Carl Henning

My wife had seen ads for Tarpon Springs highlighting its sponge diving history. We were looking for a museum, but there was none. Instead we found a history display in the first gift shop we hit.

While in Sarasota, Florida we visited the Mote Aquarium (officially the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, or on the map as Mote Science Education Aquarium, Mote SEA).

There’s a lot of history on this site, not just Fort King George, a short-lived English garrison located to protect from Indians and those pesky Florida Spanish. Today it’s located in Georgia, but then it was a South Carolina colony. The visitor center had a small museum.

Not far off of I95 near Townsend, Georgia is the Smallest Church in America, Christ’s Chapel in Memory Park. Built in 1949 and rebuilt in 2017 after arson destroyed the original. There is room for 13 people in its 10×15 foot sanctuary.

This old church in ruins is called the Sheldon Church. All by itself in the woods, the parish still maintains the site. The grass was being mowed while we were there. The county website describes it: Old Sheldon Church was originally known as Prince William’s Parish Church and was built in the Greek Revival style between 1745 and 1753. It was burned down by the British in 1779 during the Revolutionary War. In 1826, it was rebuilt only to be burned again by General Sherman in February 1865.

NO, not THAT border – the North Carolina Border. South of the Border does have a Mexican theme, Mexican gifts, and a Mexican mascot, Pedro. We enjoyed the gift shop and its shark, but skipped the other amenities.

A fair piece off I95 is Wilson, North Carolina. And worth the detour. Made from scraps and recycled parts these 30 wind-powered sculptures at Whirligig Park are fun to watch.

I expected this to be called “Reston Zoo” but the internet search returned NOVA Wild.  NOVA is short for Northern Virginia. We were looking for an activity to enjoy while visiting our oldest great granddaughter in the Washington, DC area. (We actually had lived in Reston over 30 years ago and had visited the zoo then.) [And an apology to subscribers.]

The Saratoga Springs History Museum is in the former Canfield Casino and the casino history was fascinating. I especially like the biographies of the famous (and infamous) gamblers. Many were wealthy summer residents.

One of the real highlights of the trip was visiting Baseball Hall of Fame with our college ball playing grandson. Highlights included Cleveland Indians glory years, Negro league stars, and Japanese internment camp baseball.