Rambling with Russ: Virginia, DC, & Other Southeast

Virginia

April 2003

Friday, 4/11:

It’s been a long winter: over 100” of snow (3^rd highest ever), a big ice storm followed by snow just in the past week. We’re ready for some spring warmth and flowers. Our friend Kay joins us for a follow-up to our European trip last summer. After her arrival from Wisconsin, we head to “The Trial at Gilligan’s Island,” a fundraising spoof for Literacy Volunteers. Kay chats up local celebrity Alan Chartok (TV commentator/public radio guru/SUNY professor).

Saturday, 4/12:

Still in a tizzy over son Matt and Anthea’s very recent engagement, we head off at 6am, before the crack of dawn. Marjorie from the back seat: “Wake me when it’s warm.” Both M & K seem to have no trouble napping in the car. Rainy until NJ, where forsythia are our first flowers. Some trouble finding a breakfast spot ̶ we thought NJ had diners everywhere ̶ but finally a nice place in a service area on the Turnpike. Along the way we spot buses labeled “Greater Love Cruiser” ̶ turns out to be for a church. More green and flowers as we go thru the “Delmarva” peninsula: Delaware (where we begin to get sun and blue sky), Maryland, into Virginia. We make good time, tho Kay seems to complain whenever we have a stoplight.

Arrive in Chincoteague after 430 miles, first passing NASA facility w/ rocket exhibits and what we presume is a tracking station. To Driftwood Motor Lodge: nice large rooms, the motel overlooks wildlife refuge and lighthouse on Assateague Island.

Out for a drive in the refuge: pretty views w/ egrets, geese, heron, but none of the famous ponies (tho plenty of evidence, if you catch my meaning). Eventually found them all gathered together in pens. Are the “wild” ponies a hoax? And we’re concerned they don’t seem very happy. Not to worry. Turns out they’ve been herded in to get their annual shots.

After a dinner break for excellent seafood and view at Etta’s Restaurant, back to the refuge. More birds, some deer, and we find the fire department (which owns this part of the herd) taking care of the ponies. This allows us to get some interesting background info about the ponies and annual summer “swim” (a big tourist draw) from Assateague Isl. to Chincoteague. Later Kay buys the book “Misty of Chincoteague,” the “Ann of Green Gables” of this area. We try to go on some trails in the refuge, but too much water; a lot of rain and cold temps in this part of the country last week (we have much better weather for our trip). A stop at “Mr. Whippy” for ice cream (for some reason this name was much bandied about the rest of the trip ̶ and will be featured in future trip accounts); very busy, tho otherwise pretty quiet around town. Looks like the town would be a fun place in the summer.

Sunday, 4/13:

Cool, sunny AM, warmer in the PM. Nice breakfast bar at the motel, then about 100 miles to Norfolk via Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel (17.6 miles with 2 1-mile tunnels). The bay is beautiful, the “tour group” gets a kick out of the bridge/tunnel combo. To Norfolk Botanical Garden, where the guy taking admission says, after learning Kay is from Wisconsin, “we’re taking good care of your ship” ̶ the USS Wisconsin can be toured in the harbor. Not many people at the gardens when we arrive, busier later (but we encounter no real “crowds” here or anywhere on the trip).

Spring is well along here, comparable to mid-May back home. Many different theme gardens here w/ varieties of flowers and flowering trees: especially tulips, dogwoods, magnolias, red buds, camellias past their prime and azaleas just starting. A boat tour thru gardens and bordering lake, wildlife includes cormorants, turtles, loons, herons, and a snake; also a tram thru gardens later. Lunch in a pretty tea room. One spring drawback here: lots of pollen (from oak, maple, alder, etc.)! It coats the car (have to use wipers to clear the windshield) and wreaks havoc with my contact lenses.

On to Colonial Williamsburg for a first look. A stroll to get oriented (you can walk the grounds for free), tickets for tomorrow.

Also thru adjoining College of William & Mary campus. A pretty, quiet retreat from the tourist bustle, Marjorie wants to know why my campus doesn’t look like this. Driving to our motel we spot a “Virginia Ham Shoppe” (store motto: “save a cow, buy a ham”), Kay arranges to send a cured ham to her brother. But she doesn’t buy any of “Bubba’s Y’ALSA” (we know Dick is more a mustard aficionado). We settle in at the Comfort Inn Central, in the midst of a busy commercial strip. Lots of pancake/waffle places around us, but we head to Chili’s for dinner. A CVS stop for sunscreen (hadn’t anticipated that). Gas prices quite a bit lower down here, tho Kay thinks they’re higher when it’s her turn to buy. Big news today: 7 POWs rescued in Iraq.

Monday, 4/14:

Another beautiful AM, about 50 then PM up to about 70. After continental breakfast at motel, off to Colonial Williamsburg for the day. Not too crowded, especially in the AM, but the garden tour M & K wanted had been booked up yesterday so we all start at the Governor’s Palace. Excellent interior tour, plus spectacular tulips in the gardens.

We then split up for most of the day (except shared midday snacks), seeing various homes, businesses, craftpersons, capitol and “gaol” (jail), and outdoor theatrical skits. Some favorites: interesting tour of the tavern accommodations and a particularly informative apothecary “interpreter.” A very interesting place, tho we thought Plimouth Plantation had more “living history” activity.

Tired & hungry, to Milano’s for good Italian dishes and salad bar, a good-natured waiter from Yugoslavia. A nice evening for a drive, so off to Yorktown on the Colonial Parkway. Oops ̶ have to double back because I’d left my camera at the restaurant (which disproves the theory that I’d leave Marjorie behind before I’d forget my camera). Thru pretty Yorktown village, then a nice sunset as we head back. Haagen-Dazs treats, then (ironically) “Gilligan’s Island” on TV.

Tuesday, 4/15:

Sunny AM & 55, up to mid-70s in PM. Hotel breakfast again, then onto Colonial Parkway to go from 1774 (Williamsburg) to 1607 (Jamestown). First to Jamestown Settlement: fort, Powhatan village, 3 ships (Discovery, Godspeed, and Susan Constant) that seem way too small for that ocean voyage (and no midnight buffet!).

Busier here with school groups. A big visitor center, interesting film and extensive exhibits, plus lots of construction, preparing for the 400^th anniversary. Excellent “interpreters” at each site, including the same man we all enjoyed as the apothecary yesterday! M & K have a nice chat with him. Lunch at the cafe w/ good local foods: Brunswick stew, pulled pork BBQ.

On to nearby “Jamestowne original site” (run by the National Park Service). Auto tour thru pretty woods w/ informational signs along the way. Times were tough for the colonists, disease and starvation killing off most. Next to the Glasshouse w/ some commentary by Marjorie based on her recent Elderhostel experience taking a class at Corning glassworks. This was one of a number of failed industries until the tobacco trade took off. An interesting film at the visitor center, walks to nearby archeological sites.

But enough history and culture. Set amid various outlet malls is the Williamsburg Pottery Factory: 32 warehouse-type buildings, 8,000 parking spaces, the “greatest assemblage of kitsch in America.” Kay is giddy just reading about it. I drop off M & K, go back to the motel to relax, then return to find Marjorie exhausted near the entrance and Kay pushing a shopping cart across the parking lot. Seemed ominous, but each bought just a few small items. Marjorie describes the complex as the biggest collection of “stuff that nobody should buy.”

We stop at Food Lion to get items for a hotel picnic, then to the parish church in Colonial Williamsburg for a candlelight concert by the William & Mary Women’s Chorus. Wonderful, complete with encore in the churchyard under a full moon. We finish a busy day with Dilly Bars at a Dairy Queen.

Wednesday, 4/16:

Decided to skip the free motel breakfast to go to a pancake/waffle place, but I’m the only one who has waffles ̶ and M & K didn’t care for the grits. Mostly sunny today, into the 80s later. A pretty drive paralleling the James River, passing plantations (brief looks at a couple of exteriors) and listening to public radio (and a pledge drive! ̶ flashbacks to Marjorie’s work at our local PBS station, WMHT). A stop at Shirley Plantation for a tour of the pretty interior (but no photos) and various outbuildings. The same family, now 11^th generation, has lived here since 1738 (still lives upstairs). About 100 miles to Charlottesville, the climate regressing a bit to an earlier spring look (pollen is also easing, as my eyes are doing better). We’ll wait until tomorrow AM for Monticello: it’s quite warm & hazy now and there’s a 2-hour wait for house tours.

Instead to Michie Tavern. After a quick snack of yesterday’s picnic leftovers from the car trunk, an interesting tour of this colonial roadhouse; and we dance a Virginia reel, Kay (who said she couldn’t dance!) helping the guide demonstrate and all of us ending w/ a rousing colonial “Huzzah!” A short wine tasting at nearby Jefferson Vineyards, purchasing a couple we like. On to Monticello Visitor Center (separate from the estate) for interesting film and exhibits. A pretty drive around the city lined w/ dogwoods and red buds to the Quality Inn Charlottesville.

Helpful people at the motel suggest dinner places in “the corner” near U of Virginia. We eat outside at Biltmore Diner, a nice college hangout (next to us: a young man eating only a huge piece of cake and a young women w/ only a huge plate of french fries ̶ ah, youth!). We enjoy our meals: I have “dirty steak” (marinated in maple syrup, honey, mustard, Kentucky bourbon), M & K share what turn out to be piles of food (crab cakes and salads).

A pretty evening stroll after dinner thru the beautiful Jefferson-designed campus (Marjorie again reminding me how much nicer this is than my campus!). We chat w/ a recent PhD from here (visiting w/ his family) who explains arrangements for student and faculty housing in the original quadrangle by the Rotunda (seems elegant, but students even now have to walk outside to reach bathrooms and showers!). A store clerk insists we should see the Historic Downtown, so we drive over and stroll the nice pedestrian mall. Kay gets Mozart truffles as a Vienna remembrance, but other stores closed (I didn’t plan this!). We like this city. Kay notes it’s on AARP’s list of best places to retire; maybe we should come down and hang with the “Wahoos.”

Thursday, 4/17:

Up early, breakfast at the motel, then off to “open” Monticello at 8:00 to beat the crowds. Success!: we arrive as some of the guides are just arriving, before the first tour buses. Weather much better than yesterday: a pretty AM & cooler, tho forecasted cold front w/ rain hasn’t arrived yet. It’s beautiful here, many tulips, wisteria, dogwoods, red buds.

An interesting house tour, tho again no interior photos. A wonderful garden tour, just 4 of us and a very informative and friendly guide who keeps offering little tastes of leaves from the garden (spinach, horseradish, parsley, etc.). We finish with a “plantation” tour by a former English teacher focused on slave life (including the Sally Hemmings story). All in all, Jefferson was a fascinating and complex person: a brilliant thinker and planner who made some oddly poor decisions (e.g., fresh manure for fertilizer instead of compost); and an opponent of slavery who relied on slave labor and freed only a few of his own slaves. Lines waiting for tours as we leave.

On the road again to Artisans Center of Virginia, with juried exhibits from thruout the state ̶ the opposite end of the taste continuum from Williamsburg Pottery. Marjorie buys earrings, I pick out a mug (our first new one in a while; we’d been collecting them in our earlier travels). Lunch buffet at nearby Shoney’s.

Up onto Skyline Drive in Shenandoah Nat’l Park for about 75 miles to Luray. Less and less on the trees at higher elevations (Skyland the highest at 3,680’). Pretty views from overlooks, but increasingly hazy. And becoming windy & cold ̶ it’s 47 in Washington, 37° less than the same time yesterday! We check into Budget Inn Luray, more “basic” lodging than our others; Marjorie says it’s “a pit,” but that’s overly harsh (it’s AAA, after all), and it’s just one night.

M & K go exploring, come back to say there are no lines at Luray Caverns, so off we go. We have a small group led by a trainee giving his first tour (accompanied by his “mentor”) and including (as all cave tours should) a very excited kid. Fabulous variety and complexity to the formations. The town is very quiet, but busy at Brookside Restaurant. Kay (Virginia ham) and I (pulled pork) go with local food, Marjorie has chili. And K gets peanut butter pie; waitress says it’s so good she takes double allergy medication so she can eat it.

Friday, 4/18:

Brrr ̶ a brisk day, we can see our breath! On the road at 7:30 for the 420-mile drive to my Mom’s in Lewiston, near Niagara Falls. From Virginia briefly thru corners of West Virginia and Maryland, then up thru Pennsylvania and NY. Drizzly AM, but a pretty drive thru green rural areas, lots of red buds (tho they are really purple). Denny’s for breakfast, we get a peanut butter pie (Kay’s new obsession) to take to Lewiston. Spring goes backwards as we head north, forsythia appearing again and trees increasingly bare. Our route takes us east of Johnstown, past Altoona, on the western edge of the Alleghenys, thru Salamanca, to Buffalo. We pass a Weyerhausen paper mill, a Zippo factory, and a motor oil refinery (hence signs referring to “oil country”). Some sun when we reach NY, pretty towns and lots of Easter Bunny decorations. We make good time, tho stuck behind occasional trucks on hills (wouldn’t you know, only when Marjorie is driving!), reaching Lewiston at 5:00. Thankfully, it’s warmer here. My brother and sister-in-law, Doug and Ann (and their dog Sundance), arrived a little earlier. They (Doug and Ann, that is) know Kay from our European trip.

Saturday/Sunday, 4/19-20:

A pretty AM, mostly sunny & 60s. Kay gets a Niagara Falls experience: Power Vista and Whirlpool overlooks, views of falls & rapids from Goat Island and 3 Sisters Islands. A drive around Lewiston, then M & K go to the bakery, antique shop, other local establishments. Kay is “very impressed” with the village. After dinner at Apple Granny’s, M & K go to the Catholic Easter Vigil. We also include Kay in the usual family activities ̶ watching slides, games, desserts ̶ and she cuts a swath thru the jellybeans.

Meet stepsis Mar at church for Easter Sunday, dinner at John’s Flaming Hearth, then the last part of the trip, NY from west to east. Kay has seen a lot of the state on the trip, but doesn’t seem very impressed with this last 300 miles. We see damage from the ice storm 2 weeks ago, a few lingering spots of snow by the road. Still early spring here ̶ now we get to do spring again! Back home, a total of 1,737 miles, 7 states for the week.

A wonderful trip! Beautiful spring flowers, interesting historical and cultural sites, excellent weather, no crowds. This seemed the perfect season for the trip, avoiding heat and humidity of summer. Kay proved again to be an excellent travel companion; both cooperative and assertive of her interests, as appropriate. She poked fun at my note-taking for the diary, I wondered what she wrote in her little book (claiming to keep track of expenses). Kay’s credits for the trip, which I’ve been instructed to note, include: the Williamsburg candlelight concert, peanut butter pie, the earlier cave tour, ham rolls for lunch, a winery tour, Shrewsbury cookies. Best of all, she’s a lot of fun to have along. Since Kay gets along so well with my entire family maybe adoption should be considered. Or we’ll just find other trips to do together.

Other Southeastern Jaunts

Smokies (1973):

This was one of our 1^st trips, while I was in grad school in Wisconsin. Started out passing Indy 500 traffic heading to Mammoth Cave KY ̶ Marjorie loves cave tours ̶ and an evening Green River cruise. Thru Tennessee w/ a tour of The Hermitage, to the Ashville YWCA overnight (Marjorie was working then at the Madison Y); we’re “greeted” by a bearded young man in a dress coming down the stairs, have very “sparse” accommodations (2 beds on the floor). On to Great Smokey Mtns NP: lots of pretty trails and panoramic overlooks.

Along the Blue Ridge Parkway: Linville Falls & Gorge especially impressive w/ azaleas & rhododendrons spilling down. Pretty Mabry Mill offers a classic postcard view. Along the Roanoke Valley, then headed back via W Virginia Turnpike thru very rugged terrain.

Washington DC (1984 & 2009):

Been to DC several times, including conferences, but these 2 visits had more extensive sightseeing.

Marjorie’s Mom joins us in ’84 and we meet up w/ friend Nana Yaa M works w/ at the Red Cross. We stay in her friend’s condo across the river, easy access to metro.

Pretty spring flowers around the Mall, cherry blossoms around the Jefferson Memorial. We poke thru various museums and out to Mt Vernon. Son Matt especially enjoys an evening driving around w/ Nana Yaa and her friend in his “talking” car (like TV show “Knight Rider,” one of Matt’s favorites).

Views along the Mall.

The White House,

museums,

and visits to Mount Vernon and Alexandria.

In ’09 M’s sister Mary & hubbie Jeff were attending a wedding, invited us to come to DC to hang together on a Fall weekend. Megabus from NYC to DC. Lodging at Hotel Madera, a nice “boutique hotel” w/ good location for walking to the Mall and White House areas. Pretty views along the Mall; the Washington Monument seems especially pretty silhouetted against nice clouds.

Views of the new WWII Memorial, some filming being done by the Lincoln Memorial.

Into beautiful St. Matthew’s Cathedral near the hotel (the site of JFK’s funeral).

Metro to the National Zoo: panda bears, gorillas, etc. AM farmer’s market, then into some museums: Natural History w/ beautiful stuffed animals, American History w/ Julia Child’s TV kitchen. Waiting for the bus back to NYC, there’s a trapeze set-up near the bus stop.

One addition: on one of my gerontology conference visits to Washington I had a chance to see the intriguing Korean War Memorial, with some interesting reflections.

New Orleans (1985):

Also been to New Orleans several times for conferences.

Jackson Square is particularly photogenic.

Marjorie joins me in ‘85 for an anniversary celebration, poking around the French Quarter, Jackson Square,

the Garden District (via a streetcar . . . named “Desire”?). We buy a Christmas ornament: “Santa Gator.” An interesting anniversary dinner: we sit by a window and a mime stops to perform for us ̶ for way too long!

At other times we’ve each toured fascinating New Orleans cemeteries (“Cities of the Dead”), with memories of the movie “Easy Rider.”

Just wandering the streets is plenty interesting,

including talented street musicians.

On one of my conference visits I attended a special “gerontological” jazz performance.

Views are also nice along the waterfront,

at night,

and even at the airport.

Baltimore (1986):

Marjorie’s Mom joins us for a spring trip. First thru some snow to Winterthur estate (Delaware).

Then into Baltimore: pretty Inner Harbor area,

an interesting mall,

the National Aquarium,

and out to Fort McHenry.

Pretty night views of the harbor.

On to Gettysburg w/ a very informative guide, pretty blossoming trees. Such a lovely place for a war!

A view toward the Eisenhower home

and a quick look at the Pennsylvania Capitol.

Charleston SC (1997):

Marjorie’s Uncle Bill is with us this trip. A lovely city to stroll: pretty houses and squares, old streets.

An evening of dinner and musical entertainment.

Tours of old plantations and beautiful spring gardens: Boone Hall, Magnolia Plantation and Middleton Place.

Shem Creek w/ pelicans and shrimp boats.

A drive south to Beaufort, w/ the house used in movie “Big Chill” and a carriage ride.

Hunting Island St Pk on the coast.

To Savannah GA with more pretty parks and buildings along the river.

Charlotte NC (2007):

A visit w/ friends Carl & Betty, semi-retired here to be near children Chris & Diane. It’s my 1^st digital camera trip! Lovely Southern Spring Show: flowers, home stuff, etc.

An excursion to Latta Place historic site. Some poking around Harris Teeter Superstore. New (to us) dining experiences at Five Guys (burgers) and Chic-Fil-A.