The Last of the Virginia Area...for now!

Jun 2 - 6.…Ok, so we didn’t rest too much on Friday - instead we went to a Camping World in Manassas & then to Manassas National Battlefield. We had a very interesting Ranger lead tour there. The Ranger was a very good story teller & very knowledgeable. On Sat. we drove about 85 miles to Gettysburg, PA. While at Gettysburg National Military Park went on 2 Ranger tours - the National Cemetery where President Lincoln delivered the “Gettysburg Address” at the dedication of the cemetery and “The Third Day“ where we learned about Pickett’s Charge & the 3rd day of the 3 day battle at Gettysburg. We also went on a tour of President & Mamie Eisenhower’s house/farm. They spent so many years in the military, this was the only home they ever owned. The property was beautiful & the house was quite advanced for it’s time. Sunday we did REST…..we never left the park! Monday we went back into DC. We toured the Capital (given by an intern from our Montana Senator Burns’ office). It was kinda neat to get some inside info and walk the under ground from the Senator offices to the Capital. We were able to see the old Supreme Court chamber. From there we went to the Supreme Court building where we were able to sit in on a lecture in the courtroom where they explained how the court works & where everyone sits, etc. Them off to the Library of Congress and a long walk around “The Mall” and surrounding areas. This area is full of history and current government - It is so amazing to stand on the ground & in the buildings where our forefathers stood while creating this great nation! You just don’t feel the impact of it all until you are actually here! Today we are on the road again….traveling from Virginia to Maryland, Delaware & into New Jersey. It’s hard to believe how quickly you can go from one state to another -- a bit different than traveling through our states of Texas & Montana.

A view of the Washington Monument from the World War II Memorial. This is a new memorial built in 2004! We also saw several helicopters come in & land on the White House lawn. One was "Marine One" with the President on board. We were too far away to see the landings! 

The USS Constellation in the Baltimore Inner Harbor. It's the last all-sail warship built my US Navy & the only Civil War era vessel still afloat. 

The orginal Senate Chambers in the Maryland State House where George Washington resigned his commission as the commander in chief of the Continental Army & Thomas Jeffereson accepted his position as the first US minister to foreign governments. 

Maryland State House - the US Capital in 1783-1784 

The view of Mt Vernon from the Potomac River side. There was some restoration going on. The building began in 1772 & continued for nearly half-a-century to its present size.  

More American History from the DC area!

May 31 - Jun 2....the last 2 days have been quite busy. We arrived on Tue. afternoon & set up camp at Lake Fairfax Country Park in Reston, VA. Wed. we took the bus & metro train into DC & toured the International Spy Museum, the National Archives, & the World War II Memorial. It was a very full day. The Spy Museum was quite interesting showing undercover spy techniques & gadgets from the past. At the Archives we saw many orginal documents but most importantly the Declaration of Independence, The Bill or Rights & The Constitution. Another area that was very interesting - the Public Vault where we listened in on Presidents phone converstations, viewed transcripts of investigations of the Challenger, Warren Commission, etc. and many other interesting facts. From there we decided to go to the Research side where we went to the Geneology section. We looked at original census documents in the computer for more information on our grandparents. Mike was surprised to find out he had an uncle/step uncle that he never knew about & Dixie found out that her hometown of Hogeland was called Prairie Rose in 1930 (maybe it was suburb!!!!). Thursday we toured Mount Vernon - a very interesting site where we learned about life in the 1700's! Then we drove to Annapolis & toured the Maryland State House - this is sthe oldest state capital in continuous legislative use. Did you know that it served as capital of the US from 11/26 1783 to 8/13 1784 until a permenant location was found? We also went to the US Navel Academy. We weren't done yet - on to Baltimore where we walked around the Inner Harbor & viewed Ft McHenry where Francis Scott Key viewed a battle from the War of 1812 that inspired the writing of the Stars Spangled Banner. Then we attended the Baltimore Orioles baseball game at Camden Yards! We finally made it home around midnight. Today we will take a day of rest!!!!