Palm Trees in southern Florida

Thursday, June 14, 2018

Yorktown, the French and the USA

We went to Yorktown, Virginia to look at the battlefield, which is the site of the last major land battle of the Revolution (Oct 1781)  where the British General, Cornwallis, surrendered to General George Washington.  

Battlements from 1781

After this, there was mostly talking and negotiating, up until the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783. We became an independent nation when the Treaty was signed.

A mortar 

The American/French forces built battlements over night
How they did it & the techniques/tools are explained

It was a good visit. The ranger tour/talk was superb, the movie was old (but it explained things well), and the driving tour (with the $5 CD for the audio) was worth the time. The lesson on how "lucky" things turned out for our side was a real eye opener!

Without French assistance, we could not have pulled it off.  Their fleet kept the English fleet busy, and their expertise with siege warfare allowed the siege to be successful. The Spanish silver they brought allowed Washington to pay his men, and a sudden storm dashed Cornwallis's attempt to escape the trap.

The French & the USA

Today we have a less-than-close relationship with France, that's just how it is. Just last week an email showed up that listed the numbers of American solders buried in  France accompanied by photos of different military graveyards in France. Over 100,000 American dead helping France against Germany in two World Wars.

I thought of that when I saw the "French Graveyard" on the Yorktown battlefield tour. 

A French graveyard at the battlefield

Without French help, we probably would not have the USA we have today.  The Frenchmen buried here in Virginia, before the United States was the United States, are just a reminder.

It was a moving visit.

Saturday, June 9, 2018

At the beach again, it's good to be back at the beach again....

(About the title, I mumbled the words to myself using the tune to "On the road again"...)

Hello Atlantic Ocean!

At the Atlantic Ocean

I stepped into the Atlantic Ocean and smiled, it was warm! After a lifetime on the west coast a warm ocean is good! 
This was down by Atlantic Beach, NC. It was hard to find a "free" beach but we did!

Where we found a "free beach", it was a Monday
I didn't feel like swimming but it was great to walk on the beach and look for "real" sea shells.
Beaches everywhere have clam shells, even Lake Mead in Nevada. I think of some sort of cone as a "real" sea shell rather than the type I see everywhere.

I saw pieces of"real" shells so they are around!

A "real" sea shell piece. (I'm getting closer!)
I'm going swimming today, we are now up by Nags Head and the ocean is not as warm as it was 100 miles south but I'm going in!

The "Graveyard of the Atlantic"
I have some personal history with North Carolina. The Coast Guard sent me to Elizabeth City, NC in Sept 1977 ("A" school) to learn to be an aircraft mechanic (Aviation Machinist Mate), I left early February the next year. It was too hot/humid in the summer & too cold standing a fire guard stomper watch in December. That first experience with southern weather stayed with me for all these years.

With that said, when I walked around in Beaufort, NC I felt an attraction to the place. Maybe it was the smell of the salt air, the small shops & boats or the cheap parking tickets ($20). I don't know, but it felt good. The last place that "grabbed" me was Bisbee AZ.  On the downside, Beaufort does not fit my requirement for "affordable".

Enough typing, to the beach!

It is warm enough!