Washington, D.C. Pt. 1

Today we headed into Washington, D.C. For the experience, we rode the bus from the campground to The Metro Station in College Park. Then we rode the subway (The Metro) into the city.  

We disembarked right by our first stop of the day, The International Spy Museum. 

 

Next, we visited the National Postal Museum, one of the museums of the Smithsonian Institution.

Here we learned about many modes of mail delivery used throughout the years such as horse-drawn stagecoach...

 

railroad mail car...

 

dog-team sled...

 

and even the pneumatic tube system utilized in large cities to deliver to office buildings.

 

Marlon took a look at thousands of rare stamps inside the stamp vault.  

The US Postal Service honored Walt Disney Company by featuring Disney characters on stamps issued in June 2004. The four stamps featured: Mickey Mouse, Goofy & Donald Duck; Bambi & Thumper;  Mufasa & Simba; Pinnochio & Jiminy Cricket.

 

Make yourself free postcards for family and friends courtesy of The National Postal Museum. Postage is extra, of course.

 

We learned about the Victory Mail (V-Mail) system used during World War II. Troops wrote letters which were reduced to thumb-nails on microfilm. The film reels were shipped to the States, developed and printed out on lightweight photo paper. Then they were delivered to the addressee. 

 

The Museum had interesting displays about identifying suspicious packages as well the role of the Postal Inspector. 

 

There was a large display of Rural Mailboxes as Folk Art. 

 

Marlon was not looking forward to the unusual 100 degree heat awaiting us outside the museum and attempted to hire this stagecoach. 

 

Next we visited Union Station. Opened in 1907, Union Station hit its peak during World War II when as many as 200,000 people passed through it in a single day. Throughout the years, the Station declined both financially and physically. Federal and City officials were often attempting to find other functions for the Station.

 

During the bicentennial celebration of 1976, the Station became the National Visitor Center. Due to lack of publicity though, the National Visitor Center never became popular and closed in October 1978. The Station itself was closed for refurbishment as a result of the Redevelopment Act of 1981. Thanks in part to $70 million in federal funding, Union Station was restored and reopened in its current incarnation featuring 29 train tracks and a wide variety of shopping and dining experiences. Once again, it is visited by approximately 20 million people each year.

We left Union Station and walked to The U.S. Capitol.

The U.S. Capitol can be toured on a first-come, first-served basis from 9-4 Monday through Saturday. Construction of a brand-new visitor center is currently underway. 

 

On our way back to The Metro Station we walked through Washington, D.C.'s Chinatown.  

Watch how a postcard gets delivered and get a view of The Metro Station in this video.

We made it back to Cherry Hill Park to find our friends from Colorado had arrived. Jerry and Lee, coincidentally, had planned their trip here independently of us for the same time frame.

Next up...we all explore the city together.

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/june/washingtondcday1/ .

To be continued...

Cherry Hill Park, College Park, Maryland

Today we traveled to Cherry Hill Park in College Park, Maryland, a suburb of the nation's capital, Washington D.C.

Here's a great place to watch a nightly movie.

The clubhouse features include a comfortable lounge area...

a well-equipped exercise room...

a relaxing hot tub...

two large pools...

and a laundry room with many washers and dryers to get your laundry clean all at once.

This sign has to be MANY years old because while it is placed in such a way that you could once see it from the highway, it is now surrounded by many huge trees and impossible to see from I-95. It drew our attention because of its odd placement where travelers had no chance of seeing it.

Marlon is excited about seeing the sights of Washington, D.C. and training our new cat, Pedra, to not go to the bathroom on the floor of the motorhome.

Watch a brief video of our "Blair Witch"-type hike through Cherry Hill Park below.
For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/june/cherry-hill-park-ma/ .

To be continued...

Pedra Joins the Team

Support your favorite charity by using the search engine at www.goodsearch.com .

Remember our campground kitty at South of the Border? Here she is...

Our cat conscience got the better of us while visiting Williamsburg, so we called up Friends for Life at The Haven and arranged to adopt our little friend.

So we took an eight hour round-trip drive to pick up our new family member.

While we were at The Haven in Raeford, North Carolina, we took another look at the current cat houses...

and the new ones which have been moved into position and are waiting to have screens put on them.

While in Raeford, we ate at a neat little place called The Chatterbox Cafe.

Give them a try if you ever make it there.

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/june/raeford/ .

What did we name our new kitty? Well, at South of the Border all employees used to be called Pedro. We decided since she was a she, we would call her Pedra. She's probably the only living thing with that name!

To be continued...

Colonial Williamsburg Pt. 3

Next we observed a nut being devoured by a descendant of a colonial era squirrel.

Wanna watch him eat it? Click on the video below!

The plants and landscape designs of the 18th century can be found throughout the historic area. Here is Colonial Garden where it all begins.

Colonial Williamsburg is home to two rare breeds of sheep-Hog Island sheep and Leicester Longhorns.

The first hospital devoted solely to treating the mentally ill opened in 1773 in Williamsburg. Let's go into The Public Hospital for Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds and see who should move on in.

The tranquilizer chair is the most complete restraint of a patient's every move ever devised.

There was one vote that Doug should remain in the Public Hospital...luckily, that voter wasn't registered in the town of Colonial Williamsburg.

The Museums of Colonial Williamsburg feature both British and American antiques from 1660 to 1820.

The ongoing exhibit, "American Furniture: From Virginia to Vermont", features pieces from the three regions of eastern Virginia, Pennsylvania and New England.

In "A Child's Eye View", visitors will find a large collection of intricately detailed dollhouses.

This dollhouse was found in the attic of a Long Island mansion slated to be demolished and was acquired by FAO Schwartz in 1969. It was briefly displayed in the window of the Fifth Avenue toyshop before moving here to the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum.

Kitchen...

Foyer...

Parlor...

Our favorite room was the solarium!

The ongoing exhibit, "Revolution in Taste", features almost every type of antique teapot you could think of.

One of the Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds actually thinks he is posing with his family.

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/june/colonial-williamsburg-va/ pictures 133-185.

To be continued...

Colonial Williamsburg Pt. 2

The cabinetmakers of Colonial Williamsburg produce furniture with the tools and designs of the colonial era right before guests' eyes.

Doug took some time out to lean on the fence and look at a Colonial Williamsburg stream filled with water from modern times.

A visit to the Coffeehouse Backyard found one of the founding fathers of the United States discussing the political and social scene of the time.

Did you ever wonder where you went if you broke the law in Colonial Williamsburg? If you were lucky, you got to spend some time in the Public Gaol.

The most famous prisoners of the Public Gaol (pronounced "jail") were the 15 henchmen of Blackbeard the Pirate. They may have sat right here in the year 1718.

The silversmith hard at work...

Revolutionary City is the drama that plays out every afternoon with a large ensemble cast of characters. Depending on the day of the week, Revolutionary City will center around one of three themes: "Building a Nation", "Collapse of the Royal Government 1774-1776" or "Citizens at War 1776-1781". Theoretically, guests could stay over a week without seeing the same thing twice. We were here on "Collapse of the Royal Government 1774-1776" Day.

Here, cast members gather waiting for the drama to begin.

Revolutionary City Cast Member poses with Disney Cast Member.

The horses are in position...

as is the audience...

Watch some of the activity at Colonial Williamsburg, including the beginning of Revolutionary City in the video below.
Kate and Eve discuss the implications of being a slave during the Revolution.

The blacksmith shop still produces tools, nails and furniture which is utilized throughout the historic area.

The printing office and bookbindery were run along with the post office by William Parks, who also started Virginia's first newspaper.

You can even learn how to make shoes from colonial times.

The dining room/parlor of the James Geddy House.

Among other things, James Geddy was a silversmith. One of his plans is exhibited here.

In the foundry behind the Getty House, a cast member works with brass, bronze and other very hot metals.

For more pictures, go to http://public.fotki.com/Marlonfleenor/1/2008/june/colonial-williamsburg-va/ pictures 68-132.

To be continued...