Well, it has certainly been a while since I wrote on this blog. The truth is I have missed writing each day, and I have most definitely missed traveling! So, to solve these two problems, I have decided to expand the blog into being about my travels in general. And what better way to kick off this new and improved blog than a new trip?
This Sunday, I will fly to Northampton, Massachusetts to begin a new journey and to visit important sites pertaining to two writers who have inspired and fascinated me for years: Margaret Mitchell and Edith Wharton.
I have been a Wharton fan since I was teenager and read The Age of Innocence after watching the Martin Scorsese movie. Her work has meant so much to me over the years; I even wrote my Master's thesis on her. As you can imagine, one of my biggest travel goals has been to visit Wharton's home, which she designed herself, The Mount.
The Mount is a massive estate located in a small Massachusetts town called Lenox. The estate covers 113 acres and includes a mansion, stable, and extensive gardens. An avid lover of architecture, Wharton designed the entire estate herself, using her money made from The House of Mirth. I have yearned to see The Mount for as long as I can remember, and next week I get to fulfill that lifelong dream! Seeing The Mount, however, will be the second part of a journey that will instead begin at Smith College.
Margaret Mitchell has been a topic of research for me for several years. I find her infuriating and compelling and interesting all at the same time. She was a paradox in many ways, writing a racist novel but also devoting so much of her money, time, and energy to anti-racist causes. Mitchell is easily the most interesting person I have ever studied, and I will begin researching her officially next week as I travel to her alma mater, Smith College.
Interestingly, this journey began an in impromptu way last week after the death of my beloved uncle, Jim Kotti.
Uncle Jimmy was a tough, vibrant, hilarious, loving prankster. No one had better stories or was more entertaining--or loved Clemson more! He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in November 2013, but fought a valiant fight for two and a half years. The usual prognosis for pancreatic cancer is 3-6 months; the fact that Uncle Jimmy lived as long as he did is a testament to his strength.
Last weekend, my family and I traveled to Greenville, SC and then to Asheville, NC to celebrate his life and put his body to rest. He was buried in the most beautiful and idyllic cemetery I have ever seen; it was amid the Blue Ridge mountains, and there was a small waterfall near his grave--as his friends and family know, no other site could be more fitting.
After laying Uncle Jimmy to rest, my family and I traveled to the Omni Grove Park Inn, which is a resort located in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Asheville, NC. It is breathtakingly beautiful, and has over 500 rooms, a spa, and an 18 hole golf course.
The estate is almost like a rustic castle; its massive structure resembles a maze and can be quite difficult to navigate. The rooms are small, but comfortable, and the beds magnificently cozy.
Evidently, the Omni Grove Park Inn is an internationally famous resort and has hosted many celebrities and important historical figures in its 102 years. I took a picture of a wall with pictures of celebrities who had stayed there. I was excited to know I had stayed in the same place as Daniel Day-Lewis, for sure! I suppose he was there when he filmed Last of the Mohicans...
There was an entire hall with pictures of important historic figures who had stayed at the inn, and guess who stayed there for her honeymoon in 1922? Margaret Mitchell!
Evidently, she was there with her first husband, Barrien "Red" Upshaw, whom she wed on September 2, 1922. Red was a bootlegger and a jackass, and he was physically abusive. He struggled to keep a job, and he and Margaret lived with her father in Atlanta. His fecklessness did have one positive outcome: it forced Margaret Mitchell to start writing.
Fed up with her husband's inability to make any kind of living, Margaret went to the Atlanta Journal and got a job as a writer. She was usually given fluff pieces, but being Margaret Mitchell, usually found a way to subvert the fluff. I have a book of her journalism, and I am always struck by how she managed to integrate serious ideas, and sometimes social criticism, into otherwise silly stories. My personal favorite is one titled "No Blockheads, Please," which is about how the "new woman" doesn't want stupid men. It's hilarious, and I just imagine her smirking the whole time she wrote it.
Her marriage came to an end after Red beat Margaret savagely. Bear in mind, Red was about 6'5" and weighed at least 200 pounds; Margaret Mitchell was a tiny lady at 4'11" and weighing maybe 90 pounds. Red was literally twice her size and beat her so badly he almost killed her, putting her in the hospital. She soon divorced him and later married the best man at her first wedding, John Marsh. Margaret and John had a strong marriage that lasted until her death in 1949.
I suppose it's some kind of cosmic message that the weekend before this trip my family and I stayed at the hotel where Margaret Mitchell once stayed. Needless to say, I'm pumped about this adventure and can't wait to write more!
Laura
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