Travels in the 2nd half

  No trip to northern California is truly complete without seeing the magnificent redwoods in that part of the state. If you are visiting the Sonoma area, that is best done with a trip to the Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve , in Guerneville. Guerneville, California, is an old logging town, that now survives supporting tourism along the Russian River.   The entrance to the park is a 23 mile drive from Santa Rosa. The prettiest route is along River Road, which follows the Russian River. This is one of the most beautiful drives in the area. On this route you will also pass some of the Russian River Valley’s many vineyards.   In the early 1870’s, American settlers in the area were harvesting the coastal redwoods, both for the wood, and to create farmland in the area. Colonel James Armstrong moved his family to this area from Ohio in 1874, investing in the Guerneville lumber industry, along with real estate in Santa Rosa. In 1878 Armstrong gifted 440 acres of the redw...

  The Hunterfly Road Houses   In the heart of the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, is a tribute to one of the largest communities of free African-Americans that existed in the United States prior to the Civil War. Today, the Weeksville Heritage and Cultural Center serves as a historical memorial and current cultural center celebrating the past, present and future of African-American life in New York City. Weeksville Heritage Center   In 1838, a year after a major economic crash in the United States, a group of Black families decided to buy land in central Brooklyn. The borough was becoming more industrial, and the old European families were no longer interested in running their large farms. Land was cheap, so the Black families bought large parcels to live on, rent and resell. This created economic freedom, and also political influence, as owning land was a requirement for Black men to qualify to vote in New York at that time. Named after James Weeks, one of ...