Saturday, March 20, 2010 Revenge of Old House at Kents Store

Fate once again brought us to the Old House at Kents Store. Sadly it remains for sale and its condition worsens. As I walked behind the kitchen (a detached building to the rear of the house) I heard something rustling inside. As if the place wasn't scary enough, a large vulture jumped from inside and perched in the second floor window! I couldn't get a picture before he made his way into a tree.

If you look closely you can see his silhouette crouched in the middle of the photo.

Some shots of a few of the other outbuildings.

Friday, November 20, 2009 Tradegy in US History Museum

It was the late 80's when I stumbled upon the "Tragedy in US History Museum" in St. Augustine, Florida. It was a roadside attraction built on sheer vision, spliced seamlessly into the home of Buddy Hough and his wife. Buddy was the kind of genius who somehow knew to buy the entire contents of Lee Harvey Oswald's boarding room and recreate it in his home. He had the instinct to acquire the ambulance that carted Oswald after Ruby shot him, plus a Lincoln Continental that Kennedy was in 'hours before he was shot'. Buddy also possessed the commitment to reinforce the floor in his home so he could park them in his living room, and a dream was born.

In the backyard he built sheds with plexi walls to house the death cars of Jayne Mansfield and Bonnie & Clyde. Never mind that Jayne's death car was a different make and model than the newspaper clipping about the accident, or that Bonnie & Clyde's might have been a movie prop. Besides, there is a fiberglass cow and Spanish prison with real skeletons to look at.

The Tragedy museum closed in the late 90's after Buddy passed away. His collection was sold off to the relief of the St. Augustine Tourist Board.
The displays weren't always what they claimed to be, but walking through their kitchen looking at shrunken heads and murder weapons while Buddy and his wife watched TV was a genuine experience.

Sunday, August 23, 2009 Maplewood Cemetery

We visited beautiful Maplewood Cemetery in nearby Gordonsville Virginia this weekend.

We visited this beautiful and peaceful place several times while we were dating.
This bench is where I proposed to my dear wife (and she accepted!).

Sunday, May 3, 2009 A Bone and his Dog

This little ditty from the Post (full article here) was too good to pass up. Professor Gordon S. "Grover" Krantz with his beloved Irish Wolfhound Clyde.


Krantz was a teacher of osteology at Washington State University and dreamed of donating his bones to the Smithsonian. Indeed, other corpses must view him with envy. First his decomposition enthralls the faculty at the Tennessee Body Farm, and now school kids snicker at his bones.

Monday, November 17, 2008 The Sinking Springs Cemetery

The Sinking Springs Cemetery in Abingdon Virginia has some vintage stones, with the oldest burial date being July 1776.

It is also home to the coolest earthen tomb that I have ever seen...










...and my favorite cemetery sign of all time.

Thursday, October 30, 2008 Ohio State Reformatory

We visited the Ohio State Reformatory site in September 2008. The structure and tour were absolutely fascinating.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008 Lydia At The Beach

Lydia loves our vacations at the Outer Banks.

Her fear of the ocean doesn't diminish her appreciation of the dunes and sea oats.

Every time we turned around she was scrambling up the retaining wall outside our room and jumping into the sand. Eyes or no eyes, she can be a handful!




Lydia said "Bunny likes the feel of the sand and the playful seagulls the best."