Colonial Williamsburg

We are west of Norfolk, Va in a area know as the Colonial Triangle. Here we find Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown. Today was the Williamsburg day.

The historical area of Colonial Williamsburg is about one mile by one half mile. Houses along the street are restored from the mid 1700's and are just beautiful.









This is the original Virginia capitol building. Here in 1775 the Virginia colonial government authored the Virginia bill of rights much of which was used as a starting place for the Declaration of Independence.
Here Patrick Henry addressed the Colonial government in favor of independence.

This is the chamber of the upper house of the colonial government in 1776. This building  served as the seat of Virginia government till about 1813 when the state capitol moved to Richmond.

More of the historical buildings on the main street.










More of the historical buildings. Buildings date to the early 1700's but have been restored to original condition in the 1940's when Rockefeller provided the money for restoration.

This is the Williamsburg Court House where all trials except felonies were heard. Each building had someone inside who provided details of what was happening in the 1775 time frame.

This is the Williamsburg church which is still in use today. The buildings were all beautiful and the people were knowledgeable and would spend as much time as you wanted talking about the town and the time.






This is the Governors palace which was occupied by Lord Dunsmore. until he departed in the middle of the night in April of 1775. He was appointed by King George and it seems that he was doing things the colonists didn't appreciate. So, fearing for his life he just up and went away one night.


That's all from Williamsburg..... more from Yorktown and Jamestown if the US Government doesn't shut down.

Monticello

Thomas Jefferson's residence (Monticello) is located on top of a hill not far outside Charlottsville,
Va. We drove the ten miles from the KOA where we're staying and spent the day touring and listening to stories about Thomas Jefferson.

Thomas Jefferson inherited a 3000 acre plantation near Monticello when his father died and to that he added another 2000 acres for a total of 5000 acres. Rather than live on the plantation he built this house completing it in the early 1800's and retiring here with his daughter and her family after his presidency.

He owned about 140 slaves and, while he didn't think slavery was right, he couldn't see a way to run his plantation any other way. This was the kitchen where the slaves prepared the meals for the family and guests. Slave quarters were on Mulberry row just down the hill from the house.

He was an avid gardener and often brought back seeds from his travels. He referred to his garden as the Ellis Island for plants and he referred to his plants as edible immigrants. Of course the slaves saw to the garden which is slightly larger than my Aunt Helen's.






I am including this as a picture we all see everyday. If  you take a nickel from your pocket or purse and look on one side you'll see Thomas Jefferson. Flip it over and this picture will greet you.




Thomas Jefferson was truly an amazing man. He wrote the Declaration of Independence, ran this plantation, was our third president and still had time for his family, riding the estate, and hosting friends on a regular basis. After today I feel like I almost know him and am truly impressed.

Tours of WDC buildings

Today was tour day for us. We got up early (5:30am) and got to the Metro by 7:00am. It was then off to the Library of  Congress where we started our day with a great hour and a half tour.

The Library of Congress is an amazing place. It opened in 1897 and houses some 155 million documents (not all in this building).

The interior is spectacular with paintings and statues everywhere you look. It's a magnificent place with a long history. We saw the Jefferson library that houses books purchased from Thomas Jefferson.






We were fortunate to have our Representative, Ami Bera, provide tour tickets so it was off to his office where we met his staff and one of the interns gave us a personal tour of the Capitol. The highlight was a visit to the House chamber where nothing was going on but it was great to see the place where the state of the union address is delivered.

It was a short walk to our tour of the Supreme Court. We were treated to a half hour lecture on the court and it's role in Government.

I just had to throw this in...... Sharleen is sitting at the desk of Ami Bera our Representative in the house. She looks like it's a good fit and I could be her "staffer"
Our week in WDC has gone by quickly and tomorrow it's off to Charlottsville for some more looking. More from there.

The National Zoo

Today was a fun day with no monuments or statues.... just some pretty neat critters.

There was the "King of the beasts"












And some "Queens of the beasts"












And some not so royal turtles.....










And finally a funny looking critter with a special nose for eating ants.


Lots of fun at the zoo today. Wish all my kids could have been there with us.

Tomorrow is errand day again but Wednesday is tour day at the mall.... more from there.

Dinner on Sunday evening,

Sunday was a laid back day with some errands and rest. The highlight of the day was dinner with Sharleen's great niece Laurel, her husband Mike and...... littlest but not leastest  Sophie who is a doll and stole the evening. It had been at least 6 years since we have seen them and so it was a treat to have dinner and catch up. Thanks Mike and Laurel for a great evening and dinner.

The National Mall in WDC

Yesterday started with good weather so we drove to the metro station (4 miles) and caught the metro for WDC. It took us about 25 minutes and ten stops but we made it to the mall and exited at the Smithsonian. From there we started a walking tour that took us about 10 miles around the monuments.

We walked the East side of the Tidal Basin and over to the Jefferson Memorial. It's a little out of the way but well worth the walk.









We then headed around the West side of the Tidal Basin and visited the Franklin D Roosevelt Memorial. He was president from 1933 till 1945 and saw the country through some tough times. His New Deal helped bring the country out of the Great Depression and his presidency saw us through the Second World War. It's a large and fitting memorial.

Again, along the West side we visited the MLK H Jr. Memorial. Once again a fitting memorial to a great leader.

We then visited the Korean War Memorial where soldiers are depicted on patrol in Korea. Again a fitting memorial to those brave men who gave everything for us.








We walked around the corner and saw the Lincoln Memorial As many times as I have seen it.... I used to run by it every morning when I was working in DC... it still is spectacular.










And inside is my favorite statue in WDC.
A picture can't show the size and grandeur of this memorial.

It was down the reflecting pool to the World War Two Memorial. Again a fitting tribute to those who gave all for us.












It was then around the White House for this South Lawn view. I like this spot better than the view from Pennsylvania Avenue. It's always smaller than I think it should be.

A short walk and a metro ride brought us to the Pentagon and a short walk later we were at the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial. You can see where the building has been repaired and this large area is a Memorial to the 183 souls who lost their lives here at 9:37 on that morning. We paid our respects and then again hopped the metro back to the American History Museum at the Smithsonian for some first lady dress viewing.


We again jumped on the metro for the trip back to College Park where we left the truck and a short drive later we were at the trailer just as it started to rain..... exhausted but happy. My wish is that every American would be able to spend a day like we had yesterday. It's truly a patriotic experience.
Today we rest and do chores.... like grocery shopping..... and tomorrow it's off to the National Zoo.

Air and Space Museum Dulles annex

We headed to Dulles Airport this morning to spend about three hours exploring the Air and Space Museum annex housed there.

Our first stop was at the Space hangar and there to visit Discovery, the hardest working of all Space shuttles. It flew 39 missions and logged a total of 365 days in space. You have to see it in person to appreciate the machine. All the pictures I have seen couldn't come close to seeing it up close and personal.

In another section we saw the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber that dropped the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima during the second world war.
It dropped the "little Boy" bomb developed at Los Alamos Lab in New Mexico.

The museum is a cornucopia of aircraft so I included this picture to give you a idea of what's there. If you are ever in WDC this is a must stop. Three hours is a minimum to see it all and you'll need more time if you want to see the I Max movies.




We then headed to Dulles Station and lunch with a long tine friend who lives here now. What a great day!