Coast to Coast 2012: Fredericksburg Day 2 and Maryland

I have, over the past few months, taught my boys bits and pieces of American history.  I try to keep things age appropriate but sometimes, like with the assinations of presidents, it can be hard.  We sort of glossed over the whole someone killed him part of Abe Lincoln's history when we talked about him.  Which is probably why my boys had a lot of questions when I took pictures of the spot where John Wilkes Booth was shot.

(this is literally just a marker on the side of the highway -- nothing there but the sign)

I gave them a watered down history which, apparently, was slightly lost in translation.  Kyan told his Aunt Jessica and I the story and it went a little like this:

"Abraham Lincoln was bald and he did not wear a hat.  He got on a boat and went to an island and then John Wilky Boots - he was a bad guy - he SHOT him!  And John Wilky Boots wore a hat and boots.  The end."

Kids!

Our first BIG stop of our Wednesday in the Fredericksburg area was George Washington's birthplace.

The house is no longer standing (they have a concrete outline of it) but many of the buildings have been recreated and are filled with antiques.  It was a really beautiful place and the kids had a lot of fun exploring and checking things out.

Doesn't Kyan just totally look like he's having The Best Time Ever?

They had a flower garden (where they encourage you to pick the flowers!) and chickens on the land.  The outer buildings were filled with old fashioned farm equipment and other neat things.

Also on the property is a small replica of the Washington Monument.

Kyan was convinced this was the actual "Washington yo-mama-ment" and was so excited to see it!

Karis, of course, was wayyyy too young to get anything out of all the history we were taking in but she did have fun (and looked precious) picking flowers in front of the monument.

After we left the main part of the property, we headed to the family burial site.  Am I the only one who feels a little . . . odd . . . walking around a place like that?  I mean, I'm not spooked or anything like that.  It just feels like, I'm not sure how to put it into words, how would I feel if a bunch of tourists with fanny packs and sporting spandex were taking pictures of where my ancestors were buried?

For the record, I was totes not in spandex nor was I sporting a fanny pack.

Washington's parents and grandparents were all buried on the land.

BTW: The Washington birthplace is FREE and that includes a guided tour if you're so interested (we opted out).

After we left Washington's birthplace, we headed to Stratford Hall which happens to be the birthplace of Robert E. Lee.

My dad was a HUGE history buff and an even bigger Civil War (or, as he liked to refer to it, the War of Northern Aggression) buff and I'm pretty sure Robert E. Lee was the third person (right behind Jesus and his grandpa) that Dad sought out when he passed those pearly gates.  WE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET HIM TO LEAVE THIS PLACE.  I joked around that we had gone to his mothership but, seriously, the man would have spent hours - HOURS!  DAYS!  WEEKS! - at Stratford Hall.  We did the tour and when the guide showed us the room Robert E. Lee had slept in as a child, she mentioned that there were his "guardian angels" in the fireplace and that she had grown men ask to see them and then break down in tears.  Yeah.  My dad?  Woulda been one of those men.  Fact.

Guided tour and a huge house are two things that didn't go well with small children.  The kids and I eventually left the tour and walked around the - beautiful - grounds.  Pictures weren't allowed inside the mansion, something that was really a shame as there were gorgeous antiques.  And cradles!  Oh man, I love the old fashioned cradles and bassinettes.  I just wanted one picture but nooooo.



After leaving Stratford Hall, we decided to take the 35 mile or so drive across the stateline to Maryland.  I wanted to eat some Maryland crabs!  If you read this blog on the regular then you done arrrrdy know I had food on my mind.

We headed to Captain Billy's Crab House right on the Potomac and it was . . .

. . . the biggest freakin' DISAPPOINTMENT.

Ugh.  Do not ever eat at that place!  I ordered crab stuffed mushrooms (a favorite of mine!) and hush puppies. The hush puppies were good but the mushrooms were AWFUL.  Gross, gross, and YUCK.

When researching the restaurant, I thought if nothing else it would be a nice place to eat because it sat right on the Potomac.

The restaurant didn't have any outdoor seating at the time we were there, though, and you know what?  The Potomac - at least this part of the Potomac - looks pretty much just like the Mississippi.  Icky and brown.

Oh, Maryland, you disappointed me so!

Next up - DC, Baybay!

Coast to Coast 2012: Smokey Mountains and Fredericksburg Day One

I hopped on the scale yesterday morning, our first FULL day back home, and realized I only gained two pounds while on vacation.

Two pounds.

People.  That is, like, one good poop. 

If I was reading someone else's blog and they announced they only gained two pounds on vacation I'd put on my judge-y pants and be all, "Well, honey, you so did not do it right" or I'd hmph and think, "that's not a REAL vacation."

I mean I go to New Orleans and for three days and gain THREE times what I put on this vacation. 

But I DID do this vacation right and it TOTALLY was a REAL vacation and we had such a good time.  We just (literally) walked our asses off.

Proof it was a good vacation: between my phone and camera, I took 1,100 pictures.  ELEVEN HUNDRED.  Good vacation.

I figured, when it came to writing about this trip, I'd just go in chronological order by day.  I realize that might be boring to you but this is my blog and it was my trip and I want to remember it. (Rude, much?)  Besides.  My friend Rachel already told me she'd read my blog posts.

Anyway.

We left Sunday the 10th and stopped for the night in Knoxville, Tennessee. I had never been further east in Tennessee than Nashville prior to this trip.  Wanna know what I learned?  First off, the Smokey Mountains are BEAUTIFUL.  I'd love to go back in the fall.  Second, East Tennessee boys love them some Brandi. 

Love this picture of the crosses with the mountains in the background!

We pulled into Fredericksburg on Monday evening and spent some time hanging out with my brother and his family.

Tuesday was our first full day in Fredericksburg and it was a very full day.  It was also a rainy day.  Sad face.

We started the day off at the Stonewall Jackson Shrine. 

Note, if you're ever in the area and want to check it out, the lady who works there was a total C-U-Next-Tuesday Faced B-Word who did not want the children there.  Regardless of the fact that the children (at that time) were not being assholes.  Regardless of the fact that she was a park ranger for a NATIONAL HISTORY SITE and I was trying to introduce my children to a little bit of hands-on history.

The Cooter-on-a-Scooter probably would've kicked me out had she seen us taking this picture. 



The Shrine was FILLED with Civil War era artifacts and was actually very interesting.  I kinda wanted to go just for the sole purpose of saying I'd been, you know?  But I really like old stuff and the house was full of interesting antiques.

After we left, we headed to the Fredericksburg Battlefield.

I had visited a Civil War battlefield -- Pea Ridge in Arkansas -- when I was in high school.  But this battlefield seemed more . . . sacred, I guess?  It was raining and we didn't get to see as much of it as originally planned, but I was still glad we went.  I hope to do this (and a lot of other things from this trip) when my children and older and more able to understand the magnitude of where they are and what they're seeing.

Fredericksburg has a neat, very cute little downtown area.  Since we were right there for the battlefield, we headed over to check things out.  We started off with lunch at Goolrick's Pharamacy -- which happens to be home to the nation's oldest functioning soda fountain.

The sandwiches left much to be desired but that's not the real reason we were there anyway.  The boys each had a milkshake (chocolate for one, vanilla for the other).  They were pretty much the best milkshakes EVER.  The vanilla - ohmygahhhh.  I had a cherry coke -- like a real deal cherry coke.  And it was worth every single last calorie.  It was amazing.

We had a lot of fun checking out downtown.

There were TONS of antique shops, a few souvinere shops.  We even found a candy store where I let each of the kids pick out one thing.  There was a children's bookstore (LOVE!) and the owner was an absolutely delightful lady.

We love Ladybug Girl!

The rest of the day was spent playing in the hotel pool (seriously, folks, how many pictures can one person take at the hotel pool?  Chill out next time, B!), eating fast food for dinner, and the collapsing into bed.

Next up: The story of Abraham Lincoln and "John Wilky Boots," George Washington's birthplace, Stratford Hall, and Maryland.