Pictorial: Virginia Trip! (Finally)

Over Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend we had a four day weekend- woo! Party time! So, on Saturday morning of that weekend we woke up and got on the road down to Virginia.

On the way we drove by Quantico Marine Base and went to the National US Marines Museum- let me tell you this museum is SO interesting and well done!

Matthew was interested of course because it is military, and I have a special place in my heart for Marines since Gavin IS one! (but not active, thank you Lord)

The displays were all very vivid and informative. It just opened in the last few years and it really is awesome.

A sideways Marine in his dress uniform.

Me on the balcony of the beautiful open air entry way of the museum.

Matthew!

So after that we headed down to my cousin Becky's house. We had dinner that night with my Aunt Sue, Uncle Ed, Cousin Ashleigh and her husband Eric, their three kids Josiah, Anna Claire and Micah, and Becky, her husband Richard, and their three kids David, Caris, and Joseph. It was SO wonderful to see them all again! And Matthew got to meet some of the people who didn't make it to the wedding (Becky's fam was in the middle of a major move from TX to VA. Her husband is career Air Force so we learned a lot from talking with them about military life which was so great). Unfortunately I don't think ANYONE took pictures! Dang it!

The next day we went to church with Becky and her family which was great. After that we headed down to the Colonial highway and stopped at the Yorktown Battlefield.

Here I am with G. W. (the first)

The visitor centers all have small films about the battles fought in the area which Matthew loved, and I.... learned from. Here we are at the battlefield (I think).

This is a monument in Yorktown. It is so pretty, right on the Chesapeak.

There were some really beautiful old homes in the historic
Yorktown along with some cute shops and little cafes.

Right next to the bay there is a new little area with shops and restaurants. We went to dinner at a delicious little place furnished with dark wood and pretty blue curtains. They seated us right by the window looking out on the water- a perfect lunch near the battlefield!

Walking in to the restaurant....

This sign said Yorktown Battlefield :)

The actual battlefield.

The battlefield and some earthworks.

Canons!

The colonial highway is a road that is a scenic route around Yorktown, Jamestown, and Williamsburg. It was SO pretty! Lots of water and trees and natural beauty!

Heading out towards Jamestown.

Me and Pocahontas!

Matthew and Pocahontas!

Me and John Smith!
(he faces the water and it is really a nice memorial)

John Smith is behind us...

The other view from ol' Smitty's statue.

After Jamestown we DID wander around Williamsburg a bit, but it was getting late and it was VERY cold so we cut our time there short (after visiting a little cheese shop that was so super neat! Those William and Mary students have an awesome college town). I'm hoping to make it back there sometime to stay in the Williamsburg Inn- it was absolutely GORGEOUS.


Back at Becky's house-- here are Becky and Caris :) Caris is 7 now- wow!

Little Joseph - he's THREE years! He's standing next to Caris's cardboard box kennel left over from her "puppy party" birthday. When we first arrived there were about 6 little girls with noses and whiskers painted on and little puppy ear headbands on- we caught the tail end of her party and it was so cute! Made me miss all my super awesome kiddie birthdays.

Joseph and Caris in their well-loved box.

I loved watching them play and just hearing them come up with their stories. They are so creative and fun and have such wonderful imaginations! They are athletic, smart, and creative- there ARE still real non-computer-head kids left in the world!

Aw! He still looks so much like my Uncle Joe to me :)

Richard, Becky, Caris, and Joseph King. David is missing- he was unavailable for photography but he is such a sweet and boyish little 9 year old! (I LOVE Joseph's face in this! LOVE IT!)

For Caris's birthday I brought her a little tea set- you can see it here. She wanted me to come to her room and take her picture with it before we left- voila!

I also got a tour of Joseph and David's room. Here is a (terrible of me-my apologies) picture of the three of us on the tour :)

After a great two nights with the King family we headed back north to King George, VA where we teamed up with some Teter relations! Drs. Glen and Diana Moore hosted us at their beautiful home in the Virginian countryside. Yet again, we have not a SINGLE picture of the four of us (or even two of them) together.

Once we got settled at their house we went to tour ol' George Washington's place o' birth. It was absolutely beautiful- just in the twilight of the evening we saw a bald eagle too! It was so awesome. And kind of perfect- GW, bald eagle, yay America.

Some of the grounds of George's house.
There are, of course, reconstructions- many of them are right next to the original foundations. It used to be a working farm with chickens and a working kitchen and blacksmith,
but the park (run by National Parks) has lost funding. Sad.

Its us!

Then we popped over to Robert E. Lee's plantation. It was really neat. We were there after hours because the Moores' daughter lives there
(her husband is in charge of the grounds there- cool job!)

The next day, after some delicious banana bread, we went to Fredericksberg.
Here is the stone wall of "Stone Wall Jackson" fame. History people. HISTORY!

We had lunch in the town of Fredericksburg before we headed back to the house to get packed up. The little town is SO neat! It has a very historic feel and has awesome little pubs, restaurants, and stores. We really liked it and would love to go back and explore more!

We saw so much in a very great and busy weekend. Thank you to our hosts the Kings and the Moores! And so... back to the big MD.