Fredericksburg, VA

Place Visited: Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA
Date: February 2018

I do love me some horrific old-timey medicine, and the Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop did not disappoint. My favorite part was the lady who, upon seeing that they had a couple of leeches in jars (which were at no time removed from said jars, mind), immediately left the room and never came back. Fantastic.

Silver Spring, MD

Place Visited: Silver Spring, Maryland, USA
Date: February 2018

Twice a year, the National Museum of Health and Medicine brings out specimens for people to draw. In February, it was hearts. I had a lovely time drawing an ostrich heart, then browsing the rest of the small museum. I like medical museums, but the facial reconstruction exhibit was one I just could not handle. Something about seeing pictures of people with their jaw blown off, well, no thank you.

Falmouth, VA

Place Visited: Falmouth, Virginia, USA
Date: February 2018

The White Oak Civil War Museum, just outside Fredericksburg, is a small building filled with a large building's worth of artifacts. The area was a winter encampment (as opposed to a battlefield) and it would seem people have been scavenging pretty much nonstop for the last 150 years. Mountains of bullets and belt buckles and assorted other crap. It offers a clearer understanding of the sheer scale of the conflict than many other Civil War museums I've visited. And I've visited a whole lot.

Stratford, VA

Place Visited: Stratford Hall, Stratford, Virginia, USA
Date: February 2017

It's interesting how much of Stratford Hall's publicity focuses on Robert E. Lee, since he only lived there until he was about three years old.  More interesting (to me) are the Lee brothers who signed the Declaration of Independence.  And, of course, it's always worthwhile to see houses from that era, to see how people lived before indoor plumbing and Emancipation.  I could have done without the bratty kid on my tour, who was so annoying even the tour guide stopped letting him ask questions, but otherwise it was nice.

Confession: I included the "Relevance" picture because it made me laugh.  It just sounds so desperate.

Colonial Beach, VA

Place Visited: Colonial Beach, Virginia, USA
Date: February 2017

I asked Siri where George Washington was born.  She replied, "George Washington was born at George Washington Birthplace National Monument."  And I thought, well, that's quite the lucky name.

The last time I tried to visit, the colonial farm portion was closed, so it was nice to see the main section of the monument this time around.  Honestly, it was somewhat underwhelming.  The house on the site was based off nothing in particular (certainly not anything to do with Washington's family); the foundation of the actual house was found years later, about a hundred feet away.  Still, it's a very lovely location and I had fun drawing the house George Washington never slept in.

Fredericksburg, VA

Place Visited: Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA
Date: February 2017

I arrived fairly late in the day, so after wandering the grounds of Chatham Manor and looking at all the rather creepy statues, I stopped by Agora for one of the most amazing mochas I've ever had.

Monticello, VA

Location: Monticello, Virginia, USA
Date Visited: February 2015

I used to live in Charlottesville, and so visited Monticello a few times, but hadn't been back since. You'll be unsurprised to learn that it hasn't changed much. Jefferson was a complicated man, but his house sure is full of neat stuff. Unfortunately, the day we visited it was too cold to wander the grounds at all.

Occoquan and Lorton, VA

Location: Occoquan and Lorton, Virginia, USA
Visited: February 2013

Sometimes while I'm out snarfing, I accidentally learn something along the way. For example, all that yellow stuff above is from the Suffragist Memorial in Occoquan Regional Park. Usually when we read about the Suffragettes, it's all about Seneca Falls, New York. I hadn't realized so much happened in my home county of Fairfax. Nearby I continued my education at the Occoquan Workhouse, where many of these women were imprisoned for their efforts to get the right to vote.

On this same trip I toured historic downtown Occoquan, including the Mill House Museum. The man working there gave me a thorough history of the region from the disappearing Dogue Indians in 1681 to the devastation of Hurricane Agnes in 1972. Fascinating, and his enthusiasm was pretty inspiring.

Washington, DC

Location: Washington, DC, USA
Visited: February 2012

My husband I enjoy going to plays, and when he stumbled upon this interesting retelling of the classic Peter Pan tale, we decided to head into the city and see "Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers". And we really enjoyed it. My husband has a more thorough write-up. We'll definitely have to check out more productions by the No Rules Theatre Company.

Orange, VA

Location: Orange, Virginia, USA
Visited: February 2012

The Gilmore Cabin was unfortunately not open for the season yet, but it was really nifty looking. I am fascinated by old decrepit buildings and this one looks like it would have been no disappointment. I'll have to head down there again sometime.

Anyway, shortly after I took a gander at the city of Orange (California is not the only state with an Orange County, yo), which turned out to be more or less your standard Virginia city: Civil War-era curiosities jostling generic modern chains. But I kinda like that motif. I had a nice chat with the fellow in the visitors center, and also took a quick tour through the Montpelier Train Depot, fully restored to how it was in 1910. That is to say, segregated. I'm not sure which was more uncomfortable for me to enter: the door marked "white" or the door marked "colored".

Final note: very little in Orange was actually orange. Quite the missed opportunity, I say.

Orange, VA

Location: Montpelier, Orange, Virginia, USA
Visited: February 2012

If you have a thing for presidential homes, Virginia is the state for you. I don't have all that much interest in James Madison (or Jimbo Mad, as I like to call him), nor did visiting his home rekindle any passion I may or may not have had for the Constitution, but it was a lovely day to be out in the mountains. Montpelier has lovely grounds. The house tour was thorough but a little underwhelming, as the renovation is still only partially completed. The outside is done, but the inside has almost no furnishings.

Crazy things: they said that James read 700 books in a single winter while working on the Constitution (I call shenanigans) and Dolley's favorite ice cream flavor was oyster. Gross.

Yuma, AZ

Location: Yuma, Arizona, USA
Visited: February 2008

This is where it all started. As I mentioned in the intro post, I started pasting stuff into a journal during a long business trip to southwestern Arizona. I didn't have a whole lot of time off, but one Sunday my coworker and I had a good time visiting the Yuma Territorial Prison, the Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge nearby, and the Castle Dome Mines Museum, and went for a scenic drive through Kofa Wildlife Refuge. The terrain was absolutely gorgeous, though the road wasn't exactly meant for vehicular traffic. We had a blast.

Grand Canyon

Location: Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Visited: February 2008

While on a business trip to Flagstaff, we made a side trip up to the Grand Canyon. So gorgeous! We didn't stay long, so I starred the locations we actually visited. These days I always have a notebook of some sort with me for the Passport stamps. As it was, I used the park brochure they gave us at the visitor center, which I cut up later.