So Much To See

How do I start this, or where do I start this?

I think for me, it started back many years ago, when I first read my great grandfather's diary that he kept during his service throughout the Civil War. In his diary, he recorded that he went to the Smithsonian Museum and there saw General George Washington's uniform, sword, etc. that he used during the Revolutionary War. He also recorded that his unit had camped south of the capital. At the end of the war he spoke of marching down Pennsylvania Ave. past the White House. I guess I have wanted to walk where he walked.

Way back when we were first married, we planned to spending our first vacation together taking in the sites in DC. Due to a number of things that happened, we didn't get to go. Two years ago we were in the area but only for one day. Having a child in this area has been a real draw, so now I can fulfill my desire.

I'm not sure how many buildings the Smithsonian had at the time of my Great Grandfather's visit, but today there are many. They refer to this one as the Castle. I believe that it was the only one during the time of the Civil War. This is the main entrance.
There are a few things here, but now it is an information center for all of the buildings. There was a nice display of pins worn by Madeleine Albright which she used to make a statement.

We have been to the Bureau of engraving and printing, the Holocaust Museum which was also having an exhibit "State of Deception, The Power of Nazi Propaganda." Having gone to the exhibit first really helped see how Hitler came to power so quickly and how he influenced people to follow him. Unfortunately, we are seeing some of these same tactics in our government today.

We went to the African Art Museum where I learned how coil baskets were made, some even water proof. At the America Indian museum I saw three interesting canoes. One made of reeds,
a birch bark one with a surprising number of ribs in it, and

a Hawaiian outrigger with beautiful wood.

I thought of my nephew who makes canoes.

We also saw gold pieces from South America along with Spanish gold coins that had been made from the gold that was taken by Pizarro.

We went to the National Museum of art where, amongst many known artist's works, we saw Leonardo Di Vinci's Ginevra. It is the only painting of his in the US. We only got through a portion of this building, so we will go back at some time.

I have tried to find where my Great Grandfather may have camped, but it is all buildings now. He wasn't real specific in his journal, just stated "south of the Capital."

A few evenings ago, we were in the White House area with By and L. We walked down part of Pennsylvania Ave. The road is now closed off where it goes by the White House, but I did walk along part the route he took, on the side walk instead of down the middle of the street.

I have yet to see Washington's uniform, etc. That may be in one of the museums we haven't been to yet. I did see one of his sword that he used during the French and Indian War as we went to Mount Vernon. There is no way that he through a coin across the river. It is way too far.
And his teeth weren't wooden. I think they were ivory as we did see them.

I can see why he loved it here, even though he didn't get to spend much of his time here due to wars and his presidency. It is a beautiful, tranquil place.We enjoyed wondering and exploring the buildings and grounds. He was quite the farmer, using a seven year crop rotation so that the soil would not be depleted. I thought this chicken pen was interesting. It was inexpensive to make, kept the chickens in and predators out, and was portable. There was a gate into it on the side.
I have gotten to do some of the things that I have wanted to do and see. There is so much more that I doubt that we will do it all this time. I guess we will just have to make another trip.

Hard at Work

We are so very happy for the new job that our daughter-in-law, L, has. It meant that she had to be gone all of last week for training. But she was at work here this week. As you can see, she is a hard worker. This is her new office.







I think the hat makes it legit. She had been to a meeting, so she did get dressed. This is only temporary and she will soon have a REAL office.

Along Came Fall

Has anyone been wondering what we have been doing with our time? Just in case there is one of you out there who has, here goes.

One of the things that we had never done, while at the West Point area, was to go see Fort Putnam. It was built during the Revolutionary War to help guard the Hudson river and keep the British from going up the river. It was one of a number of forts. The grounds around it are now covered with trees, but I'm sure it was totally cleared at that time. I would not have wanted that job. We had a great guide who took us and told us about it. He was even very patient while we read everything.

It overlooks what is now call the plain. There was also a fort located on it. That is part of the Cadet's buildings in the background.

As you can see, the fort is not very large. It sits on a hill overlooking the bend in the river where, during the war, a chain was put across to stop the British ships. We are standing on the barracks.During our time at WP we made a trip up to Vanderbilt's Hyde Park mansion to listen to R play. It was a beautiful evening, not to hot, good music, and a nice sunset.
The time came for us to move on as By & L were looking forward to hanging out in the camper with us in the great out doors. So on we went. We picked them up and went out to the Bull Run area for Labor Day weekend. On Monday we pulled out and went to the Shenandoah River valley. It is a beautiful area with some hiking trails. It seems that I never had my camera with me, so I have no pictures, other than this, to show off the area.
This is a new camping area. It just opened in July. So there weren't the trees in the camping area that had been at Bull Run. Fortunately, the weather cooled and the humidity really dropped. It started feeling like fall. We even saw a few leaf colors.

One of the things that we did was to go to Luray Cavern. It is privately owned, not very large, and well known for it's pipe organ. The pipes are different formations. It doesn't sound too bad. It has lots of formations with many colors, some very white. We hadn't seen that before in the caverns we have gone to.

The next one is actually a pool of water reflecting the formations on the ceiling.
One of the trails goes along the river. The first day that we got there, I went hiking down stream. It reminded me of the creek that I would walk along as a kid on a hot summer afternoon; cooler with lots of trees, the sun coming through in places, dried leaves crunching under foot, and the smell of vegetation dried from the summer heat. The trees that I walked through as a child were quaking asp while these were hard woods. I learned the type of some of the trees as some had labels. There were also lots of pawpaw trees along the river, but alas, no fruit.

Another trail goes up into the trees, gaining altitude very quickly. By decided that he and L could use that loop as part of her running training. The first time they did it too quickly and about killed themselves. It didn't help that it was in the high eighties at the time.

The Shenandoah river is also a good river for canoeing. There are lots of rental places. On Thursday By, L and I rented one and did a seven mile stretch of the river. Again, no pictures as we didn't want to get cameras wet. We should have brought them. B decided to take a long hike.

The water was low so there were numerous times that we scrapped the bottom going over the many rock ridges crossing the river bottom. We almost had to step out of the canoe a couple of times to free it. The water was crystal clear so we could see the bottom along with everything in the water. We saw several small fish, one around nine to ten inches long, a red turtle about a foot across, old tires, cans, etc. In the air we saw two bald eagles circling above us. As most of the float is in forested areas. It would be a great place to see fall colors. We had fun trying to float up on cranes.

The next morning, B and I went hiking up river. Within a couple of miles we came to the canoe rental place from the day before. Had we known that, we would have walked there and back instead of making the about six mile trip by truck out, around and back in to the river.

It was a great time. Even Hinckley enjoyed it. He really got into the trail exploring. Since we got back, he has been moping around.

Remember all those times I started to carve a stick while we were in the outdoors? Well, I finally finished something.