We have arrived in Williamsburg. We will stay for a couple of days to explore the Colonial Williamsburg and the Jamestown Settlement.
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Well I thought it was interesting to drive back from Mount Vernon yesterday. Well I was wrong. Driving around DC even at the best times can be a problem. Towing the 5th wheel along the Beltway with 3 lanes to the left and 2 to the right going the same direction varies from hectic or insane. Yes there are times where the Beltway is 7 lanes each direction.
Well we made it safely to Ashland Virginia. We will take a down day here then on to Williamsburg.
Today we visited Mount Vernon. The options from the Cherry Hill RV park were to take the Metro system ( Subways 2 changes and 2 busses) total time estimate is 2.5 hours EACH way or drive there at about 45 minutes each way. We chose to drive. Not bad FOR Beltway traffic.
Mount Vernon was a great place to tour. It is a lot of walking. The property has been reduced from the size it was of 8,000 acres to about 500 acres. The property is large and wonderfully maintained as it was at the time when they lived here. It was an incredible experience to know that you were literally walking in the rooms that George Washington and his family had so many years ago. Standing in the room where Washington met with several of the founding fathers discussing the future of the country and visited with Lafayette.
The tour guides and reenactors were fantastic. We sat for a half an hour talking to and asking questions of George Washington’s granddaughter. She was great and did not break character for a moment. Even when someone asked a question that involved current time. When she asked where we were from and said Florida. She said “Oh the Spanish colonies. Well your English is very good.” Sorry but no video of our conversation.
Go here to find out more on Mount Vernon:
http://www.mountvernon.org/the-estate-gardens/the-mansion/ten-facts-about-the-mansion/ Wow the return trip was not the same as the drive down. For those who do not know what it is like to drive on a 10 lane highway. It can be CRAZY especially when it becomes a parking lot of solid cars all lanes. Which the Beltway was from time to time. Glad to only have to drive out tomorrow. Today was our last day to visit DC. We toured several of the monuments and then returned to a couple of the Smithsonian Museums that on our way back across the Mall. It is almost normal to jump on and off the subway. Weird since not long ago I had never even been ON a subway. And walking and hopping busses getting around DC was no problem at all. It was a really great trip and we were able to visit almost everything we wanted to see. Pictures coming soon. We took Betty to the airport in Baltimore. After getting back to the RV, we took care of some house cleaning and laundry.
Glad Betty could join us in DC. It was a great to visit and see the city together. Today we went to the National Portrait Gallery. This is where all the President’s portrait paintings are kept along with a lot of other art works. Only the current President’s portrait was missing. Some are more impressive than others. It was a joke to call Clinton’s a portrait. The gallery also included a lot of other paintings and sculptures. After that we ended the day by seeing Ford’s Theater, the museum there, and the boarding house across the street where Lincoln died.
We were able to go to the Air and Space Museum. There was no line at all. Good timing on our part. I guess.
From the real Wright Airplane, the first liquid rocket, The Spirit of St Louis, Amelia Earhart's plane, Apollo 11 Command Module and tools and space suits used on the moon. And on and on. The museum follows the development of flight all the way to space travel. It is a huge building and we were very tired by the end.
One thing I can say about people in DC. They are so quick to help you if you look confused about where to go next. Anytime we stopped and were looking at a map we had a local walk up and ask if they could help.
We started out wanting to go to the Air and Space Museum but the line was already pretty long so we decided to see the American Indian Museum next door instead. It had the history of the North and South American Indians along with many artifacts. For lunch we stopped in the cafe in the museum. It had foods themed on the foods of each Indian nation. Ok I had a buffalo burger and Shawna and Betty had a Chimichanga so not what most would think of as traditional foods. Still it was good food. After lunch there went back by the Air and Space Museum but the line was even longer than it had been in the morning. We decided to to to the next museum down the street. It should have been a dead give away what type of museum it was by the “art work” out front. It was a car that had been crushed by a bolder. Once inside things did not improve. Just to be clear I define Art as something that requires a talent that I don't have in creating something as Art. I don't have to like it or what it portrays but it does need to be something that requires some talent. There were several real art pieces inside but some were obviously con-artists instead of real artists who fooled someone into taking their “art”. Here are a couple of examples: A black paper rock that filled a room so much you had to walk single file to go around it. A video of a patio where people on the second story of surrounding buildings throw potted plants into the center. What does killing a bunch of plants have to do with art? A wall painted black with a small white circle in the center. Three panty hose tiled together streached across in the corner of the room. I can not even begin to describe some of the “art”. Anyway we got out and took off to the real art gallery across the Mall. The National Gallery of Art was great. Art work from all around the world and some very famous pieces. Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, Degas, Renoir, Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, Panini, Rubens, Rembrandt, and enough other great artists that I did not know to fill a page. We did not even get to the sculpture and drawings floor. Almost every painting was just hanging on the wall. Nothing not even glass in the frame to keep you from getting your nose right up to the paintings. They did have a guard in almost every room and a lot of very discreet security cameras. For those interested in how much we are walking. We walked 10,901 steps today.
The American History Museum was fantastic. A lot of very interesting things. They were grouped by the Presidents, First Ladies, Inventions, money, Cars, Steam, Electricity,... We started with the Star-Spangled Banner. Yes THE flag that flew over Fort McHenry. It inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem which later became the song we sing today. Originally it was 30 feet by 42 feet after the battle and deterioration it is now 30 feet by 34 feet. Other items was were able to see George Washington’s items used during the Revolutionary War including the suit worn when he accepted the commission as General of the Continental Army to fight the Revolutionary War. The sword that Cornwallis gave during the surrender of the British troops at Yorktown. The desk where Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franklin's walking cane. The top hat worn by Abraham Lincoln when he was assassinated and Lincoln’s life mask. The Sword and Campaign hat worn by General Sherman at the Battle of Shiloh. The spyglass (binoculars), camp chair, and hat. The chairs and table used at Appomattox to sign the surrender of the Confederate forces. And items from every war the country has been involved with. Edison’s first bulbs, Alexander Bell’s telephone box from 1876, and the patents for many of the inventions. An area on money. From gold coins to very rare ones. $50 paper money from 1778, $500 gold certificate, Madison on the $5,000 bill, Willson on the $100,000 bill. A big section dedicated to transportation from the oldest cars to the newest and several steam train engines. Everything looked like it was right off the showroom floor. Computers from Babbage's difference engine, Apple's earliest computer, the first Mac, Michael Dell’s first computer, … It is a bit embarrassing to see computers you have worked on and saw when they were new in the Smithsonian. The first mouse. The first game system that became Pong. Historic items like the Gold Spike from the continental railroad.The Ruby slippers from Wizard of Oz. The first artificial heart. Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street and the street sign used in the shows opening scene, Archie Bunker’s chair, Howdy Doody puppet, Julia Child’s Kitchen. After that we stopped off at the White House to see it in the day. I did not recognize who was in the garden but they had secret service watching them.
We started out today by visiting the National Archives. This is where the Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States, and Bill of Rights are on display. No way Nicolas Cage could steal the Declaration. They do not allow ANY picture taking at all. So sorry but I have none to post from there.
Then on the the Capitol Building for our tour. The Crypt under the Rotunda was completed in 1827 and was originally intended to be the burial place of George Washington. The U.S. Capitol Rotunda is 96 feet in diameter and 180 feet in height in the center of the Capitol was completed in 1824. It is the room used to honor those by ‘Lying in State’. Lincoln was the first President given this honor.
The original House of Representatives chamber, now called Statuary Hall, was used from 1807 to 1857. The statue with the clock was original to the room. Still works and would have been used by Abraham Lincoln to check the time during his time as a representative.
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