FRIDAY, MAY 16
Wrapping Up
Hi All!
Things got so busy at the end of the tour I decided to write a final post that provides info about the last day of the tour, some photos to go with the post, and a link to all of the photos from the trip.
Friday
Getting up this morning was painful – I swear it feels like I have been away from home for months. The Renaissance Hotel in Asheville is in a great location – the Thomas Wolf Memorial is located across the street. We visited the memorial last night before dinner but I just didn’t have the energy to include it in my Thursday post. I have included several photos from the Wolf house. While it seemed to be a normal boarding house it was interesting to hear the stories about Wolf’s life in the boarding home, how independent his mother was, and how close to autobiographical his writing was.
As I was eating breakfast at the crack of dawn Lynn Blanchard came by my table and said “did you know you made the University web page”. NO! I didn’t. After the blog made the UNC webpage I got wonderful emails from faculty and staff asking if they could take me out for tea. If I had known I would have that many offers I would have asked for lunch (just kidding!).
We started out the day with a long drive from Asheville to the James B. Dudley Senior High School in Greensboro NC. Our visit coincided with a visit from the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center’s Destiny traveling science learning program – a state of the art bus equipped with a wet lab and equipment to carry out 14 science modules with topics such as natural selection, environmental toxins, and sickle cell disease. During our visit we also were able to meet students in the Early College Academies of Education, Engineering, and Health Sciences. This program enrolls junior and senior level students in in-house advanced courses as well as college level courses. During our trip we visited several engineering classes, video production and editing, as well as the health careers classroom. During the visit to the video production class we saw one student’s production of a step show, and I talked with a student about his video game character – a super hero that looked like superman/captain america equipped with a long sword and a brief case. Creative right? During the visit we had lunch with the students – we went around the room and introduced ourselves and the students told us what they were interested in. I was really surprised with how specific these students were about what they wanted to be – not only were they interested in medicine but they even had specific interests – neurosurgery, oncology etc. Even the students interested in nursing had specific areas of interest – midwifery and neonatology. I had lunch with 2 young women who were interested in the health science – one woman wanted to become a dental hygienist and the other (gasp!) wanted to be a nurse. I had a long talk with the student interested in nursing because she wasn’t sure what type of nurse she wanted to be. I hopefully relieved some of her stress by telling her that she didn’t have to specify before coming to school – that every nurse has to be trained in all areas of care and it we don’t have to specify until we look for our first job. I also mentioned that nursing is a flexible field – if you are a RN you can work anywhere – meaning that you can make career changes and with some on job training or continuing education you can work in any area of nursing. She seemed relieved that she wasn’t “behind”. I actually told her she was in a good place – since she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do it left her with an open mind to see what she likes. It was very cool to talk to the students!
Our last visit for the tour was at the Victory Junction Gang Camp – a camp established for medically and physically disabled children. The camp was started by NASCAR’s Kyle and Patty Petty in honor of their son Adam who was killed in 2000 a race car crash. This camp has state of the art recreation equipment that includes a wheel chair accessible pool, a sauna area for warming (which is particularly important for children who need to keep a steady body temperature like in the case of sickle cell disease), and a race car simulator. I included photos of the building that holds the race car simulator (shaped like you guessed it a race car!) and the pool. What an amazing visit!
We finally climbed back on the bus and traveled back to the Friday Center. It was great to see my fellow tourists’ families and friends. I was happy to be heading home but sad that it was over. Words cannot describe what I learned along the way but it was a once in a lifetime experience. I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog. I hope to post all of my photos online soon so please check back. I would like to finally thank the organizers of the trip – Lynn Blanchard, Linda Douglas, Brooks Henderson, and Megan McSwain as well as our wonderful bus driver Daniel Rogers. Thanks for such a great tour!
Photo 1 | Photo 2 | Photo 3 | Photo 4 | Photo 5
Take care,
- Anna Beeber
THURSDAY, MAY 15
Back Online
So as you can tell I missed a day because I had limited access while I was staying on Balsam Mountain. So I will provide you with a brief recap of the past 2 days but of course I will not tell you everything. Again, if you want to get the full scoop and see my photos you’ll have to buy me a cup of tea.
Wednesday
We spent the bulk of the day in Charlotte. The highlights of the day were a trip to the Levine Museum of the New South - a wonderful collection of the history of the south since the Civil War. The main exhibit was called “From Cottonfields to Skyscrapers: Charlotte and the Carolina Piedmont”. This exhibit walked you through the history of the south focusing primarily on the happenings of Charlotte. The most powerful part of the exhibit was the recreation of a lunch counter. You will see a photo of my bus tour friend Betsy Bledsoe (Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work) who is watching one of the several new reels displayed behind the counter. Sitting at the counter and watching the reels really brought home how RECENT the civil rights movement has been. Not to get too political but regardless of your political stance it amazes me that not so long ago water fountain were segregated and now Obama is getting closer and closer to being the nominee.
As an aside – I had a bit of a surreal experience yesterday that I have to comment on. We were in the tour bus heading towards the Balsam Mountain Inn when our bus took a wrong turn – and headed further up the mountain instead of turning into the Inn’s driveway. I knew we were in trouble when people came out of their houses and while we couldn’t hear them I saw one woman mouth the words “OH MY GOD!”. So we proceeded up the hill as our driver tried to find a place to turn around. Yeah right! When Daniel (our driver) thought he found a place to turn I checked my blackberry when I received the CNN Breaking News alert stating that John Edwards was going to endorse Obama. We are fortunate that during the tour we have “bus lectures” from prominent Carolina faculty who teach us about the state, politics, and the civil rights movement. It just so happened that during this leg of the trip Ferrel Guillory the director of Carolina’s Program on Public Life in the Center for the Study of the American South who used to be a reporter for the News and Observer. While Daniel was trying to turn the bus around (we were trapped between a thicket and a hundred year old tree) Ferrel received a phone call from a reporter asking his thoughts about the meaning of the Edwards endorsement for the Obama campaign. Talk about surreal – he we are about to get stranded in the middle of nowhere and not only are we keeping up with current events but our tour guide was giving quotes to the local paper. The only word I could think of was convergence.
Ok so back on track – so after the Levine Museum we went to Hendersonville to visit the Walk Wise Drive Smart program which was a multiple party partnership among the Center for Aging and health, the Healthy Aging Research Network, and UNC’s Center for Aging and Health to encourage safe walking for older adults. Finally an aging focused visit! This program led by the NC Highway Safety Research Center is developing walking routes throughout Hendersonville that are safe for older adults. I joined the “power walking” group that took us through downtown Hendersonville. The route was marked by yellow apples and arrows spray painted on the sidewalk. I noticed that the route had been monitored and maintained – someone had marked cracks in the sidewalk and uneven areas with orange spray paint so the city could make repairs. Besides blisters on my heels (because my socks slide down) the walk was a wonderful alternative to our usual routine Eating – Listening – Riding.
After spending an hour in Hendersonville we were well on our way to the Balsam Mountain Inn. After our adventure with making a wrong turn we arrived at the Inn. The Inn is in a beautiful spot I have included several photos of this place. We had a wonderful dinner with the Trantham Family Band and the bluegrass playing Hominy Valley Boys. The rooms in the 100 year old Inn are quaint with wood floors and a private bath. When I got in my room I was really disappointed because all I had was a claw foot tub – with no shower. I don’t tend to be such a pain but I have been depending on my morning shower to wake me up (especially after staying up late to write this blog!). I was at dinner and I mentioned to my tour friend Besty Bledsoe that I was disappointed that I had a room with a tub. She gasped and said “I want a room with a tub!”. It was meant to be – after a quick switch we were in bed early.
Thursday
Today was quite a whirlwind. We started the morning off with a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was 45 degrees and raining but I could believe how beautiful it was. Almost every photo I took looked like a post card.
We then visited the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians at Kituwah – the site where the Cherokee originated. Having lived in North Carolina for 3 years I really had no familiarity with the local Indian tribes. Not only did I learn a great deal about the local history and it was such a privilege to visit such a sacred site. The mound included in the photos I have attached is the most sacred site for the Cherokees, it use to include a structure that housed the sacred fire of the Cherokee people. Our group was quite honored.
After a visit to the NC Arboretum we went to Hickory Nut Gap Farm Spring House Meats an organic meat farm. I found this visit to be near to my heart because I am a recent vegetarian. Part of the reason why I became a vegetarian was out of concern of the use of antibiotics in the food source and to not be supportive of the inhumane treatment of animals. It was great to visit the farm and learn about the sustainability of farming grass fed animals. The most interesting part about the farm is how clean it was – the pigs were dry (not lying around in muck) the cows were out grazing in tall grass and the chickens even had their own yard. The key to “grass feeding” is to have pasture that can be rotated regularly – by having animals graze on the land the naturally fertilize the land. If a farmer doesn’t allow the animals to graze for too long it will enrich the soil and grow healthy grass for future grazing. We also met with Alice Ammerman and her team to discuss the Farm to School project designed to encourage the use of local farm products in schools and to design programs within schools to encourage children to eat nutritious foods. The big take home message for me is that we need to be more aware of where our food comes from – by buying locally, being aware of how the animals you eat are treated, and eating organic can reduce environmental impact and possibly improve health.
Tomorrow (Friday) is the last day of the trip. Since I won’t be able to post until late on Friday you will hopefully be able to read my last post on Monday. Until then take care!
Photo 1 | Photo 2 | Photo 3 | Photo 4 | Photo 5 | Photo 6 | Photo 7 | Photo 8 | Photo 9 | Photo 10 | Photo 11
- Anna Beeber
TUESDAY, MAY 13
The Old, The New…the Renewed?
5:30 came very early this morning….I thought I knew what I was getting in to when I went on this tour but I had no idea how tired I would be on the first day. Last night we stayed at the Sheraton Hotel in New Bern and we headed first thing this morning to the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. Now I have been on post before but nothing prepared me for this experience. I am not sure if it was because of fatigue or a lack of preparation but I was completely overwhelmed by this experience. I don’t want to get political but during a time when the presidential campaign monopolizes the new media – standing in front of a F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft brings home the fact that we are at war. We got a chance to climb the stairs and take a look at the cockpit (by the way we weren’t able to take photos of it because they said they would take our cameras) I couldn’t get over how worn the seats were and how the cockpit controls used “old style” switches and dials. I commented on how “old” the cockpit looked to one of my fellow tourists and it turns out the plane is “old”. In the first photo I have included you can see the year that the plane was made under the “AF”. The plane pictured here was commissioned in 1988. Colonel Steven L. Kwast the commander of the 4th Fighter Wing at the Seymour base informed us that they routinely dismantle their F-15s to maintain it – however – he did say that even though these aircrafts are expertly maintained, and they use high tech laser guided bombs, they are still “old”. I don’t know why I was so surprised by this – it is like the time I watched the movie Apollo 13 and I couldn’t believe that NASA was able to send people to the moon without digital equipment and using push buttons, switches, and dials. There is a plan to have a robot guided aircraft remotely guided by pilots which would help decrease the risk of pilot loss (I resisted the urge to blurt out “aren’t you guys worried about robots taking over the world? Haven’t you seen Battlestar Gallactica or Terminator?” thankfully I kept it together). Sorry for the digression…
In great contrast, we had two experiences with renewal today. We visited the Deep River Dam in Carbonton to visit a site where the Center for Landscape Change and Health at the Institute for the Environment worked with Restoration Systems on the removal of the Deep River Dam a dam that had been in severe disrepair and was causing a great deal of ecological damage. Our host Martin Doyle pointed out that we traveled a long way to see something that is no longer there. Which is true. The biggest lesson I learned was that there is a market for industries to offset their negative environmental impacts by providing mitigation credits. I won’t go in too much detail but did you know that ecological restoration is one of the most booming businesses in the US. I sure didn’t.
Our final stop was at the North Carolina Nutrition Research Campus at Kannapolis. David H. Murdock who owns Dole Foods has invested over a billion dollars to create an inter-institutional center for nutritional research. Mr. Murdock is committed to restoring the Kannapolis’ economy because it is an area that has seen a major loss of jobs when the mill closed. I was overwhelmed by the vastness of this campus – the main laboratory space includes a lobby decorated with hand cut Italian marble, the girl’s science boarding school, or the community college to train future research lab staff are unlike anything I have ever seen. When the campus is up and running it will employ thousands and will change this town forever. I don’t want to diminish the magnitude of this initiative for nutritional science, the state of North Carolina, and Kannapolis but I cannot help but wonder what Kannapolis will look like in 5, 10, or even 20 years. What will the culture of Kannapolis look like after this renewal that will includes new town houses, schools, coffee shops, and restaurants? Will there be some of the “old” within the renewed?
With that said, I have included photos of the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, the Deep River Dam (or lack there of!) and the Kannapolis Nutrition Research Campus.
I am headed to Balsam Mountain tomorrow and I hear that there is no cell service so if I can’t send a post tomorrow I will get one to you as soon as I can.
Photo 1 | Photo 2 | Photo 3 | Photo 4 | Photo 5
- Anna Beeber
Carolina Pride!
Anna has been telling you all about what we have been seeing - this trip is really amazing. What has impressed me the most is our faculty. Just getting to know them has been worth being gone for a week. We all try and sit with someone new each day and at meals. I have gotten to know more about the library, the Environmental Program at SPH! Tuesday I spent the day talking to the man who runs SPH's CE program. We plan on doing more collaboration in the future. Carolina should be very proud of its faculty - I know I am.
- Pam Jenkins
MONDAY, MAY 12
We got up bright and early to get on the road for the first day of the 2008 Tar Heel Bus Tour. As you probably know we had a ton of rain last night so it was cloudy and cold this morning. As I started to flip through the Bus Tour guide I started to panic because I realized that there was no way I was going to be able to report everything I experienced. At that point I decided that I would use this blog to relay my thoughts and feelings about what I experience but I won’t be able to tell you everything. So…if you are really interested I am happy to sit down with you, share my photos, and tell you the whole story – Dramamine and all. With that said here it goes. Oh, and one more thing, please feel free to contact me if you have any burning questions.
To say the least I was very worried about the prospect of getting on a boat in Morehead City this afternoon but I quickly got it out of my mind by the time we got to Rocky Mount. We got a warm welcome from the members of the Crossworks Inc. breast cancer awareness and prevention hosted by Cassandra Williams the owner of Dudley’s Beauty Parlor. This program uses “lay” educators to prompt women to engage in breast cancer detection behaviors – the most unique part of the program is that several of the educators are hairdressers. The most moving part of the event was hearing survivors recount their stories of their cancer and treatment. The icing on the cake was to hear my fellow Tar Heel Bus Tour attendee Dr. Keith Amos, a surgeon who treats African American women with breast cancer, express how inspired he was by the program. Pretty good for the first hour right!
We were then on our way to Morehead City to the Institute for Marine Science a marine science center that includes a collaboration between Carolina and Duke (I know can you believe it!). I must say I was pretty worried about the boat ride because during the drive to Morehead City the bus was being blown around and every time I saw water it had white caps. When we arrived at the IMS I was pleased (but a little disappointed) that our group was not going to take the trip to the Shackleford barrier islands but we would instead take a short ride on the river through Beauford NC. As we traveled down the river I recalled the “lecture” Jim Leloudis (Associate Professor of History and director of the James M. Johnson Center for Undergraduate Excellence) provided us during the drive. Jim pointed out that NC is a state that has great diversity – from the booming business in RTP to the struggling industry – a wide economic gap exists in our state. The best illustration of this are the photos from the slow boat ride in Beauford NC. I have included a photo of an abandoned fish cannery that sits down shore from beautiful mansions with palm trees. It made me realize how much I have to learn, and how I hope to be as inspired as Dr. Amos in days to come.
We spent the evening at the Tryon Palace – touring, eating, and listening to Bland Simpson – but I have lost my steam so hopefully the photos will be worth more than a thousand words….
Photo 1 | Photo 2 | Photo 3 | Photo 4 | Photo 5
More tomorrow!
- Anna Beeber
SUNDAY, MAY 11
Hi All!
I am very excited to be documenting my 2008 Tar Heel Bus Tour trip. From May 12 – 16 I will be traveling across North Carolina with a group of new faculty from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Information about the program can be found here.
I am an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing and I started on the faculty July 2007. I have been trained as a geriatric nurse practitioner and I received my PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 2005. My research focuses on helping older adults and their families get the community services they need in the hopes of helping older adults avoid or delay nursing home placement. My teaching passion is geriatric nursing, I am committed to ensuring that BSN students receiving expertise in geriatric nursing – an imperative as the baby boomer generation approaches older adulthood. I am looking forward to the Bus Tour so I can learn about the great state of North Carolina and so I can learn how best to serve my students and patients.
The Plan
I hope to post every morning with the help of the School of Nursing’s web guru Jason Morningstar. I hear that web access may be limited during our stay in the mountains so I may miss a day.
The Itinerary
If you click “2008 Itinerary” on the bus tour website http://www.unc.edu/bustour you will see where we are going!
Guest Blogger
Since I am not the only traveler from School of Nursing on the THBT I hope that Pamela Jenkins will be posting as well. Pam is the “new” Director of Continuing Education at the School of Nursing.
- Anna Beeber
