From Asheville, North Carolina

Greetings!

And now you are asking, "And where are the pretty pictures?" Blogger is broken! I tried and tried as I have some sensational fall color pictures and there is something amiss with the uploading system. Thank goodness! I thought it was me and I know I am much harder to fix! So hopefully in the next day or so they will get my error "bx-9pjt60" fixed and I will be back in business. (whatever that means) So you will just have to be content with my words.


Monticello was wonderful. That Thomas Jefferson was quite a guy! His home and gardens are beautiful and full of innovations that make your head spin. We saw his clock in the entryway that was controlled by weights that dropped through the floor and marked the days, his "copying machine", wonderful windows that raised to become doors, and so much more. As our guide pointed out, he wasn't an inventor but an innovator. So many ideas of things he encountered in his travels he adopted, adapted, and improved! Choosing to build his home on the top of a mountain without a reliable water supply might be considered a bit chancy but he made it work and if there were problems he would try to find solutions. Was amazed to find out he had planted artichokes in his garden and they finally took hold and grew. And he wasn't anywhere near Castroville, California. We walked with a guide through the gardens, and also with lovely black woman who was our guide through the slave quarters. They were knowledgable, friendly, and well versed in their subjects. Picked up suggestions for books to read, things to plant, and questions to ponder. It really was a wonderful 5 hours! (No wonder our feet were hurting!) Oh, and I failed to mention that it rained on us. This would have spoiled the experience for some people but not the Gotta Go Girls! We whipped out our umbrellas and enjoyed the coolness. It was nice to be wet from rain and not sweat!

Took a drive around the campus of University of Virginia and saw the Rotunda which was designed by Jefferson. Went to the refurbished historic downtown of Charlottesville, parked the car and did a bit more walking! Wandered in and out of the stores and found the perfect gift for Judi. She has jokingly renamed herself Bessie after some cows she saw the other day. It has something to do with the way her pants (and I might add the other 2 GGG's) fit. The gift was a little cow flashlight that moos. We may have to take it away from her though and throw it away as she really likes it. It could drive us all crazy.


Dinner was in a French style bistro and was deliscious. I had skate which is a type of ray. It turns out Lee may be allergic to this as she had only one bite of mine and ended up with a tummy upset. This also happened in Chicago when she had skate for the first time. Have you ever known anyone with an allergy to skate? We are amazed!


These were only minor bumps in the road and we loved Charlottesville! And we weren't lost once!!! What a relief. We can follow a map and find our way. There is hope we will be able to bring the Green Avalon back to California.


This morning dawned bright and sparkling after yesterday's sorely needed rain. We headed south toward Tennessee and then cut back to western South Carolina. We drove through the Smoky Mountains and they are ablaze with color. We have been hearing how the colors are so poor this year due to the drought. We can't imagine what it must be like in a good year. We stopped at one vista point and it was breathtaking. It is hard to keep your eyes on the road as there are blazes of color ranging from chartreuse to bright yellow to pink to crimson. Hopefully Blogger will get the problem fixed and I can post some pictures.


We are visiting the Biltmore Estate tomorrow to see just how those crazy Vanderbilts spent all their money during the Gilded Age. Good night from the Girls

Found! Not Lost!

We feel like we have returned to civilization where there are street signs and maps we can read! Whoooooppeeeee!!!!!!

1. Very old table at Michie (mick-ee)Tavern for serving, storage, conversion to a bench

2. Lunch for the girls at Michie Tavern

3. Tea "tiles"

4. Adjustable candlestick

5. Entrance to Ashlawn/Highland

6. White section built for Monroe/Yellow section later addition

7. A view toward Monticello

8. and 9. Huge white oak from Monroe's time.

Hallelujah!!!!! Our faith has been restored in our ability to find our way out of a paper bag! Stopped by UPS with only one little hitch (bad directions) and headed to Charlottesville, Virginia. We did it!!!!!! There was a lot of truck traffic but breezed right along and arrived at the Monticello Visitors' Center a little after noon. Bought a pass for Monticello, Michie's Tavern, and Monroe's Ash Lawn/Highland.

Decided to eat at Michie's Tavern and take the tour! Brilliant idea! Lunch was a buffet of cole slaw, black eyed peas, green beans, beets, stewed tomatoes, fried chicken, pulled pork, biscuits, corn bread and topped off with peach cobbler! We are definitely in the south!!! I ate my fill of the stewed tomatoes remembering my grandmother! The old tavern was constructed in the late 1700's but has been moved17 miles down the road. It was a delight! And then we took the tour of the historic parts of the tavern, danced a modified Virginia Reel, and had a wonderful time! Were shown some Tea Tiles which are compressed black tea. You scrape some of the tea leaves from the tile and make your tea that way. This was new to all of us as we had never heard of tea in this form. Great tour guides and the waitresses in the restaurant were fabulous. Michie's Tavern gets an A+ in the GGG tour book.

Drove a short way down the road to Ash Lawn/Highland which is owned by the College of William and Mary (which we inadvertently toured last night in Williamsburg!) They have restored the house and it is small and manageable. We weren't exhausted when we finished! It is furnished with many of President Monroe's things and had a definite feel of authenticity. Our guide was great and we felt we had spent a great day as we headed for the Holiday Inn in Charlottesville. Signs directed us to the front door and here we are not the least frazzled like the last few days. Unfortunately we will never be able to figure out why we had such a horrible time finding our way. Just have to be thankful we found the exit door in the Bermuda Triangle!!!

Looking forward to Monticello tomorrow. Rain is predicted but it is very warm and a little moisture would feel good. There is a serious drought in this part of the country and as we travel farther south we may encounter water rationing. This is also having an affect on the fall colors. Some people are predicting the green leaves will just fall off the trees. We will be heading into the Blue Ridge and Smokey Mountains and this is the peak weekend for fall color. There is some and to us it is beautiful, but understand it is not the spectacular colors of normal years. Off to read a book and put my feet up.

Love from Gerry and the two napping Gotta Go Girls.

Greetings from the GGG (or aka--The Three Stooges!)

Guess I am not so good at adding captions so back to the old method of pictures with a list!

1. Dr. Kelso and his team in Historic Jamestowne

2. More Dr. Kelso at the Jamestowne dig

3. The palisade

4. At the dig

5. Washing and straining to find artifacts

6. Piece of sturgeon "bone"

7. Pocahantas and Gerry

8. The "Barracks"

9. Yorktown Memorial

10 Yorktown house

11. Mt. Vernon

12. The Mt. Vernon Slave quarters

13. Judi, Gerry and the Washingtons

For those of you who have wondered where we have been I will have to admit we have been driving around Colonial Williamsburg LOST!!!!! But I am getting ahead of myself.

On Monday we left Washington DC headed for Mt. Vernon and Richmond, Virginia. Almost didn't get out of town but the Toyota gods were with us and we finally found the right road and went the right direction on it and soon found ourselves at Mt Vrnon, the home of our first president. The mansion is rather unassuming but restored, decorated, and a great visit. The grounds are very nice and it was a pleasant time. Judi and Lee walked to the grave site but I opted to sit in the shade and enjoy the day.

While standing in line we got to talking to some people who lived inWilliamsburg so we decided to skip Richmond and drive a bit farther and be in a position for some serious sightseeing and that is what we did. Unfortunately I was so tired that night I stayed home from dinner and slept for 10 hours. Hmmmmm, perhaps I was a bit weary.

Anyway that put me in good form on Tuesday when we headed for Historic Jamestowne. After our experience at Plimoth Plantation and the costumed Pilgrims we opted to skip the reconstructed town and take in the archaeological dig to find the original settlement. Dr. William Kelso theorized about 15 years ago that the settlement of Jamestown and the fort was not eroded into the James River and started digging. He was right and new evidence is still turning up. The pictures are of the dig and Wow! the man himself shows up! It was like seeing a rock star. I didn't jump down in the pit or embarrass the other Gotta Go Girls but that was a thrill. Even though there are some inaccuracies I would recommend the movie, New World. It was filmed just down the river from Jamestowne and the scenery is beautiful. Maybe a little bending of the truth about Pocahantas and John Smith but basically it takes place at that site. They have built an "archaearium" to house all the artifacts they are finding. It was a thrill to be there and we didn't want to tear ourselves away. But we thought we would come back to the motel and do a little planning.

Well, we got on the Colonial Parkway thinking we were heading for our hotel when the next thing we know we are actually going the other way and we ended up in Yorktown where the Revolutionary War ended. This is where Cornwallis surrendered and really marked the beginning of the USA and we were there. Perhaps by accident, but we were there. And then we tried to get back to the hotel in earnest. Back on the Colonial Parkway going the right direction and we can't find the damnned hotel!!! Many stops, many wrong ways, no street signs, lame maps, and our spirit was finally broken. We dubbed ourselves the three stooges! Now that is pitiful! We have found our way all across the United States and here in the Historical Triangle (Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown) it turns into the Bermuda Triangle and tries to gobble us up!!!!

Bruised but not defeated we headed out for dinner and got to the restaurant ok but the Colonial Parkway got us again! Took us well over an hour to find our way "home". It should have been a 5 minute drive! This morning we were not going to let that happen again. I drove to Colonial Williamsburg without a hitch. Figured I could do it coming back. WRONG!!!!! Finally when it got dark and the lights were bothering me Judi took over and it took us again well over an hour to get back. And though we tried to avoid it we ended up on the Colonial Parkway again! Heading out of town tomorrow and thinking of hiring an escort!

Today was spent at Colonial Williamsburg. We know this is an extremely popular venue and there were oodles of people there and many are repeat visitors but we were disappointed. Yesterday was such a high, but today was an expensive disappointment. The things we liked today were 1) a reading of the Declaration of Independence from the State House, 3) lunch at a tavern, and 3) the Rockefeller Folk Art museum. The museum was one of the best we have been in. And we walked until our feet almost fell off.

Should be in bed right now but did want to catch up a bit. Have had a few e-mails wondering what happened to us. We are a bit weary, needed some time to get our affairs in order, and of course there is being lost on the Colonial Parkway! Another thing about the CP. It is paved in a gravelly substance that sounds crunchy under the wheels of the car so everytime we would drive onto it the sound would remind us that we were probably lost again!

On to Monticello as well as President Monroe's home tomorrow. Nighty night from the GGG

Last Day in Washington DC (boo hoo)

Antique Indian beaded dresses






























New and incredibly beautiful bead work
































Really new bead work!!































The Santa Clara University entry in the Solar Decathlon



























The Vietnam Memorial/My step-brother Eugene Christer


























Gerry with R2-D2 and C3PO
































Jackie Kennedy's inaugural gown and cape






























The Gotta Go Girls at the Jefferson Memorial





















Our new friend Miriam Barrera
























Four vets at the WWII Memorial
























WWII Memorial























The Reflecting Pool

































Judi on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial































Gerry at the Lincoln Memorial

Well the pictures are not in the order I want but who cares! It is late and Judi and Lee are asleep but I did want to get a few things down before we made a major gear switch and headed into the South tomorrow.


These days have been incredible here in Washington. We have walked our feet to nubs and I can only touch on the high points. Yesterday was a very full day. We started off early and visited the WWII memorial. The elderly vets that were all over were very inspiring. We even saw one gent wearing his uniform. It was a bit snug but he was upright and very proud. They are certainly an aging group and someday the men and women who fought in that war will be gone but the memorial will live on. The 400 gold stars representing the 400,000 men and women in the armed forces that died was sobering indeed.



Then it was a stroll down the reflecting pool just like Forrest Gump to the Lincoln, Vietnam and Korean memorials. Each place was inspiring as well as sad. It is certainly a reminder that we have a lot of work to do to learn to live together peacefully on this planet! Then it was a cab ride back to the National Archives. It was thrilling enough to see the Declaration of Independence,Constitution, and Bill of Rights, but there were so many other documents and artifacts dealing with our history. I was particularly taken with Rosemary Wood's tape recorder. Who remembers the significance of that????? I told you there would be quizzes from time to time!



The Gotta Go Girls then headed in different directions. Lee and Judi to the National Gallery and I went to the Air and Space to check on the moon rocks and more particularly to see the special exhibit of selected items from the National History Museum! Yes!!!! Can you believe it
is closed until next year??????? That was worse than the Clam Shack being closed! Oh well, I did get to see some goodies and loved seeing Jerry Seinfeld's ruffled shirt and Mr. Rogers sweater!



Crawled back to the hotel for a little rest and after a quick bite went on the night tour of DC. It was fabulous seeing all the memorials lighted and we met a delightful young woman from Guatemala who is here on a conference. Miriam works for the Rainforest Alliance and we enjoyed meeting her. Safe travels, Miriam.



The pain in our feet and legs didn't keep us awake and we slept in a bit this morning, did our laundry and had to move to another room since we had extended our stay here at our beloved Harrington. Went to the Indian Museum today and could have stayed for days! It is one of the newest museums and features some of the incredible bead work we saw all the way back in Browning, Montana only sooooooooo much more! Did a little damage in the gift store and then Lee went back to the National Gallery and Judi and I cabbed on down to the Holocaust Museum. (anything to save our aching dogs) What a sobering experience! Genocide is truly one of the worst evils in the world and it still goes on. Are we paying enough attention????

While walking back to the hotel I encountered a Solar Decathalon on the Mall. It is a competition among 20 universities to design and build a solar powered home. Very interesting and my favorite turned out to be the entry from Santa Clara University. Met a student and his father from Santa Cruz. The boy had gone to Holy Cross so it was old home/new home week there on the Mall.





Back at the hotel we decided after moving into our new digs that we were too tired to go far afield and would have dinner one more time at Harry's here in the hotel. The food has been excellent so one last time! Well, through a series of mishaps (out of steaks, waiting for an hour to be told this, wrong orders, horribly cooked porkchops) the manager comped our dinner which mollified us a bit. Did put us back in the room late but just one of those little vicissitudes of travel. I'm taking a rather Zen approach but now I am at the end of my day/night and am signing off. Hate to leave in the morning but the South is calling us! Nighty night from our nation's capital!