another man and two women after they left a local bar around 4:30 am on Sunday.

Police said the men, one of whom was armed, confronted Bruner and his friends and demanded their belongings.

During the hold-up, one of the women reportedly got into a scuffle with one of the assailants.

Police said Bruner attempted to confront the gunman and was shot in the neck.

Four men were charged with his murder yesterday. Police were still looking for another man in connection with Bruner’s death.

One of the best days we’ve spent in the Charleston area was visiting the Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site near the Ashley River.  Here English settlers landed in 1670 and founded the Carolinas colony. This is a great multi generational experience but with 80 acres of gardens alone it’s huge! Kids can run off a weeks steam without disturbing anyone. Benches dot the area for those that need to rest. 

Beautiful pond and plantings. Watch for the occasional alligator!

At different days and times during the month interpretive rangers depict life in Colonial Charleston as well as a calendar of other special events. The day we visited was an ordinary day and it was still wonderful. There is a self-guided history trail with an audio tour ($5) and a very informative 12 room, interactive museum in the Visitors Center that is good to go through before you start out. 

Bison on the nature trail. They like to eat and sleep!

This 663 acre state park is close to the city and features 7 miles of paved biking and walking trails, a zoo like nature walk with animals including bison, bear, deer and otters in very large open areas – which allows them to hide in the heat of the day!

Sometimes the otters will be hiding but soon they come out to play.

There are wonderful views of the river and marshes, you can step on board and tour the historic Adventure, Charleston’s only 17th-century replica sailing ship and see cannons fired (check website for days and times). The grounds also include 80 acres of gardens, with an elegant live oak alley and the Legare-Waring House.  Call for house tour days and hours. 

The Adventurer.

There are no picnic shelters at Charles Towne Landing but two picnic areas that are available free of charge on a first come, first-served basis. One area has 25 picnic tables and four grills and the second area has 10 picnic tables and two grills.  There are lots  of green spaces to plop down on a blanket or toss a Frisbee. One can also leave the park to eat lunch nearby and return again for another round, just save your receipt. 

Landing Brave at the entrance to the Animal Forest area

Dogs on leashes are allowed (except for the animal forest area) and you can even have a children’s birthday party here with a program by the staff (a fee). A beautiful site for weddings too. 

Then to accommodate visitors even more, they have free wheel chairs and strollers. There are a few areas that you need a little strength to push a wheel chair or stroller up a hill or two but those can be avoided if necessary. There is also a shuttle bus that runs on a nice route doing pickup and drop-offs. Unfortunately the bus is like a large golf cart and frequently there isn’t room to pick up additional passengers especially large family groups. I faded before covering the full 7 miles and rode the shuttle route too.

Reasonable admission prices for an entire days outing $7.50 adult $3.75 senior $3.50  6-15. Open 7 days a week 9am – 5pm except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Free parking.

We will be returning with guests! 

http://www.southcarolinaparks.com/ctl/introduction.aspx