Colonial Williamsburg

The first stop on our trip to Colonial Williamsburg, even though unintentional, was at an overpass at exit 39 to Route 34 off of Interstate 64 near Marshall University (that the movie "We Are Marshall" is about). The reason we had to stop was because there was what seemed to be a pretty big car accident as you can see in the second picture below. We had to wait about 45 minutes or so before they got it all cleared out.













When I put the route into my TomTom One, if there are toll roads it will ask me if I would like to avoid them. Even though I didn't know how much the toll was, when the GPS asked me to avoid the toll roads and it only added about 15 minutes and didn't seem that much off course, I answered "YES." Little did I know that it was going to take me winding through the Appalachian Mountains. Anyway, even though we were a little bit annoyed by the choice, it was vindicated when we landed upon a gourgeous waterfall near Gauley Bridge, WV. I think it was called Cathedral Falls though I never remember seeing a sign or anything of that sort. It actually just jumped out at us when going around one of the many hairpin turns. We decided to stop and let the kids get out and play in the water and take some pictures and videos.











Finally we arrived at Colonial Williamsburg, despite my expert planning! After my brilliant trip planning to avoid toll roads and taking an extra hour to get there, my next blunder was reading that "Automobiles are not permitted in the Historic Area" on the FAQs and assuming that this meant that I had to take the local city bus to get there. So we left our car at the hotel and took the city bus to the visitors' center where we could have just driven to park. On top of that I really didn't know what time it opened and so we arrived about 30 minutes early so no one was there when we got there. Next I went to their automated kiosks to get my pre-paid tickets only to find out that they were already expired! I felt a little like Clark Griswold when he showed up to Wally World in National Lampoon's Vacation.

Needless to say, everything worked out just fine. The place opened up, we got our tickets fixed, and I didn't even have to hold anyone at gunpoint! So that was nice. The first pictures are of Micah getting his rental costume (which was a whopping $20 without the stinking hat which we had to buy for $15) and Nicole and the kids at the entrance.














The first spot to visit was the Governor's Palace. This was the residence of Virginia’s royal governor and where Patrick Henry lived after they ousted Lord Dunmore right before the American Revolution. It also housed Thomas Jefferson who was the second governor of the colony of Virginia after the American revolutionaries ousted the Brits from it. The other pictures are of the garden out back and of the mall out front.

























These pictures were taken just outside the Colonial Williamsburg courthouse with the kids in the stocks where all kids belong!












This is at the Magazine where Micah received training to shoot his rifle as a colonial militiaman.







The "Drums and Fifes" marches from the Capitol Building down to the Governor's Palace every day at 1pm. Enough to bring a tear to your eye if you've got an ounce of patriotism in you.



This was a giant dollhouse at the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum. It was probably about 8 ft x 4 ft x 4 ft. You have to stand next to it to truly appreciate its size.










A picture of a tired soldier sitting on the bench after a long hard day of walking.













At the end of the day we went to the Capitol Building which was "the center of the political and social life of Virginia for most of the 18th century" where the House of Burgesses met. Here the kids were volunteered to play a part in a reinactment of a trial in the General Court.

Trip Home from Nashville

Since we thought that we would be in Kentucky by early May we had booked the flights for Nicole and the kids from Nashville, TN early in 2008. Unfortunately we were still in Ohio so we had to drive 6+ hrs the way back from Nashville.

The first pictures are at the Hermitage which was Andrew Jackson's home. The last picture is his and his wife's gravesite in their garden.
















These last pictures are at Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace national historic site. This includes his boyhood home and birthplace unit just outside of Louisville, KY. The first 5 pictures are of the boyhood home which was nothing really to see except that log cabin which is supposedly very similar to the one in which he lived as a young boy. The last 2 pictures are of the birthplace which consists of a visitor's center and a symbolic cabin of the one in which he was born which is oddly enshrined in a beautiful neo-classical building much like the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The second picture shows a closeup of a cicada bug which are prevalent in this area. These are the bugs that make a really loud buzzing noise (you can hear it from the Wikipedia link above).

Phoenix

Nicole and the kids flew to my brother and sister-in-law's in Phoenix, AZ to watch their kids (my two neices) while they went on a Mediterranean cruise.

This first picture is at a cool little restaurant that was recently featured on the Food Network called Joe's Farm Grill. They are basically a grill that makes their own food from their own farm onsite.











These pictures are at a local Park in Phoenix and at Papago Park at a natural geological formation called "Hole-in-the-Rock".




















Nicole and kids visited an old west town in Chandler, AZ called Rawhide Western Town. They got to be in jail and ride some donkeys.









These pictures are of the kids at the Arizona Museum of Natural History. They got to do a little mining for fools gold as well as see some bones of dinosaurs. It was fun but not quite as cool as the website makes it out to be.




On our last day there the kids had a little lemonade stand and Hannah and Micah were flying her mechanical bird. This was the nicest day when I was there and it was quite windy but not raining and cold like the other days I was there. Nicole and the kids were there for 3 weeks and I came to visit on the last three days. The weather was just down right hot until I came. As soon as I came it got cold and rainy. It was the coldest days for that day of the year in the last 50 years. I think I brought the crappy Ohio rainy weather with me!

Greek Easter

Several Sunday's ago (4/27) we went to the Milmore's house for Greek Easter. Since Dan is Greek, the Milmores also celebrate (more as tradition and meal and not religiously) Easter according to the Julian calendar (rather than the Gregorian calendar). This goes back to one of the first controversies of the early church between the East and the West which both (i.e., Orthodox and Roman Catholic) claim apostolic authority for their observance of. Since the Protestants came out of the Western church (i.e., Roman Catholics) we simply observe it at the same time as the Catholics do.

Anyway, we had Greek food which included some chicken and spanakopita which is basically a Greek pastry or snack. We also played the easter egg tapping game which Nicole won. After lunch we went outside to play bocce and give the kids a ride in Dan's new lawn mower trailer which we put together before lunch.

Micah's Pledge of Allegiance

This is a much talked about video (amongst our family) of Micah saying the pledge of allegiance at 2 1/2 years of age. Notice his emphasis ;-)

National Museum of the USAF

Three Saturday's ago we had our second visit to the National Museum of the US Air Force. This time we got to visit the Presindential and Research and Development galleries which was pretty cool. To do this you have to get there early and you have to have a US identification to get on the bus which drives you into a secured area.

After this Nicole and the kids spent the rest of the day in the cafeteria while Andy and I walked around the other three hangars full of planes and such. Nothing new for me since I'd been there before but this time I spent most of time reading and watching things that looked interesting. The last time we came I was so overwhelmed with everything that there was that I didn't look closely at anything but sort of took it all in from a distance. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Pike County Dogwood Festival

Three Friday's ago we went to the Pike County Dogwood Festival in Piketon. It is basically a sidewalk fair of sorts which "features exhibits highlighting old-fashioned arts and crafts, antique car show, bike show, cyclists Dogwood Tour, chain saw skill, fiddle and banjo contests, pie eating contest, horseshoe contests, band concerts, and lots of good old-fashioned food."

We went with a good friend from work who was in town from the Tri-Cities. Immediately upon arrival we sampled their deep fried cuisine. Our dish of choice was deep fried pickles which were actually not as bad as they sound. The only odd thing about it was that the pickle was warm which was a very strange sensation. The deep fried pickle was to be dipped into ranch which I think improved the whole experience.

Despite the description, the only thing worth looking at was the food stands and there was some decent music. We did not get to see the antique cars, bikes, chain sawing, fiddling, pie eating, or horshoes. Perhaps those were all on Saturday and Sunday or we just missed them.

The kids got to ride ponies which they enjoyed. Dinner included deep fried hot dogs (AKA corn dogs) and deep fried cheese. Dessert was deep fried oreos. The whole experience was a deep fried redneck evening. Overall, it was a fun night and a good sample of small town Ohio life. Not a place I would ever want to live.