What a busy week! We had a great trip even though the weather didn't really co-operate. It went so fast. We left for DC on Monday morning and got in at about midnight. Nice weather pretty much all the way so the drive wasn't too bad except it took forever. Trev did his testing for the job on Tuesday morning and was back at about 1pm. We spent the rest of the afternoon doing some sight seeing. We first visited the Udvar-Hazy National Air and Space Museum. My boys have always loved airplanes so Trev was in 7th heaven. The museum was quite impressive. Entry to the museum is free but parking costs 15.00 and you don't really have a choice because there isn't any on street parking. The highlights for me was the Enola Gay and a cute little plane that converted to a car. Now how handy would that be for the pilot - wouldn't have to worry about renting a car when you arrived at your destination... lol. Click on any of the pics to see a larger view.
After the museum we visited the Manassas Battle field. This is better known as the Battle of Bull run. Over 7,000 soldiers died during this battle. It is hard to imagine that such carnage took place on such a peaceful location. Of course, we just had to get a pic of hubby and I with Stonewall... lol.
The next day, we took the Metro (subway) and spent the day visiting sites. We started at Arlington National Cemetary where of course we saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Kennedy's, John, Bobby and Teddy, and the amphitheater. We stumbled upon a monument to a Lincoln, which as near as we could figure out had to be Abe's grandson and his family. Being from Springfield Illinois, this was of special interest to us and also quite a surprise.
From Arlington, we walked to the Iwo Jima memorial. I've seen a lot of pictures on this monument but I was taken back by the beauty of the actual statue. The pictures just don't do it justice and you have to see it to appreciate the true beauty of the piece. I didn't know that there was actually two flag raisings at the site. The first raising was for a temporary flag and the picture the statue was made from was actually the second raising which was for the permanent flag that was big enough to see throughout most of the island.
After a quick ride on the Metro, our next stop was quick tours of the Field Museum and the American History Museum. Of course the dinosaurs and battles were the chief points of interest at these two locations. It was then a walk past Washington's Monument on the way to the new WW II monument - such an impressive site and of course my camera decided it just wasn't going to co-operate so many of the pics are blurred but I did get a few that turned out ok. What a gorgeous tribute to the veterans of WW II and the women who suffered at home.
Next it was a walk past Washington's monument and the reflecting pond on the way to the Vietnam Memorial.
Our last stop was of course a street vendor. What would a trip to DC be without a stop at a sidewalk vendor for a hot dog... lol
After a day jam packed with sight seeing and about 10 miles of walking it was back to the Metro and a 2 hour drive to my brothers in Waynesboro Va. Thursday was pretty much a recovery day. We hardly moved from our chairs and everyone was complaining about their legs and feet hurting... lol Friday we decided to take the Skyline Drive which meanders through the Blue Ridge mountains. If you ever have the opportunity to take this drive make sure you do it. Lovely mountain views are sure to come your way. A special treat we encountered along the way was a recreation of an early farm and a waterfall.
The picture above is a pig pen. It's where the farmer kept his pigs in the winter. The cage is designed for keeping the bears away from the pigs. The cross logs that are on the side secure a log that goes over the top logs to prevent the bear from lifting the roof and stealing the pigs. Quite smart on the farmers part, I think! The one disappointment I had for the day was not seeing a black bear. Oh well, maybe next time.
On the drive back to Waynesboro we stopped at a little hole in wall to get gas. There was a restaurant that sold barbecue and a little bakery named Ambrosia. Oh my what sweet treats she had. Of course I purchased samples of all different kinds of goods. Everybody sampled them and immediately fell in love. We will have to visit her shop the next time we make it out there.
After supper, we decided we'd visit a local bar known as Captain Sam's. And low and behold there was the black bear I'd been searching for earlier in the day (smile).
Saturday we had planned on having breakfast with our niece but that didn't work out so we got an earlier start on the 14 hour drive back home.
I hope I haven't bored you too much but I did want to share some of the interesting things we encountered on our trip. I hope you've enjoyed them.
Have a great week, full of smiles!
Peggy
