Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

I'm here for two days of meetings, then I pick Lindsay up at Pitt and head home for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Hopefully there won't be too much traffic.

Booth's Trail, Reversed

I started from Port Royal, Virginia. The Garrett Farm, where John Wilkes Booth was caught and shot, is located a few miles south of here. Nothing is left of the farm - just a marker in the Rt. 301 median.

In Port Royal I stood in the front yard of the Peyton House, where Booth and Herold stopped briefly on the afternoon of April 24, 1865. There were no men at home that afternoon and the fugitives made the ladies of the house nervous so they were booted out.

I crossed the Rappahannock, heading north, following the trail in reverse back over the Potomac.

The Pine Thicket where Booth and Herold hid for five days is a short distance to the east of Rt. 301. There isn't much there, except a "Civil War Trails" historical marker. The Bel Alton, Maryland Post Office is across the street, a rustic little building.

I got back onto Rt. 301 and headed north to the Dr. Samuel Mudd farm. Mudd was a southern sympathizer who was acquainted with Booth, although he pretended he wasn't. He set Booth's broken leg early on the morning of April 15, 1865.

The house was closed to visitors, a wide iron gate across the driveway. I peered at the house through the bars, then read the historical markers. The farm is in good shape and sits in a picturesque location. The landscape looks much the same as it would have in 1865.

I skipped the Surratt Tavern. There was too much traffic by this time and I was ready to head home.

I'll back in the area next March so I can fill in the blanks then.

A detailed description of all the stops can be found here, and James Swanson's book Manhunt is well worth the time.

Tappahannock, Virginia

The cool part is that my GPS navigator brought me straight down Route 301 in Maryland. This is close to the route John Wilkes Booth took after leaving Dr. Mudd's house in April, 1865. I discovered where I was at a rest stop just before the Rt. 301 bridge across the Potomac.

I must have driven right by the pine thicket where Booth and David Herold camped for the better part of a week, before trying to row across the river to Virginia. They made it on their second try, drifting downstream south of where I crossed. The river is pretty wide at that point and I could see how they lost their bearings, especially at night.

I didn't see any signs for tourist-trap like places, other than the "historical marker" style plaque at the rest stop. Off the main road the landscape probably looks pretty much like it did in 1865. After I crossed into Virginia I was no doubt close by the Garrett farm where Booth was finally caught, though I don't think there's anthing left of it.

Maybe, if I get away early on Friday, I'll have some time to explore.

Atlanta, Georgia

I'll spend the Veteran's Day holiday here, alternately working and listening to some new audio books I downloaded over the weekend.

I am staying next to the I285 Beltway. On the other side of 285 is the world headquarters of the Home Depot Corporation, where we got our red washer and dryer. Maybe I'll stop in and let them know that the new equipment is working out OK. They'll probably want to know that the appliances do indeed use less energy and water, and that we're reduced our carbon footprint as a result.

Phoenix, Arizona

No Amish buggies here. They have Trader Joe's, though. I stopped on my way to the hotel and grabbed some organic stuff.

Should be healthy by the time I leave on Friday.

Tuesday morning I woke up and discovered I forgot my toothbrush. I am afraid to tell T since she will yell at me for being absent-minded. After work I picked up a new toothbrush, which is red. I was in the mood to experiment with new and different colors.

So far the red toothbrush is working out fine. My smile is dazzling and my breath is minty fresh.