a white glove day

Today's archive visit was not at all as expected but still quite interesting. I had expected to find documents, but what I found were mostly photos and objects. For the first time, I had an archivist ask me to wear white gloves while handling materials which made me feel a cross between mickey mouse and a lab technician on CSI. But, all gloved up, I saw some interesting images that provide a new kind of data for my study which is exciting. I was finished at the archive earlier than expected so we spend two hours in the university library which had a stunning collection of Egyptian mummies. All in all, a good day. Tomorrow we are on to Montgomery.

don't bruise your peaches

Today was a traveling day. We got up early and hit the road after another breakfast of champions – this one at Waffle House. We drove most of the day and headed south through North Carolina, sliced across the top of South Carolina and have ended up in Georgia outside Atlanta. For the most part today we were on route 85 which was beautiful. Our most exciting stop of the day was at Abbot Farm Peaches which was a roadside farm stand extravaganza. I tried peach cider for the first time and peach salsa but they had basically every form of peach product I could think of including jams, jellies, sauces, hot sauces, bread, candies, and even fresh unprocessed peaches. We picked up a pint of peaches and the man in all seriousness told us as he put them into the bag to be careful because we sure didn’t want to bruise our peaches before we ate them. When we got to the hotel we did finally try them and they were delicious (and not bruised). Tomorrow’s an archiving day so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for more exciting discoveries.

monday

Today was hectic but productive - we drove from Virginia to North Carolina and I spent most of the day in the archive. Its hard to believe that its only been one day. Here's a photo journey of today:
#1 -- breakfast of champions -- coffee, hardboiled eggs, banana, string cheese











#2 - long early morning drive











#3 -- library adventures in the reading room and on the microfilm machine











#4 -- exploring the campus and chapel before heading out for the day

getting started on the road

Today was our first big day on the road and now that I'm at the end of it I am tired out. We made good time through New York and around DC and are now getting close to our first stop in South Carolina. Tomorrow's the exciting first day at the archive - who knows what it will bring?!

The New York Whirlwind

Its been a whirlwind two days in New York with Sille. We’ve covered lots of south-of-14^th-street territory, seen many entertaining characters, and generally soaked in the frenetic and exciting feeling of the city in the summer. Two big highlights of today: 1 – we were having free breakfast at the hotel and being happy that it was free yet uninspired by the cuisine choices. Then a very nice lady from the hotel came to our table with a box of donuts and asked if we wanted to have some. I took it as a good omen – I mean, when was the last time someone came to you in the morning offering donuts? Anyway we headed out, thus fortified, on our adventures for the day and after some rather aimless meandering ended up at an art fair in Williamsburg called the Renegade Craft Fair which is the second big highlight of the day. We saw so many quirky, random, and inspiring crafty-art objects including throw pillows made to look like scrabble squares and an entire collection of necklace charms made in the shape of miniature food items. We had some delicious coffees along the way too, of course and took the subway many times—always in the right direction. Tomorrow morning the road trip begins in earnest with the first archive stop on Monday.

the view from the flight into NYC

Archivists

At the beginning of most books that used archival sources, authors give elaborate thanks to the archivists and librarians who helped them on their way. I think I'd like to thank them before I even leave. I've been emailing with archivists I'll be visiting over the next month and have been so happy about the replies I've been getting -- including reassurance that the materials I want to look at are actually still available, letting me know that cameras are allowed in the reading room even though its not listed on the policy guide, and even advice about how to walk from the parking garage to the reading room through connecting air conditioned buildings to stay out of the heat wave. Thanks in advance, archivists of the south and west!