Sights Galore

We be good, just about full of sights. We didn’t do them all, but we
did a lot.

The farm we stayed on is just off Sudley Road, a few miles away from
the Manassas Battlefield sites. Bull Run is marked like any other
little creek. Seeing the open fields of Manassas, visualizing the
battle, left us depressed. This was the first battle, where people
brought their lunch, to watch … what were they thinking? Didn’t they
know the guns were loaded? The style of battle is such evidence of the
power of a paradigm: Stand up and walk toward a guy who is walking
toward you and fire. It had to be so terrifying. I’m relieved to find
that these battle areas are still grassy expanses – no housing
developments on them.

There is a lot of open country in this area of Virginia. Mostly fenced
very prettily, we see some cows, some horses, but mile after mile of
rolling green hills with copses of broadleaf trees marking creeks and
roads.

We did Washington by tour-mobile. It was $35 each for two full days,
unlimited on and offs. Over 200,000 motorcycles came again this year to
honor the war dead of America on Memorial Day. We visited the Vietnam
Memorial a day later and were touched by the tributes they left. We
would have loved to be in the city with the Rolling Thunder riders, but
it is hard enough to manage the traffic and find parking on an average
Tuesday, let alone a holiday.

So we’ve seen the Mall, the war memorials, Mount Vernon, Arlington
Cemetery, the Smithsonian Air and Space Center, the White House and a
lot of downtown Washington. Since 9/11 the city has erected barricades
everywhere. The White House is ringed with fence behind the fence; lots
of barricades are disguised as concrete flower planters. The tour bus
guides all claimed Washington was second only to Los Angeles for
traffic problems; we found that traffic moved along fairly well, but
the city is poorly signed.

Everything here is red brick. Lots of two and three story homes, tall
skinny windows, often quite plain looking, but generally huge. Lots of
townhouses in the city; big plantation homes on acreage in the country.
Even the strip malls are brick.

Washington itself is very park-like, relatively clean, LOTS of
tourists. Every kid on the east coast is taking a field trip to
Washington DC this week. Contrary to many places we have visited,
almost everybody we asked could tell us how to get to where we wanted
to go. Taxi drivers have a license pate that says “Taxation without
representation.” Especially bad drivers appear to be given a license
plate that says â€Diplomat.”

There are a lot of churches here, but not as many, and not as loud as
we experienced in the south. One sign we liked: A church is a gift from
God; some assembly required.

We drove north to Antietem to tour the battlefield. The trip itself was
great, beautiful countryside and a couple of quaint little towns.
Boonesboro and Sharpsburg both retain the look of 18th Century Virginia
communities. The houses along Main Street are tall and narrow, sit very
close to each other and the street itself. Some front doors opened only
a few feet from the road. We found very little commercial development
in this area although there are many lovely homes all along the way. It
has obviously been discovered but not exploited yet. We followed the
Harper’s Ferry Road for nearly 30 miles and saw the old Chesapeake &
Ohio Canal; the tow path is heavily used by walkers and cyclists.

Antietem is a huge area, 12 square miles of grassy fields and groves of
trees, a few farms. For the first time, the horrors of war are captured
photographically and displayed in the museum. It is hard to imagine the
toll: Twenty three thousand dead, in a day. The 8-1/2 mile auto tour
marks all the movement of both the north and south troops; corn is
still being planted in the fields that were bloodied; split rail fences
mark the boundaries of the farms; statuary and plaques from many
outfits, mostly northern military units, memorialize the losses.

The memorials to war and the war dead have impressed me deeply and
quite unexpectedly. I have never been touched by war, never have known
anyone who saw battle. When we witnessed the changing of the guard at
the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington, we were in the midst of
two bus loads of WWII Vets from Oneida, NY. In their 80s now, these old
men stood at attention as best they could, solemn reminders of where we
were, in contrast to the kids milling around, families hushing babies
and heavy white ladies poaching in the heat. A fellow turned to me, his
eyes as clear and bright as an 8-year-old at Christmas: “My outfit is
going to present a wreath today,” he whispered proudly.

The juxtaposition of the young, smartly uniformed, heel-snapping Honor
Guard and the old soldiers from Oneida made my heart swell and my eyes
leak. It still does, just remembering it. In their summer chinos and
hush puppy shoes, suspenders over plaid shirts, four of Oneida’s finest
marched to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and handed their wreath to
the Major who put it on the easel in front of the Tomb. Salutes all
around. In witnessing this reunion of men and their memorial
presentation, I felt I was seeing the irrevocable bond of loyalty that
survives the pain and loss of war. I won’t soon forget it.

We had our friends, Dan and Carol Perry, out to Greenville Farm for
lunch the day before we left. It was great to spend the time with them.
Talking politics was fun because they’re so close to it. Bob Chandler
had a hand in the direction of Dan’s life and career much as he did
Dave’s, so we spent an hour fondly telling Chandler stories. We’re so
enthusiastic about Carol’s potential retirement we probably sounded
totally unconcerned about any possible needs Dan might have for a life
partner in that time span. It was a visit we have looked forward to for
a long time and it couldn’t have been better. We are reminded how good
it is to spend time with friends who share a history with us. We just
need to line up parks to work in areas where our friends live!

Our last sightseeing stop was Monticello. It might have been the best.
Another national treasure managed by Friends of the national treasure,
organized so we didn’t feel the crush of tourists these places always
deal with. Nor was there a one hour line to get into the mansion We got
our tickets online the night before ($15 each) and our tour started at
9:30, just as we requested. Knowledgeable guides take 20 people at a
time through the house then turn them loose to tour the grounds and
gardens. The grounds are beautifully planted and maintained, a
gardener’s delight!

We’re on the road, I-95 South, headed for Havelock, NC. We’re somewhere
in northern NC tonight, still getting torrents of rain from tropical
storm Barry, although the day has been warm and sunny. Jason and Jamie
and four kids are remarkably on schedule and hitting Kansas this
evening. We will get to their place tomorrow and have some dog hugs and
make a cat lap until they get home about Friday.

We have lots of pictures but this letter is long enough. Will send the
pix later this week.

Love to all,