Episode 40: Top 5 Must-see Cemeteries

Angie Orth:

Welcome to Traveling With AAA, I'm your host, Angie Orth. This week, we're shaking things up or down, to be more precise. Last week, you heard from Loren Rhoads, author of 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die. This week, we're bringing you a little more to snack on.

With Halloween on the way, we thought this might be the perfect time to dig a little deeper—if you will—into some of her favorites. If 199 cemeteries paints too broad of a stroke, then we've got Loren's top cemeteries in 5 different categories to help narrow it down for you. So, whether you're looking for beauty, architecture, or a taste of Hollywood, there's a final resting place out there for everyone.

I want to ask you about the 5 cemeteries. Now, you've done what 199? So, this is going to be a challenge. The 5 cemeteries you must see before you die, and we have some little superlatives for them. So, top recommendations for a cemetery for a spooky Halloween.

Loren Rhoads:

My first inclination is to say call your local cemeteries and see if they're doing anything because a lot of cemeteries will host tours. Some of the best events I've seen have been high school kids in costumes standing on graves and telling the story of the people buried there. That is really cool. But if you can get to LA, Day of the Dead at Hollywood Forever is amazing.

Angie:

Most beautiful cemetery?

Loren:

I would say Mount Auburn in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was originally designed by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society as a display garden, so it is incredible, full of artwork and the trees are amazing.

Angie:

Most architecturally interesting cemetery?

Loren:

Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland, California. It was designed by Julia Morgan. She was the first female architect in California. She designed Hearst Castle. Chapel of the Chimes has these amazing Moorish arches and tile work. And it's not full of graves, it's full of urns of people's ashes.

Angie:

How about the most unusual cemetery?

Loren:

I went to see the Capuchin catacombs in Rome. When the Capuchins moved to Rome, they dug up their cemetery and brought all the bones with them to the new church in Rome. At some point, somebody came and organized all the bones and created artwork out of them, so there's a clock where all the numbers and the hands are made of bones, a skeleton attached to the ceiling at one place that's death with a sife, and scales all made out of bones. It seems creepy, it sounds horrible, but the sense you get is this love of life, that humans are super amazing, we have all these bits and they fit together so well inside of us.

Everybody in there went in very somber, but as people were coming out, everybody had a smile on their face because you get this sense of, “Wow, it's good to be alive. Life is amazing and humans are amazing, and death is scary and coming to us all, but Rome is outside this door; go out and have a glass of wine and appreciate it.” That was a really cool place.

Angie:

How about the most historic?

Loren:

One of the ones I find really interesting is Thomas Jefferson's family cemetery is Monticello in Virginia. Not far from that is the enslaved person's graveyard. It's the people who worked the plantation at Monticello during Jefferson's life, some of whom are related to him. The contrast of those 2 cemeteries really speaks to where we are in American history now, where we're wrestling with that history. It's important to see that, discuss it, and think about the connection between the enslaved person’s graveyards and the father of our country.

Angie:

Because you can't really learn from history unless you know what history is. What do you think is the most famous grave to visit?

Loren:

When you go to the mansion in Graceland, in the heart of the mansion, there's a meditation garden and Elvis is buried there with his family. That's another case where it's a tourist place that you would go to. You wouldn't realize that there's a cemetery as part of it, but it's fitting for him to be there.

Angie:

Is there a cemetery that you haven't been to but it's still on your bucket list?

Loren:

If I could go to any cemetery in the world, I'd like to see the pyramids in Egypt because I've been fascinated with them since I was a kid. I know nobody's actually buried in the pyramid anymore, but just to see it I think would be really cool.

The same with the Taj Mahal. We know the Taj Mahal because it's beautiful, but it's a grave. It was built as a mausoleum, so I'd like to see that, too if I could sneak a second one in there.

Angie:

There are so many great ideas in there. I hope you'll include a local cemetery or 2 on your next travel itinerary.

Be sure to join us next week for a Hawaiian adventure. We'll head to Maui and hear how the tourism industry is recovering since the recent fires, and how your visit can help this beautiful island in a big way.

Thank you to our listeners for being with us. If you're planning a trip, be sure to connect with a AAA Travel Advisor, check out AAA.com/travel, or visit your local branch. If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe, and leave us a review. I'm Angie Orth, thank you for traveling with AAA.