So, we arrived in Berryville around 5ish on August 9th. This changed our plans a bit (not that we had any official plans, but still). The yard was so nice! Lowell has designed quite a spectacular garden, both flower and vegetable. We had limited time and tons that we would have liked to see. We had to be brutal and cull it down to a reasonable amount for 2 kids, 2 adults, 2 seniors (with more spunk than the rest of us) and 1 service dog.
I think we made some good choices!
It was hot and humid here too (was the heat stalking us?) so we headed for the Shenandoah River, near Harper's Ferry, for some swimming. We hiked down a hill, followed a train track for a while, and then scrambled through some brush to the river. The water was great and the scenery was too. There was a little waterfall to play in, lots of clam shells to find, and heat to avoid. We were there for a few hours when Derek started itching. He asked me to scratch his back, which I didn't think much of at first, but he wanted me to scratch it hard. Soon welts developed all over him. We decided it was time to go and get him out of the water in case that was what was causing the reaction. We had to hike back through the brush, and along the railroad tracks. While on the tracks Derek started wheezing and having difficulty breathing. It was about that time that a train came along. We scrambled off the tracks and realized that our car was on the other side of the tracks. Meanwhile, Derek was struggling to breathe. I noticed that his neck was quite swollen and began to get quite worried! Once the train passed, we continued our hike up the tracks. Once we got to a secondary road, Lowell took off ahead while we sat and waited for him to come back with the car. We piled in and hightailed it for Walmart for some Benedryl. We grabbed a package and opened it on the spot, giving Derek 2 pills to take right there. After paying for the pills, Marcus called his mother who is a nurse and his sister, Sheryl who is a midwife and very knowledgable for their advice. I called our neighbor Tami who is also a nurse for her advice. By the time we were well advised, the medicine had done its job and Derek was breathing normally again. We decided we could avoid the emergency room, and took him home to shower off all remaining river water. We still don't know what he was allergic to, but it was quite a severe reaction! His Dr. says it is unlikely that an allergy test will find the cause. He figures it will be something very obscure, but that Derek should carry an epi pen. We are so relieved that he is well! What a scary experience!
After seeing The Kennedy Space Center, and Kitty Hawk, we decided to go for a trifecta and visit the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. There is a new hands-on area for kids that teaches about gravity and flight that went nicely with what they had learned at Kitty Hawk. Colin was really enjoying it, but Derek felt it was too young for him. He was frustrated saying that there was stuff for us old folks to see and stuff for the little kids to do, but nothing for his age range. He is a tweener, isn't he?! We went and saw a presentation in the planetarium about Black Holes. The boys enjoyed that, but I slept through most of it. Next door to the Air and Space Museum is the American Indian Museum. It is fairly new. The building is designed to look kind of like the Cliff Dwellings. There were structures outside depicting the various types of homes the Native Americans lived in. Inside, there were sections describing many tribes, where and how they lived, their contributions, how they were impacted by the influx of Europeans, and their unique creation stories. Very interesting.
That evening we went out to a little Chinese Noodle place for dinner and then headed to the Capitol building for a Concert on the steps. We saw the President's Own US Marine Band. We were right on the front row so we could really see everything. They were great!
In all my trips to DC, I had never been up in the Washington Monument. That was one thing I wanted to do. So, Marcus and Lowell got up really early and drove in to DC to stand in line for tickets for that and for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The rest of us headed into DC after breakfast. We enjoyed the monument. The views of the city were incredible! We learned that they first commissioned a statue to be built of George Washington in a Toga, but then decided they didn't like it and agreed on the obelisk instead. Next we headed to the American History Museum. We didn't have as much time there as I would have liked, but we did go to a reenactment of the Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit ins. It was very well done, and went well with our Montgomery visit. For our grand finale for the day, we were off to see millions of dollars in the making. We took a tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. They were in the process of making 50 dollar bills. They were showing us all the new technology that they have developed to protect from forgeries. We headed out of DC by 3 that day in an attempt to get out before the traffic got going. We were marginally successful.
The next day Marcus and Lowell took off to go pick up the trailer while the rest of us went into Berryville for breakfast and some shopping in the little downtown area there. When the menfolk were back from their trip we headed to DC to the National Zoo. I love the National Zoo. I love the pandas, I love the aviary, and I love that it is all free! I did indeed enjoy the afore mentioned animals, but some additional highlights were the Sloth Bear, the baby Gorilla, and the River Otters that were waiting at the gate to be fed. Very cute! I forgot my camera that day, so you will just have to trust me!
I had really wanted the boys to see a full blown plantation on our trip so they could see the dichotomy between the slaves and their owners. We never made it to one, so we chose to go to Mount Vernon while we were in the DC area, to try to show both that, and where George and Martha Washington lived. We had heard that they were focusing on how the slaves lived. Unfortunately for us, they were in the process of renovating the slave quarters, so much of that was unavailable to us. We toured the house and saw most of the gardens and outbuildings, but what the boys were the most interested in was the blacksmith!
The numerous day trips into DC resulted in many late dinners and even later bedtimes. It made for some tired Smiths but we were happy to have some elbow room!
The last day of our time in Berryville was spent doing laundry and various repairs. We got a lot done and were ready for our next stop: Philadelphia here we come!
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