Jamestown and Williamsburg, VI

Friday we went in search of the first permanent settlement in the US – Jamestown, Virginia. We have all heard the stories of John Smith and Pocahontas from grade school, but it was a whole different experience being on-site. When we left the campground at 10 after the kids had finished their studies, we thought we would briefly visit the National Park site at Jamestown and then spend the majority of the day at the Jamestown Settlement, a commercial facility that was rumored to have excellent movies, ships and artifacts. As it turns out, we spent almost the entire day at the NPS site.

When we arrived at the visitor center they indicated a park ranger was starting a tour in five minutes. We bolted out the back door, through a herd of grade school kids, and across the bridge to the oblique that marks the 300th anniversary of Jamestown (now over 100 years old). As typical for the park service, the ranger did a wonderful job of making the history of the site come alive. She described how three ships of 144 men and boys from England arrived on Jamestown Island in 1607, after brief nasty engagements with the local Powhatan Indians at other points along the James River. They should have guessed that something wasn’t right with the location when there were no signs of other inhabitants. It turned out to be a great location for docking ships, but the brackish water and disease infested swamps were not the best place to build a fort. Most of the early inhabitants perished in the first few years due to malnutrition and disease. Eventually with the help of Pocahontas (who married John Rolfe, not John Smith) and a new crop called tobacco, they persevered. When a boat load of 90 “maids” arrived in 1619, the rest was history.

Over the years the town gradually moved off the river towards present day Williamsburg. The only original structure that remains is the church tower that was built in the 1630s. The church has been reconstructed, and most experts believed that the original fort was under water, claimed by the James River through erosion over the years. But a local professor who had studied early documents of Jamestown began an excavation in 1994 and uncovered the original site of the fort right next to the church. To date, they have recovered all kinds of artifacts and several skeletons of the early pioneers, which are nicely displayed in a museum right next door (yes, even the skeletons).

It was a magnificent fall day, so we took the loop drive around the park when leaving the visitor center. As it turned out, we never made it to the Jamestown Settlement, which saved us significant greenbacks but left us wondering what wonders we had missed. We stopped on the way home briefly at Colonial Williamsburg. Sitting next to William and Mary college, the town is a replica of what the area looked like back in Revolutionary War times. We only had time to visit a few shops before coming to the realization that one could spend an entire week in this area and not see everything. This seems to be a common thread wherever we stop!

Upon returning to the KOA campground the kids and I headed for the jumping pillow, a giant trampoline structure we have come to love. It has provided the best aerobic exercise on the trip so far, which is sorely needed with the generous meals Teressa has been cooking up lately!

PS – A couple of things I forgot to mention yesterday – 1) when we were at Monticello the tour guide indicated that the average size of a home around 1800 was roughly the size of Jefferson’s sitting room, or ~350 square feet, and 2) when we were discussing the election results Laura indicated that I should run for some significant office. “Right now I have to tell my friends that my dad is unemployed and we live in a trailer”, she said with a grin! I prefer to think of us as explorers of history, traveling the land in our Colonial-sized cabin on wheels! ;-)

Monticello, Charlottesville, VA

On Thursday we awoke to warm temperatures and sunny skies at the KOA campground in Charlottesville. Located approximately ten miles south of town, the KOA is nestled in thick woods which were exhibiting bright fall colors. The kids worked on homework for an hour while I hooked up the trailer and dumped the tanks. At 10 AM we drove the 8 miles to Jefferson’s Monticello estate. Parking was a little bit of a challenge, but we were able to nestle in between a couple of school busses packed with local elementary students.

Monticello is just days from opening a new visitor center in the lower parking lot, and the grounds crew was busy making last minute landscape additions. We picked up our tickets and boarded the bus for the short trip up the mountain. Our tour of the house wasn’t until 11 AM, so we relaxed on the wooden benches and enjoyed the warm morning sun.

The more we study Jefferson, the more in awe we become. He loved books and had a passion for lifetime education. It helped that he taught himself to read in 8 different languages, and could speak both English and French fluently. Monticello was his design, which necessitated a crash course in Italian architecture. The home sits on top of a hill overlooking the town of Charlottesville in the valley below. It is designed with a large main house and two “L” shaped wings connected on both sides with walkways. The walkways extend the living space for the home, and provide stables, storage cellars, cooking space, and housing for the staff.

The main home has three floors, although it is designed so that the eye only views one. Jefferson designed all kinds of interesting gadgets for his home, including a weather vane, a clock that also tells the day of the week, shutters on the inside of the windows for privacy and heating efficiency, and a beautiful parquet floor. I’m enamored with most things Jeffersonian, but was really impressed with his library and collection of books. He even designed the book cases so they could be easily taken apart and accompany him on his travels. In addition, he has a set of elk antlers from 1806, sent back to him by Lewis and Clark (from Montana, I’m sure!). Brian was intrigued by the polygraph Jefferson used to write letters, allowing him to write with two pens at once, always making a permanent backup copy. The alcove bed in the Madison room was Laura’s favorite, and she already has ideas for her own bedroom. Teressa liked the cozy oval table in the breakfast nook, which apparently was Jefferson’s favorite place to write.

We walked away humbled by a man with so many diverse interests and passions. His literary skills are legendary, but there is a great deal more to the man. As we passed his grave site on our walk down the mountain, it was interesting to note that he left specific instructions to use his own words and nothing more on his epitaph:

Here was buried

Thomas Jefferson

Author of the Declaration of American Independence

of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom

& Father of the University of Virginia

Born April 2, 1741 O.S.

Died July 4, 1826

No mention of the Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark expedition, or President of the United States – an interesting man!

Shenandoah Valley, VA

Greetings from Charlottesville, Virginia. We arrived at the KOA here ten miles south of town around 4:00 today find that two of the pins securing the 5th wheel hitch to the truck bed had come undone. I didn’t think this was possible, but upon examining the connectors, there is nothing to prevent them from twisting 90 degrees and popping out. The saving grace is that all four would have to be in perfect alignment for the whole thing to come off, but that’s not something I’m interested in seeing! Brian and I were able to use pieces of firewood as levers to move the hitch back into position and reset the pins. From here on out we’ll check them every time we stop to make sure they are set properly. I have never liked the way the hitch attaches, as it has approximately half an inch of play between the truck bed, which causes lots of the shaking we experience going over bumps. Live and learn!

We left Harpers Ferry at 10 this morning headed towards Front Royal and Shenandoah National Park. While the forecasted rain never made an appearance, Skyline Drive, the road that follows the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains through the park for 100 miles, was completely fogged in. We drove as far as the visitors center, watched the movie about the park, had lunch in the trailer, and then drove back down to Front Royal and around the east side of the Blue Ridge mountains to Charlottesville. The leaves are a little past peak, but were pretty none the less in the fall sunshine at lower elevations. Tomorrow we will tour Jefferson’s Monticello home before driving to Williamsburg.

Antietam, VA and Harpers Ferry, WV

We all stayed up way too late watching the historic election returns. This is the first year that the kids have been really engaged in the process (perhaps bordering on obsession!). It seems fitting that we are in Harpers Ferry as our nation elects its first black president – it was here in 1859 that John Brown was hung for trying to free slaves, which helped push the US closer towards Civil War. What a difference a 150 years makes! Here are the details of today's activities from Teressa's journal:

This morning we said goodbye to Cherry Hill RV park, our home for 15 days. Gary put air in the tires and I made lunches, and we took off through Virginia and Maryland for Antietam. The key players at Antietam were Generals Lee and Jackson for the south and General George McClellan for the north. The north outnumbered the south, but McClellan overestimated the south’s position. The Union came out of the north and the East Woods while the Confederates held the south and the west woods. Dunkers church was a battlefield marker by the west woods. It was badly shelled. The north attacked through the corn fields where north and south were mowed down and not a corn stalk was left standing.

Toward the south of the battlefield, the Confederates tried to hold an area now called Bloody Lane where, at the end, soldiers’ bodies covered the ground as far as the eye could see. Eventually the Confederates retreated to the south where Burnside and McClellan could have overcome them and likely ended the war. But, Burnside stopped for a couple of hours at the bridge to let the men rest and wait for more ammunition. In addition, McClellan kept 30,000 Union troops out of the fighting altogether, fearing that Lee had a superior force (Lincoln later commented that it wasn’t the Army of the Potomac, it was McClellan’s personal body guards!). Meantime, Abe Hill arrived from Harpers Ferry with another Confederate brigade, and pushed the Union back across the bridge. It was the single bloodiest day of the war, but likely could have been the last if the Union had pressed their advantage.

After Antietam, we drove to Harpers Ferry. This town, located where the Shenandoah River cuts through the Blue Ridge Mountains and joins the Potomac, has a rich history. It was a booming industrial town due to its access to water back in the mid 1800’s. Washington put the US Armory here to make guns and rifles for the country. During the Civil War the town switched “ownership” about 7 times which made it awfully hard for people to remain here. The town was flooded many many times over the years and continues to be concerned about that. According to the park ranger, “this is a permanent settlement where nature did not intend one to exist.” Today Harpers Ferry is a restored village. While the lower area—now the park—has to be mucked out occasionally, the real town is now located high up on the hill.

We grabbed a cup of coffee and some ice cream and headed home to watch the presidential returns. I fixed a stir fry for dinner which everyone liked. It’s nice when they like things with lots of veggies in it! We’ll do that again!!

We all stayed up long enough to hear McCain concede. Brian and I stayed up to hear Barack Obama give his acceptance speech.

Washington, Jefferson, and FDR Memorials -- Washington, DC

Teressa's journal entry for Monday: We drove to the subway at 10:30 to get to the Washington Monument by 11:45 for our noon entry time. Up the big elevator we went, to the top of the world. It has a fabulous 360 degree view of Washington. It was one of those things that is good to do once, just to say you did! Gary, Brian and Laura were ready to walk the 500 feet to the top, but the staircase was closed in 1976 due to corrosion, vandalism and too many heart attacks.

From there, we walked all the way over to the Jefferson Monument and on around the pond to the FDR monument. Jefferson’s is large and open and quite magnificent to honor the man, his deeds and inventions. He had such a gift with words. Amazing. Powerful. The FDR monument consisted of a series of water falls. Different areas within the monument grounds related to the vastly different problems he encountered and solutions he implemented: World War II, the Great Depression and the soup lines, and the returning of people to work on federal projects.

We caught a cab to the Portrait Gallery where, after lunch, I bought a couple of gifts. First we returned to Ella’s for their wonderful pizza and their chicken polenta dish. Here is how they told me the chef made it…I’ll have to experiment with measurements:

ELLA’S CHICKEN WITH POLENTA CAKES

Chicken thighs (not white meat like breasts…need the juiciness of thighs). Lightly bread the thighs and pan sear them.

Then bake them in the gravy: (Probably at least an 45 minutes.)

Chicken gravy with a little red wine added
Red and yellow peppers (fairly thin long slices)
Onion slices
Capers

Hmmm…I’d add a little pepper and top with a sprig of basil

Serve with a crusty bread and maybe some polenta or a good rice or rosemary potatoes. Oh--and a glass of good wine!

US Holocaust Memorial Museum, National Gallery of Art -- Washington, DC

Here is Teressa's journal entry for the day: The temperature took a dip into the 50’s, but it was a sunny dry day. We took the train to town again and got off near the Washington Monument (if anything is “near” anything in this town!) Gary had tickets for a noon entry time, but at the information desk we discovered that he inadvertently got tickets for tomorrow at noon. Tickets are free, but so many people want to go to the top of the monument that they require pre-requested tickets. The Washington Monument was awe-inspiring from the base so we admired it for a few minutes and then trucked on over to the Holocaust museum.

At the entrance to the exhibit, each of us got a data card about an actually person from the Holocaust and we were able to follow their life as we moved through the exhibit. There was so much there I would like to have read thoroughly, but it was quite crowded and fairly long, and Brian and Laura’s attention to detail isn’t as long. Nonetheless, we all had some new perspective into the horrors of the Nazi regime. We walked away wondering why people continue to repeat this hate pattern and how humanity can ever move to a higher level as a whole.

We grabbed lunch at the cafeterial next door to the the Holocaust museum, rested our feet and read awhile after eating. Then we walked to the Smithsonian Castle and watched a brief video about the Smithsonian. We have seen many of the things they showed, but it was a good presentation for making sure we hadn't missed anything important. The American History museum looked really interesting to all and it hadn’t been on our list. We were disappointed to find it closed for renovation, though, so made a quick detour into the National Gallery of Art. They have a “must see” list for those who only have an hour or so to see the museum, so we used that as our tour guide and viewed Rembrandt, Van Eyke (my favorite), Van Gogh, Monet, Cezanne, and others.

Gary spent the evening planning for the next week. Kids did some studying, and I finished "A Thousand Spendid Suns" which Janine loaned me. It was sad, Janine, to read about what the Taliban and warlords in Afghanistan did. It fit right in with our holocaust day. It was very good though.

On Hallowed Ground -- Pentagon 9/11 Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia

Today we visited two memorials across the river in Virginia – the 9/11 Memorial at the Pentagon, and Arlington National Cemetery. Both are accessible via the Metro blue line. Our first stop was the Pentagon. On the train we met a woman from North Carolina who was trying to get to the same location. She was in DC attending a conference, and while her traveling companions wanted to sleep in, she really wanted to see the memorial. We decided we would all get lost together!

As it turned out, the 9/11 memorial was fairly easy to find. Exiting the subway at the Pentagon station, signs direct you through the parking lot to the back of the building. The memorial is tastefully done, with attractive angular benches and water features for each of those killed at the site. The names are inscribed on the end of the benches. Benches angling towards the building represent those killed on the plane, while benches angled away from the building represent those killed in the Pentagon. They are arranged in lines by year of birth. As it turned out, our new friend Lynn had been in New York on 9/11 also. In fact, she was on a USAir flight from Charlotte to LaGuardia, and was trying to land as the planes were striking the towers. Her plane ended up with smoke in the cabin from the first plane to hit the tower. When they were finally allowed to land, she was trapped on the island of Manhattan for 24 hours in a traffic jam before a firefighter got her through a bridge blockade so she could drive home to Charlotte.

We parted ways with our new friend and took the subway up to the Pentagon Mall for shopping and lunch. Laura bought some new clothes and then we jumped back on the subway and headed towards Arlington. By this time the temperature was pushing 70 degrees on a beautiful fall day. We walked through the cemetery to the graves of Robert and Jacqueline Kennedy, then on to the memorials for the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia. From there we walked to the Tomb of the Unknowns and witnessed the changing of the guard. The kids were amazed by the precision and timing the guards exhibit during the ceremony. Afterwards, we trekked back to the subway and ultimately the campground just before dark.

The campground celebrated Halloween a day late with a tractor pulling a large wagon of trick or treaters around the facility. We enjoyed a campfire and greeted the costume clad kids using Brian’s and Laura’s pumpkin ablaze with candle light. They took the pumpkin down to the party at the community center at 9:00, and won third place in the carving competition!