Trip 1: Nashville to Montgomery to Panama City to Selma and back again
In August Major, Amber and myself took a trip to see our beloved friends the Gladstones, who have recently returned to William's hometown of Panama City, Florida. Of course, whenever we go somewhere, much to Amber's annoyance (I love you, Amber, for letting me drag you and Major on these little side trips with me), I look for a few interesting things to visit on both the trip to and from our final destination. On the way down, we traveled straight through to Montgomery, where I was able to visit the grave of one of my all time favorite singers, Hank Williams, Sr., as well as the controversial Alabama Governor/three time Presidential hopeful, George Wallace. I had very mixed emotions concerning visiting the grave of George Wallace, who is as famous for blocking the entrance to the University of Alabama during desegregation than anything else he did, but ultimately decided to make the stop in my attempt to (a) visit all of the candidates that have won a single state in the presidential election and (b) visit as many sites related to the civil rights struggle as possible. On the way back from Florida, we swung through Selma, AL, scene of the Voting Rights March, and the attacks of Bloody Sunday, which took place on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Also the grave of Vice President William King (Pierce), who was also allegedly the lover of President James Buchanan, and one of the houses where the psychic Edmund Cayce lived.
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| Hank Williams |
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| George Wallace |
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| Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, AL |
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| Grave of VP William R. King |
Trip 2: Nashville to Cleveland to Grand Rapids and all sites in between....
This was the annual Dead President Trip (DPT) with Effrin. This trip saw us seeing; 8 Presidents (WH Harrison, Harding, McKinley, Garfield, Hayes, Ford, B Harrison, Taylor), 7 Vice Presidents (Richard Johnson (Van Buren), Schuyler Colfax (Grant), John Breckenridge (Buchanan), Gerald Ford (Nixon), Charles Fairbanks (T. Roosevelt), Thomas Hendricks (Grover Cleveland) and Thomas Marshall (Wilson) and 2 Presidential Homes (Garfield's Lawnfield & Hayes' Spiegal Grove). We were also able to visit the grave of Presidential candidate, Senator, Congressman, Secretary of State and the man who Abraham Lincoln once describe as his 'ideal of a great man", Henry Clay, as well as the grave of American pioneer and explorer, Daniel Boone. We also visited the grave of the late-great actor, Jim Varney. It was three days, 28 hours in the car and over 2000 miles traveled....exhausting, but amazing.
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| Henry Clay |
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| VP John Breckenridge |
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| Jim Varney (aka Ernest) |
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| Daniel Boone |
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| VP Richard Johnson |
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| President William Henry Harrison |
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| President Warren G. Harding |
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| President William McKinley |
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| Garfield's Lawnfield |
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| President James A. Garfield |
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| Hayes' Spiegal Grove |
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| President Rutherford B. Hayes |
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| President (and VP) Gerald Ford |
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| VP Schuyler Colfax |
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| President Benjamin Harrison |
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| VP Thomas Marshall |
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| VP Thomas Hendricks |
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| VP Charles Fairbanks |
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| President Zachary Taylor |
Trip 3: Nashville to Fairview and Hopkinsville, KY
This was a quick little day trip that Major and I took when I was off of work and Amber had to work. I'd been interested in seeing the Jefferson Davis Monument in Fairview for several years, but for one reason or another had never been able to make it. This monument was erected at the site of Davis' birth and stands an astounding 351 feet tall and is tallest unreinforced concrete structure in the world and the third tallest obelisk in the world (behind the Washington Monument and the San Jacinto Monument). After our visit to the monument (and some much needed playground time for Major at the park near the monument) we took the short drive into Hopkinsville to visit the grave of Edgar Cayce.
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| Jefferson Davis Monument |
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| Edgar Cayce |
Further reading:
President William Henry Harrison
President Warren G. Harding
President William McKinley
President James Garfield
President Rutherford B. Hayes
President Gerald Ford
President Benjamin Harrison
President Zachary Taylor
Vice President William R. King
Vice President Richard Johnson
Vice President Schuyler Colfax
Vice President John Breckenridge
Vice President Charles Fairbanks
Vice President Thomas Hendricks
Vice President Thomas Marshall
Hank Williams
George Wallace
Edgar Cayce
Edmund Pettus Bridge
Jefferson Davis Monument
