In Pursuit of John Wilkes Booth

As many of you know, I have two favorite places in DC Metro- Ford's Theatre and Mt. Vernon Estate.
2011 marked the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War and there have been many opportunities to learn more about the historic events that took place  here. It is my impression that President Lincoln is well deserving of his popularity- an astute statesman, war strategist and kind, compassionate man.

A must see in  DC is Ford's Theatre and Museum  http://www.fordstheatre.org/home/plan-your-visit/daytime-visits-fords-theatre/museum    The clothing that President Lincoln was wearing the night of the assassination is on display as well as the murder weapon.  The Museum of American History  also has some stunning Lincoln artifacts.

Right across the street, is the Petersen House http://www.fordstheatre.org/home/performances-events /tours/petersen-house both venues are operated by the National Park Service and admission is free.  The Petersen House is where Lincoln was carried after being shot, he died there the next morning. The house is sandwiched between modern day tourist traps that sell souvenirs and I believe The Lincoln Waffle House a greasy spoon that I visited with Holly and Ryne on their visit

It must be lonely to be a park ranger at the Petersen House since it is easily overlooked and takes a backseat to the more glamorous Ford's Theatre.  Worth the trip across the street and you may even be lucky enough to jaywalk directly to it.

My sister Mary Beth told me about a great book about Lincoln, entitled Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin.  I got the audio book from Sandy for Christmas and I will be listening to it on the long drive home in February. Coincidentally, a Steven Spielberg movie is being made from the book and has been filming in Richmond and DC during our time here. It seems there was an uproar in Richmond, as the lighting of the Christmas tree at the capitol was postponed to accommodate the filming of the movie. It will star Daniel Day Lewis and Sally Field and should be a real winner- looking forward to it!

Tom is reading Manhunt by James L Swanson and it is a good read. Another good book I've heard of is My Thoughts be Bloody by Nora Titone describing the rivalry between John Wilkes Booth and his brother Edwin.

  After seeing the movie, The Conspirators we became intrigued with Mary Surratt  who was hanged as a conspirator in the Lincoln assassination.   We took a trip to Maryland to see The Surratt House and Tavern Museum formerly in Surrattsville MD, now Clinton MD.  It was only about an hour's drive and was tucked in among suburbia. http://www.surratt.org/

We had a nice personalized tour from a friendly senior docent- lovely and unhurried as it was just us and another family. Interesting to see the former tavern and inn which has been restored and preserved by The Surratt Society and is a facility of the Maryland Capital Park and Planning Commission. Only $3.50 for admission and you can take all the pictures you want- yahoo!

After that, we decide to head to Dr. Mudd's farmhouse about 5 miles away as the crow flies. He is the Dr. who treated Wilkes Booth after he broke his leg while making his getaway from Ford's Theatre.  An amazing distance to travel on horseback with a broken leg.  We knew the farmhouse was closed for the season, it would be hard to get to on a snowy day in Winter.  It's in Beantown MD- how about that!
http://www.somd.lib.md.us/MUSEUMS/Mudd.htm

Mary Surratt's Boardinghouse still stands in DC but is now the Wok and Roll Chinese restaurant with a small plaque marking it, courtesy of the Chinatown Lion's Club. We made a quick side trip there on the day we took the NPR tour.

On the way home we stopped at Fort Washington, which is across from the Virginia side of the Potomac and visible from The Mount Vernon Estate.  It was a bitterly cold day and we were pretty much the only ones there except for the deer who were not at all disturbed by visitors and continued to munch on the grass while we took pictures.  This is another site worth the trip- but probably more pleasant on a warm day with a lovely view and unpretentious visitor's center. http://www.nps.gov/fowa/index.htm

Tom surveys the guard's quarters and gets nostalgic for his days as a Sheriff's Deputy. 








We didn't make it back to Port Royal Virgina where Wilkes-Booth was shot and killed.  Too much to see and too little time left.  It has been quite an adventure on our quest to see to see as much as we can of the historical sites all around us. Now, on to Old Town Alexandria.

Thanksgiving weekend: Gravestones, No Turkey Bones

We had a very nice Thanksgiving, in spite of the fact that we missed family and friends this year.

Tom and I had a great dinner at the Fort Belvoir officer's club and I was happy to forgo the cooking and clean-up. no turkey day leftovers though....

 The next day,we headed to Charlottesville Virginia to see Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.  We have been lucky to have such an unseasonably warm Fall and beginning of Winter and have not been hampered in our travels by inclement weather.  The traffic was light and we were quite pleased with ourselves for choosing a perfect day to see the estate. Then, while listening to the radio we heard there was a big football game at the University of Virginia  and heavy traffic was expected- darn!   We had just commented on the wide open spaces and great little towns we had passed through and then the city folk drivers began appearing on the highway into Charlottesville. Increased speeds, horn honking and unwillingness to let others merge, betrayed their origins.   Oh well, soon we had the roadways to ourselves again and we marveled at the beautiful scenery at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Monticello was beautiful and fairly uncrowded. The Christmas events were scheduled for the following weeks with many visitors expected, so we had a nice unhurried tour.  It would be beautiful to see it in the Spring when the gardens are in full bloom.  Worth the trip and a must see in Virginia.  http://www.monticello.org/  A recurrent theme of the weekend was gravestones and we saw some beautiful old burial sites and headstones. Jefferson is buried there and his family plot is a short walk from the mansion.

We had just seen the Leonardo DiCaprio movie J. Edgar, interesting to see since it was partially filmed in the DC area. At the conclusion of the movie, it said that he was buried in the Congressional Cemetery in DC.  We decided a field trip was in order and spent a few hours there seeing various headstones of notables such as John Phillip Sousa, Matthew Brady and Taza- son of the Apache Chief Cochise. http://www.congressionalcemetery.org/welcome-historic-congressional-cemetery

The cemetery was an odd mix of the very old, dating back to The War of 1812 while jutting out in the middle of an urban area that has seen better days. Very interesting and another unexpected find in DC.

The grand finale of Thanksgiving weekend was seeing A Christmas Carol at Ford's Theatre with friends Kari and JR.  It was our second time to see this version of the play. I understand that it is updated every five years or so.  http://www.fords.org/event/christmas-carol-1  Thanks for choosing such great tickets Kari-outstanding  seats.  I got teary-eyed during the play as I knew this would be my last time to see this wonderful production.  And true to form, there was even a prominent gravestone in the play! Ebeneezer Scrooge's, show to him by the Ghost of Christmas Future.

As you can see, my blogging has continued to be backlogged and we are visiting the sites so fast I can barely keep up with it. Only about 6 weeks left before we leave for Arizona and although my wish list of places to visit is being fulfilled, we have a lot more to see.

Fall Fun and Technology Fails

Last Fall, we missed a lot of opportunities for celebrating the change of seasons here in the Northeast. It has been fun to see the beautiful leaves change and to finally feel the humidity and heat gradually fade away. My brother-in-law Robert said that the Shenandoah Valley  on the Fall was a sight not to be missed, so I started scouting the various festivals and events in the area. All of our day trips are restricted to 12 hours maximum due to our Sandy, who would not be kind to a non-family member taking her outside for a potty break.

We planned a trip to Syria Virginia to attend the 2011 Apple Festival at Graves Mountain Lodge.  The weather was perfect and we set off to enjoy the day. The only thing that worried me was the fact that the website of the  lodge had a PO Box for an address, so all we had was the name of the town and zip code.  Well, we finally made it, but we nearly gave up.  When we walked up to the lodge there was a brochure with a proper street address, better late than never. 

We got some beautiful pictures of the venue and the changing leaves were quite spectacular.  We decided to get a new camera after our friends Kevin and Tracy visited and we realized our camera was in need of an update.  We treated ourselves to a new "bridge camera" with better speed and  distance qualities and felt it would be nice to photograph our new grandson due in May.   We are still trying to get the full benefit of the camera and you will notice some very poor lighting in some subsequent posts.  It is a experiment each time we use it to decide on whether to use the flash or not.


Well, I don't want to  assign blame, but a member of our household hasn't quite reconciled to the fact that reading glasses are needed more often than not. Long story short, the whole memory card was erased, so I have to give credit  to the Graves Mountain website for the pictures on this blog-phooey!
www.gravesmountain.com  

We enjoyed the fresh air, good food and just being around friendly, relaxed people who were not rushing around and were just out to have a fun day.

The food was plentiful and we bought apple butter, kettle corn and a bag of apples from the adjacent orchard.  The FFA (Future Farmers of America) were stirring a big black kettle over and open fire and it took me back to Redmond Oregon where so many of the boys in my high school class wore their FFA blue corduroy jackets.  It turned out they were making "Pure Sorghum Syrup, woodfire cooked".  I have no idea what I will do with it, but I sure don't want to haul it back to Arizona so I better figure it out. 

I have to say that when we do leave the confines of the city, we are happily surprised that folks are so friendly and courteous.  The beautiful homes and yards with porches and rocking chairs on them make me wistful for small town life.  Virginia is beautiful and so rich in history, it has been fun to be here, but we are both  preparing our hearts and minds for the return trip to the Southwest.

The National Aquarium in Baltimore was a destination that seemed a must see while we were here.  My maternal Grandpa Frank Jenkins, was born in Baltimore and I was anxious to catch a glimpse of the city.
The trip was uneventful an we were lucky to dodge the rush hour traffic coming and going. By the way, drivers honk their horns there too! 

We took about two pictures before our new camera refused to work and I was not happy!  Looking back, I am pretty sure this was when the Apple Festival pictures disappeared........  The problem was remedied with a new memory card.  Luckily for us, we were within walking distance of a Best Buy store - problem solved and we enjoyed a great day at the aquarium.                                  

http://www.aqua.org/

Looking at the website before hand, it seemed that it would be optimal to visit the Aquarium on a weekday.  We enjoyed a full hour of practically having the place to ourselves when the school buses rolled up!  The kids were well behaved though. Most of them had school uniforms on and were with adult chaperone's that actually kept an eye on them. 

The aquarium is fairly new and beautiful, well worth the trip if you are in the area. They do a fantastic job of educating the public about pollution, climate change and endangered ocean species.  A sad fact of life as I found out when visiting the Washington National Zoo. 

I really should have written this blog a month ago when I could remember more detail... The volunteer docents were so nice and eager to show us the sights. They also have volunteers in scuba gear who feed the fish and even clean up fish poop and wipe down the sides of the tanks.  I guess I never thought of the fact that the tanks don't clean themselves.

My friend Christine told me about a cute little town called Occoquan Virginia. It is only about a 30 minute drive from our place and I really took a shine to this great little town. It is on the waterfront and has so many cute restaurants and shops. http://www.historicoccoquan.com/

 I found a year round Christmas store and bought  ornaments for Holly and Ryne for the expected baby and for my yoga teachers. http://www.goldgoose.com/

We were supposed to go on a Ghost Walk one weekend near Halloween, but the weather was so cold, rainy and windy that we didn't go- darn it!  There are so many Ghost tours and walks in the area, I would hate to leave Virginia without experiencing one.

I actually got to go to Occoquan twice so we could retake pictures lost from the accidentally deleted memory card-winning! 



I think we have the camera situation figured out now and I will find out in the next few minutes as I try to insert the pictures into the blog,something that usually tries my patience.

Well, we have enjoyed our second and last Fall here in Virginia, after all Virgina is for Lovers (and horn honkers!)

You say Heykenson, I say Hah-kenson

Well, the weather is turning cold and the forecast calls for up to 6" of snow tomorrow-Oct 30th!  Hmmph- I'll believe it when I see it.  So many false alarms last year and no warning at all for an earthquake-just not right!

Luckily the weather was spectacular for our good friends Kevin and Tracy's visit earlier this month. The humidity was very mild and the temperatures comfortable. 

I have been pestering Tracy about scheduling a visit for months and I was very happy when plans had been cemented.  We have been friends for about 19 years now and a better friend could not be asked for.  What I appreciate most about her is her non-judgmental attitude toward others and her willingness to commit to a planned outing- no negotiating necessary. 

The Haakensons are what you might call a trophy couple- attractive and fun and easy to get along with.  Maybe this is why my dire warnings about being the recipients of rude behavior here didn't pan out!  I tried to prepare them for the inevitable abrupt behaviors from folks (horn honking, yelling, pushing on the Metro, etc).  Would you believe no one here was mean to them!?  Don't get me wrong, I am glad, but why are the Dryden's so put upon?  I think we are ready to head back to the laid back West Coast attitude and wide open spaces. 




There was a mechanical problem with their plane out of Phoenix and they pretty much missed a whole day of touring the area. In spite of that, we had good luck seeing a lot in just a few days.  We were all pooped at the end of each day and enjoyed a pre-dinner cocktail.  I am usually a tee-totaler, but went along with them just to be a good hostess (just kidding of course).



The first evening we had dinner at the Old Ebbit Grill and then walked to back of The White House .  We think we saw Barack and Michelle looking out of their bedroom window, but I'm not sure.  The illuminated Lincoln Memorial was next and it was just as awe inspiring as the first time I saw it.

The next day was spent at Arlington Cemetery and Mt. Vernon Estate.  Arlington was as always a moving experience for all and we got to see a wreath laying ceremony. I was a bit nostalgic to see the Lee House  for the last time- I will really miss that beautiful and historic home that you can see driving home from DC. The restoration is still in progress and we will not see it's completion before returning to Arizona.   http://www.nps.gov/arho/index.htm








I was so happy that Kevin volunteered  to drive to Mt. Vernon that afternoon as I am a scared chicken even now, after 14 months here. The few times I have braved the freeways I have been proud as a peacock- but the truth is I will go miles out of my way to stay on the surface streets.  We got directions from a cabbie at the Van Dorn Metro station since the GPS doesn't readily find the place.  We tried to keep a straight face as he adamantly told us to take Eisenhower to Dukey (Duke) street-"very easy, don't need a GPS- easy- Dukey street" Well, eventually we did get there, but after taking a circuitous route as the crow flies.

Tracy didn't believe me that she was the same size as Martha Washington, but I have the photo to prove it!  Martha herself was on the ground that day giving a little talk and I couldn't help gaping at her cotton candy powder wig. It was the first glimpse I had gotten of her out of all my trips there and it was exciting. She certainly is well preserved for a woman of her age!

Gosh, I am not certain if this was the evening we went to King Street in Old Town Alexandria to a restaurant Tracy heard about on the plane ride to DC- Daniel McConnell's http://www.danieloconnells.com/index.cfm?area=content&action=contentselect&menuid=208
The recommended Guinness Cheeseburger was enjoyed and I have to tell you that it tasted better than it looked.

After that, Tom thought we should head to Ben and Jerry's for dessert. I have to tell you that I really enjoyed my scoop of Shweddy Balls-yum! I just love that Pete Schweddy!
http://www.benjerry.com/flavors/feature/schweddy/?refcd=GO100000000872695s_schweddy_balls&tsacr=GO14273039272&gclid=CIGW_q6vjKwCFTDatgodVXz5mw

 The next day we headed for the "Stones and Bones" Natural History Museum  and the American History Museum.  Would you believe it was Tom's first visit to either?  I  am glad we finally got down there together and look forward to one last visit to see the new mummy exhibit. We also saw the The National Gallery of Art -outstanding and I plan to make another visit there as it is enormous.
http://www.nga.gov/

We headed back home to Sullivan Place and I think we were all tired and full of sensory overload.
I am sorry to say that I don't exactly remember when it was that we made another trip by car to DC to see The Jefferson Memorial and the Martin Luther King Memorial. It was so tricky to get to Jefferson at night- but Tom was a real trooper- persistent and we did make it. My only disappointment was that Thomas Jefferson had a huge spider web on his shoulder which I thought was pretty disgraceful. I made a quick call to the White House when we got home to register my complaint (not really).
The MLK memorial was beautiful and we considered ourselves lucky to see it without large crowds and just prior to the rescheduled dedication. The original dedication was postponed for a month due to the tropical storm.

The last day in DC was spent going to and from Union Station to store Kevin and Tracy's bags and get tickets on the MARC train to BWI airport out of Baltimore. Logistically it was tough, but mission accomplished. Kevin and Tracy were adept students at navigating the Metro System. As I was on my way home and they were on the way to BWI, I  narrowly missed being trapped on the Blue Line train without air conditioning. According to the news that night- people were vomiting and fainting while suffering in the crammed space.  There was a sad mishap on the line that doesn't need mention here, which caused the train to be at a standstill- oh dear.

Anyway, that day The Haakenson's headed to The Newseum and I went to the National Archives  just a few blocks away. They had an exhibit at the archives which  was called

What's Cooking, Uncle Sam? The Government's Effect on the American Diet
Explore the records that trace the ways that food has occupied the hearts and minds of Americans and their Government. From Revolutionary War rations to Cold War cultural exchanges, these documents and images reflect many of our current concerns about food safety and nutrition.

It was funny in a sad sort of way to see how the government has influenced the American diet and the use of processed foods- yuck, not impressed.  Worth the visit and I even got a "Vitamin Donut" coffee mug from the gift shop.

Kevin and Tracy enjoyed their time at the Newseum,  and then it was time to head back to Union Station for the trip home.

Tom and I really enjoyed our visit with you Tracy and Kevin. We are looking forward to more fun times when we return to Mesa in 2012!

You know I gripe a lot about rude behavior here , but I have met some wonderful people here too. I have been crying with relief this afternoon as a little 8 year old boy from Virginia  had been lost in a wooded area for 6 days. He has autism and is non-verbal. Hallelujah!  He was found alive today and the caring folks of volunteers came out in droves to search for him. There are good people everywhere if you just take a look around.