The DoMe Travel Thread

When I saw the movie Apocalypse Now, I remeber leaving the theatre, walking to my car and sitting in the drivers seat for about 20 minutes thinking about what I had just seen. 

That's the Marina Bay Sands.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marina_Bay_Sands

My BIL brought a Lego kit of that for my daughter when he visited us last August (she's a Lego junkie), so she was really excited to see it.

Just to keep the travel thread breathing -- and I hope people will chime in, obviously some of you are on the road -- my better half and I spent about a week on a modest sojourn to beautiful Virginia, long one of my favorite states for its history and diversified topography. It was spurred by an invitation from a high school classmate who has a swell joint in the Blue Ridge Mountains bordering on Shenandoah National Park. We had a mini-reunion of five classmates and their spouses for three days. Her place was big enough that we all had our own wing and could have avoided everyone else if we wanted to. But of course we didn't want to and had many teary-eyed remembrances of ancient glories for which I served as principal bartender.

Most of us are hikers so we did plenty of that despite some rain. Some of the hikes took us into the National Park where we had a close-enough encounter with a bear and later with a skunk. Also some canoeing on the Shenandoah which was running very swiftly because of the rain. And my first-ever ziplining, which I really enjoyed although my wife, who gets a bit antsy dangling far above the ground, did not.

On the way down we visited Antietam Battlefield, Harpers Ferry and Luray Caverns, all of which we last visited decades ago. All wonderful stops. Antietam remains to this day the single bloodiest battle in US history. The exhibits are very well presented. Harpers Ferry is so picturesque even with its violent pre-Civil War history and well worth visiting to see the site where John Brown hoped to lead a slave uprising before he was defeated by a detachment led by US Army General Robert E. Lee.

There is a trail there called the Maryland Heights Trail which leads to a spectacular overlook where you can see the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers and a bird's eye view of the town. Although we're pretty good hikers for our ages, and the hike was only about six miles, the trail is a straight up incline with an elevation gain of about 2500 feet in 95 degree weather. We didn’t have adequate water and in fact my wife had to turn back even though she was 80 percent of the way there. I did push on and it was worth it, but I was getting seriously rubber-legged. Had the temperature been 20 degrees cooler it would have been a snap. Note to self: don't do strenuous hikes if it's closing in on 100 degrees.

Luray Caverns is just as amazing as I remembered. Other than Carlsbad I can't think of a more beautiful wet cave. Plus an easy paved path in constant 54 degree weather. Much needed after our exertions.

After our reunion we headed to Appomattox, one of the most moving historical sites in America. Well-maintained and presented by the National Park Service. The McLean House where Lee surrendered to Grant in perhaps the finest hour for both of them is of course the highlight. I love the fact that the Civil War essentially began and ended at two properties owned by Wilmer McLean -- starting at the Battle of Bull Run in his backyard and ending in the parlor of the house he had moved to in Appomattox to escape the war.

Okay getting too long-winded. After Appomattox we visited Charlottesville and Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson. It was my fourth visit at least and it never gets old. A must-see if you care at all about US history. Brilliance that I can scarcely comprehend. About 45 minutes up the road we visited Montpellier, home of James Madison and no slouch in the brilliance department himself. Both properties are just awesome in addition to their historical importance.

I assume some if not most of you have been to these places. They're all pretty iconic in their way. If not I hope they're on your radar.

Awesome descriptions of your trip pipps! I haven't visited that area of Virginia, but when I was in middle school, for a week my uncle took me all around Washington DC and we visited all the monuments, parks, and museums the city is known for including the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Washington Monument, Capitol Building, Supreme Court, White House, National Mall, Smithsonian, Air and Space Museum, Arlington Cemetery, etc etc. He's my favorite uncle for a reason! 

Wow, you did it up right Kaybli. Those are some serious highlights. Sounds like you learned your uncling skills from him. And those are important skills to have. I love visiting all of the places you named, but the Air and Space is really special. One a lot of people never get to because it's not on the Mall is Ford's Theater where of course Lincoln was shot and across the street the Peterson House where he died.

If you enjoy history and nature there's so much you can do in Virginia. And it's not that far away from you. Of course you can say that about a lot of places.

Now you have been to Cape May right? I remember your parents going there but I'm not sure if you had been. My favorite NJ beach town. Maybe my favorite Jersey town of any sort. That and Princeton.

Yep...Battle of Glorieta Pass. Had a good friend in Colorado that participated in a reenactment of that battle. New Mexico has quite a few historical sites, most of which we've visited. Had hoped to check out Santuario de Chimayo on our road trip to Colorado last July, then stop in Alamosa to visit "inger", but had to pass due to a scheduling conflict. Maybe another time.