We left my folks house in Meadow Valley in a snowstorm! Five feet of snow had fallen over the previous two days. We enjoyed the simple life with no power…melting snow for water on the wood stove, checking in on neighbors, helping with shoveling, and waiting for power updates. It was beautifully calm and quiet.
My folks had already left for Washington D.C. and we flew from Reno to join them there a few days later. Graham and I and my Dad had never visited our Nation’s Capital and Mom hadn’t been there since the 70’s. Along with plans to visit the Smithsonians, monuments, capital, and family in the area, the cherry blossoms would be close to their peak.
We landed in D.C. and had our first D.C. Metro experience. An amazing system that makes it so easy to get around! Over the next few days we visited the many sights of the city. Highlights included the mineral exhibit in the Natural History Smithsonian, the Monuments and Memorials engulfed in cherry blossoms, the Wright Brothers’ exhibit in the Air and Space Smithsonian, Julia Child’s kitchen in the American History Smithsonian, our Nation’s founding and defining documents in the National Archives, the Gutenberg Bible and Thomas Jefferson’s original library in the Library of Congress, orchids in the National Botanical Garden, sobering and reflective exhibits at the Holocaust Museum, and the Obama’s vegetable garden on the White House lawn.
Graham and I spent a couple nights with my cousin Joel, his wife Nita and their kids Adrian and new baby Alyissa in Dunn Loring just outside of D.C. We enjoyed catching up with them over good food and a fantastic hike along the Potomac to the impressive Great Falls.
We wrapped up our visit in D.C. and rented a car along with my folks to travel south to North Carolina to visit family there. Travelling through Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, we wished we had had more time to visit historic towns, battlefields, and natural features along the way. Mid-way through the journey we stopped for a short visit at Polyface Farms, featured in Michael Pollan's writings, films, and Joel Salatin’s own books. They have a completely open farm policy. We walked around checking out the large hoop houses housing happy chickens, pigs, and rabbits. Crossing over the Appalachians near the Smoky Mountain we again wished we had more time and vowed to someday make it back to that part of the world. One night in Asheville didn’t leave much time to explore the vibrant bluegrass, outdoor recreation, and craft brew culture.
Driving out of the mountains and down into the Piedmont region of North Carolina it was amazing to see the change in climate and subsequent vegetation. The landscape was very green and felt much more of spring with dogwood and red bud a bloomin’. We had a fantastic visit with my Uncle Patrick, Aunt Sue, and Cousin Eric at their home outside of Charlotte in Waxhaw. Sue gave us an informative tour of the JAARS (Jungle Aviation And Radio Service) center, their home base for many years as missionaries in Central America and Africa. We learned a great deal about the role and inter-workings of the organization and their efforts to bring language to cultures around the world. Visiting with Eric during spring break of his senior year in high school we learned about his plans for the future and the big decisions that were ahead of him. Wish you the best Eric! Sorry to have missed Cousin Joy, though glad to hear she is doing really well during her first year in college. With Pat and Sue we traveled to visit the site of historic revolutionary era Bratonsville that was filmed and featured in the movie the Patriot. It was fascinating to walk around the original homestead buildings, slave quarters, revolutionary era homes, and civil war homes. Our last stop with them was the Levine Museum of the New South where we explored exhibits about the transformation of the South from agrarian society based on slave labor to the post Civil War industrial society supported initially by tenant farmer labor to present day. Also featured was a very though provoking exhibit on the local Clarendon County suit that comprised a portion of the Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court Case.
The next day my folks flew home from Charlotte to Reno and on to face the snow back in Meadow Valley. We really had enjoyed traveling with them over the last couple weeks!
Graham and I continued on with the car and returned north to Baltimore to visit my college friend Jen and her fiancé Ryan. On the way we stopped to visit Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello estate. Really impressive! The estate was in fantastic shape thanks to ongoing restoration efforts. We took a tour of the home and also of the gardens and grounds. We were amazed to learn about Jefferson’s thoughtful and intricate design details - double pane windows and doors on the North side, a wine bottle dumbbell, rain water catchments, and a weather vane connected directly to a compass installed on the porch showing the wind direction (from inside he could look at the compass to check the wind direction) – all built beginning in the 1780s. We were especially intrigued by the large garden space and ongoing work to restore the garden to as near a Jefferson-day planting as possible. Jefferson subsided on salad with meat as an accompaniment and enjoyed the miracle varieties of spinach, garlic, and kale!
We arrived in Baltimore that evening and enjoyed a great visit with Jen and Ryan in their aqua row house built in the late 1800s as cotton mill housing. We explored Baltimore and the surroundings by car, foot, and bus. Fascinating city with much history, though the grit was somewhat alarming. As we followed Google Map’s recommend route to their house at 10pm on a Friday night we drove through one particular neighborhood with flashing blue lights on posts at every block. Looking closer we realized that they were cameras filming our every move for blocks on end. Learning later about the city crime statistics we realized the reason for the cameras.
Though not to deter you from a future Baltimore visit…we had a great time walking around most of the city and particularly enjoyed the historic parts – Little Italy, the Phoenix shot tower (where molten lead was dropped from a platform at the top of the tower through a sieve and into a vat of cold water at the bottom), the homes of Betsy Ross and Francis Scott Key, and the beautiful Johns Hopkins campus where Ryan and Jen are both working on their PhDs.
We left their place after enjoying great food together, thanks to Chef Ryan who created incredible dishes - Harrisa chicken, Okonamiyaki, and Matzo ball chicken soup. Yum! And how could we forget…a visit to Rita’s (Italian ice and ice custard).
We were soon off to New York by bus for our flight to Dusseldorf and the beginning of a European adventure!
No comments:
Post a Comment