A Travel Log Complete With a Few Pictures

Well, as you can tell by now posting has been a little sparse this week. I’m still recovering from our wonderful trip to Annapolis and Washington D.C., however, our trip was jam packed with so, so much more. In five short days here are 13 things I did:

1. Fought Atlanta rush hour traffic as we finally got on the road around 3 p.m. last Wednesday. Egads! I’m glad we don’t do this every day.

2. Got to Archdale, North Carolina around 10:30 p.m. and spent the night. (Reminder to hubby… NEVER accept a room again where we are going to have to sleep together on a double bed.)

3. Reached Washington D.C. at rush hour, but it wasn’t too bad. This is the scene that met us. Wow!

4. We exited and instantly realized we weren’t in Atlanta anymore…..pedestrians EVERYWHERE and instead of red lights hung on a wire in the middle of each intersection they were positioned on poles on each corner. It takes a bit to get used to it. I’m glad I’m not driving. All hail the pedestrian!

5. We checked into our hotel, an old bank building, on F Street. Everyone is friendly and courteous from the valets to the maids. We soon head out to Union Station to look around, and we see the Capitol Building as we head down Constitution Avenue. Dear Daughter gets this great shot.

6. We had a great dinner at Union Station, enjoyed the wonderful architecture, and felt the rumble of the trains as they entered and departed from the station. I arrived in Washington at Union Station in 1974 during my 7th grade trip, and in 1985 my mother had a layover in D.C. when she came to Virginia Beach, Virginia to visit me. Mother didn’t venture too far from the station…..I wonder now if she even realized back then how close the U.S. Capitol Building was to her.

7. After dinner we headed out to the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. They are more than magnificent at night. We walked, walked, walked at each location, but it was so worth it. Dear Daughter and I came away with wonderful pictures and memories of all three of us being there.

8. Friday was our one full day in D.C. We headed to the U.S Capitol to pick up tickets to take the tour. They are free, but tours groups are timed. Our tour was scheduled for 2:45, so we headed out to Arlington National Cemetery for the remainder of the morning. We timed it just perfect….as we walked up to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier it was 12 o’clock, and we were able to see the changing of the guard. Afterwards we also saw a wreath laying ceremony on behalf of a middle school group. The best part of the visit…..the magnificent views of Washington D.C. from John F. Kennedy’s grave. Stunning!

9. The U.S. Capitol tour was great……I loved getting up close and personal again with the Rotunda art. Dear Hubby was really struck by the Frieze of United States History begun but not finished by Constantino Brumidi that surrounds the Rotunda.

10. We were worn out by Saturday, but managed to walk down F Street to Madame Toussad’s Wax Museum and immerse ourselves in complete tacky tourism. It was quite entertaining as we had fun taking pictures of each other with all of the famous people we ran into. Here is Dear Hubby being interrogated by J. Edgar Hoover of F.B.I. fame.

11. Finally, the time had come for the real purpose of our trip…..the wedding. We headed up to Annapolis a bit early so we could make sure we could find parking, would be admitted onto the campus, and find the chapel. What a wonderful place… I would like to visit again. Here is an image of the bride and her two brothers who both serve in the U.S. Army. These kids are friends of my son, and have all spent numerous hours in our home. We are proud of all three of them and were honored to share this special event with their family. No, that's not me with them...it's another family friend.

12. Sunday was heading out day again. We went North again up New York Avenue and Route 50 towards Annapolis except this time we headed for the Bay Bridge where we crossed over the Chesapeake Bay and then headed down the Eastern Shore of Maryland and on into Virginia. After the bustle of horns, people, sirens, and monuments of D.C. it was very interesting to view another type of monument….farmhouse after farmhouse, field after field, small town after small town….monuments to the backbone of our American culture….where it all started…working the earth….a plot of land to own…freedom.

13. Finally it was time to cross the Chesapeake Bay a second time via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel……….during the whole two years I lived in Virginia Beach from 1984 to 1986 I never once ventured out to the tunnel. Here’s a snap of a ship where it looks as if it is going through the bridge. Actually the bridge descends rapidly into a tunnel right before the spot where you see the ship.

Virginia Beach has really changed in 20 years! Dear Hubby and I managed to locate our old townhouse, but not much else. It was kind of funny. We did manage to get a picture of Dear Daughter in front of the Francis Land House. This home has some significance to my family (I’ve written about it here), and though we didn’t have time to tour it I wanted to at least get a picture of my daughter sitting on the same steps Francis Land had walked up and down.

Sunday night was spent in Rocky Mount, North Carolina before crossing over the middle of North Carolina to High Point. Now if you aren’t aware High Point, North Carolina is the mecca for all things furniture. Needless to say Dear Hubby will have a new leather chair in about 8 weeks once they create the one we ordered.

We finally arrived back home Monday evening……so glad to be home, but so glad to have taken the trip. Wonderful meals, wonderful people, wonderful memories, and a great experience witnessing a young couple begin their married life together in such a historic way.

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