Washington, D.C. & the mountains

Drove up to D.C. (as it's affectionately known) on a Saturday, ate dinner out with Robert & Allison and then spent part of the day Sunday at a shower for the baby Allison is expecting at the end of June. Nice to meet all those people but tough to keep names and faces and relationships straight.

The sad note was late in the afternoon both Allison and Robert had to rush one of their cats to the emergency vet where, eventually, they had to have him put down. He'd developed a blood clot and his whole rear and back legs had been paralyzed. It was a heart-wrenching decision for them. Comet was Rob's pal.

On Monday, after the kids had gone to work, we headed into D.C. and parked out at Arlington National Cemetery and took the tour-mobile 'tram' into the Mall and travelled around seeing the points of interest along the way. Got out at the US Capitol and did a tour of that building and had lunch there. Back on the tour mobile to see the rest of the loop of buildings on the tour and stepped out at the Lincoln Memorial. Took the prescribed photos and hopped the 'tram' back to Arlington and home. The next day we started off at Arlington and toured the cemetery and saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the ceremony that goes on with the changing of the guard.

(Van pretended to have a sinus condition and cough so he sat in the visitor's center while we toured the cemetery and also did the same thing when we went to Mount Vernon. He's getting better but still spends the day clearing his throat and coughing phlegm - love that word! Getting better every day!)

M. Nietz at the U.S. Capitol

Abe and Margaret - he's the one sitting

A small part of Arlington - it covers a huge amount of territory

Impressive ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns

JFK and his missus & the Eternal Flame

This time I'm the one sitting - time for a nap on the front porch at Mt. Vernon

On Wednesday we headed out of D.C. to the mountains. Ended up on the Skyline Drive and spent the night in a cabin at Skyland Resort. Quite cold in the mountains and we were glad of the heater in the room - no fire in the main dining room but stood and warmed ourselves at the check-in counter at the fire they had there.

Next day we headed down to Charlottesville, VA and toured Thomas Jefferson's home - Monticello. Quite interesting innovations he incorporated into his house over the years and the vegetable gardens were very extensive. Even had a chance to visit the gravesite and walk the grounds a little. Then a drive home to the beach with another stop in the nasty little outlet mall we had been to before.

(Haven't had a chance to download more photos from Margaret's camera for a while.)

Williamsburg

The female members of the reading audience will understand the following..... we had a wonderful tour of the colonial town of Williamsburg, Virginia in all its restored glory and we checked out a few stores in the nearby Outlet Mall. Difficult to decide which was of more interest, eh?

Williamsburg is restored to its glory days of around 1780 or so. The main street (Duke of Gloucester Street) is one mile long and the houses and shops lining it are serviced by people dressed for the period. the town spreads about 3 or 4 blocks either side of the main street - all restored. Did a tour of the Governor's Palace and gardens and stopped by for an early tea at Shields Tavern in the colonial area. Also wandered in a couple of shops up the commercial end of the street and picked up a couple of items of interest.

General view of Duke of Gloucester Street

Rosie having tea (!) in the Wythe House

Garden behind the Wythe House

A lovely alleé at the Governor's Palace (he was not at home!)

In fact he left around 1776 and hasn't been back

Hobnobbing with the staff at Shields Tavern

Hope you won't mind that we've no photos of the outlet mall. Like any outlet mall it was just full of shops selling stuff at discount prices. Not terribly interesting unless you like bargains and such.

Naval Base & Botanic Gardens

After a long hiatus we return to update our blog. Don't ask for specific dates - at least the events are in pretty correct chronological order.

One nice sunny day we headed off to do a tour/cruise on the waters around Norfolk, Virginia. We sat in the shade on the top deck and had a narrated tour as we chugged out past the Norfolk waterfront, marine repair facilities, Portsmouth Naval Hospital (largest Military Hospital in the world), the tourist attraction of the battleship Wisconsin (permanently tied to the waterfront), and the Norfolk Naval Operations Base (home of the US Atlantic Fleet). Very pleasant couple of hours and then back home to rest.

At this point it should be noted all photos are from Margaret's camera - most were taken by her as well.

USS Wisconsin under the American Flag

Back end of an aircraft carrier (George H.W. Bush)

From keel to top it is about 25 stories tall!

Another afternoon, after our usual 10 am rising time and gulp of breakfast, we headed to the Norfolk Botanic Gardens and took a little tractor-pulled tram tour of the gardens. Sadly, the day before, the female bald eagle of a pair with three young in the nest had been struck and killed by an airplane landing at the airport next door. Didn't see the eagles but saw a lot of azaleas and a few camellias in bloom. The rose garden was just starting to show some color and a few rhododendron were peeking out of their buds waiting to bloom a couple of days later.

A grass-roofed  garden shed

We've managed to eat out once or twice - perhaps it would be more accurate to say we have eaten at home once or twice. Had one lovely (but too extensive) meal at Yanni's Greek Restaurant - did not sleep too well that night... wonder why?