Upward and onward!

Wed. AM
starting to forget what the date is!...but, we had breakfast and left for the capitol of North Carolina. Raleigh is supposed to be the birthplace of Andrew Johnson who was the 3rd President born in N. Carolina..Remember, Johnson, Jackson and Polk! He became President after Lincoln was assassinated, since he was Vice-President.
It took about an hour and a half to reach Raleigh which we found to be quite busy, urban with lovely homes and in fact did have the stately appearance of a Capitol city. When we found the site ( the GPS did it!), the admission office is located in a park referred to as "Mordecai Plantation". When we purchased our admission tickets we were informed that the name was pronounced " More-Dee-Kee" by everyone and that the property which was the largest plantation in the area had been owned for several generations, dating back to the Civil War by a Jewish family!...and upon the death of the last survivor, which was somewhat recent, it was purchased by the city. They were now in the process of moving several of the pioneer buildings that were located within the city of Raleigh and attempting to re-create a visit to past history.
The house that Andrew Johnson was born and reared in was one of the structures. I took pictures of it and then entered. It was a rough planked cabin with wood floor and comprised of 2 stories, one room on each level! Andrew was born in the upper room which had a bed and a crib...The lower level consisted as a kitchen/living room and had a fire place. Andrew was 3 years of age when his father died of pneumonia, shortly after attempting to save 2 young boys from drowning in a nearby lake. His father had been a handyman and janitor in an Inn that also employed his mother as maid and cook. They used the kitchen in ithe Inn for thier meals. He also had an older brother.
When he was 14 his mother was not able to continue to support him so she had him apprenticed to a tailor, where he and another boy tried to learn the trade. They evidently had "readers" in the shop who would read to the employees while they were working which served to attempt to provide some sort of educational experience, and his mother read to him also.. He however, remained illiterate. During this period of employment, he and the other boy became infatuated with a young girl, and in the evenings they would occasionally throw pebbles at her 2nd floor window to draw her attention. One evening a pebble was thrown a bit harder and fractured the pane of glass, and they fled. They were aware that if they were apprehended and jailed for the offense, it would mean Life imprisonment, which was the rule of the law at that time! so they ran to a nearby town for a short while, and still not feeling safe, Andrew ended up in Tennessee.
In the interim, the tailor with whom he was apprenticed and needed him, offered a $10 reward for his capture...but fortunately he was never caught!
When he arrived in Tennesse he plied his tailoring trade, found thewre was need for his services and shortly after arrival, place his sign outside of his dwelling and began to prosper. He then sent for the remainder of his family to join him there. In due time, he married an educated, respectable young lady who taught him to read, write and do arithmetic! His tailor shop became a place where frequently his customers would gather to chat with him as a participant...and apparently recognizing his abilities suggested that he run for election to one of the town's offices, which he successfully did...("The rest of the story" will be written in my book)


When we left the homesite, Daras and I drove into the central part of Raleigh where the Capitol building was located. It is bounded by 4 streets and is a relatively small building surroundeed by lawn and multiple statues and plaques most of which were memorials to the Confederacy. One large bronze statue portrayed a soldier on horseback, with 3 figures beneath it ..of Jackson, Polk and Johnson...Who else, did you expect? That statement really finally firmed up for me that Jackson really was born in NORTH Carolina!

It was time to move on, so we set the GPS for Lynchburg, Virginia and took off... It was about 115 miles distant and following a winding roadway through very scenic countryside and lovely little towns, with the windows open, and being bathed in the soft, warm and aromatic breeze, it was particularly pleasant. However, surprisingly just before reaching Lynchburg, a much needed heavy downpour of rain commenced which served to wash the remainder of the bugs from my windshield and car. It stopped just as we reached Lynchburg, and since we were aware that the Rev. Jerry Falwell had died the day previous, we were not at all surprised to see many of the retail busuinesses and restaurants displaying banners and posters testifying as to his demise and proclaiming thier loss. He evidently was well thought of and loved and will be mourned, especially in this city. This was on Wednesday and plans are for him to be buried on Tuesday, so that there would be ample time to give him a really ceremonial burial...Lynchburg is not only where he lived but the home site for his University, "Liberty"...and we saw many young people waring various pieces of clothing so identified. We found an Outback restaurant for a roast beef dinner...with a nice Ramada Inn directly across the street...so to bed. Tomorrow we head for Jefferson's" Poplar Forest". ( I'm typing as fast as I can to try to catch-up"...hang on")