Monday: Off (President's Day Travelogue)

No time to run or bicycle today, but there was much driving, eating and (a little) walking to be experienced. Anne and I decided late last night to leave for home early this morning, and after our complimentary Comfort Inn breakfast, we were on a way. We planned on pacing our drive so that we could partake of the just a few of the many historic sites we had missed on the particular trip through Virgnia.

Hitting the road at roughly 9:00 a.m., we chose to make a seemingly apporiate journey to the birthplace of our nation's first president, George Washington.

Located in the Northern Neck of Virginia, 38 miles east of Fredericksburg on Virginia Route 3, George Washington Birthplace National Monument is the second (third if you count Graceland) national homesite I've visited, the other being Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. That visit took place on a previous trip south. The Washington Birthplace National Monument is actually the plantation owned and operated by Washinton's father, Augustine. The 17th century homesite of the immigrant John Washington on Pope's Creek, provided for a nice walk in the welcome sunshine. After spending some time walking Gracie (our dog) and picking up some souveniers left Northern Neck for Fredricksburg.

Anne had lived in Fredricksburg for three years before moving north, and this is te second time we've been through. Continuing with our theme, Fredericksburg is where George Washington spent his teen years and we passed by the plantation on which he cut down that cherry tree. Other than lunch at the Virgina Deli, the highlight of our brief visit was a tour of the newly reopened Old Stone Warehouse.

What was nice about touring the Old Stone Warehouse is that it had not been open to the public when Anne had lived in Fredericksburg, so it was a new experience for we as a family (Anne, Greg and I) to share together. With true Southern huckster flare, the "new" leassee shared much of the building's history with us, including showing us the visual proof of the Warehouse's history in the form of structure "bumps and bruises" (cannonball dents, foundation reinforcements, etceteras).
Apparently, the building which was now owned by the city, was leased by a gentlemen who has begun returning it to its previous state. After sitting in disrepair for decades he, his son, and grandson had their work cut out for them, but if the progress to date was any indication, the effort was well worth it.

Eventually we continued North, settling into a Quality Inn outside of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, for the night. Tomorrow, I'm going to try going for a run in the A.M., and have been inspred to change my blog post "sign-off" from the French translation of Camus' quote, "Embrace your invisible sun!" to the English language...

Run to live, live to run!