2024 Vacation Tour
It’s great to be home from our June trip through Memphis (friends), Atlanta (the traffic!!), Savanah (serene and historical), Montgomery (history central!), then back to Memphis before the long trip home. It was a much needed get-away for my husband and me. Here are the highlights, with cool pictures…
Trips to Memphis on the front and back end of our vacation, were mostly spent with AC, whose story I am writing. The highlight was taking he and his wife for a paddleboat cruise on the Mississippi river, in celebration of AC’s birthday.
Photos: 1) AC, subject of upcoming book, “Don’t Call Me Boy.” We all enjoyed a cruise to celebrate his birthday. 2) AC and his sweet wife on the cruise. 3) Fake paddle, for those of us who don’t know what one looks like. 4) the Island Queen, ready to take us down the Mississippi River, in Memphis, TN.
Next, we swung through Atlanta for my husband’s job training, then we were on our way to the next stop. There were sights to see there, but we were put-off by the traffic, so we went on to Savannah, GA. There I was honored to meet one of my Kidlit Connect authors in person. Mandy Farmer, author of the “Holly” series and the book, “Soft Hugs for Mommy.” She and her husband came over to our “cozy cabin,” so I could get an autograph. We visited for hours, discovering we have much more in common then we imagined. The visit was over way too soon.
L: Mandy Farmer, Kidlit Connect Author of "Soft Hugs for Mommy," a book about a family whose Mommy gets Fibromyalgia. Great read for families of Chronic Pain sufferers.
R: Me with Samantha Brand-Embry, teacher and brave Mom of six children, who bought both of my books for her classroom. (Yes, I do start conversations with random strangers in restaurants.) This picture taken at The Pirate's House, a well-known historic restaurant in Savannah, once the hang-out of pirates and sailors, rather than authors and teachers.
While in Savannah, we also toured the Owens-Thomas Historic House and Slave Quarters. Even with all the interesting things to see in the house: the construction, decor, and historical information, I was drawn to the “Slave Quarters,” taking in some early American history at it’s worst. Here is a site that shows more about the museum: https://www.telfair.org/visit/owens-thomas/
The first four photos show how the rich white owners lived in this grand early 1800’s mansion, versus the dwelling areas of the enslaved. The house has been restored to as close as possible to the original. From top to bottom, left to right: 1) The outside of the home owned by a wealthy shipping merchant and enslaver 2) Dining area 3) Bedroom 4) Gardens outside home 5) Fireplace in lower level of home, where enslaved people were expected to prepare meals for the family. 6) Dwelling where enslaved people lived. The blue paint, often seen on ceilings (and some doorways) of such dwellings, was believed to chase away unwanted spirits. (all photos mine)
Montgomery was where the raw emotion came to the surface, from seeing so vividly, the treatment of Black Americans from enslavement to incarceration. We went to the Legacy Museum, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, the Civil Rights Memorial Center, and the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park. These museums are teaching the history which so many want to sweep under the rug. They are presented with excellence, showing not only fact, but with raw emotion that wrenches the heart. There were times when I just had to stop and breathe, sometimes weeping at the vision of beautiful people, so cruelly treated. Below, are some photos, though in most of these museums, photos were not allowed. I would encourage you to see them all, if you can get to Montgomery. Note: the last National Freedom Monument lists the last names of all those enslaved in our country. AC’s last name is on that wall.
We took a little side-trip to Selma, where we visited the Edmond Pettus Bridge, the site of the brutal “Bloody Sunday” beatings of civil rights marchers, during their first march for voting rights. The attacks were televised, (caught on “candid” camera) and broadcast over nationwide news! There was instant outcry and support for the activists and the voting rights campaign. To stand where it all took place, was emotional. Some of them paid the ultimate price, many had long-term injuries, as they stood for the right to vote.
Most of these photos are self-explanatory. Many were taken at the Civil Rights Memorial Park, at the base of the Pettis Bridge. Many have asked if I took the walk. Some things are hard for me - one of those being “uphill.” I went quite a ways up the hill, but did not walk the whole thing. If you want to know more about “Bloody Sunday,” go here: https://www.history.com/news/selma-bloody-sunday-attack-civil-rights-movement
Overall, I gathered some amazing information, but the trip was so much more. The emotional journey is what I remember most. That is the journey, we as authors, must provide to our readers to make our books memorable.
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