Note: this is another blog based on my weekly emails to my family on the mainland.]
5/8/21
Travel always includes things you can't control no matter how much careful planning you do. The weather is one of them. Although we've had some nice days on this trip, much of the time has been unusually cool and rainy. We've often been able to roll with this by doing inside stuff, like the rainy day we visited the Biltmore mansion in Ashville. Or by taking refuge in a shopping mall. Normally I hate shopping but the mainland offers us a chance to buy things not available at home, and if there's nothing else to do, I'm ok with it. I still find it mentally exhausting, though -- I'm definitely better at buying than shopping.
I also have found I can survive outside at 60d as long as it is sunny. My toughness has allowed us to do a fair amount of nice hiking, mostly in the late morning and afternoon when the temperature hits my minimum. But if it's 60d AND cloudy, I'm by a heater somewhere.
After our bucket-list visit to the Biltmore we headed back north and spent a couple of nights in Berea, Kentucky. Berea is home to a small college of the same name that was founded in 1855 by an abolitionist Presbyterian minister who felt men and women of all races deserved equal education. It was closed by the Confederacy during the Civil War but reopened afterwards and is still going strong. It is so well endowed by private donors that since 1895 it hasn't charged tuition. The 1600 students are selected from applicants who have high academic potential but who can't afford a higher education without financial support. The school's funding supports a beautiful campus with first rate facilities. We were very impressed.
We're ending our trip in Ohio, where we're visiting old friends-- and sadly attending the funeral of one of them -- before returning home. I probably won't write next week to accommodate our very least favorite part of the trip-- the long journey itself.
Take care. Carpe Diem!
3 comments:
Dick, You might recall one of our fellow students was a grad from Berea. I think he only stayed at ISU for a masters degree and at the moment I don't recall his name. It sounded interesting from his description at the time. Nice you got to visit there. I guess the Bilmore was interesting too.
We had a Berea alum get a Ph.D. in Psychology at Miami. Her advisor was Len Mark.
That Presbyterian minister must have been quite a guy (or gal). I can only imagine how revolutionary his Berea college concept was. I'm surprised his enemies didn't burn down his college. I'm also impressed by his admission policies. Far ahead of his time, he favored admitting "need" students with potential rather than admitting entitled, rich kids. Ahead of his time.
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