Day 2 - Inspired Sunday

The best cure for jet lag is to stay up! 

We'd flown all night and our flight arrived at the Frankfurt Airport at 9 am (3 am our time). From past experience we knew the best way to beat jet lag is to stay up even though the body's saying it's time for bed. So our friends picked us up and we headed out for our first day of adventure in 

Germany. 

The Nurburging is a popular motorsports complex located in the town of Nurburg, Rhineland-Palatinate about 164 km northwest of Frankfurt. The race track was interesting but our real destination was the Classic Race Museum  located 5 km from the race track. 

So off we went. 

The guys checked out the museum and met the owner who apparently was a pretty interesting individual.

The girls decided to save our 6 euro and instead have a coffee in the museum's cafe and to take a walk through the small town. I was delighted to find just a short distance from the museum this small brick church. 

Maybe because I was tired or had too much caffeine but I've no idea of the name of the church. I only know if you make it to the Classic Race Museum take a short walk to the corner and you'll find it! There's no parking but the town is tiny and the church is well within walking distance of all the houses. 

Next time you're in a new place take a walk. 

There might be something interesting around the next corner.

For the month of October I'm going to be writing everyday mostly about walking. I hope I might encourage someone to get outside and take a walk!

A Walk By Immaculate Conception Catholic Church Downtown Jacksonville

After a meeting in downtown I decided to take the long way back to my car. Temperatures of close to 100 made it a quick walk but I managed to snap a couple photos on my way.

Downtown Jacksonville boosts several beautiful old churches and the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church one of my favorites. I love the tall spires and the red roof.

Basilica of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church is one of the oldest Catholic Churches in north Florida. The original church was founded in 1854 and just a few years later in 1863 it became the victim of the Civil War when Union soldiers looted and burned the building. In 1871 a new building was dedicated but disaster stuck once again when in 1901 the building was destroyed in the Great Fire that consumed downtown Jacksonville.

The Gothic style building we see today was constructed in 1910. One hundred and six  years later the church draws hundreds of people each week for daily mass, confessions and weddings.

My photo taken on my cell phone doesn't do the beautiful building justice. You can take a virtual tour of the exterior, interior and the stain glass windows by clicking the link below.

Church Tours - Basilica of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church

No matter where you are always take the time for a short walk and just see what you find. There are treasures around every corner!

Basilica of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church

121 E Duval Street

Jacksonville, Florida

Corner of E Duval and Ocean Street




Check out other churches at:

Inspired Sunday - Prayer Book Cross in Golden Gate Park

While visiting the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco we happened upon a sign for the Prayer Book Cross. Curious we veered off the main path and headed up hill and what a lovely sight we found.

The Prayer Book Cross

The 60 foot sandstone cross was a gift from the Church of England in tribute to the first English language sermon and the first use of the Book of Common Prayer in California   Erected in 1894 on one of the highest points it towered over the park and was originally intended to be seen from the sea. Today the cross is almost completely hidden by the trees. The cross isn't visible from the road and if it wasn't for the small sign posted we wouldn't have known it was there. 

Engraved on the front:

Presented to Golden Gate Park at the opening of the Midwinter Fair January 1, AD 1894 - As a memorial of the service held on the shore of Drakes Bay about Saint John Baptists Day June 24 Anno Domini 1579 by Francis Fletcher priest of the Church of England and chaplain of Sir Francis Drake chronicler of the service.

Engraved on the back:

First Christian service in the English tongue on our coast. First use of Book of Common Prayer in our country - One of the first recorded missionary prayers on our continent. 

Location

The cross is located in the San Francisco's Golden Gate Park above Rainbow Falls on John F Kennedy Drive.

Inspired Sunday - Church of the Good Shepherd in Spanish Harlem

While participating in The Great Saunter, a walk around Manhattan, we passed through Spanish Harlem also known as El Barrio.  As we made our way down Isham Street we got a fleeting look at the Church of the Good Shepherd. It was a solid, impressive granite building that took up the entire block. 

The Church of the Good Shepherd is a Catholic church established in 1915. The original wood structure was built on land purchased from the Isham family. In 1935 Architect Paul Monaghan designed the present Romanesque-style building you see today.

The Church of the Good Shepherd was originally established to minister the Irish community. Today the church and adjacent school serves a largely Hispanic congregation. 

This church was only one of the many interesting sights we passed on our long walk around Manhattan.

Inspired Sunday - Avondale United Methodist Church

Riverside-Avondale is a wonderful example of a walkable neighborhood. Sidewalks that run under a beautiful canopy of shade trees, parks and benches scattered here and there, the river and lovely old houses to drool over make for a nice walk. Not only that but the neighborhood is pretty much self contained.  A hospital, grocery stores, restaurants and numerous churches are all within walking distance. This is one of our favorite areas to walk and so many churches to look at it's hard to choose just one to highlight...

Avondale United Methodist Church

The church was organized as the Avondale Methodist Episcopal Church and a lot was purchased and a small chapel built in 1927. In 1941 the Gothic style sanctuary was built by architect Leroy Sheftall. The message engraved above the sanctuary doors reads "To the Glory of God".

A lovely day of walking in a beautiful neighborhood! 

Avondale United Methodist Church

New Zion Missionary Baptist Church - Fernandina Beach, FLorida

New Zion Missionary Baptist Church is the second oldest African American Church on Amelia Island. The church was founded in 1870 by Rev. Lewis Cook and met in member's homes until a church was constructed in 1878. The the original wooden structure burned on February 11, 1907. Under the direction of Rev P.A. Callaham the current building was completed on the same spot by November of that same year. A mere six years later in 1913 the mortgage was burned. Pretty impressive!

On the naming of the church one of the members said, 

"call her New Zion and she will never grow old".

The corner stone was laid in 1907.

New Zion Missionary Baptist Church
10 South 10th Street
Fernandina Beach, Florida
Information on the history was found at New Zion Missionary Baptist Church website.

St. Mary's African Methodist Episcopal Church - Armstrong, Florida

Last week we took a nice long walk on the Palatka-to-St. Augustine rail to trail in St. John's county. After reading the history of this rail road line and that it passed through the historic town of Armstrong I knew this would make an interesting walk.

Armstrong Historic Community

The town of Armstrong is one of  the oldest African American communities in St. John's county. The small community was settled about 1886 around a sawmill. By 1900 it was a thriving agricultural community shipping potatoes by rail. Timber and turpentine was another big industry for the small community.

While walking the trail you can see the location of the train depot, the Armstrong post-office and the Sand Cut Camp which was for railroad employees. You can also see the remains of St. Mary's AME Church.

St. Mary's African Methodist Episcopal Church

The original church was a wood frame building constructed in 1914. This building was destroyed by fire in 1915 and the members met for the next ten years in homes around town. The present church and bell tower was built in 1925. I can just imagine the excitement of the congregation when their new building was finished.

The picture on the sign shows the church in 1985.

This is what the church looks like now. If you peer closely you can just barely make out the remains. The woods and undergrowth are threatening to completely over take the abandoned building. 

(I could have gotten a better picture if I had gotten off the trail and tramped through the high grass and underbrush. But this is Florida and that means ticks! So, no way...I stay on the trail.)

Take Time to See the World Around You!

 I often wonder if any of the bicyclist that blew by us have ever taken the time to stop and peer off the trail to see the ruins of this tiny church. Walking is a nice way to  view the world around us at 3 miles per hour.

Get outside and take a slow walk to see what you can see!

State(s):	Florida
Counties:	St. Johns
Length:	8.5 miles
Trail end points:	FL 207 and CR 207 (Spuds) to (nearly) I-95 in Elkton

You can see other churches and cemeteries by checking out:

San Biagio Church - Montepulciano, Italy

Built from locally quarried travertine San Biagio Church sits at the base of  the medieval hill town of Montepulciano. We could see the church from the wall of the town and we just knew we'd have to make our way down the hill to check it out. 

The church is even more impressive close up. Built around 1500 the church was designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Elder. A nice solid building.

The dome of San Biagio served as the inspiration for the dome of St. Peter's at the Vatican.

The front of the church is actually pretty plain with one lone tower. There was supposed to be a matching tower but it was never built. Even so it is a beautiful, impressive church surrounded by a lush green lawn perfect for a picnic or a little nap.

Check out more churches being shared at 

Unknown Wall Painting of the Crucifixion in Lucca, Italy

While on vacation in Italy we made what was to be a quick stop in Lucca.

Lucca is in the Tuscany region not far from Pisa and famous for the well preserved Renaissance wall that surrounds the city. The wall is broad and perfect for walking or biking and at a distance of 2 miles makes for a leisurely walk. The idea was to walk the wall, hop back in the car and make the drive to our Airbnb that was to be our home during our stay in Tuscany.

You know what they say about the best laid plans. Hunger drove us down into the town in search of lunch. We ended up walking just about every street in this beautiful town.

Have you ever snapped a photo of something and later on wish you'd taken the time to get more information? Or a better photo? That happened with me while in Lucca.

As usual I was trailing behind my travel companions as we walked down an alley. Suddenly a rusty iron fence caught my eye and I stopped to take a photo. It was in front of what I thought was just an arched doorway. I was delighted to see the fence was some what protecting a wall painting.

See the small white rectangle on the wall below the painting? It say 'Eleosine' which translates as alms. There is a small slot for depositing coins. Could this have been a convent or a monastery and the money used to help the needy?

A beautiful rendition of Christ on the cross. How long before it completely disappears? Anyone familiar with Lucca or this wall painting? I would love to know more about this painting before it's gone.

Sharing over at 

Remains of St Biagio's Church in Rovereto, Italy

A great way to enhance outdoor activities is to go Geocaching. I've written before about this fun hobby and you can read about it in this post,  "Fun Things to do on a Walk- Geocaching" In a nutshell people hide things called caches, mark the spot with coordinates, you  track the location with a GPS and once located, you sign the log and record your find online. What I really love about Geocaching is that it takes us to places we never would have ventured to on our own.

While visiting the town of Rovereto, located at the southern edge of the Alps in Italy, we found one such spot.

Chiesetta di S.Biagio

At least what's left of St Biagio's Church!

According to the informational signpost St Biagio's Church is from the 11th century and was doing quite well until it was damaged by artillery fire in 1916. Then in 1940 a bomb pretty much signaled the end of the church. All that remains is a little of the foundation and the beautiful Romanesque bell tower.

Seeing this bombed out church with the bell tower still standing reminds me of the resilience of faith. To be damaged not only once but twice and yet not completely destroyed.

How easy it would have been for the town's people to finish knocking down and clearing this plot of land and yet they chose to leave the remnants of this church. Perhaps as a reminder to future generations of the consequences of war. 

It's a peaceful place. To get to the remains of the church you have to take a walk through a small neighborhood and then take a trail up the side of a hill. Once on top there are picnic tables and a grassy area for the kids to play and the remains of the church. The entire spot is surround by a fence and has lovey views of the mountains and the town below. 

If you're in the area and would like to check out St Biagio's Church grab your GPS and plug in the coordinates. You might even find the hidden cache!

N 45° 51.159 E 010° 59.491

Walking Historic Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta

I know it may sound weird but I love to walk in cemeteries. Not just any cemetery though.  They must be old cemeteries hopefully with a few graves of famous or interesting people and big marble angels. Those are my favorite.

Nancy and I took a trip into downtown Atlanta to visit just such a cemetery. 

Historic Oakland Cemetery

Founded in 1850 on six acres of land on the outskirts of Atlanta, Oakland became the resting place for both the most prosperous and the poor. Soon forty eight additional acres were purchased in order to lay to rest 7,000 Civil War soldiers.

Today the cemetery is slap dab in the middle of downtown, just 5 blocks east of the state capitol. Not only interesting for the historical value, Oakland is also one of the largest green spaces in downtown Atlanta. A perfect place to take a walk alone or with friends, They even welcome well behaved dogs. 

There were so many lovely things to photograph in this cemetery. I'm sharing just of few of my favorites. 

The Lion of Atlanta (1894)

Modeled after the Lion of Lucerne in Switzerland this statue was erected by the Atlanta Ladies Memorial Association to honor the unknown Confederate dead. The lion which represents courage is mortally wounded by a broken spear as he clutches the Confederate battle flag. 

Georgia Harris (d. 1920)

The grave of Georgia Harris is one of only two documented cases of an African-American to be buried in the general section of Oakland. (In other words the white section) before Maynard Jackson (b.1938-d.2003) Atlanta's first African-American mayor.  

The Boyd family for whom Georgia Harris was with for many years obtained special permission to bury her in the family plot. 

Famous Golfer

Robert Tyre Jones (1902-1971)

Bobby Jones was the greatest amateur golfer of all times. He co-founded and co-designed the Augusta National Golf Club, site of the annual Masters Tournament. The area leading up to his grave marker is a putting green and many people leave golf balls here in his honor.


A Famous Author

Margaret Mitchell Marsh

b. Nov 8, 1900 d. Aug 16, 1949

Margaret Mitchell wrote  "Gone With the Wind" the Civil War era novel. . The novel won the National Book Award in 1936 and a Pulitzer Prize in 1937."Gone With the Wind" was the only novel published during her lifetime. She is buried beside her husband, John Robert Marsh.

Symbolism on a Grave Marker

As you walk around you'll see many symbols used on grave markers. This Neo-Classical monument is a good example. 

In the 1890's Thomas Neal erected this statue in memory of his wife and daughter. 

One woman holds an open bible that symbolizes knowledge, the other holds a closed book meaning a finished life. The laurel wreath is for eternity, a palm branch for victory over death and a Celtic cross for eternal life, faith and redemption. 

Too Many Children Died Young

It's always sad to see grave markers for children. 

Often times it's a reminder to be thankful for modern medicine.

Bloomfield

This marker honors four young sisters (2, 4, 6, and 8) who died within a 10 day period in 1863. They were the victims of diphtheria, one of the leading causes of death among children at that time. 

The ivy on the cross represents fidelity and friendship and the rose garland in the center is for love and beauty. 

Diphtheria is a serious bacterial infection. It can be treated with antibiotics and antitoxins neither of which was available in 1863. Penicillin wasn't discovered until 1928 and wasn't perfected for use until the 1940s. Diphtheria is now rare in the United States due to vaccinations against the disease. 

Seashell Marker

There were several examples of this type of marker for a child's grave. So popular it could be ordered from the Sears and Roebuck catalogue. The seashell is a symbol for resurrection.

The inscription on this marker

Maurine

Son of R.P. and Anna A. Robbins

b. Jan 7, 1896 d. April 1, 1896



I'll Leave You On a Happier Note

Oakland Cemetery, like many of the older historic cemeteries, is filled with beautiful old trees and flowers. Oakland is actually an arboretum and a botanical garden. Most of the trees are tagged and there are gorgeous flowers everywhere. 

If you find yourself in downtown Atlanta take a walk and enjoy this beautiful park. 

Lace up and take a walk through history!

Click here to see more about Oakland Cemetery.

Self Guided Walking Tour of Monticello, Florida

Heading home after a visit with our son and his family we took a side trip to visit the town of Monticello. I've seen the sign for this historic town many times but we've never taken the time to visit. I was happy that we did take the time on this trip.

At the Chamber of Commerce we found a brochure for a tour that could be made on foot or in the car. Of course we took the foot route.  I forgot to take a water bottle that I could carry with me but I thought we'd find a place to stop for a cool drink if needed. Wrong! Nothing is open in this quaint little town on Sunday afternoon. Fortunately most of the walk was in the shade so we didn't suffer too badly.

We stopped by the Chamber on Commerce 420 W. Washington Street to pick up a map of the walking tour.

The Chamber of Commerce is located in a cute little converted church. Even though it was closed on Sunday the maps are located in a stand at the front door. 

Monticello Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce

Monticello Opera House was built in 1890 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. 

The walking tour took us by several churches. This is the most interesting one (in my opinion:-)

Christ Episcopal Church located on High Street was built in 1885. 

Interesting details on this building. Lots of intricate woodwork and beautiful stain glass windows. The woodwork sets it apart from other Episcopal Churches built around this time. 

Anytime a walk includes a cemetery I'm happy. Weird but true...

City Cemetery 

(1827)

There are many early settlers of this area laid to rest here as well as Union and Confederate Soldiers.

Next time we see an interesting sign we won't wait so long to check it out! 

Get off the main road lace up and start walking!