Visit East 2014

                 
Visit East 2014
This last Christmas was the pits for Grandson Devon. Stationed by the Navy about as far from home as possible (Camp LeJune, N.C.) our fairly new sailor had Christmas dinner at McDonald's - alone. His mom thought this was not good. Bingo! The light bulb went on. An idea burst into the scene. Why not send Grandson Shane from California to North Carolina to visit. Hmmm. Two nineteen year old guys newly freed from apron strings and loose in Civil War country all by them selves. Hmmm. Why not get old Grampa to travel east with Shane, meet Devon someplace, and keep an eye on both boys as they do whatever they decide to do.

Ancient (and a bit frazzled), Grampa actually jumped at the chance (and he doesn't jump much anymore). A few weeks of anticipation and planning, then Grampa and Shane left on Jet Blue from Long Beach to Boston, then Boston to Raleigh-Duram in North Carolina. Devon met the plane after the usual map-itus problems, and the three apprentice travelers drove to Richmond, Virginia.(I should mention about here that the airplane rides were smooth as silk, the weather cold and clear, and we stayed awake enough to notice that it is a long way between California and North Carolina). But we made it.Much of Richmond is old and built when they used various kinds of bricks. Most buildings were faced with rust red, navy grey, weathered white or light tan bricks. It first appears similar to many areas in old San Francisco downtown. You know, the victorian ladies, narrow homes, and a lot of brick facades. The hotel, Holiday Inn Express, is a mile or two from the center of Richmond, and it is a super place to stay. We threw our stuff into the room and set off to paint the town.

Museum of the Confederacy

After some more map-reading errors, we drove to the Museum of the Confederacy in the middle of the city.  We had to pass through many neighborhoods to get there, and our first surprise was  the cleanliness of the downtown area, and the complete lack of graffiti. We were definitely not in a California city. The Museum of the Confederacy was a terrific first stop. We couldn't take too long as it was near closing time - but we did see some fascinating memorabilia from the Civil War.  Rifled cannons, the first revolver, and really awful pictures of the bloody Civil War battlefields. We came away wondering who really won the war?  In fact, as a person looks around Richmond there is (everywhere) a reminder of the Civil War. Rebel flags, battlefield signs, pictures of cannons, tee shirts with rebel icons, street names, tourist guides, "Johnny Reb" pick-up trucks, and on and on. But we had to go, so off from the museum in Devon's car to find dinner someplace. 

Car trouble big time. Devon's Ford wasunusually hard to steer. We figured that we probably had one of two problems: 1. no power steering fluid, or 2. the fan belt driving the power steering pump had broken. Yup.It was number 1. So we drove (slowly and with great care) to an open auto parts store, bought some fluid, and poured it in. We checked for a leak but found none. So, we crossed the street and ate dinner at "Pepe's" Mexican Cafe. It was surprisingly good - but when we finished and went to the car and checked the power steering fluid again - empty! By now it was 9 or 10 o'clock and with big muscles and several @#$%^&*__+ words, we managed to steer back to the hotel.

TAKEN FROM THE BACK OF THE CHURCH

SHANE & DEVON WITH RESTORED ORGAN

Leaving the church, we walked about a block to the main street. It's about a half mile long and appears completely restored, repainted, and every little store and shop open for business. Actually, a few were vacant but ready for a business to move in.  They have made Fredricksburg into real tourist attraction as well as a bountiful source of antiques from the 18th and 19 century, with emphasis on the Civil War that once engulfed the town and local areas. Very picturesque. Very interesting and very historical.

Next morning we checked out, piled into the broken car, and drove (again slowly) to the nearby Richmond Airport where we planned to park in the long-time lot, and rent another car. We checked out a new Chevy Cruise sedan. Small, but neat. The countryside was a welcome change from California - but different.  No pine trees but dense forests of tall and narrow trees, no mountains, and the roads, highways and freeways were all in top condition. Really good shape - (unlike those in California). It was interesting (to me anyway) to observe that most mobile homes were single wides and very long. Also that in the rural areas about a fourth of the homes were factory built. The drive from Richmond to Washington was long enough that we had time to decide on a tourist plan for Washington, D.C. While deep in thought we saw a sign for "Fredricksburg". Being a natural born explorer, Devon brightened and said: "that's where the Poe House is" - and swung onto the off-ramp.

Fredricksburg

Our visit to Fredricksburg turned out to be a major success. Anyone visiting Washington, D.C. should be sure to visit Fredricksburg too. Almost the entire old town center was built around 1800. Some of the structures have engraved bricks or stones dating between 1750 and 1800. The Poe House turned out to be a short but worthy stop. Edgar Allen Poe lived and worked here. The place is now a museum.

The Poe House was constructed using rocks from the local area and plenty of grout. The wood beams, inside and outside, look like they are original. That's a guess. The picture on the right shows the boys standing next to a Poe House wall. I believe it says it was built in the early 1800's.

The Episcopal Church

Right up the street from the Poe House is a small graveyard with graves dated as long ago as the late 1700's , and a beautifully restored Episcopal Church. I think the cornerstone sign said 1795. These pictures of the interior are pretty good. I took the one from the back of the church first, and the other from the front. When I took the picture from the back, none of us knew that an impressive and beautifully restored pipe organ was upstairs just over my head. When the traveling boys stood and turned around, their jaws hit the floor.

Masonic George Washington Memorial

Leaving Fredricksburg I mentioned that we were pretty close to the Masonic George Washington Memorial. Would they like to visit before we looked for our hotel? Both jumped at the idea, so we stopped there. It was another winner. The boys were fascinated. We had an excellent tour guide and took about an hour and a half to view at about 90% of the outstanding memorial. I have known about this famous Masonic building for almost 50 years, but I did not, in all of that time, realize how awesome it is. A visitor is overwhelmed by it's magnificence. The structure is essentially a beautiful tall tower on top of a rectangular ediface filled with Masonic memorabilia and historical artifacts. It stands alone on the only hill that can be seen for miles around.  The site at the very top of the only tall hill within about 20 miles. The view is huge. The site is just across the river from Washington, D.C. and the view of the city is magnificent. The city of Washington D.C. stands out as if looking down on it from an airplane. It is easy to  see the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and other well known buildings. We were sorry that we had to leave.

GEORGE WASHINGTON / 19 FOOT BRONZE

FROM THE TOP

 TOWER & BOYS FACING WASHINGTON, D.C.

DEVON LEE / THE OLD GUY / SHANE PICKELS

Washington D.C.

We finally got to the 'One Washington Hotel' which is a couple blocks from everything in the city. It's in mid-city, near the subway,  and several other large hotels, a few scattered and elegant town homes and huge office buildings. The One Washington Hotel is one of the best in the city. We checked in to a large room with two double beds, two chairs, a kitchen, bathroom, and huge closets. Living like kings we were.

I was on the bed asleep when Shane shook me awake. There was a very loud screeching alarm ringing outside of our door. Devon and Shane found out there was a fire in the building and not far from our room. The tenants were running up and down the hallway and evacuating in a rush. The three of us started down the stairs from the 5th floor. There was no panic, but some confusion. Devon and I joined the crowd in the lobby. Shane had somehow stumbled into a group that needed help with a handicapped woman on the stairs. He did his duty and then joined Devon and I in the lobby. He rightly questioned why in the world was the crowd standing in the lobby?  Shane said in a loud voice: "we should all be outside and away from the building". Immediately the crowd started to move out.

Devon and Shane were asked if there was smoke? They both had smelled some, but it was not a strong odor. The hotel crowd ambled across the road and into the park centered in the traffic circle. Everyone was talking as they walked. A homeless man was standing right in the path claiming: "he was a holy man, loved Jesus, and as a Christian could we spare a man a dollar for food". We passed right by and gathered with the hotel group a little further on. The next thing I saw was three or maybe four young black thugs kicking at a pile of rags. In a blink I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The pile of rags was the old homeless guy trying to defend himself with a black heavy coat. My attention was drawn to the one black thug kicking and stomping on the victim. He had distinctive bright white hightop tennis shoes. 

I glanced away for an instant. At least 100 people were standing around, watching, and doing nothing. I started to hurry toward the scene. Shane grabbed my jacket and told me to stay put while he ran to get the police. Shane left back toward the hotel lobby and my attention returned to the beating. It had  just stopped, the thugs were yelling at each other and leaving in a hurry. They (apparently) ran back up the steps and right by Shane who was still in the lobby. 

This event was moving quickly. It's believed that the thugs went to a hotel room booked by some girls thought to be their friends. They didn't stay more than a few seconds. Then they returned downstairs to the lobby. By that time the police were on the scene in force and Shane, Devon, and myself yelled out: "there they are. Those are the bad guys". The police rounded up each one, frisked, handcuffed, separated, and waited for the paddy-wagon. 

Meanwhile, several of the police men tried to help the victim. He was rattled, confused, and very hurt. It had been a terrible, brutal beating. An ambulance arrived, did what they could, and transported him to the hospital. He was bleeding here and there, nose, mouth, hands, etc.,  and he had a broken leg. The homeless victim was 50 or more years old, had few (if any) teeth, and was bundled in many layers of dirty rags and clothing. The night before it was about 20 degrees outside, not counting any wind chill. He probably slept on a few layers of cloth, cardboard,  or on many newspapers laid on the concrete sidewalk and under a dirty two foot high black and grey pile of rags. He may or may not have been a black man. It was impossible to tell. My guess is that he was (is) a extremely dirty white guy with out-of-control black and grey facial hair.

The fire was real but easy to put out. Apparently the same thugs had started it.  One policeman speculated that they were all loaded with marijuana, alcohol, and who knows what else. It was thought that they ditched drugs in the girls room but probably would not be able to search it without a warrant. They judged that the girls were not involved. Oh sure. So . . . It was over. But still not quite.The three of us went back to our room and within minutes a few policemen knocked at our door. Because Shane (particularly) "fingered" each of the thugs (and the thugs saw him do it), they asked us to move (with their help) to another hotel. They were very concerned about the three of us becoming a victim of retribution. We packed up and in three separate patrol cars were taken on a round about path to another (and comparable) hotel about six blocks away. All expenses were picked up by "One Washington Hotel" - and now it was over.

The Smithsonian - Natural History

The next day was supposed to be our "busiest". The plan was to eat light (we didn't) and hit the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History first. The place is absolutely huge. So big that we didn't have time for all departments. We did examine at least a million bleached bones of dinosaurs, reptiles, big and small animals and fish. They were collected, sorted, laid out in order, and a few wired together. Some had once been gigantic animals. They would have towered over us. We also viewed the huge collection of mummies, butterflies, carnivorous animals, and birds of every description. Throughout the exhibits we saw paintings and dioramas of dead creatures in their representative habitats. After two or three hours we elected to leave for the Smithsonian Aerospace Museum across the street. Now we know that this museum requires almost an entire day to visit. 

The Smithsonian-Aerospace Museum

We passed through the entrance right under the "Spirit of St. Louis" and a DC-3 Airliner hanging from the ceiling. The room just inside the entrance also contained a few dozen guided missiles, re-entry vehicles, space capsules, a German V-1 rocket, and a V-2 rocket, space suits, aircraft and flying memorabilia, and the personal flying gear of many famous pilots. And that was just the first room.  

This museum has to be the largest and most complete historical exhibition of the entire worlds efforts to fly. We saw replicas of Orville and Wilbur's early flyers as well as similar early planes from France, Italy, Germany and etc. While wandering the museum the visitor can follow the development of airplanes from the late 1890s to the present time. They have a yellow Piper Cub (my first flight), Spads, Nieports, and other wood framed, cloth covered aircraft. It's just amazing to see. All exhibited aircraft have been carefully restored and appear to  be in "original" condition.

Then, the missiles and spacecraft. They have full size space sleds (forerunners of the space shuttle), V-1 Rockets, V-2 Rockets, the Gemini capsule, various American Guided Missiles, bombs and other ordinance, as well as big and small rockets. I know it can't be true but it seems like this aerospace museum has one of every flying thing ever developed. It's that complete.

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