I could devote an entire blog to the time we spent in Washington D.C. There was so much to do, so much to see. Instead of trying to do it justice with scant words, my next few entries will be pictures only. Hopefully they speak for themselves and capture a taste of the many flavors of our Nation's Capital.
Annapolis is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, only 26 miles south of Baltimore, 29 miles east of Washington D.C., and is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. But with a population under 37,000, and a downtown that looks like time stood still 200 years ago, Annapolis is quaint, picturesque, and charming. The city is rich with history that goes back to the birth of this country. It was the temporary capital of the US from December 1783 through August 1784. It was here, and in the capitol building that stands today, that General George Washington resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. Today the State House is the oldest state capitol still in continuous legislative use.
After leaving Richmond, Virginia we drove to Lothian, Maryland, a suburb outside Washington D.C., for a month long stay. One of the very first things we did was attend a baseball game at Nationals Park, with the urgency being that the San Francisco Giants were in town! There was no ambiguity over who we were rooting for that night, but unfortunately the Nationals prevailed with a final score of 2-0. Since the Washington Monument and the Capitol building are visible from certain areas of the stadium, we caught a preview of what we would be touring in the weeks ahead. The team mascot is a bald eagle named Screech, and during the fourth inning of every home game, there is a Presidents Race, where George, Abe, Tom, and Teddy (those greats found on Mt. Rushmore) race along the field. It's all things patriotic at a game at National's Park.
The State Capitol building in Richmond, Virginia, is over 223 years old, having been competed in 1788. Thomas Jefferson is credited with the design of the Capitol, which was modeled after the Maison Carrée at Nîmes in southern France, an ancient Roman temple. The building also served as the Capitol of the Confederacy during the American Civil War (1861–65).
While Dan and I were walking around downtown Richmond, we couldn't help but notice a most magnificent building. It towered into the sky and had all the majesty of a great church. We discovered it is the Richmond Old City Hall. Wow! Can't imagine what the new one might look like!
The next leg of our journey took us to Richmond, Virginia. In addition to the Capitol tour, we took the opportunity to visit a botanical garden, one of the most lovely I've seen. Here is a sampling of what was growing when we made our visit.
Here are some pictures of our tour of the Capitol Building in Raleigh, and one picture of the Governor's Mansion.
Our next destination was Raleigh, North Carolina for another Capitol tour. We spent the first day on a walking tour of Raleigh, exploring the downtown and surrounding areas. All the pictures in this post were taken in the Historic Oakwood district, an area filled with beautiful and unique houses.
We arrived in Columbia, South Carolina, on a Friday afternoon, planning to stay just a couple of days. We targeted our capitol tour for Saturday, and planned to leave for Charlotte on Sunday. It occurred to Dan that the capitol building might not be open to the public on weekends, so we looked up the information on their website, and sure enough, visiting hours were Monday through Friday only, closing at 5:00. By now it's 3:00, so we jumped into the truck and drove to downtown Columbia, parked, and were touring by 3:30. Luckily, we had enough time to finish exploring the inside of the building before they closed the doors, and had plenty of time to wander the grounds after that.
There is a bronze statue of George Washington at the bottom of the steps leading up to the capitol, holding a walking stick which is broken off at the bottom. There is a plaque that reads "During the occupation of Columbia by Sherman's Army, February 17-19, 1865, soldiers brick-batted this statue and broke off the lower part of the walking cane". When trying to research this a little further for my write-up, I discovered there is a bit of controversy about this story, some even calling it an urban myth. Hmmm…
Our original plan was to spend just two or three days in Charleston, South Carolina, on our way to Columbia, the capitol. But Lake Aire RV Park seemed like a peaceful haven after a rather intense bout of traveling, so we extended our stay to one week. Still not enough time, it never is, but it was a much needed respite, with a few down days interspersed amongst the touring.
While in Charleston we visited Fort Sumter, the historic location of the first shot of the Civil War; Fort Moultrie, first built of palmetto logs, which inspired the flag and nickname (Palmetto State) of South Carolina; Patriots Point Naval Museum, which included the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown and the submarine, USS Clamagore; a walking tour of downtown Charleston; and a picnic at the beach.
So much of the history of the South is about the Civil War, and this year (2011) and month (April) marking the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the war, it seems there was some reminder of this everywhere we went. War is not my favorite subject; I much prefer peace. However, I do realize the Civil War was pivotal in shaping US history, and I have to accept this aspect of our country's development. Still, I much prefer memorials to peace than to war.
