Cynthia's Trip to Virginia

I've been slow to update my blog, but way back in May I was able to go to Virginia with my mom and dad. Brian's mom was kind enough to watch the boys on Friday for me, and then Brian took off three days of work to be with the boys while I was away. The boys were really looking forward to my absence and time alone with dad. I do think they missed me while I was away, but I was glad they had some time with Brian.

Our trip got off to a rough start when a passenger spotted a whole in the aircraft's wing. Who needs inspectors when you have passengers! We waited for some time and then had to board a new plane. This put us behind schedule. We flew into Reagan airport and I loved descending while passing by all the famous Washinton D.C. landmarks and monuments.

We tried to take a scenic drive, but time was not on our side and we finally had to abandon the scenery for the more speedy highway. We stopped for some fine dining at Popeye's where I became confused by the sign that said "Once you've tasted our flava' you'll never go back to bland." A normal person would have been able to read the sign, but I was wondering what flava was and what it had to do with b-land. Does b-land stand for burger land I wondered aloud. My dad thought I was kidding, but sadly I really was misreading the sign. I am obviously not a southern girl.

The next morning we had breakfast with Jeff & Rachel and the kids at their hotel. We took Anna with us while Jeff & Rachel went to the general commencement exercises. We went to Hollywood cemetery where lots of famous people from the Civil War era, and a couple of presidents, are buried. We told Anna we were on an adventure and so I had to make up "clues" for her to find. Here she is with the clue of the dandelion. Here I am with Anna and my dad in front of a memorial to the Confederate dead.

Anna just loves picking flowers. Dandelions are okay, but I think these peonies were off limits. Beautiful aren't they?

Here I am at President John Tyler's gravesite.

James Monroe is also buried here. Below is the burial site of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy.

We next headed to the museum of the Confederacy and the White House of the Confederacy. A place where they don't want you to touch anything or lean against any walls is not a great place for a child, but Anna tried to be a trooper. During the tour Anna became very tired and fell asleep in my arms. We took turns carrying her through the house and the museum until she woke up.

Next it was time for Jeff's graduation ceremony so we headed back to the hotel where we met Rachel and Isaac. I am very proud of Jeff for his hard work in getting his master's degree in hospital administration from VCU. And I admire Rachel for maning the fort alone at home for many hours while Jeff has been busy with his school work.

I'm really grateful that I had the opportunity to be there for Jeff's graduation. That night we celebrated with some of Rachel's family at Crab Louie's. They had the greatest crab cakes there! Afterwards we went to a fun place for ice cream that Rachel's brother found using his handy GPS system. It was a fun day.

The next morning we took a drive down Richmond's monument avenue. I saw several beautiful homes along that street that I thought about purchasing. We then went to the Virginia State Capitol. This building was designed by Thomas Jefferson.

They had a beautiful little rose garden here.

Next we met Jeff & Rachel, Anna & Isaac for brunch at a neighborhood restaurant near the church where Patrick Henry said "Give me liberty or give me death." So much history everywhere! I loved it! Isn't Isaac adoreable?

It was time to say goodbye to Jeff & Rachel as Jeff had to catch a flight back to Denver and Rachel was going with her parents up to her brother's home.

We took a drive over to Charlotesville and Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello. It was just as beautiful as I had imagined it with a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside.

We had an excellent guided tour of the home and then we were able to wander around the grounds.

They still have a working garden that it was fun to wander through. It was a peaceful day here as it was lightly drizzling, but that kept the crowds down and it was wonderful.

We walked back down to the museum passing the cemetery along the way. This was a fascinating place. Afterwards we headed back to Richmond.

The next morning we drove down to Petersburg and were able to visit the Museum of the Civil War Soldier. This was one of the most interesting places I have ever been. We took the audio tour of the museum first and this was fascinating. So much to learn about! Afterwards we were able to tour a typical plantation home, a slave home and see the fortifications that are still in place from the siege of Petersburg. If you're ever in the area this should be on your "must see" list. It was fascinating.

Next we took a drive along the James River. This is a pretty drive that is lined with beautiful old plantation homes. It's too bad they don't have a boat tour of the James River because it would be beautiful to see these homes from the river. The home below is where Benjamin Harrison was born. William Henry Harrison and John Tyler also lived in this area.

If you're interested you can check out this website: http://www.jamesriverplantations.org/

Here are my mom and dad with a view of the James. All of the homes require an admission fee so we mainly just gazed at the outside.

We had dinner in Williamsburg that night and were able to browse through a couple of shops before they closed. The next time I come to Virginia visiting Colonial Williamsburg is going to top my list. Williamsburg is a beautiful city. We finished the night with a long drive back to Washington D.C.

A friend of mine who used to live in the D.C. area recommended that we go to see Great Falls. I had no idea that such a spectacular piece of scenery was just a few minutes outside of Washington D.C. We were there on a spring morning, but I imagine this place gets packed with picknickers during the summer months. This was a really pretty place! There were three different viewing areas from which you could view the falls.

We spent the rest of the day in Washington D.C. visiting the International Spy Museum (my idea). It was interesting, but if you go don't pay for the optional spy experience. It's probably great fun for kids and teenagers but the folks and I were probably too old to properly appreciate it. I think we all just kept looking at each other and giggling.

We stood in a very short line with a very long wait to get into the National Archives. I think they kept letting school kids go in ahead of us. Once inside the place was packed. I don't know why people take pictures of that stuff. Why don't you just buy a copy you can actually read in the gift shop if it means so much to you?

We spent some time in the American History museum which I have always loved. I think you could spend days there and not read everything. We were pretty tired at this point so we headed back to get our car and grab a bit to eat. We had dinner that night at Legal Seafood. It was really good and if I ever go back I'm getting the crab soup that my dad ordered.

We ended the evening with a trip to see some of the monuments at night. I had never seen the F.D.R. or the WW II memorials, and they were beautiful to see.

It's too bad we were so late getting back to our hotel that night because we stayed at the Gaylord Palms Resort in National Harbor, MD and it was a beautiful hotel. Our room opened up to the atrium which had a beautiful view over the harbor.

You could see down into the miniature village courtyard below. I wanted to swim and have breakfast here, but there was simply no time!

We were off to our final stop before heading home: Mt. Vernon. I loved this place. I think we were here for almost five hours, but we didn't get to see everything. George Washington's home is in a picturesque setting with a view over the Potomac.

We were able to do the guided tour and the audio tour which I really enjoyed. The museums and movies were simply great. We also took a boatride down the Potomac.

I took a picture of the beautiful peonies that were in bloom while we were there. It was a great ending to a wonderful trip! I wish I could have made it out to Virginia to see Jeff and Rachel while they lived here. This is an area of the country that I could spend a lot of time in.

Thanks mom and dad for letting me come along on this trip! It was a lot of fun. I really missed Brian and the boys while I was away, but it was a great trip to be able to take this trip with my parents.