Virginia is for...

It's been a bit!  Actually, it's been long enough that I was contemplating skipping the places that we've been to since my last post and just picking up where we are now!  I decided I'd do just one post about the Virginia stops and call it good.  

The first place we stopped in Virginia was Richmond.  We were able to get out several days to do some things, and really loved a lot of the city.  I didn't know it until we left Richmond and went to our next stop, but I am told that the city has a lot of poverty and crime.  However, we learned that it also has a good many wonderful things, as well!

One of our favorite outings was to Maymont Mansion.  We've been to a number of these beautiful, historic homes, but this was the best by miles.  I took roughly half a million photos to remember this lovely home, and am just now realizing that I can't post them all here.  Well, fine.

Walking into this home literally took my breath away.  As one of the girls put it, walking into the house felt like walking onto the set of Downton Abbey.  Most everything is as it was when the Dooley's lived in Maymont, beginning in 1893, and it is exquisite.  Every detail is perfect.

In the entryway, there are his-and-hers living rooms.  Because everyone needs their own living room.  Obviously.

James Dooley, owner of Maymont.

We learned the difference between the Louis VIII and Louis IX decorating style, as well as the Napoleonic style as seen above and below.  Do I sound like a fancy art person, talking about these historic decor eras?  Do you think saying "art person" takes away from my fanciness?  Ha!

*Side note and a bit of Cato trivia:  Once, we took an online quiz to determine how fancy we were.  Jeff ranked highest in our family, at 92% fancy.  He's our shining star, to be sure, but I'd really like to know who makes these decisions.

*Side note to my side note:  How do mature, adult people end up taking online quizzes in the first place?  I blame the kids.  Separate-but-relatedly, I may or may not be able to tell you which television couple Jeff and I are most like.

Our guide was wonderful.  He encouraged us to participate in the dialogue and ask questions as we toured the home.  We talked a lot about WWI, both at home and on the battlefield.  Above, you see a scene set up to show soldier sock patterns.  These were handed out for Americans to make after it was discovered that the soldiers' existing socks were causing injury and infection.

They don't make furniture like this anymore.  Every piece in these old homes looks like a work of art.

Now Jordan thinks she needs a swan bed.  (Surprise.)

This vanity is made from NARWHAL tusks.

After touring the house, we walked around the Japanese garden.

We also visited the Virginia Historical Society, which surprised us by being awesome!  This place was huge and packed full of things to see and do.

I was curious to see how the museums here would handle the topics of slavery and the Civil War, being the capital of the Confederacy and all.  There was more about the Revolutionary War than the Civil War at the places we visited.

The kids had never seen a jukebox in person before.  I blew their minds when I told them that I used to have a full-size model in my bedroom.

He's loving all the "Jackson" landmarks in the south.

Finally, we visited the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site and were treated to a private tour with a National Park Ranger.

Maggie lived on "Quality Row," a street inhabited by the wealthiest African-Americans in Richmond.  On Quality Row, it was not unusual to bump into Booker T. Washington or W.E.B. Du Bois, who visited residents and participated in Civil Rights meetings here.

This was an especially good opportunity because of our recent trip to Maymont.  It served as a perfect setting for compare/contrast conversations with the kids.  Maggie Walker was a very wealthy black woman who believed that by living well, she could inspire others to strive for more.  She lived in the same town and roughly the same time as the Dooley's, too.  Still, we saw obvious differences in the values of the two families, just by observing their homes and what they chose to put in them.  It made me wonder what a person could tell about what I value by looking at my home.

Brookings people, look away.  I present to you:  The Library of Virginia.  This was a library that even Jeff could get on board with!  So modern and clean.

After we made our way through the mini-museum inside the library (currently displaying a series on Prohibition), we went upstairs to see the genealogy floor.  This library made us feel like tiny fish in a giant pond!

On Jeff's day off, we visited a different area of Richmond.  We walked around a neighborhood near the college and enjoyed the atmosphere there.

These places are weird for us.  The church is historical and it was an opportunity to refresh the kids' memory about the Revolutionary War, but Biblically-speaking, we do not want to participate in anything going on here.  We didn't stay, but good conversations come from these things as well.

We walked down to Proper Pie Company and had the best pie I have ever, ever, ever had.  The place was packed and we had to wait a while, but when that happens you know that you're waiting for something really good!  I would visit Richmond for this pie alone.  They serve sweet and savory pies and have a rotating (and versatile!) menu.  Red Velvet was my favorite.  I may be ruined for all other pies now, but it was worth it.

Old and new.

We also visited a Civil War hospital site as well as a few other places.  Everyone really enjoyed our time in Richmond!

Next up, we moved south-east to Gloucester, Va.  We stayed at a beautiful Thousand Trails.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to spend much time enjoying it.  The humidity there was senseless, and my allergies were 9/10 in severity.  It's hard to want to go outside when outside makes you wheeze.

Incidentally, how would you guess the name Gloucester is pronounced?  I spoke to quite a few residents and referenced "Glou-chester" because ou says "ow" and I guess cester looked enough like chester to me.  Then someone told me it was "Glaw-ster."  Whoops.

I felt a little dumb, but this isn't the first time.  In our travels, we have learned that Prescott is really Priskit, Lebanon is Lebnun, and now that Gloucester is Glawster.

We did get out for a few walks while we were there, though.

On Jeff's day off, we drove out to Bethel Beach Natural Preserve.  This was so great!

Finally a cooler day with less humidity, and the wind felt fine!

Jackson did his part to make sure all the driftwood went back into the ocean!  Haha.

Every shell, rock, and plant felt different here.

Can you guess what we found?  Stay tuned to find out...

Meg found this interesting shell.

...we found a horseshoe crab!  

The kids and I were amazed, having never seen one before!

Then we found another one!  This one was sitting on the sand as pictured, so we thought it might still be alive.  We investigated carefully and realized that it wasn't.

Do you Dr. Who?  😁

I guess that's all I have for Virginia!  Overall takeaway is that Richmond was great and Gloucester was a bust.  

Now we're in North Carolina, or I guess I should really say that we're about to leave North Carolina.  But that's a story for another post!