3,324 miles.
about 600 pictures.
at least 55 hours of driving.
twelve states + the district.
nine state capitals.
[ lincoln, ne. of course.
frankfort, ky.
charleston, wv.
richmond, va.
dover, de.
annapolis, md.
columbus, oh.
indianapolis, in.
des moines, ia. ]
five hotels.
three books on cd.
two quick trips to the beach.
one wedding. one happy couple.
countless speed traps.
zero tickets. :)
but who's counting?
^ west virginia... one of our favorite states to drive through.
(we drove from lincoln to charleston, wv, the first day so we could get to williamsburg, va, sooner. we didn't really stop for foto ops... sorry illinois & indiana, but you are a bit boring after hours on the interstate, with the exception of santa claus, indiana. bring on christmas in july!
^ we stayed in dunbar, wv, on the edge of charleston, and were delighted to discover the capitol was a mere 10 minutes down the road. we were fans :)
^ good old stonewall jackson was apparently born in what became west virginia during the civil war. didn't really expect to see him around the capitol of a 'northern' state.
^ charleston sits around the kanawha river... i wouldn't mind having that house on top of the hill. we were there on such a beautiful, foggy morning, before anyone but the occasional runner was out & about.
^ west virginia likes abe because he created west virginia in 1863.
i like how much this capitol resembles the u.s. capitol.
^ although why they have him in his bathrobe, we weren't sure...
^ the view from the capitol steps.
^ what we saw of charleston itself was very old and rather quaint... probably a bit sketchy in a lot of places, given west virginia's reputation for drug problems. but definitely not lacking in character :)
^ further on our drive, we found the end of the rainbow... no time to stop and look for the pot of gold. that makes the second time recently we've found the end... maybe we need to wise up and go look next time. :)
^ so much fog...
^ ...and clouds.
i think this was jefferson national forest.
^ (excuse the cameo appearance by my feet. that's what happens when you're taking pictures through the windshield.)
^ overlooking shenandoah valley. stunning.
^ aaaaand it was raining again.
^ the governor's palace in colonial williamsburg. pretty epic.
patrick henry and thomas jefferson both lived here, when the capitol of virginia was still in williamsburg. it burned down in 1781, so this replica was built in the 1930s. not quite as legit, but STILL.
^ the inside of bruton parish church, which was established in 1674 and is still an episcopal church.
this building is the original that was constructed in 1715... it saw a lot of changes and wear throughout the years, including use as a hospital during the civil war. but it's pretty cool that it's the same building standing, almost 300 years later. it got its biggest facelift in the 1930s when john d. rockefeller funded most of the restoration of colonial williamsburg.
thomas jefferson, george washington, patrick henry, & others attended at various points.
^ the civil war becomes exponentially more intriguing when you're in the areas where actual battles occurred. such a complex and tragic war... the history is fascinating.
^ old and worn out.
^ bruton church still uses a bell that was cast in 1761, which rang to celebrate the signing of the declaration of independence, as well as the treaty of paris (the end of the revolutionary war).
the history nerd in me was so satisfied with williamsburg :)
^ the graveyard surrounding the church was saddening but fascinating... mostly filled with graves from the 1600s, and some from the civil war. i love the statement on this one. truth.
^ we figured out how to tell time using a sun dial... look at your watch first. (heh...)
^ restored & cute. i love colonial!
most of the buildings in the colonial williamsburg area were built from the 1690s-1780s, and restored in the 1930s.
^ we even found colonial bees...
^ ye olde well. in an olde garden.
^ i never got a full shot of bruton parish church... it's a classic.
^ the palace green, looking toward where the governor lived. later on the evening of the fourth, this was where an orchestra concert + fireworks were held. can you say patriotic?? i felt so AMERICAN! :)
^ i told dan if our plans all fall through (well...whenever we have 'plans' for the future, anyway), we can always come back to williamsburg and be re-enactors. who wouldn't aspire to that? :)
^ the magazine, where all of the muskets and gunpowder were stored. they had to worry about indians, pirates, the english, and slave revolts in those days. (ridiculous to think of how slavery has poisoned almost every culture on earth, even today.)
^ the courthouse... the declaration of independence was read here in 1776 when it made its way from philly. and it was a hospital after the battle of williamsburg during the civil war. (what large building wasn't?)
^ it was HOT... 95 + 95% humidity. mm.
there is something to be said for nebraska and its dryness :)
^ nice coat, dude.
^ the capitol... i didn't get a lot of pictures because we didn't pay the exorbitant fees to enter most buildings since we would only be around for a few hours.
this building was rebuilt in the 30s because it burned a hundred years before that... but this original site and its two previous buildings held the legislature of the colony of virginia from 1705-1779.
^ patrick henry's famous "give me liberty, or give me death" speech was given not too far away, in richmond, i think.
^ virginia symphony orchestra performing on the green... we didn't try for a good seat, as you can see :) but we still got plenty of sousa, copland, & gershwin.
^ when it all ended and the fireworks were over, there was a fife and drum parade from the palace green down duke of gloucester street to the capitol. it was a bit eerie at first with the flaming bayonets, but so cool, especially the "soldiers" in colonial uniform... and it was pretty entertaining to see some drunk guy trying to march with them and obviously failing to keep in step :)
overall, epic first 36 hours of our roadtrip... i love virginia and its history and beauty. i don't miss the traffic now that i'm gone, but overall i'm a fan. you can see why the colonists wanted to stay :)
stay tuned for part two... and probably three and four and five... :)
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