Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer

Kain Tietzel, CEO and founder of Sydney, Australia-based Start VR talks about the newly released Atlas Obscura VR (virtual reality) hi-fidelity virtual travel experience.

When the Palace Hotel first opened its doors in 1875 it was proclaimed the largest hotel in the world and San Francisco’s first luxury hotel. Destroyed in the 1906 earthquake, the hotel was rebuilt in 1909 and the grand dame of San Francisco lives on as the city’s most historic hotel and the place to see and be seen.

Correspondent Tom Wilmer visits with Christine Johnson, executive director of the Central Coast Aquarium, to learn more about the future of that facility, as well as plans for a new incarnation of the Morro Bay Aquarium.

Garrison commander Colonel Robert Horvath talks with correspondent Tom Wilmer about modified training and adjustments to daily life due to social distancing at California National Guard base Camp Roberts.

Correspondent Tom Wilmer visits with Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum Executive Director Kari Watkins as she recalls the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building. In addition to destroying one third of the Murrah Federal Building and killing 168 people, more than 325 buildings in a 16-block radius were damaged. The Oklahoma bombing remains as the deadliest domestic terrorism attack in America’s history. 

Correspondent Tom Wilmer reports from the California National Guard base Camp San Luis Obispo, where he interviews San Luis Obispo County employees and National Guard members involved in food and medical supply warehousing and distribution to first responders and regional food banks.

The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (COES) and the California Specialized Training Institute (CSTI) are charged with coordinating emergency preparedness and response to natural disasters and threats to civil order, including cyber and terrorist attacks, fires, earthquakes, floods and pandemics such as the coronavirus. COES and CSTI maintain training facilities at the California National Guard base Camp San Luis Obispo. 

Fort Hunter Liggett, in southern Monterey County, is America’s largest US Army Reserve training installation. It is also a remote community with specific actions being taken during the ongoing COVID 19 crisis. Associate Producer Carol Tangeman visits with Colonel Charles Bell, commander at Fort Hunter Liggett. 

Correspondent Tom Wilmer talks with wine producer Vic Roberts, owner of Victor Hugo Winery in Templeton, about transformations in the wine industry in response to COVID-19.

There are two standard options for dogs and cats that arrive at shelters and pounds: adoption or euthanasia. Lisa LaVerdiere decided to create another option that she dubbed The Third Door, providing a home for unadoptable dogs and cats. In a recent visit, correspondent Tom Wilmer learns that LaVerdiere was a successful tort lawyer with a specialization in asbestos issues and juvenile lead poisoning. 

Teresa Stephens, owner of the Lubbock, Texas Cast Iron Grill recounts her fear of the homeless, until she confronted her phobia and wound up embracing and making sacrifices to feed those in need. Join correspondent Tom Wilmer at the Cast Iron Grill in downtown Lubbock, adjacent to the Buddy Holly Museum, as Stephens shares her poignant tale that ultimately enriched and transformed her life through serving the homeless.

Correspondent Tom Wilmer reports from the Greensboro, North Carolina where he meets with Greensboro Battleground Parks District's imagineers. 

The famine ship Jeanie Johnston, built in 1848, made 16 trans-Atlantic passages carrying more than 2,500 passengers. The vessel is revered in the annals of the Irish Potato famine as not one life was lost throughout her career—while many famine ships lost more than 30 percent of their manifest to disease, lack of fresh water and toxic food. 

12 year-old Tu Sen arrived in America from a Thailand refugee camp in 1986, clutching her treasured possessions wrapped in a cardboard box. Eventually settling in High Point, North Carolina, Tu worked in her family’s restaurant for 19 years before opening her own eatery, 98 Asian Bistro, five years ago. Correspondent Tom Wilmer visits with Tu Sen and meets with Patrick Chapin, CEO of High Point Chamber of Commerce, about the reinvention of downtown High Point.

Correspondent Tom Wilmer reports from Louisiana's East Baton Rouge Parish, in the outback near the village of Zachary. Following a pitch-black evening drive along a gravel road, we arrive at Teddy’s Juke Joint for a visit with the legendary proprietor 73 year-old Lloyd Johnson Junior. 

Kevin Bumen, director of the San Luis Obispo County Airport, offers insights into the current status of travel by air and specific health and safety responses to COVID-19.  

Louisiana's East Baton Rouge Parish Library has come a long way since its founding in 1939 with a collection of second-hand donated books. Today the card catalogs are long gone, and the library’s collection now includes more than two million items serving more than 325,000 registered borrowers. 

Michael Young, the Foundation at Hearst Castle's executive director, talks with correspondent Tom Wilmer about the foundation’s conservation and restoration programs, and what he considers the benefits of membership. Young also shares his passion for the Foundation’s middle school field trip experiences, aimed at inspiring students through Hearst Castle State Park STEAM experiences. 

Jill Dutton, author of the "USA by Rail" travel blog and "Ride the Southwest Chief," a soon-to-be -completed series of twelve rail travel guides, talks with correspondent Tom Wilmer about traveling around America by train. 

The village of Carmel-by-the-Sea is just one square mile, but within its bounds there’s more than 50 family-owned restaurants, 45 inns and even more art galleries. The town is distinctive for its storybook architecture and its fondness for dogs.

"Songs of Hope and Justice" is a free musical prelude to the annual North Carolina Music Festival. Held in the Van Dyke Performance Space, singers, instrumentalists and songwriters from all quarters of North Carolina come together to share their passion for life through music. Following the September 5, 2019 performance, correspondent Tom Wilmer met with the host of the event, Grammy award-winning songwriter and singer Laurelyn Dossett. 

A summer of ‘69 road trip through southern Appalachia struck a cord with musician David Holt and determined his future as a passionate advocate for traditional American folk music and the rural story telling tradition. Join correspondent Tom Wilmer for a conversation with David Holt, along with some of his music and storytelling. 

Join correspondent Tom Wilmer for a conversation with author and former Hawaiian Airlines sales executive Don McPhail. McPhail’s eight decades of adventuring led him on a literary journey to distill and bring to life enthralling stories that take place throughout the 20th century, from the 1929 Stock Market Crash to the attack on Pearl Harbor to the Vietnam War era. McPhail's poignant perceptions of life in the last century are vividly brought to life in his recently-released historical-fiction books, "The Millionaire's Cruise" and "The Guest from Johannesburg." 

Correspondent Tom Wilmer reports from Camp Roberts, the U.S. Army training base located 16 miles north of Paso Robles, where he visits with Gary McMaster, chairman and curator at the Camp Roberts Historical Museum.

Fort Hunter Liggett, located in Monterey County, is the largest and one of the most remote U.S. Army Reserve training bases in America. Come along and join correspondent Tom Wilmer as he explores how the base provides for the moral, welfare and recreation needs of the soldiers and civilian employees, as well as the civilian residents of nearby farming communities. Wilmer visits with Brian Lee.

Back in the latter 19th century, African American athletes often played on baseball teams alongside whites. But segregation took an ugly turn in the dawning days of the 20th century and black players were barred through Jim Crow laws. Undaunted, black teams were formed across America. The first organized league structure was conceived in Kansas City in 1920, and thus was born the Negro National League, followed by eastern and southern leagues.

Retired Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary guard George DeVincenzi served on “The Rock” from 1950 to 1958, departing just five years before the infamous island prison closed forever in 1963. Correspondent Tom Wilmer met with DeVincenzi in the old prison hospital, directly across the corridor from where DeVincenzi long ago played checkers with the infamous Bird Man of Alcatraz. 

Join correspondent Tom Wilmer for an exploration of Tennessee’s rural realms. Discovery Park of America is located in Union City a 3-hour drive from Nashville. The park features an array of attractions focused on science, technology, engineering and math, a vintage train depot, log cabins, a Titan missile and much more. 

One of Nashville’s coolest destinations is just nine miles from the heart of downtown. Warner Park encompasses 3,100 acres of forests and open fields, featuring nationally-recognized jogging trails, biking and equestrian trails, a legendary steeplechase and a nature center.

Jeff Ray, executive director at Alabama’s Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, talks about the institution, which many consider a $100 million investment in the state of Alabama and its largest philanthropic enterprise.