About Last Weekend: Fort Fisher and Me, Donovan's Reef, Michael Nesmith, Lake View Place, Cuda's and the Raccoon

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9

I will be sending the Friends of Fort Fisher a donation for rebuilding some of the mounds at the fort which were torn down to built a landing strip during World War II when the old fort served as a base for training anti-aircraft gunners.  Planes flown by the WASPs towed targets.  Fort Fisher was a famous Civil War fort in North Carolina and the biggest reason I'm such a history nut and ended up as a teacher.  You might say it had an impact on me.

Met Kevin and Kelly and some others at Donovan's Reef in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, for trivia and those half price happy hour drinks.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10

Sure can't complain about temperatures this fall season as it is usually 40 to 50 degrees.   So sorry to hear Michael Nesmith of the Monkees and a solo artist died today.  I was a big Monkee fan.  

Met Kevin and Kelly at Lake View Place on Grasslake for their $1 draft pint special. They have a great view of the lake from there.  Then went to 'Cuda's on Grasslake Road for their excellent fish fry.  On the way home, hit a big raccoon.  I didn't have a chance to avoid it.

--RoadDog

Got My Flags Up To Commemorate the 76th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor Today

I just went out in the cold (and a light smattering of snow) and put up two U.S. flags to honor those who died and survived that attack on Pearl Harbor 76 years ago that plunged the country into World War II.

Pearl Harbor, along with the Alamo, Fort Fisher and the Titanic have always been the four history stories that have interested me the most.

Sadly, as far as I know, there are no ceremonies in our part of northeast Illinois that is having anything for it.

This being the very first major action of the war for the United States, these persons are among the very oldest of those remaining from World War II and because of it, they are dying off even faster than the others.

When I was growing up, it seemed that all of my parents' friends were World War II veterans and it is hard to imagine there coming a time when they won't be around anymore.

In observance, every one of my blogs today will be about Pearl Harbor.

Hope You Are Flying Your Flag Today.   --

N.C. Fall 2016-- Part 4: Fort Fisher, Silver Dollar Bar, Topsail Beach and a Flood

SEPTEMBER 22, 2016, THURSDAY

Drove to Wilmington in off-and-on rain.  It has rained like that the whole time I have been in North Carolina, since Thursday.  As usual, heavy traffic by the UNC-Wilmington campus.  Stopped at the Carolina Beach Town hall and saw the four dioramas from the old Blockade Runner Museum and went to Fort fisher where the museum had sprung lots of leaks from all this rain.

Stopped at the Silver Dollar Bar in Carolina Beach and then went to Topsail Beach.

I was happy to see that there was no flood in the lower level, but a half hour after I arrived, we got three inches of rain in 30 minutes and the lower lever had two-three inches of water in it.  I found out later that there had already been six inches of rain during the course of the day at Topsail Beach.

There wasn't anything I could do about the flood until the morning so left it alone.

--RoadDog

North Carolina Summer 2016-- Part 4: Traffic, Fort Fisher, a Donut and Topsail Beach

SATURDAY, JULY 23

Chia made a great breakfast at Mom's house and I drove to Wilmington, N.C..  Wilmington has to be one of the worst cities to drive anywhere near it in the country.  If the traffic doesn't get you, the photo-enforced lights will.  Traffic is especially bad around UNC-Wilmington.

I went to my favorite history place, Fort Fisher which was the reason I got into all this history stuff that so impacted my life (why I taught social studies for 33 years).  Took as walk around the fort and then heard Richard Triebe talk about the fate of the Fort Fisher prisoners at the North's horrible Elmira Prison in New York where half of them died in just a few months.

Then got my Britt's Donut fix in Carolina Beach and drove to Topsail Beach to Mom's condo.

--RoadDog

N.C. Summer Trip 2015-- Part 6: Carolina Beach and Fort Fisher

JULY 25TH, SATURDAY

We drove the 50 miles over to Carolina Beach and Fort Fisher, braving all the incoming beach traffic to Topsail Island (fortunately coming in while we were leaving).  Then there was that always horrible Wilmington traffic where it seems everyone drives all the time.

Stopped at Britt's Donuts in Carolina Beach for our pastry fix for lunch.  Then went to Fort Fisher, several miles down the peninsula and heard an interesting talk on the always controversial Confederate General Braxton Bragg and went through the museum.  I spent a lot of time at the new (to me) reproduction of the 150-pdr Armstrong gun.

Drove the short distance to "The Rocks" at the end of the peninsula.  This is also the southern terminus of US Highway 421.  We had excellent fish and shrimp baskets at Big Daddy's at Kure Beach and then got to go inside a beach cottage at Kure Beach that was identical to the one that my grandparents used to own at Carolina Beach until it was destroyed in 1954 by Hurricane Hazel.

A Busy Day.  --RoadDog


REDNECK COMPUTER TERMS:  TERMINAL--  Time to call the undertaker.

Fort Fisher Had a Huge Impact On Me

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the capture of Fort Fisher in North Carolina, Jan. 15, 1865.  Even though the Confederacy's chances of surviving the Union onslaught were about nil by then, the fall of Fort Fisher effectively sealed the port of Wilmington, the South's last  contact with the rest of the world.  Lee surrendered less than 90 days later and the war was mostly over.

It was a visit to Fort Fisher back when I was seven that got me interested in the Civil War.  I was with my dad at Fort Fisher and he explained that the Civil War was fought between the North and the South.  I told him that we would have been for the North.  After all, I had learned that we lived in "North" Carolina and "North" America.  He had to explain it to me and ever after, I couldn't find out enough about the Civil War.

That interest soon branched into anything doing with history, even to lots of toy soldiers as I grew up.  When I got to college, my major was history.    That led to 33 years of teaching social studies and collecting far too many books and history stuff.

This is why I have all these doggone blogs.  I just can't let go of my history.

Like I Said, BIG Impact.  --RoadDog

Back Home Again-- Part 3

July 25-30th, I spent at Mom's place at Topsail Beach, North Carolina with some outstanding weather.

I love the beach, and spent the time reading newspapers, magazines and writing in my journal both on the beach and various levels of decks.  Enjoyed walking along the beach, collecting shells and those unique lima bean stones (as I call them).  Spent considerable time "camped" out in the sand on the beach as well.

Monday, July 28th, was quite hot so took a drive southward to near the South Carolina line.  Had those great Britt's Donuts at the Carolina Beach boardwalk, looked at where the old cottage was and drove all the way to "The Rocks" at the end of the peninsula.

Sorry to find Fort Fisher closed Sundays and Mondays.  Took the Fort Fisher-Southport Ferry across to Southport and drove around that quaint old river town.  Then drove to Caswell Beach and Holden Beach before returning to Topsail Beach.

--RoadDog


SIGNS OF OLD AGE: You quit trying to hold your stomach in, no matter who walks into the room.

Fort Fisher 146th Anniversary

Today marks the 146th anniversary of the commencement of the First Battle of Fort Fisher, NC, back on Christmas Eve. This battle means a lot to me as it was the thing that got me interested in history, and the Civil War in particular. To say it had an impact on my life is an understatement.

Today, back in 1864, a vessel loaded with ammunition was blown up at 1:40 am in an attempt to knock the sand fort down with its concussion. It didn't work, but sure woke the garrison up.

At 12:45 pm, about 25 minutes from now (EST), the USS New Ironsides fired a shell. The Union fleet (64 warships) opened fire at 1 and continued until dusk, firing roughly 10,000 rounds of solid and explosive shot at the fort.

At dusk, the Union fleet withdrew.

For more, see my Civil War Blog-- http://sawtheelephant.blogspot.com.

Definitely a Defining Moment in My Life. --RoadDog


YOU'RE A FLORIDIAN IF...Socks are only for bowling.

What Am I Doing Here?

Even though we now have a "heat wave" going on, with temps in the mid-30s (hey, we went from Christmas Eve to two days ago where it never got above freezing), I'm not ready to clear the snow off the deck and catch some rays.

However, I know where I'd like to be as I sit here listening to Ray Scott's Beach Music Top 40 Countdown on the Surf, 94.7 FM out of North Myrtle Beach, SC. They are having the Mid Winter SOS Party there this weekend with lots of bands, shagging (the dance), and drinking along Ocean Boulevard and Ocean Drive. Lots of Beach Music bands and deejays in town.

About fifty miles away, the 145th anniversary of the fall of Confederate Fort Fisher is also being observed near Wilmington, NC. This fort is what got me interested in history and particularly Fort Fisher. All sorts of things are going on there as well.

Oh well, it would be hard to be in two places at the same time, plus, we are considering going out to the Mississippi River for our annual bald eagle watching trip.

Listening to the Beach music and writing about Fort Fisher in my Civil War Blog will have to suffice.

What's the Number One Song, Ray? --RoadDog

To Keep You Sane: When leaving the zoo, start running for your car screaming, "Run for your lives!! They're loose!!"

New Blog: Saw the Elephant: Civil War

This morning I established a new blog, this one to cover my Civil War musings. Before, I was doing them at my RoadDog's Roadlog Blog, but am trying to narrow its focus. I'll probably start another one on historical matters as well, but at a later time.

Today, I made three entries regarding Fort Fisher, the place that got me interested in the Civil War.

I named it "Saw the Elephant"-- Civil War Musings. In Civil War times, seeing the elephant meant that a soldier had seen actual warfare with the bullets and cannonballs flying.

You can check it out at http://sawtheelephant.blogspot.com

Just One More Thing to Spend Too Much Time On. --RoadDog