Across

Going across the La Crosse river in La Crosse.

 

The Island Of Missing Trees

The book The Island Of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak took me away to the island of Cyprus and modern London. Two teens on the island of Cyprus fell in love. One was Greek and one was Turkish so their love was not allowed. Kostas and Defne met in secret at a restaurant that had a fig tree growing in the middle of it. When war broke out Kostas moved to London with his mother while Defne stayed. Years later he returned. Defne was part of a group searching for dead bodies under ground. Eventually they get together, move to London, and have a child. Kostas is a botanist. He takes a branch of the fig tree back to London in his luggage and keeps it alive. Some of the story is told by Kostas, some by Defne, some by their daughter, and some by the tree. This was a beautiful story about love and family.

 

Maame

Jessica George is the author of Maame. This literary fiction is a coming of age story about Maddie who lives in London. She lives with her father who is ill. Her mother spends most of her time in Ghana. Her older brother lives on the other side of town and has not been helpful. When Maddie's mother moves back to London, Maddie decides that now is the time for her to start being an adult. She gets a flat with some other girls, gets a new job, and starts internet dating. This is a smart and funny novel about living llife in London and the Ghanian culture.

 

Chugga Chugga Choo Choo!

Returning to Minnesota after being in Pennsylvania, I decided not to fly home. I wanted something different. Amtrak from Harrisburg to Saint Paul cost me $345. Here is a picture out the train window as we crossed the Susquehanna River.. We left at 2:45 p.m. and expected to arrive in Pittsburg by 8 p.m. Commercial traffic and flash flood warnings slowed us down. Beside me on the train were some real loud characters. I was glad when they left the train in Lewisburg. The train to Chicago was expected to leave at 11:45 p.m. The train was an hour late.

I was assigned a seat upstairs on the train next to a young man. I tried to sleep but it was difficult. A guy across the aisle offered me his pink neck pillow. Instead I asked him how to put up the foot rest. In the morning I went to the dining car for coffee and a bagel as we drove through Elkhart, Indiana. I could have gotten a sleeper car. A sleeper car would have cost me $850. That would have been an expensive night.

Chicago has a very nice train depot. I waited here a couple of hours. Once back on the train we went north to Milwaukee before heading west across Wisconsin. We went through the Wisconsin Dells.

We crossed into Minnesota at La Crosse. The man who sat next to me from Chicago to La Crosse drank a small bottle of whiskey about every half hour. I almost asked him for one but I figured he maybe needed it more than I did.

Crossing the Mississippi River and saw a steam boat.

Here we are at Red Wing behind the Saint James hotel. The train depot on Kellogg Boulevard was very impressive but not quite as large as the one in Chicago. I got home tired but it was an interesting journey.

 

Fort Necessity

About a 30 minute drive from Gallatin's home in western Pennsylvania is Fort Necessity National Battlefield. This is where the British soldiers, led by George Washington, fought the French and Indian troops on July 3, 1754. Washington expected to be attacked so he built a fort. Unfortunately he built the fort in a low spot and when the attack came so did the rain so his fort filled up with water. Washington ended up surrendering. He signed the surrender document. He had a poor French translator. Unable to read French himself, he signed a paper saying he willing assassinated a French leader (he didn't) which lead to repercussions. Washington learned never to sign a document he could not read which is a valuable lesson.

The British officer fired his musket twice for us.

 

Dayton

After Chicago we drove south and east towards Dayton, Ohio, where we spent the night. The next morning we went to the Wright National Park where I have visited before. The girls earned another junior ranger badge. We visited the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge in West Virginia where they earned another badge.

We stopped in western Pennsylvania at the house built by Albert Gallatin. Originally from France, he was a well known founding father of our country. He is less well known now. Here is a statue of him surveying property.

He named the house he had built "Friendship Hill." He was elected to the U.S. Senate and later the House of Representatives. He was the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under Thomas Jefferson. He arranged for the purchase of the Louisiana Territory. Famous then, not many people know about him today.

 

Chicago

Four days ago I left Minneapolis for a road trip to Pennsylvania with the grand girls. We stopped in Chicago to look around at the tall buildings.

We stopped at the Cultural Center in Chicago to look at the Tiffany stained glass dome in the ceiling.

We went to Millennial Park and saw the famous stainless steel bean.

Then we drove out of down town to the south to visit the Pullman National Park. This park is about the famously luxurious Pullman rail cars. Pullman made housing for his employees. During the depression, when wages were cut 25 percent, rent did not go down accordingly. He refused to negotiate. A strike was called. Violence ensured. Mr. Pullman does not come off looking so good.