Visiting the Senator, Before and After (Big Tree Park in Longwood)
We first took our kids to see "The Senator" in 2010. It's located in Big Tree Park in Longwood. The tree at the time was 3,500 years old, and was one of the oldest trees in the world. It was awesome to see! The Senator was massive and beautiful. It had survived many years of hurricanes, floods, wars, etc. But one thing it couldn't survive was a drug addict on a mission.
On January 16, 2012, the tree was burned down by an arsonist on drugs. Following the penalty phase of her arrest, she pretty much got nothing for destroying this magnificent tree. She got probation (read about it here and here).
Today we went to see the remains of The Senator. There's hardly anything left, as it's all been burned down, sadly. It's such a sad thing to see, how someone could so carelessly destroy something like this. Luckily, you can still visit the park to see Lady Liberty, a 2,000 year old tree, as well as the Phoenix, which is a descendant of The Senator. It's great to see these things, but I sure do miss seeing The Senator standing tall and strong!
Here are pictures from Big Tree Park in Longwood:
Comments