Zee Michaelson Travel
A Travel Podcast. The Zee Michaelson Travel Podcast is devoted to the travel industry. Produced by Collage Travel Media Network, a company that produces Podcasts, Streaming Radio, Travel Expos and Travel Advising. Your guide to travel is Zee Michaelson a Travel Advisor and Jay Lawrence your concierge of podcast travel. Episodes are about 30-minutes about everything and anything you want to know about travel. Travel tips and more. Guest Travel Advisors. We work closely with travel vendors to bring you the latest information. Zee Michaelson Trave Podcast. And check out https://live365.com/station/-a03518
Zee Michaelson Travel
Connecting with History: From Crazy Horse to Pearl Harbor
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Curious about the largest sculpture in the world that's still under construction? Join me as I recount my personal journey to the breathtaking Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota. We delve into the monument's astounding size and the historical significance of Crazy Horse, an Oglala Lakota chief. Along the way, we draw fascinating comparisons to the nearby Mount Rushmore, revealing why these two iconic landmarks are both similar and unique in their own right. This episode promises an enriching exploration of Native American heritage and the power of monumental art.
Get ready for an emotional ride as we explore America's poignant war memorials. First up, we'll reflect on the contemplative design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, designed by Maya Lin, and the touching additions that honor soldiers and nurses. Then, we shift our focus to the sobering Pearl Harbor National Memorial and its historical impact. This episode underscores the importance of historical education and cultural awareness, encouraging everyone, especially children, to visit these significant sites and learn about impactful historical figures. Embrace the power of travel to connect with different cultures, histories, and of course, delicious food. Join us and make your travel dreams come true!
As Zee Michaelson says, History is what it is we cannot ERASE it …we learn by it and move forward so that it doesn’t repeat itself…. Our great country has many monuments to visit and learn from…as you Rediscover America.
Welcome to the Z Michelson Travel Podcast. This podcast is devoted to the travel industry. Z says let your imagination run wild and start dreaming about where you want to go, and dream big, reach for the stars, and if you only get to the moon, at least you enjoyed the trip. Your guide to travel is Z Michelson, a travel advisor, and sitting at the controls is Jay Lawrence, your concierge of podcast travel. Now here's Z. That's me, that's me, it's Z.
Speaker 2Did he say concierge of podcast travel?
Speaker 3You are the concierge of podcast travel.
Speaker 2Oh, my goodness, I better study up like you've been studying. You studied all these travel places you need to go.
Speaker 3Yeah, there's so much traveling you can do and people don't even realize how much you can do right here in the United States. Yeah, there's so much traveling you can do and people don't even realize how much you can do right here in the United States.
Speaker 2Well, yeah, but you were with different groups, travel agents.
Speaker 3I was with different companies learning my trade. Yes, that's it, you're learning your trade.
Speaker 2That's why you're so knowledgeable on all these things that are happening Every little bit helps.
Speaker 3And you know, in the travel industry you're always learning, always learning, and the learning just continues.
Speaker 2And it just yeah, it just keeps going. You know, we are sponsored by Collage Travel Media Network.
Speaker 3Oh very good, and they're home to collagetravelradiocom.
Speaker 2And zmaxradiolive and of course, my podcast and podcasting. And then, of course, you're a travel advisor.
Speaker 3Yes, so it's a fabulous, fabulous company. Collage Travel Media Network.
Speaker 2Do you have trouble putting the hats on at night? I mean, do you take them?
Speaker 3off. I take them off. I take them off at night and say time for bed.
Speaker 2Holy mackerel.
Speaker 3But it's all intertwined, you know, because collage means you know travel and pictures and your life. Everything is all together.
Speaker 2It's so much fun In your mind. Yes, and music, yes, always, always, always, yeah.
Speaker 3You know, because I love to travel around the United States and I know you do the same thing. Both of us are kind of car drivers. Right Today we're going to be talking about a little bit more of Rediscovering America.
Speaker 2All right, I love Rediscovering America. There's so much to be discovered.
Speaker 3Oh yeah, we've done our fair share of trotting around the USA, but today I want to talk to you about some of the memorial sites that you might want to visit. And some you may know and some you may not know, oh wow, that's a good idea. Yeah, so can you imagine, and the first one that I'm going to talk about is I've been there, oh yeah, so first up is Crazy Horse Memorial, and that's in the Black Hills in South Dakota, isn't it?
Speaker 3That's in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Yeah, I was here, I want to say, about eight years ago. It's not finished yet is it?
Speaker 3Oh, it's still not finished. It's going to be a while. Yeah, here are some statistics. Yep, it's in the Black Hills and you really can't miss it because it's set to be the largest sculpture once it's completely finished. It started 70 years ago, believe it or not? Oh, wow, and a little history. Behind Crazy Horse, he is the Oglala Lakota chief who successively fought Custer's army in 1876 at the Battle of Little Bighorn.
Speaker 2Can I give you one? You know, I usually you know how to pronounce things, that's Ogallala Ogallala, ogallala, ogallala.
Speaker 3Sounds like something from like one of those kids shows. Yeah, but yeah, he was the Ogallala Lakota chief.
Speaker 2So how is this going to compare to Mount Rushmore?
Speaker 3Well, basically, crazy Horse's face alone his face alone is 87 feet tall. Oh wow. So compared to Rushmore's 60-foot George Washington profile, he's a little bit bigger in the face. Yeah, while the entire memorial will stand about 563 feet, which is four times the height of the Statue of Liberty, it's going to be big. It's still unfinished. There is still roughly one million visitors that make the journey each year to see it, though. That's amazing. Yeah, now I've seen it and I've seen it twice.
Speaker 3I've seen it when they were first kind of kicking off and it's like that's an image up there, so now you can actually start seeing it.
Speaker 2You were there 70 years ago when they started.
Speaker 3Well, when I seen it.
Speaker 2But yeah, they're doing more work. Now is there a park around it?
Speaker 3Yeah, it's a Rocky Mountain face, so you can drive up, just like when you go to see Mount Rushmore. There is a pathway, you drive up and there's an area around it, and that too is still not complete, but you can go up there and actually see it and, like I said, it's pretty amazing to see.
Speaker 2Now Mount Rushmore is in the western section. In the Black Hills, Black Hills Now where does if you go north or south from the Black Hills, black Hills Now, where does if you go north or south from the Black Hills, I want to say it's probably within 20 minutes drive-wise to where the Mount Rushmore area is, because we went to Mount Rushmore, naturally, and then we also wanted to see.
Speaker 3You know, we heard about the Crazy Horse and we wanted to see it the first time out, and I didn't say it was about 20 minutes when we drove, okay there it is.
Speaker 2Yeah, it's still got to be in that area because, it's in the black hills, there's got to be the big hills to put the put the memorial put the memorial in, and it is up there on the hill.
Speaker 3You can see it as you're driving towards it. Oh wow, yeah, and now it's becoming more and more clear and, from what I've been understanding, the Indian nation is trying to find the funding to complete it. Oh good, oh good.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 3So that's kind of what's going on there. So who knows, it may or may not be finished in our lifetime, but it is getting a good start.
Speaker 2Oh yeah.
Speaker 3Mm-hmm, all right, so we're going to go from the Midwest now to the Northeast.
Speaker 1What's in the Northeast?
Speaker 3Well, this one is very emotional for me. I can't visit it yet, and of course, I'm talking about the 9-11 Memorial in New York. New York, oh yeah.
Speaker 3Yeah, I was around when the Twin Towers were built, uh-huh, and for them to come down in the way it came down, it was very emotional for me but, as many people know and they're aware, there are giant skyscrapers all over New York. It's crazy busy in downtown Manhattan, but right now there are two reflecting pools that sit quietly on the former site of where the World Trade Center Tower stood.
Speaker 2Oh, okay, so okay, I got that. I did not realize that.
Speaker 3Right. The water flows inward to the first pool, which is 30 feet below street level, and then another 20 feet into a void that represents the architect's words absence made visible, wow. So surrounding them are the names of nearly the 3,000 victims that lost their lives on 9-11. And, of course, who also perished in the 1993 terrorist attacks. Some people don't even realize that the terrorist attacks back then in 1993, they actually attacked the World Trade Center Right, and nobody realized that In the basement it was in the basement. They thought that a couple of bombs in the basement would take down the towers yeah, but luckily it did not. At the time, the design of the memorial was made by Michael Arad I don't know if I pronounced that name right and Peter Walker.
Speaker 3The 9-11 Memorial and Museum has brought in over 50 million people. That's a lot of people. Has brought in over 50 million people, that's a lot of people. It's an eight-acres memorial complex and has an underground museum with 60,000-plus artifacts and interactive exhibits. Oh, wow, yeah, above the ground there are 400 swamp white oak trees, and I went swamp white oak trees. What is that? Well, it is a species tree that is native not only to New York but Virginia and Pennsylvania, and the reason they use these trees was to indicate the three plane crashes. So now this is something that is just unbelievable, and the symbolism of enduring resilience is a single calorie pear tree, which was damaged during the attack but was revived and is now called the survivor tree. Oh, that's neat. And this is all at the 9-11 memorial.
Speaker 2So that's a good reason to go to watch New York City. New York City, yeah.
Speaker 3Yeah, like I said, it is a memorial. I can't bring myself to see it yet. It's just too emotional for me, but it is part of our history.
Speaker 2And it's a memorial.
Speaker 3And it is a memorial and it's made beautifully. Yeah, yeah. So Now I have six of these sites on my list. Oh yeah, mm-hmm. Next up is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Oh my, so we're going down to Washington DC now. So we're going to go from the Midwest to New York, down to Washington DC Now okay, when you're talking about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in DC, there's also a travel exhibit. There's a travel exhibit that goes around.
Speaker 2yes, Okay, and when you say you're emotionally have a hard time with 9-11,. I've only seen the traveling exhibit and it was very emotional for me. I believe it would be. Yeah, and so you know when we're talking. I guess we're emotional people.
Honoring American Memorial Sites
Speaker 3Maybe. Maybe because we have feelings. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So get this. In 1980, a competition was held for the design of the new memorial to the veterans, to Vietnam veterans. The winning entry was done by Amaya Lin. At the time she was Yale University senior. Believe it or not, the design creates a feeling of contemplation. Now I have not seen the traveling exhibit, but I understand it looks very similar to the one in Washington DC.
Speaker 1Yeah.
Speaker 3Okay, there is a V-shaped gash carved into the sod on the National Mall and it's held by black granite walls.
Speaker 1Yeah.
Speaker 3And on the walls are etched with the names of the 58,281 that were lost their lives in Vietnam. Then the walls extend 246 feet out in opposing directions, going towards the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. But later, in 84, another sculpture of three soldiers and a US flag was added. And now many people have asked what about the women who served? Yeah Well, nine years later, the Vietnam Women's Memorial sculpture depicting nurses tending to the fallen soldiers were done.
Speaker 3And then, in 2004, a plaque honoring those who died after the war but as a result of their service, was added as well, and that was done on Veterans Day of 2020 at the National. And then the National Native American Veterans Memorial was unofficially unveiled as well, and I believe that was because of COVID. They held off, it was unofficial, so they did it officially two years after that. Okay, this has been placed in the wooded wetland reestablished outside the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. It offers a chance for some quiet reflection on Washington DC's busy National Mall. So a lot of reflection has gone into this and they are trying to incorporate all that lost their lives during this time frame of Vietnam. Well, yeah, incorporate all that lost their lives during this time frame of Vietnam.
Speaker 2Well, yeah, well, I guess I didn't realize that when we're talking about memorials, it was going to be so emotional.
Speaker 3I mean, this is an emotional conversation it is. It is very, very emotional. People don't realize that we have all of this in the United States and you know it's a thing of our history and, like I'm always saying, we cannot erase history. We learn by it.
Speaker 2Right, and I wish more people would understand that.
Speaker 3Understand that statement, I know right. But before we get into another memorial site, how about some traveling trivia? All right?
Speaker 2Well, I don't know about this, because this is where you usually stump me.
Speaker 3Well, maybe, maybe, have you been to the mount rushmore? Yes, I have, okay, so since we're talking memorial sites, we're going to talk mount rushmore in this trivia question. Uh, we have washington, lincoln, roosevelt and jefferson, but what is missing from one of our president's usual appearance? On which one so out of the four?
Speaker 2oh, somebody's missing something okay, I'm going to go.
Speaker 3Lincoln's beard no Lincoln's beard is on there okay, roosevelt's glasses, yes, okay it is Roosevelt's glasses. Now, what is funny about it is the way they etched his eyes. The curvature of the ridge around his face looks like the illusion of glasses, but there are no glasses on his face. Oh, wow. So yes, roosevelt's glasses are missing.
Speaker 2And what do you call those glasses? They were clip-on type things on the nose right.
Speaker 3Yeah, they were almost like a bifocal type of thing and he wore all the time. I mean, that was him, you know, I guess they're like readers.
Speaker 2Yeah, well, you know who invented bifocals Benjamin Franklin.
Speaker 3Benjamin Franklin right, but he's not on Mount Rushmore.
Speaker 2No, and speaking of Benjamin Franklin, there's a great series on Netflix on Benjamin Franklin in Europe. Really, it's very, very interesting. Well, he spent a lot of time overseas.
Speaker 3Yes.
Speaker 2He was sent by the American government before we became the United States.
Speaker 3The American government yes.
Speaker 1All right?
Speaker 3Well, there you go. There we have talking memorials, talking history, and Roosevelt's missing his glasses.
Speaker 2So think in terms of Roosevelt's glasses, roosevelt's glasses.
Speaker 3Boy, I just can't believe some of these things. Now, one of the things that I want to talk about is an amazing memorial site, and it's one that's on my bucket list and I want to really bring my husband because my husband is a big World War II buff Right, and this site is, of course, Pearl Harbor National Memorial in Hawaii.
Speaker 2Oh, wow.
Speaker 3Yeah, now we all know that December 7, 1941, was a day that will live in infamy. The Japanese forces attacked Oahu's Pearl Harbor, and this event caused the US to get involved in World War II. The Pearl Harbor National Museum Memorial is a very sobering reminder because of all the lives that were lost that day. On the USS Arizona it sits sunken near an active military base Right. However, the only way to get to the memorial you have to buy a ticket, of course, but it's also only by a shuttle boat to get there. So it's a unique floating white concrete steel structure that was designed by Alfred Preece he was an Austrian architect and it sits atop the battleship that was sunk. Now there were 1,177 deceased officers and crewmen that are enshrined in marble at the site, so they're still in there.
Speaker 2Now did you realize, or am I way off base? Elvis Presley gave a large sum of money to get that memorial built.
Speaker 3It wouldn't surprise me. It wouldn't surprise me at all, you know, because there was a lot of people that donated to get that done. So that's not a surprising thing. But it's very, very sad. It's a reminder of a pivotal moment in our American history, Because until then we were not fully enthralled in World War II.
Speaker 2Right.
Speaker 3Until Japan attacked us, right. And then that was the end of that, and I believe I don't know the name of the general the Japanese general that basically said uh-oh, we woke the sleeping bear.
Speaker 2Yes.
Speaker 3Mm-hmm, yep, yep, yep, yep, yep. So this is a very, very strong memorial and you know, Hawaii is year-round, so you can see it year-round. It's not like they close for the winter, so you basically would have to get a ticket and it does get crowded, so be aware of that. But it is a sight to be seen and it's an amazing, amazing memorial.
Speaker 2Okay, Now are there tours available.
Speaker 3Yeah, you would go on this shuttle boat. You have to buy a ticket.
Speaker 2No, I mean, would I take a cruise ship and go, and then that would be part of an excursion?
Speaker 3Yeah, it depends on the cruise line that you're on.
Speaker 2Okay.
Speaker 3Yeah, but you can actually go to Hawaii because it's in Oahu. You know, that's one of the majors, one of the major islands, and you would just say I want to go see the memorial.
Speaker 2Now, that is on your bucket list.
Speaker 3It's on my bucket list.
Speaker 2It's not on my bucket list, really yeah.
Speaker 3Yeah, I find it amazing just to know that we were attacked that way years ago.
Speaker 2Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm not worried about getting attacked, I just don't want to go to the islands.
Speaker 3Oh, why?
Speaker 2You don't like water.
Speaker 3It's so far out there. You know we have direct flights from Orlando to Hawaii. Now To Hawaii yeah, yep, direct flight. That is pretty long, though. I think it's like 13 hours.
Speaker 2Yeah, it's a long one, it's a long way to go.
Speaker 3Yeah, oh, now we're going to get into really, really some diverse history that we have. Our American history is remarkably diverse. We learn from history and I believe we should not erase history, as I keep saying it over and over again.
Speaker 2Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 3Yes, it's what moves us forward. It makes us stronger and wiser. So the next up is Martin Luther King Jr Memorial in Washington DC. Oh good, yes. So before 2011, the National Mall didn't have a memorial dedicated to any of the black Americans, but that changed when a 30-foot granite stone sculpture of Martin Luther King Jr, who was a Baptist minister turned civil rights activist, was honored. By the way, it's also the first memorial on the Mall not dedicated to a president or a war. Oh yeah, believe that or not. It's located at the Tidal Basin, okay, opposite the Jefferson Memorial, and it's packed with symbolism. Packed with symbolism Right down to the address of 1964 Independence Avenue Southwest, honoring the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Speaker 3There were 900 plus entries for the design of the monument. However, the winning design was inspired by one of King's quotes, and I'm going to quote from Reverend King With this faith, we will be able to you out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. And upon entering the memorial, visitors first pass through two halves of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. And upon entering the memorial, visitors first pass through two halves of the mountain of despair before reaching the stone of hope where King's statue was located. Now I've seen pictures of this. It's a beautiful, beautiful memorial and throughout the memorial, king's words are inscribed into stone, a powerful reminder of the continuing struggle of civil rights around the globe. So it is an amazing statue regarding an amazing man. Interactive.
Speaker 2It's interactive. You don't just walk up to it, you have to get in there.
Speaker 3You have to read his sayings. And he was civil rights and he was peaceful. Yes, he was very peaceful. So now, that being said, let's talk about a traveling trip, because we're traveling around the United States. Okay, everything you need to know about road tripping in an electric car Electric cars, as you know, jay, are very popular.
Speaker 3We don't have them, but they're very popular. So when road tripping with an electric car, one of the main things you're going to want to do is get the charging stations. Each of the different electric cars have a different amount of miles and single charge it will hold. You know, okay, I'm going to run my air conditioner, so how long is the battery going to last? So it's possible to get your electric car across the United States using public charging stations all the way. There is a company called Electrify America and it's one of the largest networks of EV charging stations. It is set up in many of the states and continues to expand. Now you can download the Electrify America app it's called ChargePoint or PlugShare to guide you to the charges, so you can figure it out where you're going to go. Okay, I have to stop here so I can charge my car. So ChargePoint or PlugShare you can do and it's all over the country and you can also find EV chargers on navigation apps like Google Maps and Waze.
Speaker 2Well, when I pull into my favorite holiday Nuts Holiday Inn, it's a's, what is it? Where did I say there's a charging station?
Speaker 3Right, the hotels also are having charging stations in there now as well, so just keep that in mind. You know, if you're driving in an electric car, if it's your first electric car and you're not used to it, electrify America has the networks and you can find out. Just get their app.
Speaker 2That's a good idea. I don't know if I want my car charged or not. There are so many memorial sites around the United States. I know, I know.
Speaker 3It's amazing You've talked about five of them. I know I talked to five of them, but the last one is pretty strong and there are more than just these six. Yeah, you know there are a lot more. I just pulled six out. I wish.
Speaker 2I had an orchestra to play behind this because this is such an emotional, Emotional episode.
Speaker 3Yeah, Well, it's not so emotional as it is historic and we need to keep our history Bingo. Thank you.
Speaker 3So now this next one up is called the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. It's in Montgomery Alabama and we know a lot of things have happened in Montgomery Alabama. It's a sobering place of reflection, silence and emotional reactions to this. It was open on April of 2018. The National Memorial for Peace and Justice is in Montgomery Alabama and it's a collaboration and I apologize in advance for saying the artist's name, because I know I'm probably going to make a mess out of it Kwame Okoto Bamfo. I think you did good. Dana King and Hank Willis Thomas created an open-sided, single-story structure and has been stated that it's the nation's first memorial dedicated to the legacy of enslaved black people that were being terrorized by lynching and other humiliating racial segregation. So this is a very, very, very powerful memorial.
Exploring Travel and History Together
Speaker 3So, this is a very, very, very powerful memorial. Inside, suspended from the ceiling, is a focal point of the six-acre site, with orderly rows of six-foot slabs of court and steel, each of the 800 roughly human-sized slab representing a US county, and is inscribed with the names of thousands of men, women and children who were violently murdered there. The memorial and the adjacent museum is extremely sobering. Like I said, it is sad. It's a reminder of the nation's history of racial inequality. It was created with $20 million in private funds oh great and has quickly become one of the top tourist destinations in Alabama. And I have to say this because history is what it is. We cannot erase it. We learn by it, we move forward so that it doesn't repeat itself. Our great country has many monuments to visit and you can learn from them as you rediscover America. So there you have it. We've had a very emotional day on our podcast, but it is a lesson learned, and a lesson you can see and you can bring your kids to these places so they can learn, because a lot of people don't know you know, they don't know Roosevelt, they don't know Lincoln, even though they say, oh, that's the person in the thing. They don't know. You know Martin Luther King, they don't know these, even though they say, oh, that's the person in the thing, they don't know. You know Martin Luther King, they don't know these people, so they need to learn it. So that's it for now, for me. So there's so much traveling to do, so little time.
Speaker 3So tune in every week for more travel info, insights and plain fun. Please follow me and like me on Facebook. Do you have a favorite location or perhaps an interesting travel tip? Let me know at zmichelson, at gmailcom, and, of course, z is spelled Z-E-E. I'm very excited to let you know that my podcast can be heard on your favorite podcast players. Feel free to give me a review. I'd love to hear what you have to say. Thanks for listening today. Traveling truly opens up the world to you. You learn all about the different cultures, lifestyle, history, of course, and the food that Jay and I love so much. Then you realize we really, truly are all the same. So dream, dream big, reach for those stars, and if you only get to the moon, at least you made the trip. If you're looking for great places to travel, to visit my website. For great places to travel, to visit my website ZMichelsonTravelcom. And Z is spelt Z-E-E, this is Z. Michelson, making your travel dreams come true, you.