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Famed Civil War Statues: Visit Before Vandalized


We’re all aware of the current angry trend of tearing down statues, especially those of Confederate generals. Many that have stood the test of time for more than 150 years will end up as piles of rocks due to politically-correct rioters.

Consider visiting these while still standing, if they actually survive the current destruction craze:
National Statuary Hall, Capitol Hill, Washington DC: 100 statues, 12 of them Confederates.
J.E.B. Stuart, Richmond VA
Robert E. Lee, New Orleans LA
Stonewall Jackson and Lee Statues, Baltimore MD
Stone Mountain Memorial, Georgia: The massive carving on the mountainside will require lots of angry axes to destroy.
Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC: Already hit by spray paint. Hey, rioters. Abe was one of your good guys.

Finally, let’s consider a memorial poem about the Gettysburg Cemetery. The sad words by Francis Finch are typical of how most Americans feel about the terrible sacrifices on both sides during the Civil War:
No more shall the war cry sever,
Or the winding rivers be red;
They banish our anger forever
When they laurel the graves of our dead!
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the judgment-day,
Love and tears for the Blue,
Tears and love for the Gray.
Typical Travel Tourist Traps: How To Avoid Them PDF Print E-mail


These days seniors find typical hotel bills in Miami, London, Paris, New York and Los Angeles to be $400 a night and up. Avoid the tourist traps by checking with online travel experts. For example, Rick Steves knows where to find economic digs. He offers continuously updated lists of inexpensive hotels and bed and breakfasts. www.ricksteves.com

Consider mom and pop hotels and b&bs, and pay $75 a night or less, which often includes a full breakfast. We never eat much breakfast at home, so while traveling we have rolls and coffee, then make sandwiches from breakfast fare. That gives us free picnic lunches, saving from $20 daily.

If traveling in Europe, learn some conversational French, Spanish, German and/or Italian. It helps find where the locals eat, at half of what the same meal  costs in a tourist trap restaurant. Even better, they serve basic, much healthier meals.

In London, as in New York, we line up daily at the two-fer booth and see excellent plays and musicals for half price, sometimes even free on certain days and times. Everywhere you wander, expect to be exposed to tourist traps, whether traveling in Manhattan, Madrid, Manila or Majorca. Escape overpaying by intelligent pre-trip planning and smart shopping around for the most at the least prices.
 
 
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