Day 22 - October 20, 2024

A short (in distance) but a long (in difficulty) drive today. Through New York City and skirting Philadelphia. So, we (meaning Verna) only got a few shots as we were driving. The traffic in New York was bad. Not as bad as LA, in that it kept moving…. slowly. Once we arrived at New Castle, Delaware and got checked into the hotel, we decided dinner was in order. We found an old (really old, dating to 1725) pub in a gorgeous old neighborhood. The signs on some of the old homes and buildings dated them to the late 1600s and early 1700s. The pot roast, served on pewter plates was very good. I forgot my camera at the hotel (whaaaat??) so those shots are cell phone shots.

Day 23 - October 21, 2024

From New Castle, Delaware to Washington DC, then on to our timeshare at Massanutten, Virginia. Washington, Dc is a place a person could spend a LOT of time in. Iconic landmarks, endless museums and history. However, we just wanted to do a bus tour and get to our home for the next several days. The Capitol Building, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Monument, Washington Monument and more was seen from the bus. If you are ever here, I suggest that you spend a day on the National Mall. The aforementioned landmarks, plus the Vietnam Memorial, Korea, WWII and more. There are more museums than I can count, including the Smithsonian. We then had lunch at the Hotel Washington which is a block from the White House. We did walk to the White House, but it is under so much security you can no longer get close to it.

Then we drove to our timeshare which is a duplex in the Shenandoah Valley. It is very nice, so I took a few shots. We even have a garage. I am looking forward to driving the Skyline Drive through the Shenandoah National Park later this week.

Day 24 - October 22, 2024

The plan for today was to take it easy. Nope. It started out that way with a little walk around the neighbourhood, which is very nice. I got a few shots of some roosting Turkey Vultures. The we decided to drive a portion of the Skyline Dr (about 50 miles of it). I know, I know…. too many photos. But what can I say, the drive is stunning. Skyline Dive and Blue Ridge Parkway are basically the same road. Skyline runs for about 105 miles north of Afton, VA and Blue Ridge is south for about 470 miles. It takes a few days to drive the entire length. One day perhaps. The road runs along a crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Shenandoah National Park with the Shenandoah Valley to the west and another valley to the east. Every mile or so there is another pull out on one side or the other to enjoy the spectaculars views of the multitude of varieties of trees.

After spending most of the day driving 50 miles we went to Staunton, VA. Lovely little town with some interesting architecture. After a great dinner, we headed back to the timeshare in the dark.

Day 25 - October 23, 2024

It was finally a day of rest. Well almost. We didn’t leave the timeshare until about 3:00 and then we just went for a short drive through some Virginia countryside. A stop on the shores of the Shenandoah River, then up to a couple overlooks on the Skyline Dr. for a few sunset shots. A bigger day is planned for tomorrow.

Day 26 - October 24, 2024

The Battle of Gettysburg. July 1, 2 and 3, 1863. Three days that changed history in so may ways. It turned out to be the turning point in the bloodiest war in US history. There were more casualties in the Civil War than all other wars the U.S. has been involved in… combined. Gettysburg alone had almost as many casualties in three days as Vietnam did in eleven years. (Gettysburg – 51,000, Vietnam – 55,000) Imagine. 51,000 casualties in three days. Under the conditions in 1863. Brother against brother, father against son. Unimaginable. If you ever get a chance to visit this place, do. We drove six hours to take a two-hour tour. It was worth it.

We hired a guide that drove my car around the 6,000 acres, literally miles of battlefield, and told us the story. Who, when and why. The South had the upper hand after day one, but a mistake by a Confederate general on the second day proved costly. Had that mistake not happened, the South probably would have won the battle and subsequently, the war. Slavery would have continued, likely for decades or even a hundred more years. There was a major North mistake as well, but they caught that one with mere minutes to spare to prevent disaster.

There isn’t space here to go into the details or even what the photos are of. Most of the photos are of the battlefield (brilliantly preserved) the monuments and the homes and farms that survived the battle and still exist today. There are places you go to that leave a mark. Ground Zero in New York, the USS Arizona Memorial in Hawaii, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC, Auschwitz (have not been there but have heard), and this place. We are now getting into the south and the amazing history will be more and more a part of this journey.

Day 27 - October 25, 2024

James Madison. Interesting fellow. He was 4th President of the United States but more importantly (in my opinion) is he was the architect of the U.S. Constitution. Jefferson wrote it, but it was Madison’s brilliant mind that conceived it. A vey small man (5’ 2”, 108 lbs.), born into wealth, very poor health, highly educated, spoke seven languages, owned slaves, knew it was wrong but didn’t know what to do about it. George Washington said he had the biggest brain in the smallest body of any man he ever knew. He was friends with Washington, Adams Jefferson and Munroe. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th presidents.

Today we visited his house, known as “James Madison’s Montpelier”. The home is about 260 years old and is in very good condition. The Montpelier Foundation has only owned it since 1998 and has done a terrific job of restoring and preserving it. They have even created replicas of the slave house that were there in the latte 1700s.  They do hourly tours of the property, and our guide was extremely knowledgeable. Again, there too much history to recount here, but the day was extremely interesting.

Then to finish the day, we went back up the Blue Ridge Parkway (AKA The Skyline Drive), to watch the sunset over the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley.

Day 28 - October 26, 2024

Yesterday, the 4th President, today, the 3rd. Thomas Jefferson is credited as the author of the U.S. Constitution. His home, known as Monticello, took over 40 years to build. Today it is still 90% original, from the floors to the windows, the doors and the woodwork. It is full of artifacts (including gifts from Lewis & Clark from their expedition west, shown in the first few indoor photos). Jefferson owned over 6,000 books a fraction of which are still in the house (one photo here). The grounds are beautiful. Ewe took a shuttle up to the house and Verna took it back down, but I walked past Jefferson’s grave back to the Visitor Center.

Then we drove around old Charlottesville for a bit before heading home. On the way we got a few shots of some old, abandoned buildings. Then we saw an old car heading over the mountain and decided to follow it. The elderly gentleman graciously allowed me to get a few shots. He also has a beautiful 1955 Chevrolet Del Ray under cover in a garage. No shots except for the radiator because the car is covered.