A Very Bailey Spring Break

Well, over spring break we decided to take the brood back to where it all began for us:  Washington D.C., where Kathleen and I spent the first two years of our married lives together.  I was worried that our boys would be too young to appreciate it all, and would make the trip less than it ought to be, but there was no need for concern -- they made the whole trip worth while for me before we even got there.

We were in the plane, out on the runway when the pilot revved the engines, and the plane began shooting down the runway faster and faster. At that precise moment when the nose lifts off the runway for the first time, both boys simultaneously threw their arms high into the air and shouted WHOOHOO! in true roller coaster fashion. The laughs and smiles all around made the trip worth it right there, and provided a healthy perspective-changer for many, me included -- I mean, we were flippin' FLYING after all, and none of us should ever take that for granted.

Unfortunately, the wonder of flying wore off a little too quickly, but thank goodness for Apple and its Apps!  Flying (and driving, and lines, and museums, and  . . . . you get the picture) with kids has become soooo much easier.

Our first stop was Norfolk, VA, home of the battleship Wisconsin (this was Alden's deepest desire for the trip) and within a half hour of Jamestown, first English settlement in North America; Yorktown, the end of British rule over the colonies, and Colonial Williamsburg, where the first assembly of elected representatives in North America met, and where Patrick Henry declared "Give me liberty or give me death!"  Here are some photos from the first couple of days:

The Mighty Wisconsin -- Alden was just a little excited.

Its guns are so big, it is hard to describe, but putting them up next to an apartment complex gives you some idea. . . .

Another perspective. 

Big Guns, Big Bullets, Buku Powder.

Family on deck, headed for the 5 inch guns.

The boys next to a ship to ship missile launcher

This would be a big (aka Cruise) missile launcher.  One of the volunteers told us that when Wisconsin went to the Persian Gulf with her sister ship the Missouri to be part of "Shock and Awe," she was the only ship to return with un-launched cruise missiles (six of them). Speculation, unconfirmed, is that those babies carried nukes.

The Wisconsin was part of a nice maritime museum with lots of models. Keegan found one that fit him perfectly.

This 18 pound cannon was the big gun of its day. A Frigate would carry anywhere from 36 to 54 of them.

Alden, Keegan and a model of the USS Kearsarge.

Family and Flag

From there, it was off to Colonial Williamsburg, and lots of walking, living history.

The Governor's Mansion.  British authorities did not like to skimp.

We arrived just in time to hear a very nice fife and drum routine. They certainly looked and sounded authentic.

These Colonial actors were everywhere. Don't know how many people they employ, but it sure made the experience more memorable.

The Courthouse, where they are announcing that the British, headed by Benedict Arnold, will be coming, without colonial troops around to head them off.

Imagine Keegan being the one that ended up in the Courthouse stockade . . . He was actually very reluctant to try it (memories from a past life, maybe?) but was a good sport in the end.

The detail on the houses was wonderful, and I especially loved the brick.  

We headed over to the Colonial troop training camp, where we learned to fire a cannon (Drummer Hoff, anyone?) and the critical steps to keeping all of your limbs in the process.

The Boys next entered boot camp, where they learned the fine art of drilling and bayonet stabbing.  Keegan hadn't really been taught left from right yet, so you can imagine how the drilling went. He made up for it in earnestness, though.

Typical Street Scene.

The boys with some of the historical actors that wander about talking to people as if they were neighbors down the street. They weren't quite sure what to make of that.

Here is the House of Burgesses, where Patrick Henry declared, "Give me liberty or give me death!" and where Jefferson and Washington, George Mason and John Randolph, formulated their views on liberty.  

It is a beautiful building, with stunning brick. The left side is where the burgesses met, the right is where the Governor's officials sat in state and heard what the Burgesses desired.

Here are the boys sitting near where all those important people may have walked and talked. I love this act of remembering, and revering.  It feels like the glue that holds us all together, even when we should fly apart at the seams.  

Last but not least, the room as it may have been when they sat to deliberate. Humble and small, but think what has grown out of this room. Pretty amazing. 

That is it for this post. Next up -- Jamestown, and then Gettysburg.