Day 55 Boone, NC 7193 miles

We are in barn quilt territory.  While we were driving around the area today I found these barns to photograph.  There were several more but you can't always stop in the middle of the road for a photograph.

We were able to spend the afternoon and evening with our dear friends, Steve and Barb Edwards.  They have a beautiful cozy new home in the hills near Boone.  They took us for a drive to see quilts as well as beautiful views of the surrounding mountains.  Even made a stop at the Mast General Store.  It was a fun place with an eclectic mix of merchandise.

Day 54 Greensboro, NC

Greensboro was full of surprises. We were just planning to stop for the night.

 It is home to Replacements, Ltd, a business that buys and sells china, crystal and silver.  I have purchased online from them.  We were able to tour the facility and then purchase a table knife to our stainless to replace one that had broken.  Since our silverware is 43 years old I bought one that was 1/2 price because it showed its "patina".  They stock over 425,000 patterns.  Rooneys were able to purchase dinner plates to match their wedding china pattern.

We went downtown and saw the Millennium Gate.  106 icons representing people, ideas, inventions, events that have made a significant difference in the past 1000 years.The Wright brothers plane is in the center near the top.

Greensboro Woolworth lunch counter was the place where 4 black students sat at the "white only" lunch counter on Feb 1, 1960.  We saw the lunch counter when we were at the Smithsonian.  We had planned to go to the Civil Rights Center but got there too late.  The museum is in the old Woolworth building.   

Day 53 Our last day on the east coast 6784 miles

We drove to Virginia Beach for our last day before heading west.
There are 2 lighthouses at Cape Henry.  The "new" one and

and the "old" one.

Cape Henry is the landing site of the Jamestown settlers.  They landed here and then sailed up the James River.  This cross is to commemorate that groups landing in the New World  April 16, 1607.  Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in America.

We stayed at the beach as long as we thought we could, it was time to return to the RV park for dinner.

We have all the eastern states.  You can guess the route home.

Time to head west.  It will take us another 4 weeks to return home.

Day 52 Williamsburg, VA

Today we went to Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia.  It has been set to look as is did the 1770's.  This visit I chose to go to the Arts Museums, the Folk Art and Decorative Arts exhibits were my focus.  The rest of the group started on the village square.  I went particularly to see quilts but saw much much more.

This embroidery was done in the early 1800's by Margery Jane McGuire, age 10.

These quilts were made between 1818 and the 1840's  Beautiful craftsmanship.

White work from 1818

I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was an exhibit of African American quilts.  These quilts were made between 1875 and 1975.  Among the collections were several Gee's Bend quilts.  These women from Alabama made utilitarian quilts with bright colored fabrics.  They have a wonderful sense of color and space.

This silver chandelier was made between 1691-1697 for King William III of England.  It weights nearly 50 pounds.  It left the kings collection in 1808 when it was deemed unusable at weight value.  Fortunately the silver smith sold it rather than melting it down.  Eventually it was purchased by William Randolf Hearst in 1924 and now is in a museum where the rest of us can see it.

All through the village there were costumed townspeople.  We enjoyed listening to this duo while waiting for the rest of our group.  

Outer Banks, NC

We enjoyed our time at the Wright Brothers National Memorial.  This is a replica of their plane, we saw the original at the Smithsonian in Washington DC.  The brothers chose to do their test flights at Kill Devil Hills, NC because of "isolation, high dunes, strong winds and soft landing".  

On December 17, 1903 "a manned, heavier-than-air machine left the ground by its own power, moved forward under control without losing speed, and landed on a point as high as that from which it started".  Now that is a mouth full, but they were the first men to FLY.  What an achievement.  100 years later a man landed on the moon.

It is still hot here on the east coast.  Rich wanted to climb this lighthouse but it was closed because of the temperature.

Gary enjoyed his swim in the Atlantic Ocean.

Day 49 Monticello, VA 6235 miles

Today we drove down the Shenandoah valley and crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains on our way to Charlottesville, VA.  A beautiful drive but encountered some aggressive semi-truck drivers.  

We visited Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson.  He was the 3rd president of the United States.  He drafted the Declaration of Independence.  He was an inventor and so there were some interesting things in his house.  When he was President he sent Lewis and Clark west on their exploration trip as well as made the Louisiana Purchase.

The garden as it would have looked in Jefferson's time.  

Monticello has 2 front doors.  This is the door the guests would have entered.

Drove to the top of Carter Mountain with the promise a peach orchard at the top.  Got some peaches and also enjoyed the view of the area.

Day 48 Amish Country

We drove to Intercourse and Bird in Hand Pennsylvania.  Visited quilt shops and drove through the farm land.  Here is an Amish school.  

The farms are nice and green.  The corn is tall and the horses are sleek and beautiful.

Gettysburg, PA

We spent 1 1/2 days at Gettyburg National Military Park.  The battle of Gettysburg took place July 1, 2, 3, 1863.  This was a major battle of the Civil War.  A very bloody battle that took many lives.  The visitors center and museum were very informative.  There were 3 ideals that were in play that lead up to the war.  The country was on the brink of splitting apart, would slavery be abolished or embraced and who are we as Americans.  It seemed as though we were walking on hallowed ground.  It was an emotional experience.

There are still lots of rock fences.  We rented a CD and went on a driving tour of the battlefield.  It was suggested to allow 3 hours.  It took us about 6 hours.  Much to learn and take in.

Can you hide behind a rock?

Hole in the barn from a cannon.

It seems so peaceful now

Last day on the Mall

We rode the subway to Union station.  A very large, beautiful dome.  I am learning to look up!

 From Union station we walked to the capital.  We were fortunate to just walk up to the tour reservation line and get into the next tour.  I was disappointed we didn't get to see the rotunda.  It is beautiful but was closed for refurbishment.  That is the case often in DC.  The Washington Monument elevator was not working so it was closed as well.  This is Rooney's first time in DC so I was pleased that they got to see inside the capital building, just not all of it!

Next on the agenda was the White House.  We did not get a tour, but walked around the streets and got to see both the north and south fronts of the White House.  We also toured the White House Visitors Center which gave a lot of history.

We walked from the White House back to the mall for time in the Natural History Museum.  It was open late on a Saturday.  Many families took advantage of that so it was packed.  We saw some of the displays but in the end we found a table in the cafe and had a Pepsi.
Gary's Dad is in the hospital in Richland.  The Doctors are solving his problems.  The time sitting in the cafe gave Gary a chance to call the hospital and talk with a nurse and his Dad.  We are very thankful for the care he is receiving from the hospitalist and the times he has called Gary to give an update.

2 more days in DC

Yesterday we went to see more monuments and museums.  There is so much to see.  We got off the Circulater bus at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt memorial.  We hadn't realized this beautiful memorial was here.  A gem.

We then walked to the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial.  

On to the Korean War memorial.  My uncle, Donald Dick fought in this conflict.

Abraham Lincoln still amazes me.  He was a very wise man.

We walked on to the Vietnam memorial, I didn't take a photo, and then to the WWII memorial. Both Gary and my fathers fought in this war. 

After lunch we toured the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.  We couldn't take any photos on the money printing tour.  In the gift shop I looked up and saw this amazing ceiling.  The docent said they don't know much about it, if it is wood or plaster he did know the building was built in 1909.  

Today we went to the second Air and Space museum Udvar-Hazy Center.  It is near Dulles airport.  It is large enough to hold the Discovery space shuttle, a concord, the B-29 Enola Gay and many other airplanes.  We had decided to split this day between this museum and Mt Vernon so had to leave before we saw everything.  Took a guided tour, our guide is a retired aeronautical engineer.  He had an incredible about of knowledge to share with a lot of enthusism.

After lunch we traveled to George Washington's home, Mt Vernon, Virginia.  I enjoyed listening to this costumed character walking thru the grounds playing his fife.

The beautiful mansion.  It is detailed to look as it did in 1799, the year Washington died.