Solar Eclipse

Posted on by Thor

Getting to witness a complete solar eclipse is rare. When I found out a solar eclipse was coming, I researched where the path of totality was as it passed across the country. The narrow band crossed over Charleston, South Carolina. I have a sister who lives in Charleston so I gave her a call. Then I researched the best places to witness the eclipse and I found out about Joe Riley Stadium the home of the River Dogs. The stadium opened early before the game so that fans could watch the eclipse.

Pam and I found solar glasses well over a month before. We drove up to South Carolina with John Naughton and his nephew. The road trip itself was fun with a few short stops along the way, including an amazing restaurant in Savannah Georgia. My sister agreed to join us on game day to watch the eclipse. It felt good to share such a rare event with family.

I expected huge crowds approaching the stadium but parking and getting in proved effortless. Once seated, we got a few hot dogs and waited. Announcers kept track of the eclipse progress sharing video on the jumbo-tron screen. A drone hovered over the field watching the crowd and the players lounged on top of their dugout to watch as well. Hundreds of people watched the sky with their solar glasses. Some kids had built their own solar pinhole devices which projected the eclipse on a white card for viewing. The last time I witnessed a solar eclipse I was maybe 10 years old and made a similar pinhole viewer. A group of students also launched a weather balloon high above the field. Rumors circulated that Actor Bill Murray was in the crowd. A face painter was busy painting solar eclipse themes faces.

It took quite some time for the sun to completely block out the sun. When it did the stadium grew quiet. Even the birds stopped chirping. It was a reflective moment. This crowd seemed small compared to the grand scale of the universe. Gaps between leaves in the trees acted as pin hole viewers projecting crescent shaped images all over the pavement. Just as the day had grown pitch black, it slowly illuminated again. Once the sun was out, the game got under way and went on right until sunset. The sunset was glorious and golden behind the bleachers.

Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens

Posted on by Thor

On a road trip with John Naughton to South Carolina, we were all looking for something to do on a Sunday. We decided to visit Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens (1235 Long Point Rd, Mt Pleasant, SC 29464). The historic “Avenue of Oaks” leads up to to the house with southern live oaks on either side, originally planted in 1743. In front of the plantation was a butterfly garden. One butterfly rested on Pam’s back for like an hour. While
everyone else toured the inside of the plantation, I sketched outside.
It was a gorgeous day and I sat on a bench under the shade of a large
live oak.

In the
early 18th century, cotton plantations were enormously profitable, and
this stunningly beautiful estate was a giant of Charleston’s low country
cotton farming. Boone Hall is one of the oldest plantations. Instead of
cotton, they now produce peaches, strawberries, tomatoes and pumpkins.
During certain seasons guests are allowed to pick their own food. Boone
Hall has been
featured in several movies. 

The plantation includes a large Colonial Revival
plantation house (completed in 1936) that replaced the lost original
house on the site, a number of slave cabins running parallel with the oak alley which date back to 1790-1810. It was common for owners to display
their slave cabins in the front of the property as a sign of wealth.
Built of brick, the one-story structures are 12 feet by 30 feet with
gabled roofs, have either plank or dirt floors and a simple fireplace
with a brick hearth and no mantle at the rear of each house. The cabins
were in use well into the 20th century, as they were occupied by sharecroppers through the 1940s. Today they display information on slave life. They looked very uncomfortable to live in with dirt floors.

There was an outdoor presentation on the Gullah culture. The Gullah are African Americans who live in the Low Country region of the U.S. states of Georgia and South Carolina, in both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands. They developed a creole language, the Gullah language, and a culture rich in African influences that makes them distinctive among African Americans.We learned about the culture through stories and song.

Mrs Wilkes Dining room in Savannah Georgia

Posted on by Thor

I was traveling through Georgia with Pam Schwartz, John Naughton and a relative of John’s named Ben Wozniak. John had researched Mrs. Wilkes’ Dining room (107 West Jones St. Savannah, GA 31401) and it was the main reason we stopped in the historic city.

A line gathers each morning at 11 o’clock. That line literally wraps around the block. When the doors open, the lunch crowd finds seats at one of the large
tables-for-ten shared by strangers. Tabletops are crowded with platters
of fried chicken and cornbread dressing, sweet potato souffle,
black-eyed peas, okra gumbo, corn muffins and biscuits. We had our choice of some 24 food options all on one table! The menu changes
daily so regulars can have something different every day. There is a unique pleasure of having a meal shared with neighbors and
strangers. Lunch is $23 per person but reservations do not exist. You just need to get in line and hope to get in. The place is closed in January so don’t drive up that way immediately.

This dining experience was the highlight of the trip. You had to pace yourself to be sure you tried everything but had seconds of what you truly loved. It was like having Thanksgiving with strangers. John purchased the Mrs. Wilkes’ Cookbook and Pam took down some of the recipes, so we will be trying some of these traditional southern dishes.

We also explored some of the city’s historic squares in Savannah to walk off the huge meal we had. The final destination of the trip was Charleston, South Carolina where Pam and I visited my sister Shirley Steinmetz. The three of us went to the River Dogs’ baseball stadium where the game was interrupted by a complete solar eclipse. We had the necessary solar glasses to watch the sun as it was eclipsed. When the day turned black everything became completely silent. Then as the sky began to turn light again, the game resumed.

My sister loves genealogy, as do Pam and I, so there was plenty to talk about at my sister’s house. Pam has encouraged me to do research online and I am amazed at the amount of legal documents that are available at the press of a button. I am able to quickly find source documents to verify all the information on my tree. There are still road blocks, but the journey is what is exciting.

The road trip back to Orlando was as much fun as the trip north to Charleston. John Naughton did all the driving. He and Pam discussed recipes in the front seats and I dozed off in the back seat as the miles flew by.

Guinness Presented True Sound Live at Rogue Pub.

Posted on by Thor

An impromptu road trip to South Carolina ended at Rogue Pub
(3076 Curry Ford Rd, Orlando, Florida 32806). True Sound is a music project based in the greater Orlando area. Drawing
upon various musical influences, they have developed a unique, polished
sound. The lighting in the pub was set up on the dart boards rather than the band, so the performers were dark silhouettes against the bright wall. I did what I could with the low light setting. Hayley Rose, and Ben Wozniak performed covers and several of Ben’s original songs. One original was about experiencing a German park and the song was fun and lively. Another song was about settling into routines rather than seizing each day.


Ben had just been on a whirlwind road trip with his uncle John Naughton, Pam Schwartz and myself. We went as far north as Charleston on the 4 day trip, seeking out historical sites and coffee shops all along the way. In Savannah we went to the fabulous Mrs. Wilkes restaurant which serves the food Thanksgiving style in bowls that are passed around large tables that seat multiple guests family style. There were over 20 different dishes served along with fried chicken, meat loaf, collared greens, macaroni and cheese and a wide variety of vegetables. It was definitely the highlight of the trip, but we also found other restaurants that were true gems.


The final day of the road trip was a marathon sprint to be sure Ben made it to his gig at Rogue Pub. I ordered a Hefferweissen, Pam had some sour passion fruit Schnoodlepip and John had a chocolate stout that was delicious. After the band’s first set, Guinness offered beers on the house, so I nursed Guinness as I completed the sketch. We had vacationed hard and I was exhausted by the end of the evening. The beers further relaxed me. Ben’s brother, Josh Wozniak, joined the group for the last set, doing percussion by banging a wooden box (a cajón) he sat on. This was a fun evening and a fun way to cap off an amazing trip.