Month: February 2019

One of the things that I was most looking forward to when my parents came was the opportunity to visit one or more of the Civil War battlefields in the area. I must not have paid very close attention to this aspect of American History in high school – but when I arrived in DC I started reading some of the recommended books on the Civil War in order to develop a better understanding of how that particular era of American history unfolded and attach historic significance to the battlefields that I might have the opportunity to visit.

As it turns out, we only had time enough to visit one battlefield, so Gettysburg was the obvious choice. If you want a historic overview of this battle and its importance, there are far better places to read about it than some guy’s blog – so I’ll leave you to that while going into the details of my experience at historic Gettysburg.

The drive to the battlefield from D.C. took an hour and a half or so. Despite the significance of the battle, Gettysburg as a town is still little more than a dot on the map, albeit a very well-known dot. Still, it’s impossible to miss with all of the roadsigns directing one to it. Our first destination upon arrival was the visitor center that had a very in-depth and spectacular tour of the events of the battle, the Civil war in general, and other related events and happenings of the time. Exhibits within were rich with artifacts and equipment from the period. One could have easily spent the entire day there and not gotten out to see the battlefield at all.

Of particular significance was the Gettysburg Cyclorama, which is an absolutely colossal (115m x 13m) full panorama painting of Pickett’s Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg. They make a good show of presenting the cyclorama with immersive sound and lightwork, bringing to life the events depicted in the painting. After this short show, they bring up the lights, allowing one to appreciate all of the magnificent display, and allowing the visitors to proceed through the museums below.

I found myself having to rush along through the displays in order to ensure we had enough time to take the disc-playing guided car tour – we simply didn’t have the hours of daylight necessary to take our time with it. In any event after going through the visitor center we began our driving tour, which allowed us to listen to a narrator via audio disc while driving through the series of roads which wind through the battlefield. At every step in the way there were markers for events of signfigance, marking where particular units were, what they were doing, how many soldiers were there, how many were killed, wounded, etc. The amount of details they’ve been able to preserve through this is astounding and really lends to an immersive experience.

As we drove from site to site, the audio disc provided us with the historical background and the events of significance that had occurred along the way. At many points of interest, there were places to park, get out, observe various unit positions, get a feel for their place in the battle, and observe the area they fought in. Informational placards provided additional information about the units serving in the battle. The self-guided tour started out where the Union’s forward calvary encountered Confederate forces, and attempted to hold their ground until the Union army could get into position.

Proceeding along, we explored the Confederate lines on the 2nd and 3rd days of the battle, first visiting the Northern hook, then heading South along the Confederate lines. At several stops along the way were tall watchtowers, which one could ascend in order to get an even better view of the countryside that featured this historic battle, how each of the positions related to each other, and what strategic value they provided. As we neared the South end of the Confederate lines, a sizable pair of hills to the East clearly became a prominent feature of the landscape, offering what would be a dominating view of much of the battlefield as well as a keen view of the flanks. These hills were Big Round Top and Little Round Top, and their strategic importance was quite clear when viewed from the Confederate lines.

We drove up Little Round Top and were granted a pretty spectacular view from the provided vantage points. Despite the obvious value in the position, it was not well defended by the Union when the Confederates started putting pressure on it. The situation was quickly corrected once the mistake was realized, but the position came under intense pressure from advancing Confederate troops just down the hill in a rocky outcropping called “Devil’s Den” and the surrounding orchards.

From this point it was clear what kind of desperate fighting might have taken place there as each army attempted to turn the flank and hold strategically important ground. The Union held though, and it was stunning to see where many of the defenders here must have stood their ground. We made our way around Devil’s Den and the orchard area, which the Union had lost to the advance, and then finally we headed North, parallel to the Union’s main defensive line along Cemetary Ridge.

Numerous memorials and commemorative statues and plaques lined this road, commemorating many of the units in the central lines that were the target of Pickett’s charge on the 3rd day, which all but sealed the outcome of the battle. As dusk was upon us, we didn’t get to see the North end of the Union lines, nor did we get to walk through the cemetery, but nonetheless I was awed by the effort, care, and dedication shown in preserving this piece of American history. My own experience here has greatly fueled my desire to see some of the other historical Civil War battlefields when the opportunity arises. However, exploring the events of the past and their culmination into this defining battle was something I’d highly recommend for others and is well worth the visit.

With my departure date being only a little more than a month away, it would be a while before I’d see my family again. Thankfully, my parents took the opportunity to visit me in D.C. before my departure. While I was in training they made the most of the opportunities available to them to explore the city, visit the museums, see the monuments, and do whatever else came to mind.

When the weekend rolled around, I finally had the opportunity to tag along, and we had a few places that were a bit out of the way that we wanted to visit. Among them were Mt. Vernon and Monticello.

Mt. Vernon is George Washington’s family home and plantation, which is located on the West side of the Potomac River, South of Washington D.C. by about 20 miles. The site is well-preserved, with tours going through the house and examining its contents, while the greater plantation has a number of other buildings with exhibits and actors all playing their part in the recreation.

Nearby is he tomb of George & Martha Washington, pastures, orchards, and generally well-kept grounds for visitors to enjoy. Of course, a site like this also has the prerequisite visitor center and extensive gift shop to separate people from their hard-earned cash. Given that it’s also a site that many distinguished guests pay visits to, everything is well-kept and constant restoration efforts are made to support the flow of visitors.

Personally, I found it interesting to be provided with insight to the more personal life of the first President of the U.S., though it was equally fascinating to learn just how few comforts they really enjoyed – despite being as wealthy as they were. Of course, their servants enjoyed significantly less comforts, and I found it difficult to envision the lives they must have lived.

On another weekend day, we went to Monticello, which was quite a bit further of a drive, being about two hours and change from D.C. proper. Monticello wasn’t our first stop when we arrived in the area though. Instead, we stopped by Michie’s Tavern, which is one of the oldest eating establishments in the states.

The tavern is pretty unassuming from the exterior. It looks old, but not outwardly remarkable. Upon entering the tavern, the bare-bones and no-frills experience is evident, but it produces an atompshere which is unlike many of the other eateries one is likely to visit – it really drills down to the point that this isn’t so much a place for a meal, but rather an experience to be had.

We had arrived shortly after they opened, so the tables had not filled up yet, and we were quickly ushered through buffet style feast with such courses as fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, biscuits, roasted tomato soup, another vegetable soup, and other assorted roasted vegetables. We filled our metal plates and cups with the entrees available to us and found a cozy table (they were all cozy!) to sit down and enjoy our meal. I selected a brown ale to wash it down with.

The food itself was stunning – I think I can easily say that this was the best fried chicken I’ve ever had, and the biscuits were also top-notch. Everything else was various degrees of good, but those two were absolutely fantastic – easily worth the drive for a return trip at some point. When waitresses in period garb came around asking if we’d like anything else, it was easy to decide what to have seconds of. Before we had finished our meal the place had completely filled up. Apparently the trick is to get there early and then go to Monticello, otherwise if you try to do it after visiting Monticello, you’ll be lucky if you can get a foot in the door.

After our excellent meal we walked around the grounds, visited the general store and gift shop, finding all sorts of interesting (though pricey) items that tempted us. I did cave in for some Cheerwine, which I’ve had only a few times before – I guess it’s a big thing in North Carolina, and tastes like Dr. Pepper mixed with vanilla cream soda. I haven’t had any for at least 15 years, so I picked up a few for old times’ sake.

Onward to Monicello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd President of the United States and principal author of the Declaration of Independence. His home was located on the top of a large hill (some may call it a mountain, but this offends my West coast definition of mountains), and has a leisurely walk to the top, which passes by the cemetery where he is buried, along with many other relatives and distinguished partners. Closer to the top, the grandeur of the manor is evident – being far more exquisite than Washington’s Mt. Vernon home.

There are plenty of outbuildings with all the various functionalities necessary to support the small community which lived here. Again, the life that they must have lived would have been very no-frills, with a lot in the way of hard labor, long hours, and little comforts. All of this is well-documented by the exhibits on-site, and one can spend many hours going around to get a feel for it all. I found myself wondering just how beautiful the grounds and the view from the hilltop would look in the summer.

We were provided with a guided tour for the interior of the house, which showed off more of Jefferson’s personality, and he seemed to dabble in all manner of activities – clearly a very talented and multifaceted individual, from the inventions he had, to the architecture he designed, along with the myriad of in-betweens. Lavish might be an appropriate word for it – and it was quite a treat to see the lower level of the house. If one chooses to upgrade their tour, they can be guided to the upper levels, where many of the distinguished guests stayed.

The tour was short and sweet, but quite remarkable. There was definitely enough to see there to keep one interested and wondering, though it felt like there was not enough time to see it all (which seems like is frequently the case). After the tour, we could explore at our leisure on the grounds, the basement, and outbuildings. Sometimes other tours covering other topics and areas of the manor and surrounding grounds were available. We largely ended up exploring on our own, and the experience was quite enjoyable.

I’d recommend all of these sites to anyone who is interested, though I think if I had to choose one or the other, I’d put Monticello at the top of my list – and I promise that has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Michie’s Tavern is just around the corner…

I’m fairly unfamiliar with the natural beauty of the East coast. I simply haven’t spent enough time in that area to familiarize myself with much of it. So I didn’t really have a ton of expectations when a few of us decided to make a day trip out to Shenandoah Park. As per my habit, I looked at the area maps ahead of time to get a feel for what was there and what to do.

Before we got too invested in the park itself, we spotted some advertisements for cavern tours once we got close to the park. Since some of my companions had never been through a proper cave, it seemed like the natural thing to stop for. So, we took a tour of the Skyline Caverns, which had some pretty spectacular formations. The caves I have been through previously were formed by lava tubes and other geological activity, whereas this one appeared to be formed from water flow over vast amounts of time, leaving quite a different set of formations than ones I had seen before.

Our guided tour introduced us to the usual stalactites and stalagmites, the columns that eventually form, flowstone, and other underground features; shallow ponds and lakes, that were perfectly calm and still, entirely mirror like, all of it existing naturally in these caves. The tour was aided in many spots by colorful LED lights, which made for spectacular underground displays. Of particular significance was the flowstone formation which looks like a phoenix with distinct plumage, which is quite a spectacle.

Further in the caverns are some very rare formations of pure calcite crystals called anthodites. These were created over many years in a natural vacuum that formed in parts of the cave, which aided in the creation of these remarkable crystal formations. There are only a handful of formations like these in the world, and there was evidence that people had previously tried to take samples of it with them on their visits to the cave. Now the area that these crystals occupy protected by state laws and various physical protections on site. It’s unfortunate that this is necessary, it does not seem like a high moral bar to leave a place of natural beauty in the same condition that you found it in, so that others may enjoy it.

One other thing of note about the Skyline Caverns is the rare (and presumably extinct) cave beetle that was discovered there. As the story goes, the expedition responsible for the discovery found specimens of cave beetle when surveying the cave, and removed them for study. These specimens died, and on many return visits over the years, the living specimens have not been rediscovered. Some think them to now be extinct. Perhaps it will serve as a reminder of just how fragile ecosystems can be, and how our presence and activities can affect them.

Onward to Shenandoah park proper. Apparently Skyline drive is the signature drive of the park, which is heavily trafficked during the summer months when the greenery is in full bloom. It’s one of those long, windy, scenic roads that car commercials would feature to evoke an emotion about their product, rather than actually telling you anything about it. The vistas from the top of the ridge that the road runs along are spectacular out to the valleys on both sides.

Paying the park entrance fee and starting the initial climb up onto the ridge in our rental vehicle rewarded us with several grand vistas and other viewpoints. We stopped for photo opportunities at many of them, but the exposure to the cold and windy (albeit clear) weather soon quelled us of our desire to exit the vehicle.

At one point at large plateau, we made a rest stop at the visitor center and were treated to a meadow with a herd of deer grazing through it. It was a pretty spectacular sight to see, and quite different from the other views we had been treated to that day.

As I drove through the area I could help but also think about how it compares to the scenery and geology back home. The highest point of the drive we took was just over 4000 feet in elevation. In the corner of the Pacific Northwest that I’m from, that’s still lower than our mountain passes – you know, the low saddles in the mountains where we build highways through to facilitate movement through the mountain ranges. The surrounding mountains are also an order of magnitude taller. So it this excursion really amplified the difference in geological age difference of the coastal regions on each side of the continent.

Mulling these and other thoughts over, the senice road provided a great opportunity to relax and reflect. All in all, while the drive was generally enjoyable and sightlines were improved by the lack of foliage on the winter drive, we all were loudly wondering just how much more gorgeous the park would look in the spring, summer, or fall. Maybe I’ll have to return and find out.