A Rainstorm and a Rainbow

Cambridge Maryland is located on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay. If you are like me and you only have a vague understanding of Maryland  (as in it is a state on the East Coast which borders D.C.) then you may be surprised to learn about some of the geography like me.

Here is a map of Maryland - the Chesapeake Bay can not be over-emphasized. I learned there is more coastline on Maryland than any other state in the lower 48. 

Cambridge, birthplace of Harriet Tubman is on the eastern shore of the bay.  Above Maryland is Pennsylvania -  where Harriet and others working the Underground Railroad helped slaves escape.  This area of Maryland is also known as Tidewater lands because they are so low and so effected by the changing tides. In fact, we learned, just as some kids in some parts of the country do not have school because of snow days, there are days when the tide comes up so high, the two lane road is completely submersed.  The kids stay home from school - and are given assignments, or they would be stuck there when the tide comes up, with no road to get home.

The flat lands with beautiful scenery make it perfect for bike riding.

We had a guided bike ride. It was fabulous.  Within minutes of our departure,  the skies unleashed an impromptu rainstorm. Chubby raindrops pelted us as winds whipping through grasses and trees, swirled down the street and pushed against our efforts to pedal.

It ended as quickly as it began and a bit later we were treated to a rainbow.

Wyatt was attached to my bike so he could keep up no problem.

Just behind the kids is a yellow house - it's actually Bucktown Village Store. This is the spot, Harriet Tubman was hit with a two pound iron in the forehead, causing a major head injury. The man who threw the iron was an overseer who intended to hit another slave with the iron in an attempt to stop him from running.

Inside of the Bucktown Village Store (our guide and her husband own the store and live next to it)

Payton starting out

An example of the gorgeous farmlands surrounding the area.

We saw where Harriet Tubman was born, and where her mother and father lived. The area hasn't changed much since then. Harriet, after escaping to the north, came back 19 times and helped save 300 slaves by being a conductor on the Underground Railroad that originally helped her. She came back for her parents and her sister and as much of her family she could help escape. Harriet lived to be 91 and died of pneumonia where she lived in Auburn, NY. 

Cambridge was also home to the Powhatan Indians. Susan, our guide's mother was Powhatan and so she was able to educate us about the Natives of this area.

We rode a bit into the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge - many species of water fowl live here under protection.
The only bummer was since it had just rained, this very wet area erupted in mosquitoes.
It was like the movie "National Lampoon's Vacation" when they see the Grand Canyon for 2 seconds then leave. Susan was so excited to point out through the trees the enormous nest made of sticks -  on any other occasion it was gawk worthy and we would have taken several pictures. Instead, we spotted the nest as we were jumping around, swatting and yelling at the blood thirsty little buggers attacking us.  (Susan, meanwhile was standing as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening, still telling us about the eagle's nest). We ran back to the bikes - still swatting and jumping and pedaling away to drier land (as we swat and yelled out some more) Payton instantly put about a quarter of a mile between him and us.

As an aside, the bike ride was a great compliment to our visit to the Harriet Tubman museum in town a day earlier. It  was very small, but the woman working there was a wealth of knowledge. Inez Lincolna - she was the 4th generation in her family who was given a feminine form of  Lincoln by adding an A. (How smart is that!)

She told us all about growing up in a segregated Cambridge. How the street the museum was on was the dividing line between the black side of town and the white side of town. She told us about her memories of being arrested during protests and that her mother was even arrested - she laughed heartily at this thought because she said her mom had never cussed or smoked or drank and to pick her up from jail was so unlike her.

The little square outside the courthouse - well that was where the slave auctions were.

Kids at the museum with Inez Lincolna standing with a mural. Harriet Tubman is between Sally and Wyatt

 The bike ride - with the storm and the rainbow was so symbolic of everything that has taken place in the area. 

After the bike ride, we began the itchy 2 hour plus drive to pick my parents up at the airport back in Virginia. 
We are traveling with Mum-mum and grandpa for 10 days.  More about that soon!

Another end to another busy day on the Great American Field Trip

TEAM RYAN - by Payton

For those of you who don't already know, Payton enjoyed blogging so much, he decided to start his own blog called "Generally Speaking"I copied and pasted the post below from his blog. If you want to check his out the address is www.generallyspeaking.blogspot.com 


Team Ryan, by Payton Fales

One of the greatest parts of this trip has been meeting locals, and hearing their stories, good or bad.  The past few days we were in Cambridge, Maryland, the childhood home of Harriett Tubman. While there we ate lunch at a Gastropub, called High Spot, after paying the check, we struck up a conversation with one of the waiters working there, and they shared a story that really struck a chord:

A boy named Ryan Summers (the son of the owners of the restaurant where we ate) was struck by lightning in July, while attending a family reunion. His heart immediately stopped beating, and his mother gave him CPR, until the ambulance came to his rescue. He was rushed to the hospital, where they managed to save his life. 

 Afterward he traveled from hospital to clinic to hospital to clinic. He was just recently released from his last hospital to begin therapy. The effect of the lightning strike had much of the same effect as a stroke, he lost memory, and the ability to talk, and accomplish everyday feats.

The story is both tragic and full of hope. It provides a feeling of gratitude, for our own health, and safety of our friends and family.

While we were at the restaurant we noticed that all the staff was wearing “Team Ryan” wristbands, and we inquired whether they were for sale.  When the answer was yes, we immediately bought them. After all, the money went to a great cause. 

I bought ten extra wristbands, and want to share them with those who are truly interested in helping Ryan, and his family.

First ten people to comment on this, share it with friends or family, and visit his website, will receive a “Team Ryan” wristband.