11-20 Burke Lake, Clifton

Sue wanted to spend the day outside since she had been cooped up all week. I have been in Albuquerque all week. I looked around and found Burke Lake Park in Fairfax not too far away. The drive there was pretty, even though many trees have all their leaves gone. We walked the trail around the lake, 4.7 mi. A very nice day, sunny weather but cool. After the walk we looked around and found the little village of Clifton close by. This is a small town on the railroad tracks that was a destination in the early 1900s and still has a following. Had a nice lunch there at the Heart in Hand, an old general store. Many of the houses in town have plaques in front explaining their history.

11-14 Philadelphia 2

We went back to downtown Philly, after a so-so breakfast at the hotel. We got there pretty early, about 8:30. Parked under the visitor Center and got tickets for a 9:20 Independence Hall visit. Lots of activity again around the Park - VP Biden was talking in connection with the Jewish Museum opening. Another gorgeous Fall tree was on display in the early morning light. Saw Independence Hall - the pictures are of the room where the Declaration and the Constitution were worked out. Also of the room where the first peaceful transfer of power took place, from Washington to Adams - amazing when viewed in the light of what passes for leadership today. We then wandered some through Old Town.






Saw Franklin’s courtyard and then headed for the old houses the Park service keeps up. Had an hour tour there of 2 houses. The first house was one in which the lady who would become Dolly Madison lived with her first husband. The second house was much richer, owned by Bishop White. We left after that, stopping to see the only real lighthouse in the vicinity – attached to an old house on the shore of a river. The other “lights” I saw on the way up and back down were those range lights I had seen on my Lighthouse 2 trip – just metal stands with a light on top. Saw two of those by Wilmington – actually got a picture of one. Back home, after some traffic, at 5:30. Sue drove all the way up and back, bless her.

11-13 Philadelphia 1

We left Alexandria at about 9 on Saturday morning and got into Philly at about 11:30. We parked close to the Visitor Center and went there first. We went to get tickets to Independence Hall and found they were gone for the day. So, we headed out for the Liberty bell and found a huge line. Decided to save that for later. We next went to the Old City Hall, saw it, and proceeded to visit the other places around Independence Park. We wandered all the way out to the freeway where we found the memorial to the Irish immigrants and the people who died in the 1847 famine, known as Black 47. The information on the signs was interesting (though may have been partisan), about how Ireland had plenty of food besides potatoes – the English just took it all.



Lots of beautiful Fall trees and the late light was perfect for showing them off. The weather was great. Went back and saw the Liberty Bell – lots of buzz around there – the American Jewish History Museum was holding a grand opening gala $5000/plate dinner. We wandered to some old Churches and found one with a 4:30 Mass. It was done quickly since there was a wedding at 6. Tired, but satisfied with our day of wandering, we left for the Marriott R.I. we had booked at the airport (using points). It left something to be desired – close to the runway, queen bed, but we were comfortable.

11-12 Postal Museum

In the afternoon, Sue came downtown and we went to the Postal Museum. Stopped at Archives on the way and saw the original Emancipation Proclamation, part of the 2nd set of Civil War exhibits there. A great day to be out walking in downtown DC. We then Metroed it to the Postal Museum, which is just across the street from Union Station. while it was a nice day, Metro is faster. The Postal Museum would have been a good sight for Kate and the boys to see - lots of exhibits about mail delivery, trucks, hands-on exhibits.

11-11 Two More buckets checked off

Veteran's Day holiday. Sue had to work (Memorial Day is not a SNL holiday), but around 1pm we headed off for Theodore Roosevelt Island. This is one of the items on our bucket list. Except for around Arlington, the traffic was not bad. We walked around the island - took about an hour. Interesting to be on a walk in the woods and see big housing buildings through the trees across the river. I took Sue's picture next to this wonderful red tree which is actually a dead pine tree. You can tell from the look on her face that this is not a good idea. Still, the reflection is nice. A beautiful day.

On the way back home we visited the Pentagon 9-11 Memorial, another bucket list item. A very quiet place, makes one thoughtful. Imagine if that plane had been assigned the White House or the Capitol, instead of the Pentagon. A whole family, the Falkenburgs, were wiped out in the crash.

11-7 Lee-Fendell & Gatsbys

Today we ticked off some local Landmarks - the Lee-Fendell House and Gatsby's Pub. The L-F House is the boyhood home of Robert E Lee. The tour shows several interior rooms, along with interesting historical tidbits. The picture is of the house from the backyard. Gatsby's is a restaurant from Washington's time and in addition to having really really good food, they have a tour of the upstairs areas that were used as an inn.

10-30 Lighthouse Excursion 2

Sue is out of town, in Albuquerque, I'm at loose ends and its the weekend - so time for a ROAD TRIP! And what better to motivate a road trip than a lighthouse search. I decided on doing the lights of Delaware, since my last road trip had been the Chesapeake and Potomac shores of Maryland. With my new lighthouse map, my Web page lighthouse listings and my GPS (Samantha), I left at about 8:30 and headed East. The first light I stopped for was in Maryland; one that had I had taken pictures of several times as we drove across the Chesapeake Bay bridge - and every time it was too blurry. But today I got a good view of the Sandy Point Shoal Light.



And as a bonus, I could see off in the distance the Baltimore Light.

The first new light I headed for was the Bethel Bridge light, close to the border with Delaware. There was a crafts fair in the town of Chesapeake City and across the small harbor, there was the Bethel Light. A very very small light - it is actually a replica of a light that was used for navigation on a channel that cuts across Maryland and Delaware from the Chesapeake Bay to the Delaware River, the Chesapeake and Delaware canal. This canal dates from 1830. Along the way, the Fall colors were just spectacular.

The next light I looked for was close to the C&D canal. As I was driving to it, following Samantha's directions, I was confused, since I was getting close to the light's location and there was no water in sight. And there, in the middle of nowhere, in someone's back yard, was this huge tower with a light on the top. This is the Liston Rear Range light. Now that was a surprise.


The next two lights I found confirmed the "special" nature of the Delaware lights I was seeing today - many were range lights and meant to be used for navigation on the Delaware River by lining up pairs of lights to maintain a course. Thus they are simple towers with a light - not quite what I'd call a lighthouse but interesting and finding them still affords the interest of the chase. The left light is the Baker Rear Range light, just south of the C&D canal; the right light is the New Castle Range light located north of the canal.

Out in the country, with the Fall colors all around, I find another lonely soldier in the Range Light family, on the edge of a farmer's field, with an old abandoned wood shed next to it. The Reedy Island Rear Range light. I felt a sense of satisfaction at finding this land locked light and the colors are so beautiful. What a day!






My next stop was a light that has seen better days but now has a new life. This is the Mispillion Light. At the end of a narrow road, in the parking lot of the DuPont Nature Center, with old junker trucks and general decrepitude all around, is this tower, where once there was a range light. The light started life, in 1831, associated with a house. Over time, it was placed on a tower, and that is all that is left by the Delaware River. But the light is now incorporated into a house in the very nice little town of Lewes to the south. After some searching, I found the house and the light. Good for it - we all should be so lucky!










Why do I look for lighthouses - the first picture below sums it up, with the sand, the ocean and the sky all in one frame and the lighthouse I search for a small object on the horizon. It is getting close to the end of the day and I am thinking about heading home - it will be a long drive and I am not comfortable driving after dark - but look at this scene! This is the Delaware Breakwater Light. A reward for my travels. A closeup of the light is the next picture.





I am even rewarded with a view of another close light, the Harbor of Refuge Light - and both are lighthouses, as opposed to the rather funky range lights this trip has mainly found. Happy in my day, I head home.

10-18 to 26 Kate and Boys do DC

Kate and the boys had a week and a half to see DC after the trip to Nag's Head. Kate bravely went forth several days and saw the sights with her boys. Again, how she manages it I don't know. She is really good Mom! So not in necessarily correct order here are some of the things we did.

Sue and I took Aiden and Gavin to Mt. Vernon when Kate invited some of her old friends from the DC area to our house for a catch-up. The animals were out and the boys liked that. Gavin found lots of good sticks to carry. The harvest festival was on so they could see demonstrations and activities. Gavin did the hay bail maze and aced the first time - and then wouldn't stop going through it - he started to experiment with side alleys and going the wrong way. Aiden and Grandma sat down to listen to George Washington describe life back then on Mt. Vernon. Aiden got to take a hayride with grandma and play 18th century games, like hoop-rolling. It was a pleasant day.

Kate's trip downtown were accomplished using the rental van we had gotten for Nag's Head - we kept it and it saved the day. Sue even managed to get a ticket on it when she parked it in a tow away zone. Fortunately when they got back to the car, it had been moved out of the street and up onto the grass, rather than being towed. The boys, Kate and Grandma visited the monuments (including going up in the Washington Monument), Congress, some museums and generally wore themselves out.

The next picture is a classic of Sean sleeping on the floor of our downstairs room - nothing bothered him!

On one occasion, I joined them for lunch. The boys just love stealing Grandpa's hat. Whether he can grab it is a measure of how tall Aiden has grown - he is almost there.

10-16,17 Jamestown, Williamsburg

Time to leave Nag's Head. One last trip to the beach - it's a cool day and windy but still a wonderful view. We all went out for one last pancake breakfast. Still good. We said goodbye to Matt - his visit was a lot of fun. and off we went for Williamsburg. One the way we had planned to stop at one of the ubiquitous Surf stores along the strip - only to not find one for several miles. When we were almost to the north end of the barrier island we finally found one.

It took a while to get to Williamsburg - lots of two lane roads. By the time we got there, at about 2pm, it was not worth getting tickets for Kate and the two older boys, so Kate decided we should go to Jamestown, the real colony site, and see that. That did not take as much time and we covered most of it. We spend the night at a hotel in Williamsburg.






On Sunday morning, Sue and I went to the same Church we had liked so much when we visited Williamsburg. Then we went to Old colonial Williamsburg, Kate bought tickets for herself, Aiden and Sean. Sue and I stayed with Malcolm and Gavin. We wandered around the open spaces while Kate and the boys went into the exhibits. We got done at about 4pm and headed for home. It was a very long trip. We had to stop for dinner along 95 and made it home quite late.