Royal Oak, Maryland We have been very busy this summer and have not taken much time to have fun or to just sit and relax. Our friends Ann and Lu invited us to be with them over Labor Day Weekend at their beautiful home on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, near Royal Oak, Maryland. Tradition says the name comes from a huge Oak tree that was hit by two cannon balls fired by the British Navy in the war of 1812. No one seems to know if this story is really true or not. Certainly it could be as the British [View Full Entry]

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Roger and Janice gave us directions for a short cut to reach the Interstate from Beaufort which would take us past the old historic Shelton Church that was burned during the Civil War. The historic sign states that the church was burned by Union Soldiers. However, R and J told us there is some controversy over exactly who did burn the church. One story says it was Union Soldiers, the other says it was slaves. Over a hundred years later I suppose it does not make a lot of difference. The bottom line is the church was burned. Interestingly a worship [View Full Entry]

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Hunting Island Lighthouse Roger and Janice drove us to Hunting Island today to visit the lighthouse, one of only two build of cast iron plates. The lighthouse had to be moved in 1888 as it was threatened by beach erosion and would have been moved again if the state had not pumped tons and tons of sand to rebuild the beach. The lighthouse is in a beautiful setting, surrounded by trees. The foundations of lighthouse keeper's house as well as that of his assistant are still there. The duplex burned some years ago leaving only the foundations. The Lighthouse We climbed [View Full Entry]

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Cold Harbor, where the streams ran red with blood and where Grant ordered his men to the most disastrous Union charge in the American Civil War. [View Full Entry]

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Mistakes can really help a person have a good time. While Bill was still in Prague during December, I had a sudden impulse to give a more generous than normal donation to our local PBS television program. The donation had a real bonus attached. Along with an annual membership I got two tickets to a live performance at the Hippodrome Theater in Baltimore, Maryland of the group “Celtic Women”. Bill’s sister introduced us about 3 years ago to the TV broadcasts of the concerts by these lovely young woman and the musicians who accompany them. They are not our ‘favo [View Full Entry]

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Actually teaching is not that much fun. You have to study a lot yourself to be sure you know the content REALLY well and then you have to prepare lesson plans and figure out how to explain the content in such a way as to engage students with the material so it is as interesting as possible. You have to hope you are creative enough to give homework that will give the students practice in what you are trying to teach and of course you have to check the homework to find out where you failed to make something clear. Then [View Full Entry]

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There is a observation level at the top of the Old Town Clock Tower that gives stunning views of Prague since the Clock Tower is in a very central location. Many people climb the stairs or take the elevator to the top of the tower to orient themselves to interesting parts of town. There is a good visitor's center on the first floor of the tower that makes it a great first stop for folks who have come to watch the famous ancient clock on the hour. There is lots of literature there for the tourist. There are several exhibits [View Full Entry]

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I believe every tourist who visits Prague goes to see the astronomical clock in the tower at the edge of Old Town Square. The clock which is known as the Orloj, is rather in the lower half of the tower. Near the top there is a more modern clock on all four sides of the tower. But it is the Orloj that brings everyone here to see a new hour rung in. As the hour is struck two doors open just above the clock and there is a parade of the Apostles, out one door and then disappearing through the other. [View Full Entry]

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Just in front of the big National Museum at the upper end of Wenceslas Square there is a small memorial placed in the sidewalk. I am sure it is not noticed by many tourists, as it is not on the side where most tourists walk. However, the Czechs know it is there and each time I have viewed the memorial there have been two fresh flowers resting on the memorial in memory of two young men who died in protest of the Communist government and Soviet occupation of the Czech Republic. At the time of his death one was a student [View Full Entry]

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The very large Jan Huss memorial sits on the East side of Old Town Square. You can't miss it! I had often looked at the monument, but had never looked at it closely. One evening we were in Old Town Square looking at the Christmas booths and listening to Christmas music being sung by groups on the temporary stage when we saw that people were standing on the lower step of the monument. Normally you cannot stand on the step, but the crowd was huge and no one seemed to mind. Nancy and I walked across the five foot flower bed [View Full Entry]

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