On to Haymarket Virginia and a Visit with Family

A short trip from Williamsburg to the Washington, DC area brought us to the Greenville Family Farm where we parked the motor home for our stay in Haymarket. It is a working farm with campground facilities in ‘the North 40’. We had a relaxing time visiting with JoAnne’s sister and family. It was great to see the nieces and nephews and grand nieces. We even attended Madeline’s graduation from kindergarten – the kids were all so cute and so proud of themselves!

We spent a day touring Jefferson’s home, Monticello, and James Monroe’s home, Ash Lawn-Highland. We were especially impressed with Monticello not only for its beauty, but also for all the innovations that Jefferson had designed and had built into the home. He installed such things as double windows to control the amount of cold and heat in the house, two dumbwaiters, one for delivering food from the kitchen to the dining area, and another for delivering wine from the wine cellar. There was also a set of automatic double doors, when one was opened it opened the other at the same time, and a seven day clock, with a gong, that kept everything on the plantation running on the same time. At Monroe’s house during the tour, one of guides even showed us how they spun wool onto a dradle (sp?). We had lunch at and toured the Michie Tavern, which dates back to about 1784. All in all it was an extremely interesting day.

As an aside, one thing we’ve noticed during our drives is that when a river or creek is noted on the highway, unlike in the west, they actually have water in them!!

Williamsburg Area -- Full of History

Our trip to Williamsburg was very pretty. We took the highway near the coast hoping to see the ocean; however, it’s not like the west coast – all we saw was trees. Nearby Williamsburg are the places where the first permanent English settlement is and the last significant Revolutionary War battle was fought. Jamestown was settled in the early 1600’s on the James River. The site is currently being excavated and many of the foundations of the original buildings can be seen. The National Park guide gave us a lot of interesting information about those first settlers and their interaction with the natives. Being on the river, it’s a very pretty place.

The Yorktown battlefield is still very much like it was during the Revolutionary war except that it is now interlaced with modern day settlements. But it was amazing to stand on top of the earthworks and imagine what it must have been like during those times. What fortitude our forefathers had!!!

We also spent time at Williamsburg walking around town looking at the old buildings and going into the shops. People there are dressed in colonial garb and, when asked a question, they answered as if they were still living in colonial times. There are also horses, beautiful carriages, and carts in the streets. They even have a garden with plants the colonists might have grown in their gardens. It was a lot of fun.

Asheville and Charleston--What Beautiful Places

We had a great time in Asheville. We spent two days at the Biltmore Mansion – walking up and down four flights of stairs, and then through some of the gardens – but what an amazing place it is. The grounds are huge but very beautiful. We also got a chance to drive part of the Blue Ridge Parkway and we ate at the most luxurious McDonald’s just outside the Biltmore. We stayed at a very pretty campground, but it was built on a pretty steep hill. All the sites were terraced and beautifully landscaped.

Monday we drove to Charleston, NC through a horrendous rainstorm. A trip that should have taken about 5 hours took 7 hours. But we made it safely and are in another beautiful campground. Jim sure did a great job of picking the RV parks for us so far.

We took a bus tour through Charleston (in the rain) but had a very interesting guide who told us a lot about the history of the city as we passed some beautiful houses and other points of interest. Charleston extends onto several islands, so there are a lot of interesting bridges to be seen. There are houses called ‘single houses’, unique to Charleston; they are a single room wide with a side ‘piazza’ (porch) where the entrance to the house is. The house itself may be quite large, extending quite deeply into the lot. Houses, churches, and other buildings have a lot of beautiful iron work as fences, balconies, or just as decorations. Of course, a visit to Ft. Sumter is a must. What an interesting place it is. Tomorrow we’re going back to some of the houses we saw on the bus tour and then to the beach so we can dip our tootsies in the Atlantic.

We have now been through 10 states!! Soon we’ll head up the coast to visit Williamsburg and beyond. Some interesting wildlife we’ve seen along the way include wild turkeys, skunks, turtles, egrets, white swans, deer, and Palmetto bugs.