DAY #5 - JUNE 14, 2021 - DAVENPORT, IOWA TO AUSTIN, MINNESOTA - A FIELD OF DREAMS AND A FIELD OF TRAGEDY - 312 - MILES (1,604)

(AUSTIN, MINNESOTA) Well, Today I traveled from Davenport Iowa to a state that I have never been to. Tonight, I am in the Land of 10,000 Lakes – Minnesota. Don’t worry, I am nowhere close to Minneapolis and Have no intention on going there. But enough about that. This morning I got an earlier start than normal, checking out of the hotel at 7:30, and shortly after leaving I hit the 1,500 mile mark for this adventure. An hour and a half later was able to cross another item off my bucket list. Right at 9 a.m. I pulled into the Field of Dreams. I loved the movie, and I was not sure what to expect but just walking around this place is Magic. I don’t know what it is, I know there is no ghosts and I know that Shoeless Joe or Moonlight Graham is not going to walk out of the corn field, but still just being here brought out the little boy in me. I spent a couple of hours walking around and even joined a family of St. Louis Cardinal Fans in a game of catch. Like James Earl Jones said in the movie, this place brings out the “innocents of children, longing for the past.” I am glad I came. After my visit to the Field of Dreams, I most of the day logging miles but as I was clicking off the miles at a surprisingly good clip, what did I see but one of those Brown Signs. This one was for the Little Brown Church. I don’t thing any of us haven’t heard that song about “The Little Brown Church in the Vale.” So off I went on another little brown sign adventure. About 4-miles off the highway in the small town of Nashua, Iowa is The Little Brown Church.” While the church wasn’t built until a few years after the popular song, it is a popular spot for tourist like Me. It was built in between 1860 and 1864 and is still home to an active congregation. It was a really nice way to break up the miles. From the Little Brown Church, I made my way up to my next stop of the afternoon in Clear Lake, Iowa. It was here at the Surf Ballroom that Buddy Holly, J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson and Rich Valens played their final concert. A few hours later the three along with pilot Roger Peterson would die when their plane crash into a corn field about 6-miles from the Ballroom. That day is regarded “The Day Music Died.” The Ballroom today is still an active entertainment venue that has been played by almost everybody who is anybody in the music world. It is part Entertainment Venue and Part Museum. If you like music, then you should pay the Surf Ballroom a visit. I couldn’t come to Clear Lake without driving out the country dirt road to the Crash Site Memorial. It’s about 6-miles from the Ballroom and is marked by a pair of large Buddy Holly Glasses. The actual Crash site is about a half-mile walk down a path through a corn field. A small memorial marks the site. From there it was off to Minnesota and after almost 380 miles It’s time to put a bow on Day # 5. Tomorrow it’s an all-out push west; we will just have to wait and see how far west I make it.

DAY #4 - JUNE 13, 2021 -SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS TO DAVENPORT, IOWA - CORNFIELDS, WINDMILLS, HONEST ABE & THE GIPPER - 272 - MILES (1,292)

(DAVENPORT, IOWA) Today was all about corn fields, windmills, Honest Abe and The Gipper. I started my day in Springfield, Illinois. Many of the Lincoln sites were closed either due to COVID restrictions or because it was Sunday. I did visit the Lincoln Home National Historic Site that is administered by the National Park Service. I had taken the tour of the Lincoln Home a few years back, so I did do that this time, opting rather to walk around the historical site and seeing some of the other downtown sites that Illinois Capital City has to Offer. I did visit the Lincoln Herndon Law office which is directly across the plaza from the old State House. It was at the Old State House that a young Abraham Lincoln gave his famous “House Divided” Speech. From Springfield, I made my way through the farmland of central and Northern Illinois. It was a nice drive through some really nice small towns that still fly the flag and wave at every passing car. About an hour after leaving Springfield, I made a quick stop at the Glendale Memorial Gardens in Pekin, Illinois. Here I visited the final resting place of Longtime United States Senator Everett M. Dirksen. On the way I passed through a lot of small town and saw a lot of Corn Fields and Windmills before arriving in Tampico, Illinois where I stopped at the Birthplace of our 40th President, Ronald Reagan. The Birthplace was and apartment over a bank. Both the Bank and the upstairs residence have been preserved to look as it did back when the future president was born here. The tour was free, so I joined another couple from Indiana and away we went. None of the furniture in the apartment belonged to the Reagans but they are all period pieces. The downstairs bank build is preserved with all the original furniture, including the tellers cage and the 4,000-pound safe. After spending about 90-minute I mad the 26-mile drive over to Dixon, Illinois to the Reagan Boyhood Home. When the Family left Tampico, they moved over to Dixon. The home is not open on Sunday’s, but I was able to walk around the grounds and the neighborhood where the Future President once lived. From Dixon it was time to head west, so west I went and about an hour later I crossed the mighty Mississippi and entered the Hawkeye State of Iowa. Tomorrow I am going to push on west, and we will see where I end up.

DAY #3 - JUNE 12, 2021 - PADUCAH, KENTUCKY - SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS - TRUTH, JUSTICE & THE AMERICAN WAY - 278-MILES ( 1,020 -MILES)

(Springfield, Illinois)I spent the night in Paducah Kentucky and after coffee I was on the road by 8:30 a.m. I was on the road for only a couple of minutes when I crossed the Ohio River into the Land of Lincoln. I had planned to make a really Quick Stop in Metropolis, Illinois, the small town just across the river from Paducah. Metropolis is the Home Superman and this small town has embraced the character created years ago by DC Comics. I had originally planned to make only a quick stop at the Superman Statue in the Town Square. But my quick photo stop turned into a stop that lasted more than an hour. In addition there is also a statue of Lois Lane and several murals on the building throughout downtown. There was even a Superman Museum and I ponied up the $8 for the self-guided tour. It was worth it and I enjoyed it. I enjoy Metropolis, walking around talking to the people about not only Superman but about southern Illinois Politics. I found out that the people of Southern Illinois and the people of Southwest Virginia are not too different in their political thinking. Like us Virginians who re basically sick and tire of Northern Virginia, and Richmond imposing their way on the rest of us. The People of Southern Illinois are likewise sick and tired Chicago dictating to the rest of the state. Anyway, I spent the better part of an Hour in Metropolis before heading up to a couple of smaller Museums that I wanted to visit Only to find that they were Still Closed Due to COVID. I am not sure what is going on with Illinois and COVID. Some places you go into and nobody is wearing a mask and all is pretty much normal. But other places people yell at you to stay back and put on a mask. I stop at a store in Springfield and before I could set foot in the door some woman yell "Don't come any Closer, stay back." So I don't know what to expect here in Illinois, I am beginning to think the Quicker that I get out of this state the Better I will be. There is a lot of history in Illinois but Right now it appears that many sites are still closed. After Metropolis I more or less made a bee-line for Springfield to visit some of the Lincoln Sites. But the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum was closed and it was too late in the day to Visit the Lincoln Home and Historical site. So, I head up to Oak Ridge Cemetery where I spent the rest of the afternoon at the Lincoln Tomb. The tomb is in the center of a 12-acre monument site. It is constructed of granite from Biddeford, Maine and has a rectangular base with a 117-foot tall obelisk. At front of the tomb is a bronze reproduction of Linclon's head by sculptor Gutzon Borglum, the same man that carved Mount Rushmore. The head has a shiny nose. Legend has it that if visitors rub the nose it will bring them good luck. The large tomb is impressive on the out side and is just as impressive on the inside. Entering the tomb you are greeted by a smaller version of the Daniel Chester French statue that appear in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C. As you make your way through the hall you see several smaller versions of the more famous statues. Then you enter in to the chamber that contains Monument that sits over the tomb of President Lincoln. He is buried in a concrete vault 10-feelt below the monument . Crypts on the opposite wall hold the remains of President Lincoln's wife Mary Todd Lincoln, and his sons Eddie, Tad and Willie. It was 96 degrees and very high humidity and as I was wrapping up my visit my phone started blowing up with with thunder storm warnings. So I called it a day and headed to the hotel. After getting checked in I headed out to supper which was a challenge. I stopped at a Bob Evans and was told that they were open only for to go orders. It was just the Manager and one cook working. The manager said he could not find anyone of work so he was trying to make it with to-go orders. I then stopped at an Applebee's and it was basically the same thing. The manager told me that it would be about an hour before I could be seated. He only had one server show up and she was trying to work 9-tables. He and the cook were preparing the orders. Finally I ended up at a Chipotle and spent 45-minutes in line. There were only two people working the front and they were trying to handle all of the online to go orders along with the walk-ins. It a sad state that pays people to sit on their ass and draw more money that they would it they were working. Cut out all of these free programs and send people back to work for goodness sake. Oh well, this day has been good but it has had its trying moments. Tomorrow, I may just say to heck with Illinois and head west. We will see what tomorrow holds.

DAY #2 - jUNE 11, 2021 - DICKSON, TENNESSEE - PADUCAH, KENTUCKY -286-MILES (742-MILES)

(PADUCAH, KY) Today started off foggy and rainy as I checked out of the Comfort Inn in Dickson, Tennessee. The weather seemed appropriate as I traveled about to a remote area just outside of the Town of Camden. I imagine that the weather was similar on the Night of March 5, 1964, when a small plane crashed into the woods just west of town. On board was Country Music Stars Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas, Hawkshaw Hawkins an Patsy Clines manager and pilot Randy Hughes. All died instantly. Today the site of the crash has been turned into a small park. At the top of the hill is a very small parking area that has a hand made wooden cross and a Tennessee State Historical Marker. Visitors can walk down a well maintained gravel path to the memorial boulder that marks the site of the actual crash. The inscription on the Boulders list the names of the victims and the date. It is a very simple but appropriated memorial commemorating the death of Country Music's Biggest Stars. It was really humid during my visit and if you are visiting during the summer be sure to bring some bug spray. During my visit the mosquitos were eating me alive. From Camden it was only a short drive up to Paris, Tennessee where I made a quick stop in the Town Park to visit a scale model of the Eiffel Tower. It's a pretty realistic model of the real thing that stands in the town park next to the pool and small water park. When I visited there were a couple of food truck setting up for the day. All in all it was a quick but really cool stop. From Paris it was on to the Land Between the Lakes and a stop at Fort Donelson. This was the site of one of the early battles of the Civil War and where General Ulysses S. Grant first came to prominence. Fort Donelson was an earthen fort of the banks of the Cumberland River. General Grant was task with taking the fort and opening up the river for use by Union Gun and Supply Boats. At the end of the Battle Confederate General S. Buckner sent a message to Grant requesting a commission be established to the terms of surrender. Grant replied the no terms except unconditional surrender would be acceptable. As a result, General Buckner met with Grant at the Dover Hotel and surrendered with out conditions. From there Grant was known as Unconditional Surrender Grant. After his victory at Fort Donelson, it was on to Shiloh and Vicksburg for General Grant where he captured the attention of President Lincoln who would eventually place Grant in charge of all Union Forces. I spent a couple of hours on the Fort Donelson Driving Tour which ended at the Dover Hotel in downtown Dover Tennessee. The hotel was open and exhibits inside gave you a great idea of what happened here. From Dover it took me the better part of an hour to make it over to the Woodall Cemetery a few miles outside of Clarksville, Tennessee. Here, I paid my respect to one of my favorite country music stars, the man who made stuttering fashionable, Mel Tillis. Woodall Cemetery is a really small country cemetery and it was easy to find Mel's final resting place. He is resting with his wife and other members of his family. A quick five mile drive from the Woodall Cemetery and I was at the Mount Carmel Methodist Church Cemetery. This is another small cemetery and I quick found the grave of one of the greatest basketball coaches to ever walk onto a basketball court. The long time women's basketball coach at the University of Tennessee, Pat Summitt. She served as the Vols Head Coach from 1974 until 2012, compiling a record of 1,098 - 208 along with eight National Championships. My final stop in Clarksville was at the Historic Greenwood Memorial Park which is the final resting place of Willie Blount who served as the Governor of Tennessee from 1809 to 1815. In 1813, Governor Blount called for several thousand volunteers to put down the Indian uprising that had led to the massacre of 250 men, women and children at Ft. Mims, Alabama. Headed by General Andrew Jackson, this force ultimately defeated the warring Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. William Blount ran for Governor again in 1827, but was defeated by Sam Houston. He was the great-great-grandfather of another Tennessee Governor H. H. McAlister. But it was getting late in the day and I really wanted to visit the grave of Frank Sutton who play the role of Sergeant Vincent Carter on the TV Show, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. I really loved that show and when I found out he was bured here in Clarksville, I knew I had to visit. Just as I was wrapping up my visit to the Greenwood Cemetery the sky opened up and as I made my way toward Interstate 24. For the next several miles I was easing my way along in a torrential down pour. But just as I got on the Interstate the rained stopped and in a few miles I was once again in Bright sunshine. I was about 100-miles from my nights lodging in Paducah, Kentucky and on the way I stopped at the Cracker Barrel in Cadiz, Kentucky for supper. With a full belly, it was an easy drive on to the Comfort Inn here in Paducah. I had stayed at this Comfort Inn back in 2018 and knew it was clean and had a reasonable Rate. Tomorrow the adventure continues as I cross the Ohio River into the Land of Lincoln.

DAY #1 - HOME - DICKSON, TENNESSEE - MR. GUITAR, THE QUEEN OF DISCO AND ONE OF BRISCOE'S BOYS - 456-MILES

DAY #1 - JUNE 10, 2021 (DICKSON, TENNESSEE) - Well, right on schedule, I pulled out of my garage this morning and with coffee in hand, I headed south on Interstate 81. About an hour an a half later I said good bye to Virginia and crossed the state line into Tennessee. I planned on making a quick stop at the Tennessee Welcome Center. Tennessee has some of the nicest and cleanest rest areas in the country and this one is no different. Today, I got a little extra treat. There were several bluegrass musician in the lobby, treating visitors to an impromptu jam session. There were really quiet good and my quick stop turned into 45-minutes of listening to wonderful bluegrass. I must say Tennessee sure knows how of welcome you to their state. After my 45-minute bluegrass break it was time to hit the road and make some mile. Today, was all about miles and I really didn't have any stops planned. My hotel for the night was in Dickson, Tennessee and I was still about 300-miles away. The cities of Knoxville and Nashville are known for their stop and go traffic so I allowed plenty of time in case I hit traffic. Surprisingly, traffic was not a problem and I zipped through both Knoxville and Nashville and when I put Music City in my rear view mirror it was still too early to check into my hotel. So I made a quick detour to the Harpeth Hills Memory Gardens. One of the most notable people resting here is the man called "Mr. Guitar," The Great Chet Atkins. Chet was not only one of the best guitar players I ever heard, he was also songwriter, and record producer who, produced record for such stars as Hank Snow, Porter Wagoner, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, and Waylon Jennings just to name a few. Chet received numerous awards, including 14 Grammy awards and was names the Country Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year nine times. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973. Just a few steps away from where Chet is resting is the future burial site of Country Music DJ and Television Personality Ralph Emery. Although Ralph is very much alive and well, when his time comes he will be laid to rest just a few feet from his friend Chet Atkins. Resting in one of the Private Estates in the back of the cemetery, is the grave of Donna Summer Sudano. Donna was nicknamed the "Queen of Disco," she was a major figure of the genre's popularity as her songs echoed throughout nightclubs during the mid 1970s to early 1980s earning her multiple Grammy Awards and nominations. She died at the age of 63 from the complications of Lung Cancer. Just across the road from Donna Summer's Private Estate was the grave of Doug Dillard. He along with his brother Rodney formed a bluegrass band named "The Dillard's." Dick Linke who was Andy Griffith's manager arranged for Doug and Rodney to audition for the part of a backwoods family with Denver Pyle playing the Role of Briscoe Darling. Briscoe and his daughter Charlene with Doug and Rodney playing his "boys" went on to appear in some of the most popular episodes of the Andy Griffith Show. Doug was the Banjo Playing Darling and he and Rodney continue to perform long after the Andy Griffith Show ended and were very popular when they would appear at Mayberry Days in Mount Airy, North Carolina. He died of a lung infection at the age of 75. My final stop of the day was at the graves of Charlie and Ira Louvin. The Louvin Brothers were regular performers on the Grand Ole Opry, After Ira was killed in a car crash in 1965, Charlie continued to perform almost every Saturday Night on the Opry. Charlie died from the complication of cancer in 2011. He was 83 years old. After spending more than an hour and a half at Harpeth Hills it was time make the 15-miles drive over to the Comfort Inn in Dickson, Tennessee. Time to put this ole boy to bed. Tomorrow The adventure continues.