Mike and Darlene, Amanda and Nick

The highlight of our day today was a get together with Mike and Darlene, their daughter Amanda, and her husband Nick. Mike and Darlene came by after work, around 6:00 p.m. We showed them around our little home and then sat outside with the cool breezes (they assured us this weather was quite unusual). We walked to the Chesapeake Bay Center and out on the boardwalk to look at the bay. Here's one of the tankers lying at anchor, waiting its turn at the coal dock.

Amanda and her husband Nick joined us after they had fixed the fence that broke when a tree fell on it. Their dogs had taken advantage of the hole to wander a bit. Once they had the dogs and fence in hand, they joined the group. Mike took us out to dinner at Rockafeller's Restaurant. We were glad to get some fresh local seafood. Mike suggested the she crab soup for an appetizer. We've never had it before, but it was an instant hit--really yummy.

We had a wonderful time, catching up on events in the Martin family. Mike recently had a business trip to Cleveland, and Darlene went along. They got together with Aunt Helene and Peggy and Brian and Karen and Kathy and family.

We hadn't met Amanda's husband, Nick, before. We found out that he is an amateur beekeeper. He and Amanda will give a presentation for Darlene's class soon, including a visible hive (always fascinating) and honey straws.

Tomorrow Mike and Darlene will attend Laurel's first field hockey game of the season.

Earlier in the day we took a hike along the Bald Cypress Trail, the High Dune Trail, and parts of the Live Oak and Cape Henry trails in the park. Much of the Bald Cypress trail is through cypress lagoons, partly on boardwalks over the water. The trees are festooned with Spanish moss.

At one overlook we watched a very large dragonfly zooming around and sometimes hovering like a helicopter. We were hoping it would come close enough and hold still enough that we could get a photo, but it eluded us. We did see several turtles sunning themselves on logs in the water.
Read more!

On to Virginia Beach

Today was our day to leave Appomattox and head for First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach. We called yesterday just to verify that they were open and no access problems from Hurricane Irene. They told us to come on.

We decided to take US 460 through Petersburg rather than the interstate route through Richmond. The route wasn't much shorter, but we figured we'd get to see more along the way. We did see some small towns, but a good bit of the route US 460 is a divided highway and runs through trees, so there wasn't a lot of variety, except towards the end while we were in the urban area, but we were too busy navigating to take in much of the sights. We did get to go through the Midtown Tunnel, which was closed in anticipation of possible flooding as Irene approached.

The one sight we did see was lots of trees down along the highway. Crews were busy clearing them. In one place we saw utility poles and lines down. Actually, the damage wasn't as bad as we expected it might be.

The trip was relatively fast. We got up a bit earlier than usual and managed to get out of the campground and on the road by 9:15 a.m. Google Maps told us to expect a four-hour trip. Since we stop every hour to walk around and switch drivers and we stop to eat lunch, we figured the trip would run closer to six hours.

We pulled into the campground at 1:45 P.M. Good thing we got here early. The roads through the campground are narrow and bordered by deep loose sand. Backing into our campsite took much longer than usual, but we finally made it. Then we picked all the sand burrs off our shoes and socks.

Our site backs up onto the dunes.

The dunes are protected. Crossing to the beach is allowed only on boardwalks.

We took a walk to the beach to explore.

This evening we went to a couple of programs. The first was described as a Sunset Beach Stroll. We turned out to be the only attendees. The presenters were volunteers, husband and wife team Tom and Melodie. He brought a basket of shells and stuff that could be found on the beach and talked about each item. Then we walked to the boardwalk, where we had a great view of the sunset across the bay. Tom told us that the park used to be called just Seashore State Park, but the name was changed in 1997 to First Landing State Park to highlight the history. It was here that the Virginia Company first came ashore before going on to found the colony at Jamestown.

We walked along the beach to look for ghost crabs and see what we could find. We saw only one small ghost crab skittering along the sand. Melodie stayed on the boardwalk and reported that she had watched a pod of dolphins feeding, but we were too busy looking down to see them.

Tom and Lee scanning the sand for ghost crabs.

I found a dead horseshoe crab.

Afterwards Tom set up their telescope at the amphitheater. A few more folks joined us for a talk about the night sky over the Chesapeake. We got to watch the International Space Station transit across the sky.
Read more!

Holliday Lake State Park

This morning we drove to a nearby state park, one we had hoped to stay at when we headed this direction--but they were full. Holliday Lake State Park is "deep in the heart of Appomattox-Buckingham State Forest." That means you drive for miles through trees before catching a glimpse of the lake. We hiked some of the trails, including part of the Lakeshore Trail, the Dogwood Trail, and the Northridge Trail.

We were surprised to find on the trail map an aquatic trail, the Sunfish Trail, limited to boaters! On the terrestrial trails we spotted some interesting flowers and butterflies, but didn't see any of the birds, though we heard some singing.

One of the trails was marked with blue blazes. We started to see blue spray paint everywhere, including on the tree roots across the trail and even some on the poison ivy lining the trail. Evidently someone in a whimsical mood blazed that one.

Read more!

Historical Ground

We returned to the park today, as we had planned. This time the weather was warm and sunny. Along the way we stopped at some roadside markers.

We took a short hike to view the North Carolina Monument. Part of the inscription is as follows:

This stone is erected by the authority of the General Assembly of North Carolina in grateful and perpetual memory of the valor, endurance and patriotism of her sons who followed with unshaken fidelity the fortunes of the Confederacy to this closing scene faithful to the end.

This side of the monument lists the fallen: those who died in battle, of their wounds off the battlefield, or of disease.

1861-5
Troops furnished 127,000
Killed in Battle 14,522
Died from wounds 5,151
Died from disease 20,502 


Our next stop was at the Confederate Cemetery, where some of those killed in the final hours of the war are buried. One Union man is at the end of the row.

We went on to tour the historical village, which includes many original structures. Some, including the McLean House where the surrender was signed, have been reconstructed.

Courthouse, which now houses the Visitor Center, with the Tavern to the right.

McLean House, where Grant and Lee met to sign the surrender

Part of the Lynchburg Richmond Stage Road, where Confederate troops stacked their arms in a surrender ceremony.

Walking here, on this ground where momentous historical events occurred, has caused us to ponder and reflect on their meaning and consequences. History is always told from some viewpoint, and many are reflected here. We hope that the message of this site is reconciliation and union.

After dinner we hiked some of the trails across the highway, starting at Lee's final headquarters site. We walked along the Appomattox River, a rather small stream, and along a nature trail maintained by the American Society of Foresters. We saw the Sweeney Prizery--and learned another new word. A "prizery" was a tobacco packing house. "Prizing" is estimating the worth or value of something, though the Wikipedia article suggests that prizing tobacco meant pressing it into hogsheads.
Read more!

Appomattox Courthouse National Historical Park

We decided to do some exploring today, so we drove into Appomattox and walked around. We stopped in at a local crafts shop and browsed and then walked over to the Visitor Information center, where we picked up a walking tour guide and a brochure about the national park. It was a bit rainy, so we put off the walking tour and drove to the Appomattox Courthouse National Historical Park to check things out, planning to visit tomorrow, when the weather is supposed to be better.

The park is only two miles from our RV park. We ended up staying longer than we had planned. We watched two orientation films and looked over some exhibits. We each got a "parole," which we saw printed on a hand press. These paroles vouched for the Confederate soldiers who had them that they were not deserters and entitled them to rations and transportation provided by the government.

Then we went to the Living History performance, which we thoroughly enjoyed. William Hubbard was an actual Confederate soldier, portrayed by an actor who stayed completely in character and told us about his experiences and his view of what had happened.

Here's a description from the park's website:

Actors/historians/interpreters portray people who were actually in Appomattox Court House in 1865. You may meet a man who lives nearby but has served in Lee's army and was paroled "this April past." You may also meet a Federal soldier from the 188th Pennsylvania Infantry who has been assigned to Appomattox as a provost guard (military police).  All Living History characters wear authentic period costume and converse in the manner of their day.

William Hubbard

William Hubbard served in the confederate Army of Northern Virginia at Manassas. He was captured at Gettysburg and imprisoned at Point Lookout, he was part of a prisoner exchange in February 1865. Hubbard participated in Lee's retreat from Petersburg to Appomattox. After the surrender, he returned home to work on his father's farm

We'll go back tomorrow to see more.
Read more!

Running from the Storm

When we got up this morning, Ken checked the weather, as he always does, and reported that a tropical storm warning had been issued, probably covering the area we were in. We got out the weather radio and talked about what to do. At that point, the decision was taken out of our hands. The hosts came by to tell us that the campground was being shut down and we had to be out by 1:00 p.m.

We checked our map of Virginia and decided to move inland, to Appomattox. The nearby state park had no sites available, so we are at Parkview Mobile Home and RV Park. It's okay, with long, wide sites and full hookups--but nothing like the ambience of Pocahontas. We're in sight of US 460.

We'll take advantage of our enforced stay here by visiting Appomattox Courthouse National Historic Park, which is just up the road.

We are hoping that Irene is not too hard on Virginia Beach and the Carolina coast. We're planning to move to Virginia Beach on Tuesday to visit my cousin Mike and his family. From there we'll go to New Bern, NC, where I was born, for a family reunion Labor Day weekend.
Read more!

Unhappy Hour at the Poe Museum

We drove downtown this morning, with plans to do several things in the area. First on our agenda was a canal cruise. Richmond, following the example of San Antonio's River Walk, has redeveloped an area along the canals and the James River into a tourist destination and entertainment district: Richmond's River District. We took a 40 minute cruise and also walked along the Canal Walk. The area figured in Richmond's industrial and commercial past, with large tobacco warehouses and an Alcoa plant, but now it advertises loft apartments, and the streets are lined with restaurants and bars.

Our tour guide pointed out this heron, fishing for dinner. The wake of our boat evidently disturbed the fish it was aiming at.

We parked in a $5 flat rate lot near the canal and were lucky enough to find a public restroom in a nearby building (Canal Crossing), which also turned out to have a large atrium area with cafe tables and chairs, perfect for eating our picnic lunch.

After lunch we walked to the Poe Museum, intending to visit the museum and come back later for the August Unhappy Hour, but we found out that during the free Unhappy Hour, we would be able to see the exhibits, also for free, so we moved on to Capitol Square.

We visited the Capitol Building, which visitors enter though a street level entry to a new underground floor, mainly dedicated to visitor amenities, including exhibits and a gift shop as well as the tour desk. We were lucky enough to be in time for the 3:00 p.m. tour. We got a private tour, since no one else joined us. The most impressive sight was a marble statue of George Washington by Houdon in the rotunda.

We also saw the architects' model of the original central building, designed by Thomas Jefferson. The two flanking buildings were added later and are connected to the main building by "hyphens." We learned a new word. According to Wikipedia, "In architecture, a hyphen is a connecting link between two larger building elements. It is typically found in Georgian style architecture, where the hyphens form connections between a large central house and end pavilions in the Georgian five-part house, which was in turn derived from Palladian architecture" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyphen_%28architecture%29)

We also saw this statue of Robert E. Lee, at the site in the Old House of Delegates, where he stood to accept command of the Confederate forces in Virginia.

Outside, on the Capitol grounds, were several more monuments, including a large and elaborate equestrian statue of Washington. A bronze statue of Edgar Allan Poe seated shows him holding a pen and writing tablet.

The newest monument is the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial. It quotes Barbara Jones, who at 16 organized a student strike to protest the awful conditions in her racially segregated school. This strike eventually led to a court case that was one of the four cases heard together as Brown vs. Board of Education.

We walked through the very ornate Old City Hall, an example of Victorian High Gothic architecture, which is directly adjacent to the Capitol Square. Only the first floor is open to visitors. It is a marvellous sight.

As six o'clock approached, we walked back to the Poe Museum for the Unhappy Hour. It was beginning to threaten some rain showers, so we stopped by the truck to pick up our umbrellas, which turned out to be fortunate. Soon after we arrived and just as the music was about to begin, the sky opened up. The musicians had set up in a small sheltered area by the shrine to Poe, and the group of visitors crowded in to get out of the rain. Everyone was quite flexible and informal.

We were amazingly lucky to be part of the audience for this special performance. Bob Zentz was invited to play and sing sea shanties in keeping with the night's theme:  Poe's story “A Descent Into The Maelstrom." Bob was accompanied by Jeanne McDougall (mainly vocals) and drummer John Larrimore. Zentz is a virtuoso on a number of folk instruments, including the autoharp and hurdy gurdy. He provided over 2 1/2 hours of entertainment without a break, inviting audience participation in singing the chorus or call and response for several songs. It was rollicking good fun.

When the Unhappy Hour (actually three hours) ended, we walked to a nearby pizza shop and got some pepperoni pizza slices hot out of the oven. Then we headed home.

Read more!

Richmond National Battlefield Park

Today we decided to take advantage of the fair weather and tour the Richmond National Battlefield Park--which encompasses thirteen sites spread around an 80-mile loop. We started out in downtown Richmond at the Tredegar Iron Works on the James River, an iron foundry that produced much of the Confederacy's munitions, and which now serves as the main Visitors Center for the park.

We drove to the first site at Chickahominy Bluff and then on to Beaver Dam Creek, Gaines' Mill, and the Cold Harbor Visitor Center. We walked along trails and over ground where battles raged, and we saw defensive earthworks that have survived 150 years. One of the insights we gained was the importance of terrain. Another was the tragedy that commanders like Grant continued to use frontal assaults when the combination of defensive earthworks and long range accurate rifles had made them both futile and bloody.

Beaver Dam Creek


Ken spotted this snake along a trail at Cold Harbor

By the time we had finished our hike at Cold Harbor, it was after 3:00 p.m. and over 90 degrees. We decided to call it a day. We may have seen enough battle sites for a bit.
Read more!

Earthquake!

We were just hanging out in the rig this afternoon when the world started to shake. Ken immediately said "earthquake." Being a longtime California native, he's experienced lots of them. This one was unusual because it seemed to last a long time--way longer than we'd expect an earthquake to last. We may have noticed it longer because the rig is more sensitive to movement than a house would be, so it doesn't take as much to shake it. Fortunately, no damage and nobody hurt here.

Terri called and reoported that a ceiling fell in the building where Blake works in DC (the Naval Observatory). Lots of excitement, but no injuries. We have heard that all the DC monuments were evacuated as a precaution. Glad we weren't there today!

On our walk this morning we decided to check out the day use area. A trail leads from the camping area with the note that it is an easy 20-minute walk. We checked out the aquatic center, with its three pools and water slide--and lots of day care kids having a ball.

Then we walked down to the shore of the Swift Creek Lake.

We spent the rest of the day taking care of some of our to-do list: defrosting the fridge, oiling the wood, cleaning out and reorganizing our storage bins, refilling some prescriptions, and making a reservation to fly to Dallas in December for Kelley's graduation.
Read more!

Pocahontas State Park

We have left the hubbub of DC for the Virginia countryside, trading freeway noise for peace and quiet (except for the crickets and the playing kids--a good trade in my book!). However, today turned out to be rather stressful.

Moving is always somewhat stressful. We took the Beltway around the west side of DC and then took I-95 south through Richmond. As usual, we ran into road construction and unexplained delays and heavy traffic. When we finally came to our destination, Pocahontas State Park, the woman who checked us in was cheery and helpful.

We picked out a pull-through site with 50 amp service. It turned out to be very unlevel. If you look closely, you can see that we even had to put blocks under our extra step. It took a while to find a location in the site and a combination of blocks and boards to make the rig level.

Then, when I pushed the button to extend the bedroom slide, I heard a very ominous grinding noise when it was part way out. I stopped and tried pulling it back in, only to hear the same grinding. Ken and I both examined everything we could find under the bed and under the slideout. We decided that the one roller that travels over the area affected by our old water leak may have been hanging up, perhaps because the flooring had swelled a bit. The area seemed damp, probably from the outside during the heavy recent storms. We finally got the slide extended.

Then it seemed that we would never find the right spot for the Qube to be able to see the DirecTV satellite. It was 2 1/2 hours after our arrival before we sat down and heaved a sigh of relief. It usually takes less than an hour to set up.
Read more!

Visiting the Lincoln Cottage

On our walk this morning, we visited a bird nest that we've been watching. Mama bird chose a fire extinguisher enclosure to build her nest, and we've been watching the eggs.  This time instead of eggs we found three vociferously hungry baby birds.

This afternoon we took advantage of our first Groupon deal, a tour of the Lincoln Cottage that Terri found offered on the Groupon DC site. We had a reservation for a 2:00 p.m. tour, but we arrived early and parked. Then we went hunting for the cottage, which is on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home (formerly known as the U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home, the U.S. Soldiers' Home, and the U.S. Military Asylum). We found the cottage, but it was locked. Then it took us a while to find the Visitor Center, where we spent a few minutes perusing the exhibits.

Our tour guide first took our group of about 30 to view an 8-minute orientation film. Then we walked over to the cottage. It has been restored, but mostly not furnished, except for a few pieces like the reproduction of the desk on which Lincoln composed the Emancipation Proclamation (original in the Lincoln Bedroom).

Our guide promised us a sense of walking in Lincoln's footsteps, getting to know something about him. It was an unusual tour--not mainly focused on period furnishings and history as much as evocations of the character and thinking of the president. We moved from room to room as the guide told anecdotes of Lincoln's time at the cottage and we heard recordings of some contemporaries describing their visits and their encounters with Lincoln.

As we came to the end of the tour, the sky opened up and a powerful thunderstorm kept most of us in the house for a while waiting for the storm to abate. Terri finally took her umbrella and brought the car around to pick us up, so we got wet but not completely soaked.

We went on to the Parkway Deli, one of the McBride family's favorites. It features Jewish menu items but also serves a variety of American cuisine. One unusual feature is a free pickle bar which also includes sauerkraut and carrot salad.

Ken and I shared the Reuben Grill and some onion rings, Molly had latkes with applesauce, Terri had an omelet special with lox, and Blake had Scotch kippers, all of which were tasty. Molly and I both had a small bowl of matzo ball soup (yummy!). On the way out we stopped at the deli counter and selected desserts to take home. Ken and I shared a chocolate eclair that was to die for!

In the evening we played games. Terri and Molly and I played Life, which Molly won. Then Terri and Molly and Ken and I played Ticket to Ride. It was a close game, and Molly got longest train, but Ken won.

We finally hugged everyone and said our goodbyes. Tomorrow morning we'll head towards Richmond.
Read more!

Games

Not much happening today. We stopped by an RV parts store just to browse and left with only four replacement 12 v light bulbs. We stopped at Harris Teeter on the way to Terri's. They have a whole section of their bakery devoted to La Brea Bakery bread!

Terri and Molly and Ken and I played some games, starting with a few rounds of Coloretto. We played Can't Stop! which Molly professed to dislike--but won. Then we played Scotland Yard, with Molly as Mr. X. The detectives tracked down the culprit in short time, mostly by luck.

Terri made a couple of Gina's Skinny recipes for dinner, including Fiesta Lime Rice and Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas with Creamy Salsa Verde, both very delicious. Blake made the guacamole, using a kit from Trader Joe's.

Later we had decaf and brownies for dessert while we watched some of Molly's videos and photos on the big screen TV, via her Apple TV. She's really talented at photography and at editing and composing. I especially loved a video collage of Cate and Sam and Jesse set to Taylor Swift's Never Grow Up. Another favorite was a smashing video sequence of Molly with special effects that looked really professional.

We talked about Molly's plans to go to school in Portland and get a masters degree in midwifery. If she does that, she will be fulfilling one of her mom's dreams.
Read more!

Naval Observatory Tour

We were very lucky today to have a two-hour guided tour of the Naval Observatory, where Blake has his office. We went over to Terri's, and she drove us to the Observatory. Molly wasn't feeling well so she stayed home in bed.

Blake met us when we arrived and led us in. Our first impression was of being in a museum: the walls were lined with historic photographs and portraits.

Our tour leader, Bob, was very well versed in and enthusiastic about his subject. Our tour started in the James Melville Gilliss Library. Bob is standing by the Asaph Hall desk which regularly serves as the backdrop when Vice President Biden (who lives on the grounds of the Observatory) speaks to the media.

We learned a great deal about the history of the observatory, going back to Asaph Hall, who discovered the moons of Mars while working as an astronomer at the USNO, and Matthew Maury, its first superintendent and the visionary who guided it through the early formative years.

We saw one of the copper plates produced by Maury to show information related to navigation he had gathered by examining ships' logs. The information on the plates, including the lettering, had to be laboriously etched into the surface by hand with a pin.

We got to see the 26-inch refractor telescope which Asaph Hall used to discover the moons of Mars. It is still used by the Observatory's two astronomers to study double stars, making it the oldest instrument in the Department of Defense still in regular use for its original purpose.

We learned a lot about the missions of the USNO, including determining the positions and motions of the earth and other celestial objects, required for measuring time precisely. Time is measured by an ensemble of atomic clocks which now include ensemble of cesium beam and hydrogen maser atomic clocks. Rubidium fountain clocks will soon join the ensemble.

From the roof of the Observatory we could see the DC skyline, dominated by the Capitol Dome and the Washington Monument. Looking in a different direction, we got this great view of the National Cathedral.

One thing that impressed us was learning that the Navy used to have an official black widow spider farm. The silk spun by black widows is strong and thin, just the qualities needed for crosshairs for telescopes. The Navy now uses tungsten for that purpose.

We were impressed by the tour, which offered a broad combination of historical and scientific information and priceless opportunities to see some wonderful artifacts up close and personal. Thanks, Blake!
Read more!