Washington DC Day

March 8: Eric and I drove from our "home" in Virginia to Washington DC. We knew we had only a day, and that we wouldn't be able to get to all the sites in that time. We created our priority list. Eric wanted to see Arlington Cemetary and I wanted to see the Korean Memorial.  We were unfamiliar with the layout of the city but quickly saw how close they are in proximity.

One word sums up our time: emotion. There was a lot of emotion. 

We began our journey in Arlington.  I have seen the photos for years. The same ones we've all seen.  As we made our way, I was overcome with emotion. I didn't expect to feel such strong emotion for a place I've never been.

We were able to arrive to the tomb of the unknowns minutes before the changing of the guard. It was a reverent experience to see the soldier going back and forth and then hear the click of the heals at each end. The greatest moment of pride and reverence struck when the soldiers soluted the tomb of the unknowns. It struck the heart strings, for sure.

 

We also stopped at the tomb markers of the Challenger and Colombia disasters. Both explosions were such shocking moments in our history. We paid our respects to those explorers.

Having never understood the layout of Washington DC, I was surprised when I realized how close the Pentagon is from the White House. The memory of 9/11 is never far from any American's mind, even all these years later. When I stood on the mountain near the tomb of the unknown, the view of the city was striking...and then there was the realization of the proximity of the two famous buildings.

After spending time in Arlington, we crossed back over the bridge to visit some other famous monuments: Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam and Korean memorials, and Martin Luther memorial. I was dumbfounded by their size. More than that, I was in awe of how connected I felt to history...the history I didn't realize I was so familiar with.

As the afternoon grew into evening we made our way to our vehicle which was parked on the other side of twon. We traveled via the Trolley Tours, which I highly recommend. The guides are clever and witty.  We were unable to go to the White House but did pass it on the way back to our car. I took a few pictures as we passed. There were several motor cycle cops on the street corners waiting, resting, relaxing, evaluating. The guide mentioned that when they are like this, it usually means a motorcade will be coming through soon. When I looked back at my photos, I noticed that in front of the White House, there's a line of cars preparing to leave.  When we left our parking not long afterwards, the roads were closed off as the motorcade was close to passing. We didn't have time to stop and wait (and wave) but it was pretty cool to see.

We enjoyed a very nice dinner with Eric's Uncle Dan and Aunt Peggy. We briefly talked with his cousin and met their new baby boy, Joseph.
I can safely say that I will be returning to our nation's capital in the near future. I will spend more than a few hours touring and visiting the monuments. The emotions of the day were draining and as we left the city (at midnight), I was ready to face the world of the living and not so much the world of memorials and past lives in history. The rest of my photos are found here.
It brought back to me the scene from Dead Poets Society: Carpe diem. Cease the day.

Virginia to North Carolina and Back

March 7: Eric and I left Virginia in the early morning hours to make the drive to North Carolina, to his old stomping ground.
He spent a chunk of time living and playing in and around Havelock and Morehead City while in the Marines. He's been wanting to take a trip back for a long time and it seemed as good a time as any.

Once we arrived, he was surprised to see that base housing had been upgraded significantly from the hole he'd lived in. After touring his neighborhood and town, we drove to Atlantic Beach. It wasn't super warm, but warmer than we'd had so far on the trip, so we rolled up our pants, took off our shoes and socks, and walked along the shoreline.  It was a pretty empty beach.......just the way I like it.

We soaked in the sights and did some shopping and then drove further south to have dinner with Eric's cousin Dusty. I don't know Dusty too well (really, at all) and it was fun to talk with him and see a different side to Eric's family than what I know. Certainly, we will make another trip that direction and spend more time enjoying family and the sites.

Here are my favorite pictures, but the rest of the shots can be found on Flickr.

Colonial Williamsburg

March 5: After spending a cold, rainy day in Jamestown, we spent a chilly evening in Colonial Williamsburg in a ghost tour. It wasn't a ghost hunt, but a tour of buildings that are said to be haunted. Our guide was an excellent story teller, too, and sucked us all into the stories of past residences.

There was this one house that has a creepy reflection. The first photo is front of the house. The second photo is the creepy window:

The next day we returned for a self guided tour of this colonial town. It is a bit reminscent of Mormon communities, but very cool.  Everything is made and repaired using colonial methods. The employees have completed years of apprenticeships and they maintain the town. It was very interesting to chat with them as we walked through the open buildings.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures, but the full day of photos are found here.

If ever you find yourself in Virginia, take the time to visit Jamestown and Williamburg. 

The Powhatan and Jamestown

Back to our visit to Virginia. We stayed in a very nice condo in the Historic Powhatan Resort, which was our home, essentially. 
A couple of my favorite photos taken:

 After one rainstorm, was this fiery and amazing sunset!

 There was one single swan swimming in the pond/lake (depending on who you asked).

On a rainy day, we visited Jamestown, Virginia. I've never thought a ton about it, but it was surreal to walk through the town and consider the history of our country.  It was a bit sobering and I really enjoyed that there wasn't a crowd of people visiting with us.
Here are the photos I loved :

We hid from the rain in a shelter and found this Powhatan girl re-enacting life in the past. I struggled to get the correct camera settings to use the natural light coming in from a small doorway. That was the only light source, and I LOVED the way this photo turned out.

We didn't stay as long as we would have liked but we explored all we could before the rain made it through out clothing and skin down to the bone. 
Lucky for us, our condo had a magnificent bathtub and steam room. Yay!!!

Virginia - Dahl Family

Eric and I took a little trip to Virginia in March. He's been wanting to show me his old romping ground in North Carolina for a long time. I really wanted to see Washington DC while we were in the vicinity so we created a home base of Williamsburg, Virginia.

We flew out on the red eye flight on March 3; yup. I'm that far behind. We flew into Newport News and were to check into our condo sometime after three o'clock. A couple of weeks before we left, I'd emailed my friend MaryAnn to find out their address so I could send them a package. She sent me her address and I was surprised and thrilled to see they live in Newport News! Yay!!

I was ever so excited to see her and Shaun and their cute family. I've known them for a long time and I don't think I realized how much I'd missed them until I saw them.

MaryAnn was gracious enough to let us hang out with her and the 10 month old twins and 7 year old Ezra. It was wonderful to catch up .... she's doing what she wanted to do and I'm happy to see it. I can say this: 10 month old twins are more than a handful!!! eeeekk!!

Here are some of the pictures I took of them on the first day and then the day before we came home a week later.

And Friday, March 9:

It was very nice to hang out and catch up and I'm looking forward to seeing them again in the next couple of years.