Timberville, VA to Harper's Ferry, WV & Return

Sabbath, October 22
Photos coming...

Sabbath morning I awoke to the smell of French breakfast puffs and was immediately transported to my youth. On very rare occasions, my mother would bake these delectable treats. Shelley has the recipe (I suppose I do also...but what good does it do me?) Not the least bit healthy but sometimes a person has to live a little!





We drove on secondary roads to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, a trip of about 2 hours. We passed through some great little towns, who's names usually ended in "ville" or "burg".  We spent a few pleasant hours in this small burg of Harper's Ferry at the confluence of the Potomac River & the Shenandoah River. Also, three states come together near there, Virginia, West Virginia, & Maryland. Harper's Ferry is a National Historical site for two main reasons: John Brown's raid on the arsenal in 1859 and the fact that during the Civil War, it changed sides 8 times depending on which force was strongest at the moment.

Timberville, VA to Harper's Ferry, WV & Return

Sabbath, October 22
Photos coming...

Sabbath morning I awoke to the smell of French breakfast puffs and was immediately transported to my youth. On very rare occasions, my mother would bake these delectable treats. Shelley has the recipe (I suppose I do also...but what good does it do me?) Not the least bit healthy but sometimes a person has to live a little!





We drove on secondary roads to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, a trip of about 2 hours. We passed through some great little towns, who's names usually ended in "ville" or "burg".  We spent a few pleasant hours in this small burg of Harper's Ferry at the confluence of the Potomac River & the Shenandoah River. Also, three states come together near there, Virginia, West Virginia, & Maryland. Harper's Ferry is a National Historical site for two main reasons: John Brown's raid on the arsenal in 1859 and the fact that during the Civil War, it changed sides 8 times depending on which force was strongest at the moment.

Fairfax, VA to Alexandria, VA to Timberville, VA

Friday, October 21

I left my great breakfast at my favorite Best Western in Fairfax (it is the only one) and rushed slowly over the the National Gun Museum, which turned out to excellent.

 I did not spend as much time there as I would like to have done. I especially enjoyed the displays on how early craftsmen fashioned guns, one at a time, Two hundred years ago, a gun was just a tool that nearly everyone owned. It was very interesting to see how guns have evolved over the past several hundred years.

When my dad was a teenager he purchased a Colt Woodsman similar to this example, minus the engraving. He owned it for well over 60 years until it was stolen, along with about twenty other guns. Several years ago, my brother found one that the three of us purchased for him. He was very pleased but, being in his late 80's, never had a chance to shoot.






After enjoying my time at the museum, I drove over to Alexandria, VA, a trip of about 45 minutes. Traffic can be brutal in the D.C. area so I never am sure what to expect. Some local people have told me that it is among the worst in the country--worse that LA & the San Francisco Bay area that I'm more familiar with. Alexandria is a suburb of DC and is located just south of the city, on the Potomac River. I wanted to experience the "Old Towne" section of it, so I did.

 This town is known for Captain's Row.

These houses are an examples found on Capitan's Row of homes built in the 1700's & 1800's. I saw a couple for sale but they had no visible price. That's OK as I'm not really in the market for another home.

The paving of the alley on the right left much to be desired as it was difficult to walk on. I guess it beats walking in the mud, especially as much of this area flooded due to it's proximity to the river. I enjoyed the brick work of many of the houses.

Elkridge, MD to Washington DC

Having trouble posting photos...check back tomorrow if you'd like to.

Thursday, October 20

I was on the road by 9:00 AM headed towards Washington DC. I drove to Fairfax, VA, only about 25

miles away and spent a pleasant hour on the highway. I parked at a metro stop in Fairfax, boarded a train & proceeded to wait 45 minutes before it left. After two stops we were told to get off & change trains. They've been working on that section of line hence the delay. Returning to ground level at L'Enfant plaza required a very long escalator ride. It sure beats stairs but it would have given most of my needed steps all at once if it hadn't been working.

I arrived in DC just before noon and found myself  in a great food court at L'Enfant plaza. I love food courts but this one was a cut above any I've seen before. I counted nearly 25 different places to eat, as well as stores, dental office, a Doc in the Box, PT, etc. I chose to eat Middle Eastern food and had a tasty salad with falafels & hummus. It was great fun to sit among hundreds & hundreds of men & women dressed up for work in a city. I felt quite the country rube as I was dressed in shorts & tee shirt anticipating a day outside in mid 80's weather.

Food court

Lunch in the food court

Learning to "roll"

I'd scheduled a tour of the monuments by Segway. It was a great experience and a lot of fun. There were 10 of us in the group and with the wide sidewalks & paths we had no trouble getting around. It took about 20 minutes to feel comfortable rolling. Too bad they're so expensive & near useless in real life because the technology is awesome.

Modern Art museum

Part of Viet Nam memorial

I was actually part of this tour. Here is the proof.

The two girls in the background were from Finland. Their English was quite good & they also spoke Swedish. The weather was in the low 80's & more humid than at home, but not too bad. The tour lasted almost three hours. The next day my calf muscles still hurt from rolling on my Segway!

After the tour I rented a bike from a bike share stand (like I did in Paris a few years ago) and rode around for about an hour. Cycling remains my favorite way to get around a city. I rode till about 6:30 by which time it was getting quite dark. By the way, Segway tours & bike tours also are offered in the evening so one can enjoy the illuminated monuments.

 These photos were taken on my bike ride as the sun was going down.

Fairfax, VA to Elkridge, MD

Wednesday, October 19

Wednesday morning dawned but I was asleep and missed it. When I did get up I had possibly the best breakfast ever in a hotel. In addition to 6 kinds of cereals, they had eggs, potatoes, grits (yum), donuts & muffins, 3 kinds of juices, bagels, toast, waffles, etc. I may not have sampled everything.

I tried to make a reservation for a tour in Washington D. C. but they had no more space. Instead I decided to go Arlington National Cemetery since it's been 25-30 years since I was last there. I took a tour on a tram that allowed me to get off & back on anytime I chose.

Actually when I rode this there were really people on it.

I visited John Kennedy's grave which took me back to speech class in 8th grade. I still remember someone calling our teacher out of class. When she returned a few minutes later, she announced that the president had been shot. That is seared into my brain. The eternal flame (which isn't always eternal) is just behind the graves.

The President's marker is on the right side of the photo.

I arrived early to the changing of the guard and so I had a chance to visit the memorial to the USS Maine from the Spanish American War. This is the mast of the warship that was sunk in Cuba.

This is one of the few times that I've been around crowds of people, American & others, when it was silent. No smoking or gum chewing is allowed...kind of like at school. One little boy did move under the fence just a small amount. The guard, who was at the other end of his post noticed it & with a very commanding voice, told him immediately to move back. The process of changing the guard, done once per hour in fall & winter, is amazing in it's precision. It was as impressive as I'd remembered. I've yet to figure out how to post  video to this blog. At least tonight the Wifi is fast enough to accomplish something.

The precision of the headstones is amazing from all angles.

Tonight I'm in Elkridge, MD with plans to return to Washington D. C. in the morning. The weather has been in the mid to upper 80's but is expected to drop to the 60's with a strong chance of rain on Friday.

Trip to Virginia--Sonora to Washington DC Dulles

Monday, October 17

I drove from Twain Harte to Sacramento where I stayed with a cousin. She took me to the airport on Tuesday morning even though I needed to be there by 6:30 AM for an 8:30 flight to Denver. We had a pleasant time chatting and catching up since we rarely see each other over the years. She's also retired but, even though she's a couple of years younger than me, she's been retired for abut five years.

Tuesday, October 18

I arrived at the Sacramento Airport at 6:30 AM with plenty of time to clear security & get something for breakfast. The Southwest flight left on time, I had an aisle seat, and the flight was uneventful...just the way I prefer them. We landed in Denver 15-20 minutes early.

• This photo is of an interesting atrium at the Denver airport.

The flight from Denver to Washington Dulles was even better. I had an aisle seat with no one sitting next to me!!! Great to have elbow room & an empty seat to set things down on. In addition to decent seating, the plane left 5 minutes late while we waited for a late arriving passenger. In spite of that, we arrived about 30 minutes early. A couple of interesting comments I heard on the plane. "No smoking in the restroom...don't be naughty in our potty." Another, "No smoking on this flight. We ask you to not smoke...ever again."

I picked up my rental car and then drove to my hotel in Fairfax, VA. It is always a challenge to find a decent hotel near a major city that is both affordable & in a decent neighborhood. Reading reviews from customers seems to shed some light on this challenge.

Tuesday nights hotel had a great looking pool but I'm glad that I had no interest in it. With that fountain in the middle,  person might have ended up getting wet!!

Bend & Beyond

Details to follow...

Sabbath-Bend & Sunriver

Sunday-Bend

Monday-Bend to Weed,  CA

Tuesday-Weed to Chico

Wednesday-Chico to Sacramento

Thursday-Sacramento to Twain Harte