One Flight through Monroeville

I feel like today was an especially important day on this trip.  I have always been fascinated with the long friendship between Truman Capote and Harper Lee.  I remember being amazed that the character of Dill was based on the author of "Christmas Memories."  When I began to think of an outline for a trip to the South, I designed it around my interest in Harper Lee and Truman Capote.  How did a young boy with a tragic background become the flamboyant man whose life and works captured a nation?  How did this deep friendship affect their works?  How did Lee's experiences of race affect her novel?  As I began thinking I knew I wanted to explore more about race, religion and identity and how it shaped the South, and shapes the work of those writing in it.

So, it was with MUCH excitement that I arrived in Monroe, Alabama to see this setting for myself!

I began in the Monroe Country Heritage Museum.  Here I learned about the county, its legal system, and two of its most famous literary figures!

 CAPOTE!

 I have always been fascinated by his relationship with Sook, his eccentric aunt, and one of the people who truly accepted and supported him, and from whom he was taken away.

  One of the homemade blankets that Truman used to comfort himself.

 Sook's "coat of a thousand colors" from Christmas Memories.

After these exhibits I was able to visit the original court room.  As you can see, it was the court room used and modeled in To Kill a Mockingbird.

I spent a lot of time exploring the town, but seeing the site of Capote's house was the highlight for me!

Harper Lee's house is now the site of a dairy stand, but the crumbled remains of the stone wall that separated Truman and Harper as children still remains.

The Courthouse Cafe serves "finch" fries and was where many cast members ate during the filming of the movie.

Monroeville was so interesting and everyone we met was so thoughtful and kind.  

Tonight we pulled into New Orleans and checked into our hotel.  Tomorrow is sure to be a busy day!

Sweet Home, Alabama

Today was a lot of driving with some amazing adventures thrown in!

We said goodbye to our GA home and headed to Alabama.  The weather was great with burst of rain- and when I say bursts, I mean it!

We first went to Birmingham to see the Civil Rights Museum.  It was such an experience and a moving presentation of sacrifices and successes.  I sadly was not allowed to take pics in the museum because there were SO many amazing things I wanted to share.  It was amazing to be in Birmingham, and now in Montgomery, where so much of this struggle happened.  It is also interesting to hear people from this area talk about the movement, some with awe and some with a raised eyebrow.

This is a picture of me outside of the museum.  I bring back books and a lot of knowledge and understanding!

This path replicates the famous Civil Rights March.

We left Birmingham and headed to Montgomery, where we are staying.  We visited the F. Scott Fitzgerald house and saw a little bit about Fitzgerald's life, and that of his fascinating wife, Zelda.

Lastly, we arrived at our B&B where we are staying in the Great Gatsby Suite!  My room is gorgeous and I had to share a few pics!

We have just returned from a huge dinner of Alabama BBQ and it was SO good!  We are stuffed and ready for bed!

Tomorrow we leave Montgomery for Mobile and Monroeville!  Then to NOLA tomorrow night!!!

Georgia On My Mind

What a wonderful time we have had in Georgia!

We arrived last night and settled into the The Social Goat, our adorable B&B.  It is aptly named, since it is home to numerous turkeys, chickens, and yes- three goats!  It is adorable, and we enjoyed the gorgeous grounds right in Atlanta.

My first impressions of driving through Atlanta- its BIG!  This is no country town, but a big, busy city! Six lane double highways and skyscrapers greeted our arrival.

 Our home in GA!

 Hank loved the turkeys

...and the goats!

We went out to a local restaurant in Atlanta.  Reaffirming the metropolitan impression of Atlanta was one of the hippest, most diverse crowds I have ever seen.  Gay, straight, black and white, and all ages, all sat together and enjoyed the amazing fare.  It was great to be a part of, and different from my expectations.  I think being in a hub of the South lends itself to being a more diverse, liberal environment.  I am eager to compare it to more rural places.

 After dinner (where we ate alligator bites!!!) we went across the street to explore the historic cemetery.  It was both amazing and awe inspiring....and a little spooky!  The graves were a mix of family plots, spanning generations, and confederate stones filling a whole block.

This morning we woke up to a delicious breakfast of eggs from our B&B and maple praline syrup on waffles.  YUM!

We then headed to MLK Jr's birthplace.  We saw a museum dedicated to his life and work, and then visited the Center for Non Violence.  We then went to his house and neighborhood.  Truly humbling and amazing.

 From the MLK Jr exhibit.

 MLK's resting place and reflecting pool.

 Shotgun houses, inhabited now, but from MLK's childhood.

 MLK's birthplace.

Next, we switched gears to learn about Margaret Mitchell and her interesting life before and after Gone With the Wind.  Walter has never seen it so we have planned a viewing!

 Mitchell's house, once a single family, then an apartment building, now restored.

Our next two stops followed the life and stories of Uncle Remus and Charles Harris.  Uncle Remus is an invented character that told folk tales and passed on hymns to slave children.  He was to be pictured as you wanted him to be in your mind.  Harris, working on a plantation at the age of 14, overheard these stories in their native dialect and later recorded them to share them.  Though they were recorded by others, he was the first, and he was the only to record them in their native dialect.  He went on to work with illustrators, including Beatrix Potter, to bring these stories to life.  Though he wrote many stories, he is most well known for these.  We visited his birthplace and the Uncle Remus museum as well as his home, Wren's Nest, in Atlanta.  When I look at the origins of stories and tales, this was an unexpected find that enriches my work so much!  Harris' work is the retelling of oral stories passed on from slave to slave.  The role of identity and race cannot be separated from these stories or from their recording.  

 A former slave cabin, now the Uncle Remus museum.

 From Harris' home.

 Harris' home in Atlanta.


Lastly we drove to Eatonton (where Uncle Remus' museum is) to further out in the county to visit an antique school house and to find Alice Walker's birthplace.

 This is a replica of Eantonton's original stores.

 And this is the classroom that white students attended in Eatonton in the 30's.

 This is Alice Walker's birthplace, now a functioning farm and store.

Driving down the country streets of Georgia is a wonderful experience.  A few country songs queued up on the ipod and this road ahead of you?  Who could ask for more?!

We even stopped for some Georgia peaches- which, spelling errors aside, were delicious!

Tomorrow we pack up and head for Alabama!

Great Times in DC

We are concluding our DC visit early tomorrow morning as we hit the road to Georgia.  

DC was a great stop.  Relaxing in the Writer's Retreat Space at Akwaaba was amazingly refreshing.  VIsitng Bus Boys and Poets provided me a great view into a modern SpeakEasy, and allwoed em to pick up some great texts to teach and supplement my curriculum in 11 and 12th grade ELA.

We had sometime for fun too!  Hank and I explored Dupont Circle in DC, just steps from our B&B.  It was a gorgeous day!

On the fun side, we also visited the Air and Space Museum, since Hank LOVES space and astronauts! A trip to the Planetarium rounded out this visit.

It wasn't all fun and escapism, because we ended the day with a visit to the American Indian Museum.  It was AMAZING.  As someone who is exploring the relationship between literature, identity, race and religion, a visit to the American Indian Exhibits were essential.

I have decided to teach some Sherman Alexie, both to my ELA 11 and my ELA 12.  I LOVE Alexie, and with the current issue of censoring his YA work, he is especially timely.  His essays and fiction are equally moving, and I was excited to pick up some of his work at the museum.  I also got a lot of material on Native lore and the history of NA literature, both modern and folk.

I had been planning on visiting Baltimore to study some about Poe, but in learning more about his life, I don't think he fits the outline of the study that I am completing, and I hadn't anticipated how perfectly this visit *would* fit my study.  It was a great visit and I will certainly take many things back to my class.

DC- We loved our time here!  We leave relaxed, refreshed and energized!

Tomorrow- a day of driving!  From two big cities to Georgia...Some city but a lot of country!  My ipod is queued up with hours of country!  Get ready, Walter!

DC, here we are!

We left Harlem early this AM and set our GPS for Washington DC, and the beautiful Akwaaba Inn.  It is gorgeous and located in DuPont Circle, and on the same road as the White House.  You couldn't have asked for anything better in terms of location.  This boutique inn is black owned and operated and each room is named for a Harlem Renaissance writer.  We are in the Writer's Retreat rooms.

When we first arrived we were starving, so we walked to the end of our street to find a restaurant with a bustling crowd and a big sign that proclaimed "Gurl, you look hungry!" and we WERE!  We stopped and ate a delicious drag themed brunch!  It appears we had arrived in DC!



One of the places I most wanted to visit is Busboys and Poets, a modern day speak easy, bookstore and coffee shop. It was amazing, and had a great vibe.  Walter and I remarked that we had never seen such a diverse crowd of all races, sexualities, ages and expressions.  We loved it!   The food was great but the atmosphere was even better.  There were spoken word performances and dances in the next room, and book talks scheduled through the month.

Here is a great explanation of the name of Busboys- it comes from Langston Hughes' first job as  busboy!

These are some of the spoils I took back from the bookstore.  I will use the Walker essays in my ELA 11 AP, as they are rich in language and theme.  I will teach Song of Solomon and Their Eyes Were Watching God to my 12th grade classes, and later on in the trip will be visiting the birth places of these authors.

It was a great start to DC!  We plan on visiting the American Indian Museum to study some myths and folktales, as I think that will add a rich dimension to my studies on race and religion in literature and essays.  I can't wait!