{Road Trip} Day One - A Presidential Start

Sooo, we didn't exactly get out of town as early as I had wanted to (Wednesday night).  It was actually more like 6 hours later (earrrly Thursday morning)...  Sadly, we had to cut most of our planned stops en route to Des Moines, Iowa, but...

amidst several rounds of both the ABC Game and the License Plate Game, and after 3 audio books and a movie later...

{our well loved license plate game}

 we did make time to stop among the miles and miles of cornfields in the middle of nowhere Illinois at the birthplace of President Ronald Reagan in Tampico, Illinois...

and I've decided that this little spot with just under 800 residents is just about the nicest little town ever in the middle of the cornfields in Northern Illinois...

So, we knew we were rolling into town a couple of hours after the "museum" had closed for the day, but I just wanted to stop and take a few photos outside.

 {the window to the room where President Reagan was born in 1911}

President Ronald Reagan was born in an upstairs apartment above a Main Street bakery in tiny Tampico, Illinois.  Over the course of time that the Reagans lived in the upstairs apartment, the bakery closed and reopened as a bank.

Well, I guess that this much action on Main Street on a Thursday night in Tampico can cause quite a stir...

Soon, we'd met the owner of the restaurant next door who informed us that pretty much everyone that volunteered at the museum was inside for a party (probably pretty much everyone that lives in a 5 mile radius, too) and he was sure someone could come over and show us around.

Well, of course, we wanted to go inside the building where the president of my childhood took his very first breaths, but we certainly didn't want to cause anyone any extra trouble!

Before we knew it, another person came out of the restaurant asking if we'd had a tour yet, and she assured us that so and so was just playing dominoes, but she could certainly come give us a tour if we didn't mind waiting a bit.  So, while we waited, we met another couple who shared their surefire way to repel bugs with Listerine in a spray bottle (file that away for Alaska) and how they were "doing" an outdoor wedding recently and had sprayed all the hostas and it just worked like a charm!

As soon as they disappeared into the restaurant, a car pulled up and out popped our tour guide!

I mean, the nicest ever...  It was like 6:00 at night and we got the FULL tour of everything!

 

 {in the room where President Reagan was born}

B even got to step on a rug where President Reagan once stepped...

AND, got to climb through the window into the apartment next door, just like President Reagan did as a child!

 

So did, M...

Fun Fact:  We also learned that in 1872 Admiral Joseph M. Reeves was born in Tampico, as well.  I hadn't heard of him before, but when our tour guide mentioned that while at the Naval Academy in the 1890s, he was credited with inventing the modern football helmet, a certain someone's ears perked up!

After leaving Tampico, we hightailed it on to Des Moines for the night and grabbed dinner at Zombie Burger + Shake Lab.  It has a very weird vibe, and the zombie decor totally creeps our kids out...

 but I've been thinking about the breaded portabello mushroom "burger" that I got last time we were in town ever since, and it didn't disappoint, yet again!

Back on track tomorrow...

More {Road Trip} 2017 Fun

Day Two - Getting Corny

Day Three - Oh, Canada! + Happy Birthday, Hubby

Day Four - Alaska Highway - Dawson Creek, BC to Muncho Lake, BC

Day Five - Alaska Highway - Muncho Lake, BC to Whitehorse, YT

Day Six - Well, Hello ALASKA!

Day Seven - Icebergs, Glaciers, and Fjords, Oh My!

Day Eight - All Around Anchorage + the Parks Highway to Fairbanks

Day Nine - Denali National Park & Preserve + Go UAF Nanooks!
Day Ten - Into the Arctic
Day Eleven - JUNEAU
Days Twelve & Thirteen - Driving for Days
Day Fourteen - Hello, Seattle!
Day Fifteen - A Couple of Capital Cities with Capitol Steps to Climb
Day Sixteen - Out and About in the Portland Area
Day Seventeen - Idaho
Day Eighteen - Utah, and a Goodbye
Day Nineteen - From the Mountains to the Plains
Day Twenty - Canvasing Kansas
Day Twenty-One - Good Bye, Kansas + Hello, Missouri!
Day Twenty-Two - Finishing Up Truman's Missouri
Day Twenty-Three - Kicking It Through Kentucky and HOME!

Ready to Road Trip! {2017 edition}

Hey, ALASKA...  

We're comin' for ya!

Stay tuned...

 {Road Trip} 2016 - A Look Back at LAST Year

Day One - Kicking it Off in Kentucky, Ohio Presidential I and Charleston, West Virginia

 Day Two - Oh, Buffalo...

Day Three - Ohio Presidential II and Columbus, Ohio

Day Four - Ohio Presidential III + A Little Football

Day Five - Ohio Presidential IV

Day Six - Ohio Presidential V + State #40!

Day Seven - Soo Locks and Mackinac Island

Day Eight - Sleeping Bear and President Ford

Day Nine - Lansing, Michigan and The Henry Ford

Day Ten - The VPs of Indiana and HOME!

{Summer FUN} SC Governors VI - Fort Moultrie

With the girls at camp and our boy enjoying "only child status" for the first few days of summer, on our way home from the holiday weekend at the beach, we swung by Fort Moultrie for an encore visit...

We first visited about 5 years ago during the summer of 2012...

{photos from July, 2012}

Our main reason to stop this time, was to visit the grave of General William Moultrie, who served two separate terms as Governor of South Carolina both from 1785-1787 and from 1792-1794.

Governor Moultrie was born in Charlestown, Province of South Carolina, British America on November 23, 1730 and died in Charleston, SC on September 27, 1805.

{Spring Break} SC Governors V - Columbia Part I

As it turns out, a good many of our SC Governors are buried in and around our capital city, Columbia, SC.  In fact, SIX are buried in the churchyard at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral right across from the South Carolina State House...

 

{Though the marker (erected in 1938) cites that 5 SC Governors are buried here, there are now SIX}

Chronologically, the six are as follows...

#1

Governor Richard I. Manning I served as Governor of South Carolina from 1824-1826.

Governor Manning was born in Sumter District, SC on May 1, 1789 and died in Philadelphia, PA on his 47th birthday, May 1, 1836.

#2

Governor John L. Manning, son of Governor Richard I. Manning I, served as Governor of South Carolina from 1852-1854.

Governor Manning was born in Clarendon County, SC on January 29, 1816 and died on October 24, 1889.

#3

Governor Wade Hampton III served as Governor of South Carolina from 1876-1879.

Governor Hampton was born in Charleston, SC on March 28, 1818 and died in Columbia, SC on April 11, 1902.


#4

Governor Hugh S. Thompson served as Governor of South Carolina from 1882-1886.

Governor Thompson was born in Charleston, SC on January 24, 1836 and died in New York City, NY on November 20, 1904.

#5

Governor Richard I. Manning III, grandson of Governor Richard I. Manning I (and nephew of Governor John L. Manning), served as Governor of South Carolina from 1915-1919.

{OOOPS!  Looks like this is the WRONG Richard I. Manning...new photo coming soon!}

Governor Manning was born in Sumter County, SC on August 15, 1859 and died in Columbia, SC on September 11, 1931.

#6

Governor James F. Byrnes served as Governor of South Carolina from 1951-1955.

Governor Byrnes was born in Charleston, SC on May 2, 1882 and died in Columbia, SC on April 9, 1972.

{Spring Break} SC Governors IV - Laurens & Newberry

En route to the beach, we spent another day in search of the graves of a few more SC Governors...

Stop #1 - Laurens, SC

At our first stop in Laurens, SC, we checked off a couple more on our list, BOTH buried in the same cemetery...

Governor William D. Simpson served as Governor of South Carolina from 1879-1880.

Governor Simpson was born in Laurens District, SC on October 27, 1823 and died in Columbia, SC on December 26, 1890.  He is buried in Laurens City Cemetery in Laurens, SC.

AND

Governor Robert A. Cooper served as Governor of South Carolina from 1919-1922.

Governor Cooper was born in Laurens County, SC on June 12, 1874 and died in Greenville County, SC on August 7, 1953.  He is buried in Laurens City Cemetery in Laurens, SC.

Stop #2 - Newberry, SC

Governor Coleman L. Blease served as Governor of South Carolina from 1911-1915.

Governor Blease was born in Newberry, SC on October 8, 1868 and died in Columbia, SC on January 19, 1942.  He is buried in Rosemont Cemetery in Newberry, SC.

{Spring Break} A Little Presidential Fun...

...just to break up everything gubernatorial, you know???

Today we headed up the mountain to visit with my mom, and I finally got the little ones over to see the model used by Charles Keck to sculpt the "Presidents North Carolina Gave the Nation" statue that sits outside the North Carolina State Capitol.  It sits right inside the lobby of the Hendersonville City Hall...

 {with his favorite, President James K. Polk}

There's a pretty neat story that goes along with how it ended up here, too (relocated from a warehouse in Rhode Island of all places)...

Of course, its always interesting to see which states lay claim  to which presidents and why...

Both James K. Polk and Andrew Johnson were actually born in North Carolina ~ Polk in Pineville and Johnson in Raleigh ~ but they lived most of their lives (and are both buried) in Tennessee...

By many accounts, Andrew Jackson is a stretch.  He, too, is generally associated with Tennessee, living out his adult life there and being buried there, but his actual place of birth is up for dispute.  Both North Carolina AND South Carolina claim him and have each erected their own memorials to him on either side of the state line!

While up in North Carolina for the day, we also made a stop by one of my mother's favorite bookstores...

Though his interests these days lean more toward football - football players, football cards, college football, Madden NFL, the NFL in general, and every single football statistic he can cram in his brain, take him in a used bookstore and this is what he comes out with...

Love our little football-obsessed lover of presidents, so...

What a fun day connecting with part of the beginnings of something we visited more than 3 years ago, a true, full-circle moment...

{North Carolina State Capitol ~ February, 2014}

{Spring Break} SC Governors III - Clemson + Anderson + Honea Path

It's Spring Break around these parts, and we went adventuring today, in search of the graves of a few more SC Governors...

Stop #1 - Clemson, SC

Governor Andrew Pickens, Jr. served as Governor of South Carolina from 1816-1818.

Governor Pickens was born in Edgefield County, SC on December 13, 1779 and died in Pontotock, MS on July 1, 1838.  He is buried in the Old Stone Church Cemetery in Clemson, SC, right next to his father, Revolutionary War hero, General Andrew Pickens.

While at the Old Stone Church Cemetery, we paid our respects to the good friend of General Andrew Pickens, and one of my husband's ancestors,  General Robert Anderson...

Stop #2 - Anderson, SC

Governor James L. Orr served as Governor of South Carolina from 1865-1868.

Governor Orr was born in Craytonville, SC on May 12, 1822 and died in St. Petersburg, Russia on May 5, 1873.  He is buried in the First Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Anderson, SC.

Stop #3 - Honea Path, SC

Governor Olin D.T. Johnston served two separate terms as Governor of South Carolina both from 1935-1939 and from 1943-1945.

Governor Johnston was born near Honea Path, SC on November 18, 1896 and died in Columbia, SC on April 18, 1965.  He is buried in the Barkers Creek Baptist Church Cemetery in Honea Path, SC.