Colonial Williamsburg Peninsula, Virginia

From Washington D.C. we travelled south to the Colonial Williamsburg peninsula in eastern Virginia. We camped at the Williamsburg Christian Retreat Center which was a fine facility. From there we made day trips to some impressive historic sites.
Historic Jamestown is called the ‘birthplace of America’. 400 years ago, in 1607, the first permanent British settlement in North America was established there. The 104 men and boys that sailed across the Atlantic in three ships built a fort at that location. The area was originally inhabited by Powhatan natives. Chief Powhatan was the father of the famous Indian girl named Pocahontas. It was very interesting to discover more about her story there, and also the life of Captain John Smith. We saw an active archaeological dig site, and also many artifacts that were unearthed at Jamestown. It was a really neat place, especially with its special position in history.

Our next visit was to the Yorktown Battlefield. Here was the last major battle of the American Revolution, occurring on October 19, 1781. Britain’s Lord Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington, and established the groundwork for America’s true independence from England. The mock-up of a naval ship in the Visitor Center was interesting, although being only one-fifth of the ship’s actual size made it quite ‘fun’ for Allan to go through.

We saved Colonial Williamsburg for our last location to tour. Having seen so many reconstructed historic sites, it was nice to see a town with a great number of original buildings in it. In the Capitol building we learned how colonial government was run, and also some of the grievances that the colonies had against the mother-country of England. The Courthouse indicated how people were tried in that day. We also visited the ammunition magazine, a milliner’s shop, the blacksmith, silversmith, foundry, weaver, apothecary, taverns, and original homes of famous and influential people. Probably the most impressive for me was going into the Bruton Parish Church, which has had continuous services since 1715; there we got to sit in George Washington’s and Thomas Jefferson’s personal pews. Will we ever live up to the greatness of such men? A thought-provoking idea as we wrapped up our tour of the Williamsburg peninsula.

Washington D.C.

We left Luray, Virginia when Allan returned from Silver Valley, and then moved to a campground closer to Washington, D.C. The fun started even before we left the campground, when our new neighbors let us try out their Seg-Way riding machines.

We packed a whole lot of sight-seeing into our few days in Washington D.C. First, we did a walking tour of several miles in order to visit the major monuments and memorials around the ‘National Mall’. The World War Two Memorial was our first stop. Its sunken location and splashing fountains make it a fitting tribute to those who fought in that war. We then walked along the ‘Reflecting Pool’ to see the grand Lincoln Memorial, in which Lincoln’s statue sits regally on a huge chair. Lincoln saw the US through some of its toughest days in history during the Civil War. Allan read out the Gettysburg Address to our family, which was engraved on the memorial’s wall. Looking out from the steps of the building we saw the view that Martin Luther King Jr. saw (minus the thousands of people of course) when he gave his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech in 1962.

On either side of the Lincoln Memorial sit two other memorials, honoring the sacrifices of the soldiers at Vietnam and Korea. The facial expressions on the statues at these two memorials showed the anguish, heart-break, and determination that the soldiers must have felt. We continued on to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. This president also witnessed his country going through difficult historical periods, namely the 1930s Depression and World War II. The rock walls and waterfalls reminded me of strong mountains, and there were many famous quotes displayed. Allan and I were both surprised and impressed with this unique monument. As we walked around the peaceful Tidal Basin we soon arrived at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. Once described as ‘the muffin’, I thought the round building looked very elegant along the waterfront. It honors a president who was one of the major writers of the Declaration of Independence which called for equality for all people, and one’s rights to ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness’. We ended our tour of the memorials by going up to the top of the 500-foot tower in the middle of the National Mall, called the Washington Monument. From there we had great views including the White House, the Capitol, and the entire ‘mall’ area.

Part of the National Mall is taken up with the numerous museums that make up the Smithsonian Institute. We were delighted to be able to go through several of them.
The Holocaust Museum described the heart-rending story of the Jewish people and other minorities in Europe during World War II. On a lighter note, was the Museum of Natural History that had displays of animals from all over the world, as well as geological wonders. We saw the famous Hope Diamond there. We also went to the Air and Space Museum which told the story of air travel from the days of the Wright Brothers to the modern Space Shuttle. There was also a section there called Treasures from American History; I was delighted to see things like an autographed baseball of Babe Ruth, Albert Einstein’s pipe, R2D2 and C3PO, Dorothy’s red shoes and the scarecrow costume from The Wizard of Oz, a cotton gin, George Washington’s uniform, Helen Keller’s watch, General Custer’s coat, an original John Deere wooden plow, and Abraham Lincoln’s top hat.

We have seen many ‘treasures from American history’ in our travels so far, but I think we’d all agree that the National Mall area of Washington D.C. contains many of them. We had a great time in this nation’s capital city.

Country Waye Campground, Luray, Virginia

Country Waye Campground was our 'home' while Allan was in Silver Valley at the end of September. It was a beautiful, quiet, comfortable location. Our view included the Shenandoah Mountains, the well-groomed campground lawn and pavillion, and a corn-field and silos in the distance.

Luray Caverns, Virginia

Camping near Luray for an extended period made the Luray Caverns an understandable location for one of our fieldtrips. The cavern was discovered in 1878, and opened for tours a mere three months later. I was impressed that almost the entire cave surface was decorated with formations. Because early tourists were encouraged to break off stalactites for souvenirs during the first few decades of operation, some areas of the caverns suffered obvious damage. But on a whole it was an underground wonderland. Some of the neatest features were the reflecting pool, giant columns and flowstones, the 'wishing well', and the 'stalacpipe' organ.

Shenandoah, Virginia

Our home-base campground near Luray, Virginia was nestled at the west base of the Shenandoah Mountains, so we had only a 10 -15 minute drive to get to Shenandoah National Park. The major feature of this park is Skyline Drive, which follows the ridge of the mountains so that one can have views to the east and views to the west within very short distances of each other. Because of our close proximity to the park, we visited it several times and enjoyed several hikes, ranger programs, museum displays, visitor center informational films/slideshows, and wildlife-viewing (including a black bear, many deer, vultures, wild turkeys, Monarch butterflies/caterpillars, and a praying mantis). The views were sometimes foggy or hazy, but after a windy night, they were clear and awe-inspiring. A popular park with Washington DC inhabitants, it soon became very popular with us as well.

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

From our home-base in Luray, Virginia we drove for just over an hour to get to Harpers Ferry National Historic Park in West Virginia. Harpers Ferry is an original historic town situated at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers, where the states of Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia meet.

The town had a varied background. We were surprised at how much we learned. One important incident in American history that happened at the site was the Raid of John Brown. He was an abolitionist who took a personal stand against slavery, by capturing the Harpers Ferry arsenal in 1859. Although his raid ended in failure, and indeed John Brown was executed for treason, his actions got people thinking, and just over a year later the Civil War began. Harpers Ferry was also the home of the famous Storer College which was a school open to all races. There was a lot of early industry in the town, and it had a wonderful system of canals to help power the factories. The town had a Civil War background, as a Union supply base. We realized that Harpers Ferry had wetlands surrounding it, but it has also gone through numerous major floods. It is a town that just keeps coming back, and was an extremely interesting location for us to visit.

Virginia

Once we arrived in Virginia, we found a nice campground to call home for two or three weeks. During that time (the last weeks of September) Allan flew home to Silver Valley in order to get some final chores accomplished before the winter snows arrive. So, the kids and I spent our days working on school assignments or going on field trips. We found that our location at Luray, Virginia was central to many national parks and other sites.

Manassas National Battlefield Park was the location of two separate battles during the American Civil War. In July of 1861, First Manassas (or First Bull Run) was the first major clash of the war. In that way it was rather a gruesome shock for the sight-seers who drove their horses and buggies out from near-by Washington DC to watch 'the show'. The Manassas brochure claims, "Soldiers on both sides were stunned by the violence and destruction they encountered." It was at this battle that Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson received his famous nickname of 'Stonewall Jackson' for his stalwart defense of the line, which helped to bring a Confederate victory to this battle. The Battle of Second Manassas occurred in August of 1862, and was a much bloodier affair than the first. After three days of fighting, the Union army retreated, opening up opportunities for an 'invasion of the north' for Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

The next national battlefield that we visited was Antietam, in Maryland. The battle occurred on September 17, 1862, and is well-known as "the bloodiest day of the Civil War". There were three important areas of fighting: the cornfield, the Sunken Road (later to be known as Bloody Lane), and the Burnside Bridge. At the end of the day about 23,000 men lay in the field as casualties. It was considered a Union victory, but in hindsight, if Union General George B. McClellan had pressed his advantage at this time, he may have been able to put an end to the Confederate army, thus ending this horrible war three years earlier than actually happened. The American Civil War lasted from 1861 to1865, and took the lives of more than 623,000 soldiers (more than any other war in US history).