Sometimes it takes a push to get out the door in your own hometown. When you’re on the road and away from home as much as I am, who stays in a local hotel? However, the International Food, Wine and Travel Writer’s Association, of which I’m a member, was holding a two day conference in nearby Jacksonville Beach.
So, I checked in, though somewhat embarrassed to admit I’d never set foot in the Casa Marina Hotel before. The Historic Hotel of America is a grand dame dating back to 1925 and restored to reflect the timeless glamor of the era.
Seems that Jacksonville was an “in” spot during the Roaring Twenties when the hotel first opened her doors. Why the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, John D. Rockefeller and President’s Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman visited the area. Jacksonville Beach boasted a boardwalk, dance casino’s, restaurants, amusement rides and wide beaches where automobiles were allowed to drive. (You can verify this by viewing the old photos lining the hallways.)
Casa Marina
During the war years of 1939 to 1945 the government appropriated the Casa Marina for military housing. Afterward a succession of owners and renovations took place.
Recently the Spanish Mediterranean-style hotel was recognized by The Knot Best of Weddings 2010 as one of their “Top Wedding Professionals.” Brides agree as nearly 150-175 weddings are held in house each year. And please realize, this is an intimate 27-room hotel.
The seclusion of the inner courtyard, the view from the third floor penthouse and the nearness of the ocean bring an enchanted calm to the inn. The food is outstanding and the treasured staff are most gracious and trusted by general Manager, Mark Vandeloo. He must be doing something right as turnover is rare.
Visiting a Jacksonville hotel turned out to be a real treat in my own backyard.
In 1943 the private Ranch School for “privileged boys” was forced to close and the government appropriated the property for the home of the Manhattan Project. Today, a story like that might raise some sort of investigation, but in the war-torn forties, everything stayed hush- hush. The isolated New Mexican plateau, Los Alamos, was chosen to become headquarters for research and development of the atomic bomb.
Many of the world’s greatest scientific minds accepted the southwestern assignment and were led by J. Robert Oppenheimer, a theoretical physicist, from 1942-45. They understood the significance of the endeavor and believed the power of a nuclear bomb would end World War II. They also worried that the Germans were developing nuclear warfare and wanted to beat them.
Army administrators, technicians, and all other workers, however, were expected to take jobs in this unknown place for an unknown purpose. Not even their spouses were told where they were sent or why. The name Los Alamos became forbidden for security reasons and the area became known as “the Hill.”
A hastily built “Secret City” sprung up with nameless streets. Drivers licenses, auto registrations, bank accounts, income tax returns were issued to numbers rather than names. Outgoing mail was censored, long distance calls monitored, all incoming mail was addressed simply to “PO Box 1663, Santa Fe, NM.” No one was permitted to mention titles or occupations of fellow residents, give names of nearby places or describe the view to prevent the location from becoming known.
As work progressed, the intensity of the project continued to expand, as did the number of employees, many of whom labored twelve or more hours a days to reach the goal. They pushed forward and successfully assembled and tested the first atomic bomb, approximately 200 miles from Los Alamos, in Alamagordo on July 16, 1945. By early August, President Truman gave orders to drop the powerful new bombs on Japan and shortly thereafter, the Japanese surrendered on September 2, 1945.
I recently visited the New Mexican region and learned the details and importance of this historic endeavor, something essentially unknown to today’s children. Fortunately two museums in Los Alamos keep the story alive.
Bradbury Science Museum
The Los Alamos Historical Museum, housed in one of the guest cottages from the old Ranch School, highlights the region’s lifestyle changes from ancient to modern. The collection includes personal artifacts and memorabilia such as native pueblo pottery, old driver’s licenses and envelopes addressed to the Santa Fe PO Box, post-war board games toying with nuclear destruction and 1970’s anti-war bumper stickers.
The free Bradbury Science Museum informs visitors about the war days, the Manhattan Project and its covert mission through a timeline using newspaper headlines, photos, news reel footage and documents. Their must-see movie portrays the obstacles faced by the U.S. team in trying to create the first atomic bomb. The exhibit area features replicas of Little Boy and Fat Man, the nicknamed bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.
A second film in the Bradbury explains the on-going national security mission of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Even though the lab also engages in genetic research, it remains a place of secrecy as the official “stockpile steward, ” ensuring the safety and reliability of US nuclear supplies.
The Atomic City
Since the lab is the area’s major employer it’s not surprising that a study conducted by The Social Explorer in 2019, reported that Los Alamos has the highest percentage of people with doctorate degrees in the nation, at 17.7 percent.
To me, the town exudes a mysterious aura, it feels tight. Roadblocks still exist, but are seldom used. A guide told me not to point my camera or photograph the exterior of official lab buildings, not even from across the street. Los Alamos seems torn between touting its historical title, “The Atomic City” or presenting a more peaceful modern face. Who knows if the culture can or should be separated from science and technology?
The bomb created on this New Mexican mesa might have ended a war, but it sparked a global obligation to respect its power. One we should not forget.
For further information please listen to Tom Wilmer’s radio interview:Los Alamos Labs2
Start with the movie, then proceed through the interpretive exhibits of the ancient Pueblo culture. Of course, there’s a gift shop, too.
Tyuonyi Ruins
Leave plenty of time to get out on the 70 miles of trails. The closest archeological site is just 400 yards from the center and can be reached by the paved 1.2 mile Main Loop trail. The ruins of the Tyuonyi, a circular village of about 600 rooms, and the nearby cliff dwellings make an hour round trip. These are communities dating back over 900 years.
Not having traveled much in the Southwest, I was thrilled with the opportunity to climb the ladders into hollowed out cave dwellings. The views of sharp terra-cotta colored ledges glow majestically and the whole area pervades a spiritual sense. Look for a series of cave rooms called the long house, a reconstructed talus house, an adobe construction built on the slopes or talus, and some petroglyths.
Climbing into a cave dwelling
Believe it or not, only one other person from my group wanted to venture another mile further off trail to Alcove House. That’s likely because we’d need to push ourselves to make it there and back on time. But, it just so happened that the other person was famous travel photographer, Peter Guttman. If for no other reason that to watch Peter at work, I was going, huffing and puffing aside!
So Peter and I hiked as fast as we could and then climbed 140 feet straight up a series of ladders to reach the Ceremonial Cave or Alcove House. I found it exhilarating since I didn’t have time to worry over the scary drop below. Warning: these ladders are very steep and would not be safe for younger children. And this park has an elevation around 7,000 feet which makes breathing somewhat difficult for a sea level Floridian.
The climb to Alcove House
Ah…the reward. At the top Peter and I found a round reconstructed kiva (underground pueblo dwelling for ceremonies) overlooking a view that stretched seemingly forever. I didn’t descend down the kiva rather choosing to sit and meditate, soaking up the sacred vibes. (That and catch my breath.) Up there my imagination could easily hear the beat of a drum and envision ancients performing a ritual to the gods. If you go to Bandelier, by all means, make the effort to climb to Alcove House.
Peter descend into the Kiva
Hustling back down, Peter and I ran into Tom Wilmer, who was interviewing a Park Ranger along a trail for his NPR radio show. We also ran into a tarantula, although I was hoping for an American pika, a small rodent related to a rabbit. No luck.
Bandalier National Monument stays open year round but offers no lodging within the park. Reservations are required for the limited campgrounds. The National Park Service Junior Ranger Program awards patches to children completing a booklets about the site.
May I also recommend photographer Peter Guttman’s collection of images spanning three decades, all seven continents and 160 countries. These amazing photos are available on Beautiful Planet — a groundbreaking app that captures the beauty of our world and its cultures. If I had a Mac or i-Pos I’d own it.
