From Williamsburg to Philly and home again

We arrived in Williamsburg late in the afternoon, checking into the Embassy Suites around 5 p.m.  After enjoying the free happy hour and dinner at a restaurant near the Village Square and William and Mary, we strolled around the streets of Colonial Williamsburg.  The fireflies were everywhere in the dusky evening light.  Fireflies have become a rarity in Texas, so we were delighted to see that they are still thriving in Virginia.


Early the next morning we headed to the visitor's center the catch the buss to the colonial village.  We spent the day touring the homes and businesses.  Williamsburg is a place we never tire off and always find it peaceful, in spite of the hordes of tourists.  Our time here was much too short.

The next morning we headed to Jamestown on our way to Philadelphia.  The new visitor's center is beautiful, however, the reconstructed village is small and probably not worth the effort.  We wish we had allowed time, however, to see the archeological digs nearby where the original village is being excavated.

We headed back to the freeway and through Newport News to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.  The Bridge/Tunnel is something we had both wanted to see and we weren't disappointed.  We emerged on the eastern shore of Virginia and stopped in the village of Eastville for a wonderful lunch at the historic Eastville Inn.  Then, it was a very long drive up the coast through Delaware to reach Philadelphia.  In hindsight, we should stayed an extra day in Williamsburg and avoided the 8-hour drive to Philly.  Delaware was a particular disappointment, reminding us of Bill's hometown, Hitchcock.

We arrived at the Hilton Garden Inn in Philly without too much problem and enjoyed dinner across the street at an Italian restaurant.  The next day, we toured the Betsey Ross House, Ben Franklin's grave, the mint, Liberty Hall and more.  The highlight of Philly was the Reading Market next door to our hotel.  We especially enjoyed looking at the wares sold by the Amish and other local farmers. 

Our lost stop was in Baltimore where we toured the Baltimore Aquarium.  The Aquarium was packed on the Saturday we visited--in fact, they had closed the facility due to overcrowding.  Once inside, however, we enjoyed the exhibits.  Afterwards, we had dinner on the wharf before heading to our hotel for the night and back to reality the next morning.

Gettysburg, Pa.

Gettysburg was the biggest surprise of our East Coast trip this summer.  We enjoyed a beautiful ride through the countryside to this small Pennsylvania village and arrived in time to enjoy a late afternoon drive through this historic battlefield.  We began at the visitor center with the cyclorama portrait of the battle.  We had expected something cheesy, but the beautiful 360 degree painting completed in 1884 was an incredible depiction of the tragedy that occurred here.  The drive through the battlefield itself is lovely, with rolling hills and bucolic scenery. 

We spent the night at the Hilton Garden Inn, and the next morning headed to the Eisenhower home.  The bus to the Eisenhower compound leaves from the same visitor center as the battlefield.  It take about 15 minutes.

The Eisenhower was a trip back in time for baby boomers.  Time has stood still at the estate and you find yourself caught in a 1950s time warp. You can almost feel the presence of the Eisenhowers and you see Ike's paint brushes still by the canvas and Mamie's pink bedroom.  The kitchen reminded us of "I Love Lucy" with its 50s appliances and linoleum. 

Outside, we toured the guest house where Monte stayed, the barns and the putting green before heading back to the visitors center.

We lunched at a pub on the main square in Gettysburg, which we had not found the night before.  After lunch, we visited several shops before hitting the road to Williamsburg, Va.

Udvar Hazy Center-Washington DC

The Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles Airport was a real find on our recent East Coast trip.  While the Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian is wonderful, this annex has the aircraft we've always dreamed of seeing.  Among them, the Enola Gay, from which the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the Wright Bros. plane, the Concorde and many more.  There is a terrific exhibit of the space shuttle, which allows visitors to walk underneath and around this massive aircraft.  The display of spy planes is also impressive.  The SR 71 Blackhawk lurks just inside the entrance to the facility and is very impressive in its size and creepiness. 

Washington DC--Our Nation's Capitol

We've been to Washington many times, but our most recent adventure brought several new finds. 

Our hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn, was an excellent value, just two blocks from the While House and five blocks from the Mall.  While it lacks the amenities of a 5-star property, it was comfortable and we enjoyed cocktails in the bar after a long day of touring.

The Newseum was outstanding.  We enjoyed the exhibits of newspapers and other news events from the past.  The 9/11 exhibit, which featured an antenna from the North Tower of the World Trade Center, was especially moving. 


We enjoyed a visit to Ford's Theatre.  Its museum had been revamped since our last visit with a number of new exhibits.  The Peterson House across the street no longer exhibits the pillow with Lincoln's blood stains, something my dad loved seeing on our visit in the 1970s.

Ben's Chili Bowl was a great experience.  The best hot dogs ever in a crazy, down-home environment.  No wonder people line up for them.

The Library of Congress was something we'd never done before.  The building is beautiful and worth a visit on its on.  There were several exhibits good exhibits, including Gershwin's piano.

The Botanical Gardens next to the Capitol were not as beautiful as our visit in April a few years ago, but the flowers were still gorgeous.

The Smithsonian is always wonderful, however, we noticed a real change in the types of exhibits being offered.  Rather than displaying artifacts, the shift is now to telling the story.  Are we becoming so stupid that we no longer understand the meaning of the displays?

The American Indian Museum, the newest on the Mall, was a real letdown.  The exhibits look more like a tradeshow than the Smithsonian-quality artifacts that we expected. 

The revamped Museum of American History was outstanding.  We especially enjoyed seeing Edith and Archie Bunker's chairs, Julia Child's kitchen and the first ladies' dresses.  Seeing a section of the Berlin Wall was also moving for us baby boomers.

The National Aquarium was also interesting.  Although not as big or as elegant as many of the country's new aquariums, it was worth a short visit.

Overall, Washington is a great town to visit, but don't go in the summer.  The heat is killer, even if you're from Texas.