Colonial Williamsburg - Part I

Colonial Williamsburg was highly recommended by a few friends, and I've been wanting to visit for quite some time. So what better way to spend the Christmas holidays than in the 18th century! If you aren't careful, tickets can get expensive, but we found it best to get the 2-day pass and look for free programs.

The town can be intimidating, so we spent our first day getting acquainted with the town and visiting the tradesmen. Our second day was full of special programs offered by Colonial Williamsburg during the holidays (note: most are free!). And with the town being 1 mile by 1/2 mile, we also got some great exercise to cover our festive caloric intake.


Yes, Colonial Williamsburg was an actual town, not a fantasy world for today's tourist (although it is somewhat of that, too). It served as Virginia's capital during the colonial period (1699-1780). This is where famous names in history helped shape democracy. Names like James Madison, James Monroe, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, George Wythe, and Peyton Randolph.

Our day started with a stop at the Visitor Center to watch "Williamsburg - the Story of a Patriot." Then we walked across the footbridge into the 18th Century. Our first stop: The Governor's Palace!



The Governor's Palace - former home of 5 Lt. Governors, 2 Royal Governors, and the first 2 Governor's of the Commonwealth of Virginia - Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson.

Inside the Governor's Palace
(Yes, those are swords!)

The palace was built in 1722 and destroyed by a fire in 1781 while being used as a hospital for Americans wounded at the Battle of Yorktown.

The Palace Gardens

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The Apothecary - Having a baby? You wouldn't see the doctor down the street, you'd come to the apothecary. Need to mend a broken arm? Children 12 and younger would wear a brace for 7-8 weeks and have a bit of rum and laudulum to help them relax. Our favorite cure - chocolate, and for just about everything from asthma and dysentery to headaches and even smallpox!

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The Basketmakers - Households relied on baskets to carry and store everything from field crops and flowers to sewing thread. Most were woven from white oak. We learned that a skilled weaver can make a basket in 4 hours.

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The George Wythe House - The house was built in the early 1750's and was a wedding present from Richard Taliaferro, George's father-in-law.

George Wythe was the mayor of Williamsburg from 1768-1769, and he was the first Virginian to sign the Declaration of Independence. He was also a professor of law and teacher of Thomas Jefferson.

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The Peyton Randolph House - We were excited to take this 40-minute tour through the Randolph house - particularly for the wealth of information and a look into slavery in the 18th century.

Now I've been a tour guide before at a historic site (Magnolia Mound Plantation in Baton Rouge), and we look up to the folks at Colonial Williamsburg. Not only do they have access and funding for costumes, but for their own education and props. The tour guides at Colonial Williamsburg are the "creme de la creme." Or at least that's the way we thought...

Not so much with the Peyton Randolph House. Our guide, Chris, was terrible - and it was painful to stick around for the rest of the tour. He was very forceful, a bit condescending, and even rude. So if you are ever in Colonial Williamsburg and there is a guy named Chris leading the tour - wait for the next go round.

Despite our frightful tour guide experience, here is what we learned about Peyton Randolph: He served as the Speaker of the House of Burgess, and as the president of the first Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

So what was the House of Burgess? It is a council of elected representatives, kind of like today's legislative branch (senators and house of representatives), except the governor had the power to dissolve the House of Burgess at any time. However, that did not stop members from meeting - and around 1770, the seed was planted for a revolution against Britain.

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The Cabinetmaker
(who also assisted in making instruments)

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The Brickyard - Bricks are molded from clay, dried in the sun during the warm months of the year, and fired in a kiln in the fall. Many of the bricks used in Colonial Williamsburg are made on site, including the bricks at the new Charlton's Coffeehouse.

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The Printing and Bindery Office - We spotted this guy putting splattered dots on the edge of a book. No real fancy technique here! The gentleman at the bindery office said that only the wealthy would own books - and only a few books. It was quite expensive to print and bind a book, especially one with engravings. Virginia's first newspaper was published here in 1736.

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The Public Gaol (aka - Jail)

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The Capitol - Colonial Williamsburg describes this building best:

Here, Virginia patriots developed principles of self-government,
individual liberty, and responsible leadership.
Series of events that lead to American independence - from the French and Indian War through the Virginia Resolves to declare independence from Britain.
Many of the fundamental liberties that Americans cherish today were debated in this colonial seat of government.

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The Wigmaker - So what type of hair did they use to make wigs? Horse, goat, and human hair! The wigmaker also offered services like shaving, washing, bathing, and sold soaps, perfumes, and powders.

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The Guardhouse and Magazine is an original building. It houses originals and replicas of muskets and cannons of the 18th Century.

And the Peace Corps Says...

Note: This video might take some time to appear. If you don't see it yet, click here.

When they learned that our placement was in Albania, our friends Lori and Stuart sent us the video above. We had to update a few lyrics, but now this song is in our heads for life!

The Peace Corps sent us a 3/4 inch packet about what comes next, and here is what we know (and don't know):

• We are the 13th group going to Albania.
• Our expected departure date is March 17, 2010.
• We will fly to Philadelphia (maybe Washington, D.C.) for a 2-day "staging." This is where we'll get the necessary vaccinations for overseas travel, meet fellow members of Group 13 going to Albania, and board a flight crossing the Atlantic.
• Once in Albania (we'll probably arrive March 19th), we will spend 3 months in intense training - local customs, language immersion, etc. We'll live with a host family, but I'm not sure where.
  
• Right now, we do not know which part of Albania we will be living and serving. We should know our location midway through our 3-month training. Don't worry, Richie and I will be placed together. As soon as we know where we'll be, we'll send our mailing address, and we'll patiently wait for those care packages. =)
• Our service lasts 27 months total (this includes the 3-month training).
• We are the most nervous about learning the language. Albanian (known as shqip) is challenging, but we have been practicing with our Pimsleur CD every day. If all else fails, I know I have perfected these two phrases: "Unë flas vetëm anglisht" (I only speak English) and Unë nuk flas shqip (I don't speak Albanian).
  

When you have time, we encourage you to look at the following links:

This is the Wikepedia page on Albania - a brief, but valuable synopsis of what this country has been through. Click here to read it.

Benefits of Volunteering - https://www.peacecorps.gov/mytoolkit/pdf/ff_benefits.pdf

Our Health - https://www.peacecorps.gov/mytoolkit/pdf/ff_health.pdf

Our Safety - https://www.peacecorps.gov/mytoolkit/pdf/ff_safety.pdf

Staying in Touch with Us - https://www.peacecorps.gov/mytoolkit/pdf/ff_stayintouch.pdf

A big thanks to everyone who has sent Albania related links. We have been researching, but haven't found everything there is to find, so keep them coming! We are excited to see you so excited about our journey to Albania - and your support means more to us than you might imagine. Send all the questions you'd like. Your curiosities might be ones we haven't thought of yet!

We have decided not to commit to a blog for the Peace Corps, but we do promise to send updates when we can. We are unsure of internet access while in Albania, but we are certain to have pen, paper, and at least one working hand. In preparation for this, we'd like to update our address book. When you get a chance, can you please send me your mailing address - and your email address just for confirmation.


Mirupafshim! (Goodbye!)

Washington, D.C. - Part III

Here are a few animals that made us smile today...


And now back to Round Four of "Name that Monument." This one might be a little trickier than earlier ones...

This photo gives you a hint...

It is the Memorial to the Signers of the Declaration of Independence.

This memorial lies on a tiny, tranquil island in the middle of the Constitution Gardens Pond which lies on the side of the Reflecting Pool. It has 56 large granite blocks each of which is engraved with a signature from the Declaration of Independence.

A few neat facts about the Declaration of Independence:

• Thomas Jefferson, who was only 33 at the time, was chosen as the primary author.
• Only John Hancock and Charles Thomson signed the first copy in July of 1776. It was not until August 2 when most others had signed their name.
• The Declaration was seen as an act of Treason against England, and many of the signers were forced into hiding and had their belongings taken or destroyed.

Round Five...

A clue: It is a new monument, finished in April 2004 and dedicated on May 29, 2004. It honors all those who served during World War II - the 16 million who served in the U.S. armed forces as well as all those who supported the effort from home.

Answer: The National World War II Memorial.

By the way, over 400,000 Americans died in the war

Even though the monument is relatively new, it blends seamlessly into the D.C. Mall area. Lying at the end of the Reflecting Pool alongside the Washington Monument, it preserves the overall design of this historic D.C. area.

Some of the most striking bronze panels we've ever seen were the 24 panels on either side of the formal entrance to the memorial. They depicted many aspects of the war: scenes from battle, from hospitals, and from returning home.

Jeopardy-style question... This structure is known as "The Apotheosis of Washington"

Answer: What is the U.S. Capitol?

Leaving our backpacks, snacks, and water bottles safely at "home" we made our way to the Capitol's newly renovated (and high security) Visitor Center. The extensive renovations were completely in 2007 and comprised the largest addition to the Capitol - a whopping 580,000 square feet.

The new center is basically a way to accomodate the thousands of visitors to come and experience the Capitol before even stepping foot inside, in addition to adding extensive office and storage space. The renovations are so new that google satellite images still show the construction going on.

Free guided tours take you through the rotunda and the few adjoining halls. And even though the tour was restrictive in where you could go, it was very informative.

For instance, why's it called "The Apotheosis of Washington?" Well apotheosis, for those who haven't read The Lost Symbol, means the raising up of a subject to a divine level. The painting on the ceiling of the rotunda of the Capitol depicts George Washington being elevated to "god-hood." It was painted by Constantino Brumidi in 1865 in the true fresco technique.

The dome is 180 feet up, the figures are up to 15 feet tall, and it covers an area of 4,664 square feet. For more detail on this extraordinary painting, click here.

Also in the Capitol is something called the National Statuary Hall Collection. Each state is allowed to place 2 statues in the Capitol to honor persons notable in their history. It was pretty easy to spot Louisiana's Huey P Long. We couldn't find the other statue from Louisiana, but we found the webpage that lists each statue in the collection. Click here to view it.

So, is it spelled Capital or Capitol? According to dictionary.com, Capitol refers to the building in D.C. or one of the state houses. Capital refers to the city or town, an uppercase letter, the net worth of a business, as well as several other common meanings. To show off the versatility of this amazing word, here's a sample sentence:

To capitalize on increased tourism and increase capital for the Capitol's visitor center, located in the capital city of ...., workers put up a sign in all capital letters: FAILURE TO DONATE MAY RESULT IN CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. Bloody capitalists! (That sentence was Richie's idea.)

The Nation's Christmas Tree!

And for our last round... What is this?

Answer: The White House

Tours of the actual White House are only given with a letter from your Member of Congress, and as you can imagine are very limited. Bummer. But we were content to spend time reading through the informative displays in the White House Visitor Center, which is a block or two from the White House, and allows more people to learn about this historic place.





Some facts:

• Originally the White House staff were paid out of the President's pocket, but in 1909 Congress voted to appropriate public funds to support a payed staff.
• Plumbing for hot and cold running water to the Presidential bathtub was done around 1853.
• First telegraph installed in 1866.
• First telephone installed in 1879.
• Electric lights installed in 1891.
• There was an aviation demonstration on the south grounds done by the Wright Brothers in 1911.

Protesters outside of the White House.

As we were walking amongst the protesters near
the White House, we spotted Bo, the first dog. Adorable!

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The Huang Kids found our sleeping bags.

Chuck and Jenn are great hosts, and Washington, D.C. never fails to impress us. It was nice to find the secret monuments and memorials hidden in the bushes and lawns of our Nation's Capitol (or is it Capital?).

After weeks and weeks of wishing for snow, we got the "mother load" of snow in Chevy Chase, Maryland. 24 inches fell in 24 hours. The roads and public transportation systems were shut down. Washington, D.C. hadn't seen this much snowfall since 1993. But that didn't stop us from walking around town and playing in the snow!

Our Snow "Man"


Can you spot Sally the Subaru?
Yes, we finally got the chance to shovel some snow, but we were
grateful for the snowplow that showed up the next morning.


And Richie in his "big puffy."

Wahington, D.C. - Part II

We were excited to travel through the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. It has been a long time since we've both been to D.C., and this wasn't even on the map.

The memorial is an open-air design, comprised of four "rooms" each of which is dedicated to a term of office of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Although designed in 1974, it took Congress 20 years to appropriate the funds and was finally dedicated on May 2, 1997. It's located along the Cherry Tree Walk by the Tidal Basin - a nice walk between the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials. We actually walked through it backwards - but don't tell anybody. We don't think anyone noticed, anyhow.

The designers chose granite (Carnelian granite from South Dakota) for the memorial because it is one of the most common stones - and Roosevelt was a champion of the common man. It's spread over 7.5 acres and contains enough granite to build an 80 story building.

A few facts on FDR:

• Lived from January 30, 1882 to April 12, 1945, dying during his fourth term
• Served as 32nd president: from 1933 to 1945
• Only president to serve more than 2 terms
• Only president to serve in the office while in a wheelchair
• Considered one of the greatest U.S. Presidents (right up there with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln)

During his lifetime, FDR did make his wishes known concerning a monument: "If they are to put up any memorial to me, I should like it to be placed in the center of that green plot in front of the Archives Building. I should like it to consist of a block about this size [of this desk]." His wish was granted, and a small memorial was placed on the corner of 9th St and Pennsylvania Ave about 30 years before the present memorial was built.

We believe this quote from a Washington Post architecture critic really sums up the purpose of the memorial: "to give people as many options as possible to go this way or that, to reverse directions, to pause, to start over, to be alone, to meet others, and to experience as many different sights, smells and sounds as the site permits."

Round Two! What is this memorial?

I'll give you a hint... It is between the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials. It was dedicated by President Hoover to honor the 26,000 men and women who served in the Great War, or what would later be called World War I.

The D.C. War Memorial.
It's an "open Doric bandstand" designed to exactly fit the 80 members of the US Marine Band. Our first impression was that it really needed a good scrubbing. It seems like this memorial is rarely visited, and the upkeep reflects this.

And now for round three of "Guess the Memorial."

The Lincoln Memorial.
There had to have been at least 50 times more people here than were at the Jefferson Memorial. Poor lonely Jefferson.

Did you know that the land under the Lincoln Memorial were mud flats? During construction, workers had to dig down 100 feet before hitting bedrock. Amazing!

For almost 90 years since its dedication on May 30, 1922, Lincoln has had one of the best views in Washington D.C.

And last but not least... The Einstein Memorial.

We both have visited D.C. on several occasions before now, but had always just hit the highlights - the Capital, the "big" monuments, and some museums. This time around, we really wandered about and found all the little, lesser known monuments. And man are there a lot of 'em - it felt like Gettysburg all over again! In front of the National Academy of Science sits The Einstein Memorial. And I literally mean "sits." This is a 7,000 pound, 21 foot tall bronze statue of Einstein resting on a granite bench, casually holding some papers on which his most famous formulas are written.

Albert Einstein is probably best known for his work on Special and General Relativity. In fact, he did most of his work within one year, 1905, receiving his doctorate and writing three papers, each of which became the basis for a new branch of physics. What many may not know, is until his death in 1955 Einstein worked adamantly on behalf of world peace. But nevertheless his heart remained with science. Discussing his political activities, he said "...politics is for the present, but an equation...is...for eternity."

Another quote that was located on a display nearby was, "As long as I have any choice in the matter, I shall live only in a country where civil liberty, tolerance, and equality of all citizens before the law prevail."

Washington, D.C. - Part I

We've always wondered about the naming of Washington, D.C. Originally there was the City of Washington within the Territory of Columbia. Then by an act of Congress in 1871 they were merged into an entity formally known as the District of Columbia. It's kind of a fuzzy definition, so much so that citizens of D.C. couldn't vote in presidential elections until 1961. They have no senators, but do have a "non-voting at-large Congressional delegate." It's because of this that the D.C. license plates all have the phrase "Taxation without Representation." The district has a population of about 600,000 which swells to about a million during the workweek due to commuters from surrounding areas. The Washington Metropolitan area as a whole has a population of about 5.3 million.

We had the pleasure of staying with our friends Chuck and Jenn. Richie has known Chuck since high school. They live in Chevy Chase, which is in Maryland just outside of the D.C. border. Our first trip into D.C. was made with Chuck and Jenn to guide us through using the Metro. After being in New York and Boston, we've noticed how each system has its quirks. In D.C. you scan your card when you enter and when you leave. That way you only get charged for the distance that you traveled. Just don't lose your card while napping between your stops!

The closest Metro station was only 1.5 miles from Chuck and Jen's place. It was a nice walk along the Capital Crescent Trail, a walker/jogger/biker trail from Georgetown, D.C. to Silver Spring, MD. It's an 11-mile stretch of abandoned rail bed that was recently rated as one of the most heavily used trails in the nation. We liked it.

Our first stop was the Smithsonian Castle. It has a small number of exhibits that basically give an overview of what can be found in the numerous museums that together comprise "The Smithsonian." We watched a short presentation by Ben Stiller doing a two for one: giving some good info about the Smithsonian while also plugging the newly-released sequel to Night at the Museum. One of the more helpful things he mentioned was that a good place to get food was the American Indian Museum. Hmmmm...

The American Indian Museum, which recently opened in 2004, was beautiful both inside and out. Every construction detail was organic. It consisted of four floors of information on every facet of the American Indian.

For once Ben Stiller was right. The food was phenomenal.

The Mitsitam Cafe (Mitsitam means "Let's eat!" in the Delaware and Piscataway peoples language) is divided into food from five regions: Northern Woodlands, South America, the Northwest Coast, Mesoamerica, and the Great Plains. The problem was trying to pick which region to try! We decided to share a large sampler platter, Jen got Salmon cakes, and Chuck got Indian Tacos. Yum yum yum!

One of the funniest things we saw in the museum
was a mask that looked uncannily like Chuck.

We then walked over to the Capitol but couldn't get in because they don't allow food or bottles of any kind. Guess we'll save that visit for another day.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing, or BEP for short, was established in 1862 when just 6 people separated and sealed notes by hand in the basement of the Treasury. Today the BEP has two locations - the one in D.C. opened in 1914 and one in Fort Worth, TX opened in 1991. In the day and age of boring web addresses, BEP hit this one right on the money (groan...):

www.moneyfactory.gov

As they say, we got to see where real money gets made. Their free tour lasted about 30 minutes, showing the machinery used and explaining the many steps in the process of printing paper notes. The employees had put up numerous signs around the machinery that really livened it up. One said, "Think how I feel. I just printed my lifetime salary in a matter of minutes!"

Did you know that our bills are called greenbacks because the back is printed in green? OK, I guess it's pretty self-explanatory. It's believed that this was done originally to make counterfeiting more difficult.

It was really cool to see how money has changed over the years. Like in 1929 when someone figured out that reducing the size of the bills would save the government lots of money in printing costs. Funny to think how it costs money to print money. Couldn't the cost of printing be offset by just printing a few more reels?

The largest bills ever printed were $100,000 gold certificates that were never publicly circulated (really?) but were used for transactions between Federal Reserve Banks.

Daily printing amounts vary depending on what is requested. Back in August 2009, the BEP was printing $527.3 million a day. It seems production was up in December. At the end of our tour, we were standing just above 907 million dollars... waiting to be shipped.

Life Span of a bill by Denomination:

• $1 - 21 months
• $5 - 16 months
• $10 - 18 months
• $20 - 24 months
• $50 - 55 months
• $100 - 89 months

Let's play a game of "Guess the Memorial," shall we?


Answer: The Jefferson Memorial

Poor guy, there weren't many people here at all. I guess nobody takes the time to walk out to him. It's a pity too, since he's got to stand up all day while Lincoln gets to slouch his days away. They are currently doing major renovation of the seawall in front of the monument, so maybe this scares people away.

• Ground breaking: December 1938
• Dedicated on the 200th Anniversary of Jefferson’s birth: April 13, 1943
• FDR was criticized for insisting that construction continue during World War II. He also received heat for having some of the famous cherry trees chopped down that grew on the line-of-sight between the White House and the monument.

In the basement there's a museum giving a timeline of Jefferson's accomplishments. On his gravestone, Jefferson wished to be remembered for 3 accomplishments:

1. Author of the Declaration of American Independence
2. Statute of Virginia for religious freedom
3. Father of the University of Virginia