The Low Country /  by Dave Hileman

The coastal area around Charleston is known as the “Low Country.” Jill and I spent a week here on the second half of our honeymoon, so this week’s theme is from our trip and possibly a few other times that the Low Country has been the destination,.

One thing that is certain if it is summer (or spring or fall) it is hot and usually humid - it certainly was true on the second full week of August. That is just part of the reality of living in Charleston yet the benefits are lovely: history, scenery, ocean, marsh, charm, marvelous food and lots more. We had a great time and love the area, hope this week encourages you to take a trip to the Low Country..

Today the photos are from the Hubcaw Barony - story tomorrow plus….

…. when you find out how I shared a bathroom with FDR and Winston Churchill. Really.

I had to take this through the windshield of the van we were in, hence the mirror shadow. But it was so neat. This is the original King’s Highway and along it rode, Lafayette to meet George Washington, The Swamp Fox, F. Marion as he harassed the British, Cornwallis on his march to the infamy of the surrender at Yorktown and so much more. It would be Route 17 today if not for an influential man who did not want a highway across his land. More later on that story.

Church and house in what was an enslaved people’s village

A vital weather station along the tidal marsh

A Different Post /  by Dave Hileman

Today is one year removed from CIndy’s last morning. And my worst day ever. This photo is one of many where she was most happy - with one or all of her grandkids. This photo from 2008 is EB as a baby and Cindy’s delight in her curiosity. Cindy would be so proud of her children and her grandchildren a year later, they are all doing well, achieving and living in the context of church. We all miss her greatly.

My life took unexpected, wonderful turns and has so changed in the last year that it is hard to imagine. And Jill is a blessing every day. I am so grateful for such a compassionate and loving partner who knows how to bless and comfort when tears come.

Solitary .4 /  by Dave Hileman

Yes, I know this is very familiar - look at Monday’s post. However it is about 5 minutes apart. The dog continued down the beach and this fellow riding his bike came to an impasse with the inlet. It looks very shallow but there was an 10/12 inch crease filled with the water and the sides were quite soft. He was trying to decide if he could ride or push across or go back. A solitary moment.

Solitary .2 /  by Dave Hileman

This was an enslaved person’s home from near the end of the Civil War and later it was lived in, by choice, well into the 20th century by a single woman who did not want any improvements made to her home. Located on old sugar cane plantations a short distance from Georgetown, SC and owned in the early 1900’s by Bernard Baruch a financier and advisor to presidents and personal friend of Winston Churchill. More on that next week.

Food - Picnic -Friends /  by Dave Hileman

From time to time I will share here on the Food Saturday’s not ice cream or restaurants but some home meals and today, a picnic we had at some dear friends over Labor Day. This was held at the home of Jean Burkhart who was my honorary “mother” at the wedding last month. Jean is not able to get about as well as she once was so the picnic was indoors at her lovely home. A much preferred picnic venue because of the lack of bugs! I don’t like bugs! But the food was pure spectacular picnic fare. And we had wonderful home-churned strawberry ice cream, too. What a nice way to celebrate a holiday: great food, great friends and joyful conversations. You are permitted to drool:)

Tea Week .3 /  by Dave Hileman

An afternoon tea at home. Jill celebrated a birthday a short time ago and I served her an afternoon tea in the style (sort of) that we enjoyed at Waveland in Kentucky (Monday’s post). I brewed two teas from Elmwood Inn (yesterday’s post) along with an assortment of small bites on nice china. Not to worry, I bought most of the “small bites” at the food bar at Whole Foods so it was all safe and fun. A lovely afternoon experience with a touch of elegance..

Our first tea was Paris Afternoon and the second, Chocolate Mint, both are black teas. At the Elmwood Inn store we also had a short lesson on proper tea brewing and I bought a neat electric kettle from Cuisinart, a GK-1 Digital Goose Neck Kettle. It was at that point offered at half price which was nice but the neat thing is the you can set the temperature between 140 and 212 and when it reaches the temperature it will then hold it there for 30 minutes. And it is fast.

Tea Week .2 /  by Dave Hileman

The tea we had at the mansion - yesterday’s post - was provided by a tea company just a short distance from Lexington in Danville, KY. So we thought we would visit. Turned out to be much more than we expected. The town intself is historic with beautiful old homes, Center College, and a great heritage, for example, this is where the Kentucky Constitution was signed.

The tea company, Elmwood Inn, was also much more than we expected. It was there we met Bruce, the proprietor, and, in keeping with our emerging theme, so much more than one would expect. Bruce is an encyclopedia of tea knowledge but that is not just our newly formed opinion, it is seen in his many books on the subject and his speaking about tea that takes him around the world, Bruce’s tea shop was the first in the US to be designated by the English Tea Association. His expertise in blending teas is sought out across the globe and he is known for his designer teas. One example was his blend to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party in 2023. He has designed teas for royalty, famous restaurants and many special occasions. We chatted with him and had an informative tour of the little shop that is adjacent to the shipping and production end of his business. We also enjoyed a tasting of two distinct teas. We did, naturally, purchase three cans of tea, Paris Afternoon, Paris Morning and Chocolate Mint. They are in small cans with a sealed reusable lid and will keep the tea fresh for a long while. There is a lot of tea in each container as well so very well-priced. Jill also bought a book - that Bruce autographed with lots of afternoon tea menus, ideas and recipes. Danville and the Elmwood Inn Tea Company turned out to be a delightful afternoon stop.

More information here: https://www.elmwoodinn.com

A suffragette reproduction tea service - I think Rusty and Dennis were opposed to this measure?

Tea Week /  by Dave Hileman

From the 1925 Broadway show, “No, No Nanette” comes a song with a chorus that goes:

Picture you, Upon my knee

Just tea for two, And two for tea

Just me for you, And you for me

Alone

Welcome to Tea Week on Two Lane Touring. Jill enjoys tea and we often have afternoon tea. That was the theme of our reception as well, Afternoon Tea. Photos from which will be included on Thursday’s post. On our honeymoon I made a reservation for an afternoon tea (no dummy here!) at the historic Waveland Estate near Lexington, KY. The home was built by the grandnephew of Daniel Boone in 1848 and is now a state historic site. We were there for their “Tea Tuesday” with our several hosts in period costume. There were two teas served and the story behind them is tomorrow’s post. The first tea was a darjeeling and the second was a mint dessert tea. And three courses of small bites like chicken salad on a croissant, tiny quiche, ham biscuit, and four desserts on the last plate. They even accommodated my “no cheese mandate.” After the tea we had a guided tour of the house and then walked the grounds and gardens. Nice afternoon.

Food - Restaurant - Kennett Square - Pennsylvania /  by Dave Hileman

Kellett Square is a pleasant town located in Southeast Pennsylvania near the Delaware boarder. The famous Longwood Gardens is located just a mile to so away thus there are lots of restaurant choices and shops on the charming main street. Jill and I were engaged the day that we ate at Portabello’s so my usual brilliant, insightful, and completely accurate perspective “might” be flawed. Our engagement celebration was magical and the restaurant added to the nice day with a fabulous meal. The upscale atmosphere with linens and soft lighting were lovely. The dark apricot walls showcased many local artists. The chef owned restaurant serves contemporary American cuisine and the menu features several mushroom choices as they are in the midst of many mushroom farms. Jill had a mushroom risotto while I stayed with the seafood choice that was brimming with wild shrimp, clams, PEI mussels, calamari, and cooked with Pinot Grigio and Linguini. As a bonus Jill’s daughter and her husband had arranged with the restaurant for a slice of amazing cake for us. I found the food exceptional and if you are looking for a great meal and all flowered-out from Longwood Gardens, try Portabellos. And if you just got engaged it is a the superior choice.

National Park Service Week .4: Lake Clark National Park, Alaska /  by Dave Hileman

Lake Clark was all about bears. We saw 13 that afternoon. Tom Light and I flew from Homer, AK, in a sea plane (which was super cool all by itself) to vast salt water “flats” at the southern edge of Lake Clark. There is no access to this National Park except by plane or boat. The plane landed at a basecamp where we transferred to an airboat, like you see in the Florida Everglades. In fact this one was made in Florida and when we were at Lake Clark it was one of only two airboats in Alaska. The airboat sat two rows of 5 each and Tom and I were on the front. The operator would skim over the water and then cut the engine to wait as he knew the bears’ patterns and we would sit quietly as they approached. Not quite the thrill of Katmai National Park where we walked among the bears but close. A highlight for me was the young cub, six months old, with his mom. He was chasing birds and captured a large stick that he played with for 15 minutes. Also at one point another bear charged our boat but stopped - as the guide said he would - about 30 feet away. Still a bit of excitement for sure. We watched three of them move toward us but one caught a fish and ate it less than 25 feet from the boat. I also spotted three new birds for my life list and that was cool as well. We were in the airboat for about 2 hours and it took nearly an hour each way in the air from Homer. Note the photo of the old, rusty crane. There is a lot of abandoned equipment in Alaska because it is too expensive to remove it and the mud will slowly engulf the whole machine.

Great experience and worth the steep price.

This last photo is what many of the memories of Alaska represent. Bears, we saw about 35 grizzlies, mountains, water and small planes. A wonderland.

National Park Service Week .3: Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska /  by Dave Hileman

From the web site: “Kenai Fjords can be a challenging place to visit, with much of it only accessible from the water. The waters around Kenai Fjords and Resurrection Bay provide a unique experience, whether seeing the awe-inspiring power of a tidewater glacier and the expanse of the Gulf of Alaska.” The challenging aspect is characteristic of many of the parks in Alaska. Sometimes that can read expensive sometimes hard to get to and often both are true. Kenai Fjords is not hard to tour if you go on one of the boats out of Seward. We chose one that was full day and with the National Park ranger on board. I think it was a good choice. We saw the ice floes and glaciers from the boat but a side benefit was the rich marine life: whales, sea birds, otters, and seals were plentiful. There is also a land section of the park called Exit Glacier near Seward that you can hike to and we did that as well. The photos are self explanatory and since captions are not loading properly I will just say here the scenery is much more magnificent than these photos convey and the experience of seeing so many animals rather close is unforgettable. Kenai Fjords was my least favorite of the National Parks we visited in Alaska and it would still be worth the trip to Alaska to see if it were the only park - Alaska is a wondrous place and three months there flew by and there was so much to still explore. Breathtaking experiences.

National Park Service Week .2: Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site, Alabama /  by Dave Hileman

In many ways the story is the same as yesterday’s visit to the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, physically a short drive apart, Black Americans heavily discriminated against creating remarkable achievements against difficult odds and often at great risk. The story of both the Tuskegee Institute under the guidance of Booker T. Washington and the personal story of George Washington Carver are told at this National Park unit, but not told as well as they deserve. I did read that the museum is under renovation and that was sorely needed. But the whole site is a joint project of Tuskegee Institute and the NPS but clearly funding is an issue here and maintenance is needed as well as modernization. This reality ought not keep you from a visit to learn more and honor two remarkable men and their great achievements in education, agriculture, health and medicine, just some of the areas where they helped change lives. Link to the NPS site: https://www.nps.gov/tuin/index.htm

Captions are not working correctly, so, photo two is a shot of the current campus, three is a Mobile Classroom or school. GWC knew most of those who needed information on how to raise better crops, healthier foods and provide better lives for their families could not make the trip to Tuskegee so he went to them. Ahead of his time! Photo four is “The Oaks” the home of Booker T. Washington.

Museum at Tuskegee

Museum at Tuskegee is dedicated to George Washington Carver

National Park Service Week: Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site, Alabama /  by Dave Hileman

Our theme is week is National Park Service units. Each month until I get everything up-to-date in the National Park Galleries, I will feature four parks. I have tried a few ways to organize that section of TLT but have decided that the best way is to have pages for each park with links back to the page. A lot needs redone or done. Going in order i am doing two missing from Alabama and two from Alaska. There are many already done but more not finished than finished, so this is about a three-year project.

But on to more important things, the first park, Tuskegee Airmen, is a wonderful place located near Tuskegee Alabama and the Tuskegee Institute. If you like American history, aviation, WWII history or the amazing ability of people given opportunities to take hold of those rare circumstances and go well beyond what was expected, you should visit. The heroic men of the Tuskegee Airmen all fit that category. Rather than write all that is in the two cited articles, I have some notes with each photograph. If you are not familiar with or need a refresher this NPS article is a very good overview: https://www.nps.gov/tuai/index.htm, Or this one with more detail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Airmen

There may be some members still surviving but it is thought the last man died at 102 in 2023.

This is the business end of the two-seat Stearman Kaydet training aircraft used by the Airmen.

This is a full view of the trainer. It has the strips on the tail, which later became Red Tails. This is also one of the first models I ever built, I guess I was about 10 or so. Didn’t look much like the box when I was done but I did get better!

This was the workhorse of the fighter units, the P-51 Mustang with the Red Tail and other red markings. They were a formidable force in the air battles over Europe.

This is a Piper J-3 trainer and what the first flights for the Airmen would be in. Mrs. Roosevelt went up in one here. Brave woman.

This is an overview of Moton Field today. Many buildings are missing. The dinning hall / dance floor and a few other buildings are here. Including the big hanger below where the prime museum is today.

Sunday Scripture: Photo is from Isle of Palms, SC, Atlantic Ocean beach /  by Dave Hileman

We often see the amazing hand of God written large in front of us: sunrises, mountains, deep forests, waterfalls and watching the milky way emerge in the darkness. And we see it equally as well in the minute like tiny babies’ giggles. The intricacies of this world are beyond any earthly architect to design. I read recently about bees. When a bee returns to the hive after finding a significant source of pollen it will vibrate (dance), to indicate how far away the source is and can orient in such a way that other bees know to fly in a certain direction for a specified period of time to get to the source. Fascinating. Yet what adds even more wonder is that another bee who was in the area and may have noted a predator can vibrate in a different frequency to alert the others to possible danger and thus negate the first bee's message. Amazing.