I Love New York Travel

Now is this cool, or what!!

I’m continuing my posts on the quirky things we saw while visiting Douglas MacArthur National Memorial in Norfolk, Virgina. It was a terrific experience for the family. It was the kids’ first real vacation out of New York State, too. We couldn’t have chosen a better place to go than Norfolk. We have admired General MacArthur for eons, and it was a real treat to pay him our respects and to see his personal effects in the museum.

I always wondered about the idea behind the corncob pipe. Is using this pipe a more special experience than, say, using a wooden pipe? My dad used to smoke from cherry wood pipes, They always smelled so good. I always kind of figured that the corncob pipe was just a “poor man’s” pipe, a pipe to use because the others were too expensive. But MacArthur continued to use this after he was very well able to afford more expensive pipes. Yet he continued with this (am I correct?). I wonder why? Even in the movie “MacArthur,” the general smokes the corncob pipe while wrapped up in a tan towel, discussing the next political move with his advisers! LOL I always thought that kind of amusing.

Anyway, I’m curious about the attractions of a corncob pipe. I’ll have to do some research into its appeal….

Yes, indeedy, that’s THE Douglas MacArthur hat, on display at his memorial in Norfolk, Virginia.

Pretty good shape for such an old hat!

Photo taken at the Douglas MacArthur National Memorial in Norfolk, VA. WHAT a GREAT man he was. We have studied his life a bit and have nothing but admiration for the man. Both my sons find him a terrific role model.

This is a photo of all his medals. It’s nice to know that MacArthur was appreciated for his incredible achievements. My son wrote a very moving biography of MacArthur for a school report. This was a good experience, to remember such a great man who sacrificed so much for his country, stayed true to his country and his wife and family. He’s a superb role model for young men, I think.

The gift shop had many excellent memorabilia and souvenirs. I picked up a postcard that had one of MacArthur’s poems on it, his prayer to God for his son. I keep it in my heirlooms box. It will make a wonderful treasure for my son when he is an adult. Sometimes Gift Ideas for Son are difficult to find… but there’s always a noble role model out there who deserves honor. And gift shops are usually all too happy to sell memorabilia.

Isn’t that a beauty?

We visited the Douglas MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, Virginia, in May. Wow, was it really that long ago? The city is lovely. Clean as a whistle (the side we saw, anyway), peppered with domed crown steel buildings, smooth and straight concrete sidewalks and streets colored with trolley tracks.

The car was just one of the many exquisite things we saw at the memorial. I have yet to process the hundreds of photos and blog about our week-long adventures in Virginia. It doesn’t help that I am crazy busy. :-p

Anyway, this was the car MacArthur used in Japan. I think I remember seeing a similar car in the movie “MacArthur”– Gregory Peck sat in it, engaging in a barbed repartee with the Russian ambassador. Boy, that was a great movie.

So, it was a wonderful visit. *sigh* I’m ready to go back.

June was a deliciously dry month until the final week. I loved it like I haven’t loved fine weather in a long time. After all, I’ll take the dry weather when I can have it. April and May were horribly soggy, with destructively depressing weather. June came ’round and it was SWEET.

I purchased a patio set (our old one was ruined by the April floods) and a screened in portable gazebo, and I’ve been having a blast. In the evenings, I might read Washington Irving stories on my iPad or ipod touch 8g (the Kindle app is so cool!), or we just light candles and tell funny stories to each other. Thanks to the screened gazebo, I can sit outside without being harassed and eaten alive by bugs.

The only downside? No peepers. None. The evenings are eerily silent. One pal said it’s just temporary, they’ll be back next year. I hope so. Summer isn’t the same without them.

Anyway, it’s July now and it’s turning out to be very nice, too. We’ve had a few thunderstorms, but no damaging rains. I can relax for a bit.

How’s your summer going?