The Library of Congress

Place Visited: Library of Congress, Washington, DC, USA
Date: September 2017

I kind of want to live at the Library of Congress.  I had a few hours to kill before meeting up with friends so I took my time and really saw everything.  I'd taken the tour a few years ago but this was really nice.  Mapping a Growing Nation was a collection of old US maps, including an early Confederate map of Virginia that included my tiny hometown of Centreville.  Hope for America was about political satire and humor - mostly Bob Hope, but other stuff as well.  I'd forgotten how funny Bob Hope could be.  The most fascinating exhibit was Exploring the Early Americas, full of artifacts from the civilizations first encountered by European explorers. The maps were probably my favorite part.

Manassas, VA

Place Visited: Ben Lomond, Manassas, Virginia, USA
Date: October 2017

Ben Lomond would be your regular historic house except that it was a field hospital during the Civil War, and is dressed up like that today, complete with sounds and smells.  Not for the faint of heart, I suppose (that gangrene scent is something else), but fascinating nonetheless.

Berkeley Springs, WV

Place Visited: Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, USA
Date: November 2016

A friend invited me to her annual ladies' spa weekend in Berkeley Springs.  We didn't use the public baths, but my appointments were in the afternoon so I had a lot of time to wander the town, including the cute little museum.  The weather was lovely as well - quite warm and sunny for November.