Not so grand bed...
The all new Hyatt grand bed is not so grand after all. In the morning it looks like this (after a good night of sleep I have to admit...)The all new Hyatt grand bed is not so grand after all. In the morning it looks like this (after a good night of sleep I have to admit...)Savannah and its secret garden
Here we are in Savannah, famous for John Berendts´book: Midnight in the garden of good and evil. Here you see the picture of Jack Leigh of a little statue in the local cemetery of the book cover. Savannah has very nice squares which act as little parks all over town. Because Eddie didn´t read the book we are now watching the DVD so he can catch up... :-)Plantation day
After looking at the town houses in Charleston we had to take a look at the plantations as well. We went to Boone´s Plantation and to the Middleton Place. Both have a place in USA history as their owners were at one point signers of the declaration of independence and played a significant role in politics.It was good to see how life was at a plantation although the slave history was hardly touched. We do not see any African Americans on these tours anyway.
Oops! better watch out...
A U.S. District Court judge yesterday sentenced Stuart Wolff, the former CEO of Homestore Inc. (now doing business as Move Inc.), to 15 years in federal prison. He was also ordered to pay a $5 million fine and restitution to victims of a financial scheme that artificially inflated revenues and nearly collapsed the company.He faced a maximum statutory sentence of 175 years in federal prison for the crimes.
Because The Federal Bureau of Prisons requires that inmates must serve at least 85 percent of a sentence before they can be eligible for release he will be in jail for about 12 years.
When I met Stuart late 2003 He already was looking a bit paled with fright don´t you think so?
It is an other good lesson for all of us at Funda to be as open and transparent as possible.
The Freeler dog attacks again!
While cruising around we listen to Sirius satellite radio, channel 71: jazz cafe. It is a perfect companion. If only they would have been original in choosing their logo: it´s the Freeler dog all over! :-)
Milk and Cookies
We are staying at the French Quarter Inn. It is a perfect hotel: they have all nice extra´s, like bikes, wine in the afternoon (if you are into that kind of stuff) and milk and cookies at night.Open season in 3D
After all this very serious historic stuff it was time for something totally different. Luckily the local IMAX theater showed "Open Season" in 3 D. Very funny movie - and great 3 D effects!Charleston, city of history
We rented a bike today a biked our way through Charleston, one of the most wealthiest cities of the USA. Because of the Civil War a lot was destroyed and gone and the city was left poor. That was a blessing in disguise, because it saved a lot of houses. Only in the late 70´s people realized what a treasure Charleston really is. Now it is a booming touristic place with very nice hotels, restaurants and art galleries. By the way: The people here down south are really very nice. They are super friendly and always ready for a chitchat. We visited at least 7 houses inside out.
Toyota FJ cruiser
We see a lot of Toyota FJ Cruisers. The real Tonka Car. If it was for sale back home, I would buy one immediately. Here is goes for only $ 20.000.Augusten Burroughs
While driving we are listening to Augusten Burroughs reading his book "Don´t run with scissors" his hilarious account of his childhood. The whole thing reminds me of David Sedaris, which is one of my favorite authors.Chimney Rock
A huge bit of stone called Chimney Rock is standing in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. It is for sale for a merely $55 million. I rather buy the Biltmore for that, it has more bathrooms... (42 to be precise)The Biltmore estate
This largest mansion in the United States was build somewhere late 1800´s. It has 250 rooms and is huge. A pity that you are not allowed to take pictures inside and nice to know that it is still privately owned (by the Cecils). The whole concept was taken from chateau Blois in France. The most evident I guess is the staircase. (left the original)
On the Road
We rented an enormous white Lincoln Town car. It is getting us smoothly (and slowly) everywhere.Carpark in Atlanta
This is CNN, the news read by Marque Joosten...
We did the backstage inside tour of CNN. It was fun to see the studio´s, the way the producers work and the scale of the whole operation. I was asked to read the 4 O´clock headline news, something I couldn´t refuse.... :-)
The world of Coca Cola.
This display of the history of Coke is a little bit outdated. The only nice things are the fountains with tens of different soda pop flavors from around the world and the Coca Cola Shop. I bought a Japanese logo T-shirt.
I have a dream!
Martin Luther King was born and raised in Atlanta and a impressive national park is made of his old neighborhood. We went into the house were he was born with Doug (a blind ranger) and his guide dog.It never stops to amaze me that it was only for 40 years or so when the south of the USA was having a apartheid system. And if you look carefully around you, you can still sense a separation between ethnic groups.
A visit to Jimmy Carter.
The carter Center here in Atlanta has all the papers and documents of the Carter presidency. It is fascinating to see the original speeches of Jimmy and what actually was being said in the end. When you look back of his period, it wasn´t so bad at all. It was a very difficult era: The USSR with Salt II pact, trouble in the middle east, the hostage situation in Iran, the gas prices went through the roof etc. etc. Maybe Jimmy was to involved with foreign policy, but that helped Reagan later on to score easily.
It was nice to be in the Oval office (again). This was number 3.
Hand Crank Flashlight
When shopping in the mall we went into brookstone, one of my favorite stores. For our "crisis box" we bought a hand crank flashlight. Just crank the handle for 30 seconds for 15 to 20 minutes of bright light through its LED lights. It works perfectly. The only thing now left is a hank crank radio... :-)
Atlanta, city of the peaches
We flew to Atlanta today with KLM and I am sorry to report that the service gets worse and worse each and every time. Luckily I do most of my intercontinental flying with BA or Lufthansa. The chairs are old, the TV screens tiny, the food is bad, the planes just downward dirty.
I haven´t been in Atlanta since my Coke period so was amazed to see that the city has grown substantially and is prettier then I remembered. We are staying at the W-hotel at the Perimeter mall, not the most swinging W I know, but fortunately with all the W perks.
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