Tag Archives: civil war

Virginia

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I struggled with this state too. Virginia has so many things to offer to the exploring tourist and I’ve seen so few but I have been in the state for more than an change of planes. My brother and his family live in Virginia and I’ve been to visit them for more than a day or two. I’ve also been to Arlington National Cemetery.

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Speaking of Arlington National Cemetery, this is where you have to go if you want to understand the true cost of war. Row upon row of nearly identical white headstones march across the the rolling acres of grass. More than 300,000 veterans from the Revolutionary War to Iraq  have been laid to rest here.

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This is where you can find the Tomb of the Unknowns and pay your respects to those lost and never recovered or identified. Those brave soldiers who have never been able to return home to their loved ones in life or in death.

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John F. Kennedy  is also buried here where the eternal flame is maintain for all time, marking the resting place of a president, a commander in chief.

Shenandoah Valley – Shenandoah is a Native American word meaning “Daughter of the Stars”.  My brother lives in near here and another friend has gone rafting down the lazy river. I’d like to take the time to explore the Shenandoah National Park.

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For me, there’s another must see…Chincoteague. The Eastern Shore runs from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (A marvel all it’s own) to the Maryland border. At the northern end of the shoreline is the island the Indians called Chincoteague; ‘Beautiful land Across the Waters” . A band of wild horses makes this island their home. Made famous in the book and later the movie , Misty of Chincoteague, the band is actually split into two herds, one located on Virginia’s side and the other on Maryland’s. There’s a yearly round up and auction in July to control the size of the herd.

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Monticello, the dream home of Thomas Jefferson is located in Charlottesville , VA. Only 11 of the first floor rooms are open to the public but still worth a stop.

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The vacation I am toying with for 2014 is historic Colonial Williamsburg. Colonial Williamsburg recreates the period from 1750-1775, the end of the Colonial era. Reenactors dressed in period clothing and speaking the dialect of the time  roam the cobblestone streets.

Colonial-Williamsburg

There’s still so much more to Virginia…The Blue Ridge Parkway, George Washington’s beloved Mount Vernon, Busch Gardens,  and many civil war sites such as Fredericksburg, Lexington, Manassas and Appomattox, and historic Richmond.

I have one last shout out to another blogger and new B &B owner. I want to visit Bell Grove Plantation. I’ve watched the B&B their get ready for their launch and now they are “live” so I really want to visit to see it in person. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Belle-Grove-Plantation-at-Port-Conway/271783509524776?id=271783509524776&sk=app_190322544333196

So although I’m adding Virginia to the yes  side  of the countdown, it really needs one or more repeat visits to see it all.

The tally now stands at 19/27

Pennsylvania

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I’m going to put Pennsylvania on the Yes side of the ledger but with that little asterisk for  “repeat visit needed”. The reason is that my two visits to the state barely scratched the surface. I spent one vacation in Allentown, PA for the Drum and Bugle Corp championships. It rained and the tent leaked. I spent most of the time wet and cold!

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The other time was to see the Army VS Navy football game in Philadelphia. Aside from sitting in the stands and admiring the sea of Navy Uniforms, I remember the traffic. At the time I was much younger and  not yet used to the brutal traffic you can get in cities. (After 30+ years in Boston I expect it would be much easier this time).

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So what have I missed that calls for a return trip? There’s a lot so let’s see how many reasons I can name before I run out of room in this post. (I have a self imposed limit of 500 words per post)

#1. Ricketts Glen State Park. If you like waterfalls, this park has an abundance. In a single day you could visit 22 waterfalls, most with easy access surrounded by outstanding scenic beauty. The Falls Trail is 7.2 miles and will pass 21 of the 22 waterfalls. falls

#2. Gettysburg National Military Park. No one should be able to cross Pennsylvania off their  must see list without visiting Gettysburg. Next to the  battlefields of Lexington and Concord that started the Revolutionary War, this is almost certainly one of America’s most important battlefields. You don’t have to be a student of history to appreciate the importance of this battle.

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#3. Hershey. The Milk Chocolate capital of the world…well in my opinion. Home of the Hersey Bar and  Candy Kisses, the Hershey  Candy factory stopped their tours in 1973 but you can visit Hershey’s Chocolate World, and the Hershey Museum. The nearby Hershey Park is one of the best know amusement parks in the Northeast with over 60 rides and attractions including a 1919 carousel.

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#4.  Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Since 1720 Pennsylvania’s Amish and Mennonite communities have lived and worked and followed James 4:10 “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and he shall lift you up.” Lancaster, Berks and adjacent counties are home to 70,000 of the “Plain People” including members of the strict Old Order Amish. Horse-drawn buggies, Amish quilts and food and hex signs, those lovely colorful bits of folk art,  are a  trade mark of the area.

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#5. Fallingwater.  According to a poll of the American Institute of Architects this is the most architecturally significant building in the U.S. This is the vacation home of  Pittsburgh businessman Edgar Kaufmann and his wife, Liliane designed  by Frank Lloyd Wright.

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#6. Valley Forge. From the Civil War back to the Revolution, Pennsylvania was in the middle of history.  Everyone knows the story of Valley Forge. The American army was in tatters, hunkered down and trying to survive the long, cold winter. Starvation loomed. But change came in the form of aid from abroad and by the time the rag-tag army marched out of Valley Forge they had been transformed. Although the war dragged on for another 5 years, this was the turning point.

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I’m out of space and we haven’t even talked about Pittsburgh and it’s Steel Heritage, the museums of Philadelphia and the Liberty Bell or even the Rocky Statue; Franklin Court and the Betsey Ross House. So much to see and do.

New tally..13/ 25