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IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

This is the next week of our further adventures in Washington, D.C. and the Virginia area.

We took off on our road trip and spent a couple of nights in Williamsburg so we could explore the colonies of Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown. We spent all day Friday at Williamsburg, by strolling the streets of this early settlement. It was very authentic and the folks were dressed in costumes depicting that era. We both had a hard time getting it into our heads that this was the real thing and that we weren't at some Disney theme park. The people who were instrumental in forming our country actually walked on the same ground and met in the same old buildings we were visiting. After touring the courthouse, capitol and other buildings within Williamsburg, we ended our day with a wonderful dinner at the historic Shields Tavern.

The following day we drove a short ways west to Yorktown where the American Revolution ended and where the French helped drive out the British. Then it was on to the oldest English settlement in North America at Jamestown. There is more that 400 years of history at that location and we were surrounded by the ghosts of Captain John Smith and Pocahontas. Again, knowing that those people walked the same ground as we did that day was awe inspiring. Jamestown was Virginia's first capitol and we were walked through history to understand its role in English colonization. When we went through the church, we came across this memorial to some founding fathers - including a Wyatt. I wonder if that's one of my ancestors? Jamestown is also where I had my first look at a Red Cardinal who was perched on a tree branch singing away. What a beautiful bird. We spent most of the day in those two colonies and it was about a three-hour drive back to our home base in northern Virginia. We spent most of Sunday recovering from two solid weeks of sightseeing and got ready for our next week. The only time we left the house that day was to drive down the road to Smokey Bones BBQ for supper.

Monday, Laura had to tutor students for their math exams and had a full schedule that day. Since we have more or less mastered the mass transit system, she dropped us off at the Metro station for Washington, D.C. so we could pick up a few places that we hadn't seen yet. Our first stop was to complete the rest of the American History Museum. We had missed the whole top floor before we ran out of gas on last week's tour. We saw the Americas at War exhibit and the First Ladies exhibit before we ventured next door to the Natural History Museum. That museum was crowded with students and we didn't feel it was very organized. Dave likes to see things in chronological order and it was impossible to do that the way they had it laid out. There were literally thousands of people there and it was close to complete chaos. We did manage to see the Hope Diamond, which was on my list of things to see before we left, but we didn't stay too long. Our final stop for the day was a few blocks away at the American Indian Museum, which was a very tranquil place compared to the Natural History Museum and we saw exhibits on different Indian tribes in America. The building had rounded corners and we were told it was designed that way so as not to block the Indian spirits. We managed to make our way back to the Metro and wait for Stan to pick us up in front of the Haagen-Dazs ice cream shop in the food court where we were waiting at the Pentagon City stop. There are a number of places where he could pick us up, but we have all agreed that that location is by far the best!!

On Tuesday we all headed for Thomas Jefferson's Monticello estate. This was a lovely 3-hour drive southwest through the Virginia countryside. Monticello is a beautiful place and the view is spectacular. You got the feeling of what a great man Jefferson was. He loved to farm and had incorporated many new things at Monticello from travels he had taken. He had pocket doors and double-pane thermal windows when no one else did. He had dumbwaiters built into the sides of the fireplace so that bottles could be delivered from the wine cellar below. He even had a mechanical self-closing door. We toured the house and the wonderful flower and vegetable gardens. I wish my garden looked that good.

George Washington's Mt. Vernon was on our next day's agenda. Laura was tied up with tutoring that day, so Stan was our guide. This was only about a 15-minute drive from their place so he's been there a few times. Still, it had been a while since his last visit, so he enjoyed the tour. We saw Washington's estate, the educational center, museum, gardens and grave site. We had lunch at the Mt. Vernon Inn where we dined on delicious Peanut and Chestnut soup and Virginia ham sandwiches - a perfect meal for a perfect day. The soup was so good that I asked for the recipe and they actually gave it to me. Let me know if you would like a copy.

Thursday we drove over to Manassas (Bull Run) which again is only about 15-minutes from where Stan and Laura live - to the west this time instead of east. This was where the first battle of the Civil War was fought, followed by a second instrumental battle a year later. We had a wonderful tour and history lesson from the guide at the Henry Hill Visitor Center. Part of the history lesson came when we realized that Bull Run and Manassas are the same battle. The south named battles for the nearest town, while the north named them for a nearby geographic feature. It was clear to us that we're in the south, because everything here carries the name Manassas - Bull Run is only named when actually referring to the waterway. After our outstanding tour at the center, we took a drive around the monument to see some other battlefields from both First Manassas and Second Manassas. The Stonewall Jackson Monument is located here because that is where he got his nickname, defending a line against the Federal troops and "standing like a stone wall".

The Cicada infestation has arrived here in Virginia, and while they aren't locusts in the purest sense of the word, they arrive in swarm and live for a short time just like locusts. The most noticeable thing about them other than their size - they're about 2" long - is the noise they make. Individually, it's kind of a "clicking" sound, but when there are thousands of them in the area - and there are - the best way I can describe it is that it's kind of a quiet roar. Not overpowering, but right there if there is a group of them near you. You can hear it by clicking here. Oh, well. We said we wanted to take this trip to experience things we hadn't seen before!!