Category: Travel

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Barack and Michelle Obama at the Portrait Gallery

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Barach Obama portrait galleryYesterday I visited the Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. The Gallery shares a building (once the Patent Office) with the Smithsonian American Art Museum but because it sits several blocks off the National Mall it is often overlooked by tourists and locals alike. That’s a shame because the two museums house some of the most important and relevant art to our times.

My main focus was the “America’s Presidents” section where they display the official portraits from Washington to Obama. Most paintings are traditional, with dark tones and stoic poses. That is until you get to John F. Kennedy, whose painting is more abstract and modern (especially for 1963).

John F. Kennedy portrait gallery

Presidents Carter and Reagan start a more relaxed, but still fully suited up, set of portraits. George H.W. Bush is more austere, but George W. Bush sits tie-less in a more comfortable, homey setting. Bill Clinton is the most unique (okay, bizarre) with his official portrait, which is constructed as a mosaic of small squares with colorful inserts. Looked at from a distance it immediately looks different from the other portraits; up close it is positively peculiar.

But the most interesting was that of President Barack Obama. African-American artist Kehinde Wiley was chosen specifically for his cultural influence. Obama sits tie-less in a classical hardback chair partially embedded in a sea of leaves and flowers. The flowers have personal significance to Obama – chrysanthemums are the official flower of Chicago, the jasmine evokes Hawaii, and the African blue lilies refer to his Kenyan father. The effect is startling, which partially explains why his portrait attracted the largest crowds in the gallery.

From the presidents gallery I moved upstairs to the “Twentieth-Century Americans” hall that holds First Lady Michelle Obama’s official portrait. Michelle selected Amy Sherald, another African-American artist, whose unique style brings out Michelle’s blend of confidence and approachability. As with her husband, Michelle’s portrait was the star of the room.

Also in the “Twentieth-Century Americans” gallery were several other portraits of contemporaries one might not expect to see in a national gallery, including rapper/actor LL Cool J, Vietnam Wall creator Maya Lin (as a 3-D printed mini-statue), and to my surprise, ecologist E.O Wilson, an icon in my scientific field.

There is much more to see in the Portrait Gallery and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, so next time you’re in Washington, DC, pull yourself off the Mall and have a visit. Not far away are also the Spy Museum, Madame Tussaud’s wax museum, and Ford’s Theatre (where Lincoln was shot). All are worth a visit but so often missed by visitors who don’t stray far from the strip of Smithsonian museums between the Capitol and Washington Monument.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

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Schoodic Peninsula – The Uncrowded Part of Acadia National Park

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I just returned from a short trip to the Schoodic peninsula in downeast Maine. If you have plans to visit Acadia National Park, don’t miss the Schoodic, which is home to the uncrowded part of Acadia NP. You get much of the same rocky shoreline with fewer people to jostle and no line of cars. The Schoodic National Scenic Byway is not to be missed.

A few years ago I visited the main part of Acadia, including the town of Bar Harbor. Because national parks are rare in the eastern part of the United States, and much smaller, Acadia is definitely worth the visit. Climbing up Cadillac Mountain gives hikers a chance to stretch their legs after sitting in busy summer traffic. A Maine lobster dinner is always a nice reward to make you forget the ache in underused muscles.

Schoodic is largely ignored by the masses even though it’s not a far drive beyond Bar Harbor and has much of the same views. My trip this time was because my brother, a highly accomplished wetlands biologist with a long history of environmental service, recently took on the job of President/CEO of the Schoodic Institute. The non-profit Institute sits on the former Navy base on Schoodic Point. Their mission is to bring science to the public and to support Acadia National Park through public/private partnerships. The extensive campus provides housing of visiting scientists, conferences, classrooms, laboratories, and an auditorium for public lectures, films, and presentations.

Schoodic Institute

Driving around the loop road on the peninsula you’ll encounter many places to pull off and explore the rocky seacoast. In the distance you’ll see the Schoodic lighthouse and Cadillac Mountain rising from the main portion of the Acadia National Park. Seabirds abound, from ospreys to ducks to plovers passing through. We also saw several Bald Eagles soaring above us and a few juveniles stretching their wings closer to the ground. In the forested interior, a sharp eye may see hummingbirds, yellow warblers, cormorants, and many more birds. Climb up to Schoodic Head for a panoramic view on all sides of the peninsula

If you have more time than I did, check out the campgrounds, longer hikes, wildflowers. Kayak around the coves to get up close to the rocky shorelines, birds, and if you’re lucky, spot moose and foxes. After a long day exploring nature, check out the many local artist studios, the bakery Patrick runs out of his home, the gourmet food of the Salt Box, and breakfast on the porch of Gerrish’s restaurant or a few blocks away at Chase’s. And, of course, don’t forget to get lunch at the Pickled Wrinkle, a local landmark. [A wrinkle is Mainer for a conch, which are pickled to preserve them for long days of lobstering] After eating (perhaps a lobster roll?), stop next door at “Me and Ben’s” for some Moose Tracks ice cream. Here’s a list of places not to be missed.

I’m looking forward to a return trip to Schoodic. On the way up I stopped in Rockland, Maine to have lunch with a Lincoln Group colleague who rents a cabin in the area every summer. So the tentative plan is to go up for a longer time, make a writer’s retreat of it, do some kayaking, check out Red’s Eats in Wiscasset, and more.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

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Den Blå Planet, Copenhagen Aquarium – My 50th Aquarium

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Den Blå Planet, Copenhagen AquariumWherever I science travel in the world I look for aquariums. Den Blå Planet (The Blue Planet) now has the distinction of being the 50th aquarium I’ve visited in the world. [Check out the other 49 here] Located in Kastrup, a suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark, and also known as the Denmark National Aquarium, it’s the largest aquarium in northern Europe.

It’s a rather new aquarium, opening in 2013. So new that when I spent several days in Copenhagen in 2015 I missed its very existence. The aquarium is out of Copenhagen central a bit, not far from the airport. Getting there requires either driving or taking the Metro system with a walk at the end. Most visitors won’t have a car and the nearest Metro station is often not convenient so the aquarium has a free bus that leaves from near the central train station.

The aquarium’s most unique feature is its architecture. Viewed from above, the building creates a whirlpool effect, although unfortunately this grand effect is lost on most visitors as from the ground all you see is a sweeping stainless steel wing curving away from the entrance. Inside, the aquarium uses modern touchscreen displays that highlight the habitats and fish in the tanks. Touch a specific fish and the screen expands to give its life history. These interactive displays enhance the learning experience and can be viewed in Danish or English.

There are five main sections covering major biomes: Rainforest, African Great Lakes, Cold Water, Warm Water, and Evolution and Adaptation.

As has become common with newer aquariums, Den Blå Planet has a huge glass wall through which you can see into the main tank. Otherwise, most of the tanks are rather pedestrian with no clear specialty. Having seen so many aquariums I’ve noticed that most have some unique appeal that sets it apart. This aquarium seemed not to have anything that would qualify other than the external architecture. One might argue that an exception is the section on species from Lake Malawi, Lake Tanganyika, and Lake Victoria in Africa, but even here the focus was on cichlid species that are the mainstay of virtually every aquarium. I didn’t see any jellyfish displays. There are none of the larger sea mammals like whales and dolphins, which have fallen out of favor because living conditions are generally not sufficient. They did, however, have one cute sea otter lolling in a small outside area and munching on ice cubes.

It took us only an hour or so to go through the entire building. There were plenty of children’s groups swarming the displays, which is both a positive (it shows the aquarium’s educational value) and a negative (loud and crowded). Overall, however, I found Den Blå Planet to be a nice aquarium and worth the visit. Take the free bus from city center to maximize the value. 

See here for links to other aquariums I’ve profiled.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

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2018-2019 Travel Preview (and Mini-Recap)

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David J. KentUsually I do a Travel Preview post in early January. I skipped the preview in January 2018 because I suspected my “travel year” would shift…and it did. Thus, this travel preview covers 2018-2019, roughly mid-year to mid-year.

That’s not to say that I’ve been homebound. In January we flew down to Ft. Myers, FL for a long weekend touring Sanibel Island, checking out Thomas Edison’s winter retreat, and notching my 49th aquarium at the Mote Marine Lab in Sarasota (my 50th came last month in Copenhagen). February was spent doing local trips, mostly Abraham Lincoln oriented. March I drove down to Newport News for the annual “Battle of Hampton Roads” weekend. April I made an unplanned trip to Massachusetts when my Dad went into the hospital, as well as a quick drive to Fredericksburg for a CPRC conference. In May I did Part 1 of my “Chasing Abraham Lincoln” tour through Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and Michigan. And then there were scads of local Lincoln Group of DC-related events, including a Lincoln-Douglas-Douglass debate at the National Archives (check the link for this once-in-a-lifetime event).

But now the fun begins. In early July Ru took a year off from her job with the goal of exploring more of the world. We began by flying to Copenhagen in late June and spent two weeks cruising around the Baltic Sea on a relatively intimate yacht of only 200 passengers, many of whom we came to know quite well. Stops included the Danish island of Bornholm, the Polish city of Gdansk (where the end of communist USSR began), the Curonian peninsula of Lithuania, the gorgeous old Estonian city of Tallinn, and then spent two days (ironically, the 4th of July) in St. Petersburg, Russia. From there we stopped in Finland’s capital Helsinki (where I had been several times when I lived in Brussels) and the oddly confusing but beautiful Finnish/Swedish Mariehamn in the Aland Islands (technically they belong to Finland, but speak Swedish, and have an autonomous government; you figure it out). The end in Stockholm was bitter-sweet.

Two days back from that trip, Ru flew to Beijing for a month, with side trips to Shanghai and Hong Kong. Meanwhile, I did Part 2 of my Chasing Abraham Lincoln tour, this time a 2905+ mile drive to, from, and around Illinois. My three main goals were to see: 1) the seven Lincoln-Douglas debate sites (plus a live debate between Lincoln [George Buss] and Douglas [Tim Connors]); 2) Rock Island, where a famous Lincoln court case involving a steamboat and a railroad bridge took place; and 3) the Illinois and Michigan Canal area, a key internal improvement project promoted by Lincoln. All these are research for my forthcoming book. Along the way I stopped in tons of tiny towns boasting some connection to Lincoln, all with the requisite Lincoln statue.

Next up is a road trip to Massachusetts and Maine to visit family in August, a September road trip from Crater Lake in Oregon to Glacier National Park in Montana, a trip to Gettysburg for the annual Lincoln Forum meeting followed by another road trip to Massachusetts for Thanksgiving. We’ll likely squeeze in some shorter trips to New York City, Chicago, Charleston (SC), Richmond, and other locations that don’t take too much planning.

Immediately after Thanksgiving we’ll fly to Hong Kong to board the sister of our Baltic yacht, which will take us around several Philippine islands, then to the two parts of Malaysia on Borneo, a day in Brunei, then end in Singapore. Since we’ve now both been to Hong Kong (separately), we’ll focus a few days of extra time on Singapore and probably a trip up to Kuala Lumpur. Who knows, maybe we’ll get to Indonesia while we’re there.

Into 2019 the plans are still fuzzy, but in the works are possible trips to Antarctica, Galapagos Islands, Rio, Machu Picchu, Costa Rica, and more. One relatively sure thing is a month in Paris – the plan is to rent an apartment in the spring so I can do research on a yet another book in the works, with side trips to Brussels, Lyon, Lille, and perhaps other European locales. A friend just mentioned that her family is going to Iceland next month, and since Iceland is on my “must-see” list, it’s a good bet we’ll try to get there in 2019. We also had to pass on a September trip to Petra, so I’m hopeful we can squeeze that visit in within the next year or two along with Egypt, Israel, and environs. And then there is the long-awaited African safari we’ll try to coordinate with my brother and his wife.

I’ve been to over 50 countries (depending on how you count), but there are still so many places I want to see. So many cultures, so little time (and money).

Of course, I’m also working on several books and I’ve yet to figure out how to write productively while traveling. I did have a productive writing and editing day on the Baltic trip during our one day at sea (i.e., not in a port). The December trip is longer and includes four individual days at sea, so there is some hope. But I’m going to have to be more efficient with my writing time (including the time used to write this preview).

Which is what I’ll do right now, as soon as the washer repairman finishes diagnosing my temperamental machine. At least I got this post written while he worked.

Go to the main blog and scroll up and down to see posts on the Baltic, Chasing Abraham Lincoln, and other trips as they happen (or happened). Or keyword search at the top of the page for specific locations and evens. You should also go to Ru’s blog to see how she is documenting her year of discovery.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

 

 

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Roskilde…The Other Copenhagen

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Roskilde, DenmarkI’ve been to Copenhagen before (see my “Spiraling Upward in Copenhagen“), so on this short visit I decided to head out of town to Roskilde. Only thirty minutes by train, Roskilde could be considered a suburb – the other Copenhagen – but it’s like day and night in comparison.

Whereas Copenhagen is bustling (my earlier trip included getting trapped by the mass of runners in the annual 26-mile marathon), Roskilde is relaxed and touristy. And yet it has its share of excitement, hosting an annual rock festival on the outskirts of town. That’s rock as in music, not geology, by the way.

Roskilde, Denmark city hall

On this day we walked down the main pedestrian street, the kind you should expect in a town whose history goes back to the Viking era. I’m not a shopper, but if you are, you’ll find many stores of local wares and gifts. At the end of the short street is the main square featuring a small fountain and the large former city hall. On the other side of the square is the entrance to the Roskilde Palace, which was more of a weekend house for rest than a working palace.

Next to the palace is the impressive Roskilde cathedral. Built in the 12th and 13th centuries, the Romanesque church (with its Gothic influence) was the first in all of Scandinavia built of brick. Today it attracts thousands of tourists (for a fee) and houses over three dozen royal tombs as the burial site for Danish monarchs. It’s now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

These are the sort of structures you expect to see in European old towns, but don’t forget to take the pleasant hike downhill through the forested park to the waterfront. Here you’ll find the Viking Ship Museum and Museum Island sitting at the head of the Roskilde Fjord. Inside the museum itself you’ll find the remains of five 11th century Viking ships that were excavated from the fjord in the late 1960s. Apparently scuttled to block the navigation channel, the five ships have been pieced together like jigsaw puzzles with many pieces missing. The island, which you must cross over to reach the museum, includes exhibitions of Viking boat building. Here you can see artisans using hand tools to transform trees into ships. It’s fascinating to watch. Several full-scale ships are on display.

Our visit to Roskilde had a modern day highlight. Directly across the road from the main train station is a small square displaying three huge jars constructed by Danish sculptor Peter Brandes, presented on the cities 1,000th anniversary in 1998. As we walked through the square to start our tour of Roskilde we noticed a crew setting up what appeared to be a huge television screen. Interesting, we thought. I wonder what that is for? On our way back to the station we found out. The square was packed with many hundreds of football (aka, soccer) fans watching the World Cup match between Denmark and France. We arrived in time to see the last two minutes of the match, which ended in a 0-0 tie, enough for both teams to progress to the next stage. [As of this writing, France is into the Finals. They play Croatia for the Cup on July 15, 2018]

Ah, but this unexpected thrill was merely a prelude; another World Cup match (Sweden and Switzerland) would take place the day we were in St. Petersburg. So we got to directly experience World Cup fever twice.

Hopping the train back to Copenhagen, the plan is to see the new Copenhagen Aquarium tomorrow before meeting the yacht that will take us to many interesting ports around the Baltic Sea. More soon.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

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Random First Photos from Copenhagen, Gdańsk, Klaipeda, and Tallinn

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David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

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Baltic Boating

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“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”

― Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad / Roughing It

Science Traveling the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea map

David J. Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

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Science Traveling the Baltic Sea

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Baltic Sea mapAh, the Baltic Sea. I’ll soon be on it. And also in Denmark, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Russia, Finland, and Sweden. Windstar take me there.

I’ve been to some of these places before. When I lived in Europe (Brussels, Belgium) I went to Helsinki, Finland three times for work-related meetings. Later I traveled to Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, and Bergen. This trip will bring me to many new places, including Russia, which seems appropriate given the current state of political affairs in the USA.

I’ll be aboard the Windstar yacht Star Breeze, a small ship with only 200 of my soon to be closest friends. I had sailed the Windstar’s Wind Surf in the Caribbean a few years ago and this ship is similar, but without the sails. Think of something a billionaire might own and that’s the Star Breeze. These small yachts are much better than the big hotel ships that hold 4000 or more people. Much more intimate.

We’ll leave from Copenhagen (see links above for some of my previous activities there), then head straight for the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. After touring the island we’ll head for Gdansk, Poland. Hopefully you’ve heard of Gdansk as it has played a critical role at least twice in European history. Gdansk was the site of the first shots fired in World War II. It was also where Lech Walesa, a shipyard electrician who later became President of Poland, started the Solidarity trade union movement that eventually led to the fall of communism in Poland. I’ll spend some time in the shipyards and the old city, and perhaps even sail on a 17th Century galleon.

Westerplatte monument

Westerplatte monument, Gdansk

But that’s only the beginning. We’ll head up to Klaipeda, Lithuania and tour the Curonian Peninsula, then hop over Latvia to Estonia where we’ll hike around the lower and upper old towns of Tallinn. And then it’s on to St. Petersburg, home of the Hermitage and the Imperial City. This will be my first foray into Russia. Following two days there it’s back to Helsinki, where my personal experience will let me guide tours around the main part of the city and then see (for the first time) the Church of the Rock. A leisurely biking tour of the Finnish island of Mariehamn will help get my land legs back before arriving in Stockholm and back to the US.

I haven’t spoken much about my travel schedule this year for a reason that will become clear later, but I’m scheduled to be seeing a good part of the world during the next 12 months. Locations already in the works are a road trip through the Pacific Northwest, another road trip through Abraham Lincoln’s Illinois, a Windstar cruise from Hong Kong to Singapore (with stops in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei), and maybe, just maybe, a visit to the seventh (or perhaps eighth, depending on how you count) continent. Then there is the month in Paris (for research, I swear) and a ton of other domestic and international travel in the plans. I’ll write more as they come to fruition, and will post tons of photos and stories as they happen.

Before then I have to step up my writing pace. Too many books in the works and too many other activities (not to mention the travel) have slowed my writing progress. But hey, as Benjamin Franklin may or may not have said: “Either write something worth reading, or do something worth writing about.” At least I’m doing the latter.

Off to write, perchance to dream.

David J. Kent is the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

 

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The Hampton Roads Defenses of Fort Monroe

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Fort MonroeNamed after our nation’s fifth president, Fort Monroe is, or at least was, one of the premier defenses of the Chesapeake Bay and Hampton Roads. Not far from here was the famous Battle of the Ironclads. On a recent visit I was able to tour the Fort Monroe National Monument, and in particular, the Casemate Museum, which contains an elaborate trail through time.

A casemate is a fortified, often armored, gun emplacement. From the exterior it looks like a wall or mound of dirt. Inside is where all the big cannons lived and fired upon attacking forces, whether land or sea. The Casemate Museum takes up a larger than expected section of the structure. Beginning with some history (fortifications on the location go back to the 1600s), the museum surprises you because it seems to go on forever as it winds within the casemate walls.

Displays range from informative signs and poster to full size cannons and wax figures. Here you’ll see the cell that Confederate President Jefferson Davis was held for two years after the end of the Civil War. [Outside you’ll find “Jefferson Davis Memorial Park,” which spans a section of the top of the fort.] There is also information on the history of slavery and its role in the Civil War. If you look closely, you might find a young Edgar Allan Poe writing “The Raven” during his tour of duty at the Fort. As you gaze offshore – beyond the moat that circumscribes the fort – you can picture the raging battle of the ironclads USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (ex-USS Merrimack). Inside the casemate are models of the two vessels.

The displays are impressive and don’t stop with the Civil War. The fort was in use until it was decommissioned in 2011, so there are figures and displays through modern times.

I had stopped at Fort Monroe before heading to the Monitor Center at the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, where I was to attend the “Battle of Hampton Roads Weekend” on the anniversary of the famous ironclad match up. I’ll have more on that shortly.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!

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Revisiting the Terra Cotta Warriors of Xi’an

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Terra Cotta warriorsA few years ago I visited the famed terra cotta warriors in their home –  Xi’an, China. Located a little more than half way between Beijing and Chengdu, Xi’an sits among the mountains of central China.

I wrote about the trip a while back and decided it was a good time to revisit it as I make a much shorter but more unexpected domestic excursion for family obligations.

In Part I of that earlier two-part post I delved into the history of the warriors, their reconstruction, and the unbelievable sense of awe you experience upon entering the first pit.

In Part II I dug into the restoration process itself.

Both parts have several photos to illustrate the wonder of the warriors. Click the links above to read the full stories in Parts I and II.

David J. Kent is an avid science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.

Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!