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Loving - The Movie. A beautiful portrayal of a forgotten civil rights story

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Ruth Negga (2 nd from right) stars as Mildred and Joel Edgerton (right) stars as Richard in Jeff Nichols LOVING, a Focus Features release. Credit : Ben Rothstein / Focus Features   Mildred Jeter and Richard Loving grew up in the rural unincorporated town of Central Point, Virginia. They met in high school, spent time together, and eventually, when Mildred became pregnant, decided to marry. But this was the 1950’s and Mildred was African American and Richard was white. Virginia had anti-miscegenation laws which made their marriage illegal. How did these two young people get beyond Jim Crow and fall in love? Well that had a lot to with Central Point VA. Central Point was and is still a very rural area. At a distance of about 90 miles south east from Washington DC it was community with a history of poor farmers, black and white, ignoring the rules of segregation, living together. According to a 2012 article in the Washington Post , Central Point and Caroline Count...
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Visiting the Campus of Cal-Berkeley. Berkeley, California

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The Campanile   I have been to San Francisco several times in my life, but I had never made it across the bay to the city of Berkeley. That changed during a recent visit.   Ghost sign near campus For me, a chance to walk through the campus of the University of California was my main reason for finding my way to this city by the bay. Cal-Berkeley was founded in 1868 as the state’s first land-grant research university. Both the city and the university are named after George Berkeley (1685-1753), an Anglo-Irish clergyman, philosopher, and writer. This honor was inspired by his book “Learning in America”, whose last stanza goes as follows: Westward, the course of empire takes its way; the first four Acts already past, a fifth shall close the Drama with the day; time’s noblest offspring is the last. George Berkeley by John Smibert via wikimedia The main entrance to the campus is through Sproul Plaza and Sather Gate. Sather Gate was built in 1910. It has eight bas-relief panels. Fou...
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Location: Berkeley, CA, USA
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Hike the Redwoods in Guernville, California

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  Entering into a redwood forest just feels different, especially since I come from the northeastern part of the United States of America. So when I returned to Sonoma County, the Armstrong Redwood State Natural Reserve was near the top of my “to-do” list.   The Armstrong Reserve is an old growth forest, covering 805 acres in the Russian River valley. James B. Armstrong  (1824-1900) was a real estate developer and lumber baron in Santa Rosa, California. His mills were producing as much as five million board-feet of lumber per year. In 1878 he sold 600 acres of his forest to his daughter Kate, who set them aside as a nature reserve and a park.   James B. Armstrong by unknown via wikimedia What makes walking through a redwood forest so enjoyable for me is the lack of heavy undergrowth. You can see clearly through the trees. It offers wonderful views of life under the giants, along with the ability to enjoy the amazing shapes that are formed by trees that have fallen o...
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Location: Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve, 17000 Armstrong Woods Rd, Guerneville, CA 95446, USA
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