Grandkids and sight seeing.
That’s it. That took my undivided attention. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
When we finally arrived in Richmond, Virginia after our long trip across the country, we pulled up in front of Colin and Leslie’s house just as Alex was arriving home from school.
I took her picture just as she was getting out of her dad’s car. It was a great picture and it disappeared from my camera in the download process. She has grown about a foot since we last saw her in July, but trust me. She looked great!
About that time, CJ’s school bus stopped and he came flying out toward us.
Now that’s a welcome every grandparent wants to see!
It was birthday time for both Leslie and Alex. Leslie’s was the day before we arrived and Alex’s the following day. To celebrate we all went downtown to a Japanese steak house for dinner.
It was one of those places where they do all kinds of fancy things with knives and flames before you get your food. Very fun!
The Birthday Girls had a great time and Alex, at 12 got her first cell phone…with restrictions, of course.
This time we were fortunate to be able to park the RV at Pocahontas State Park, about 20 minutes from Colin and Leslie’s house.
The RV spaces are very large and mostly wooded. There was a trail through the woods next to our motorhome.
We thoroughly enjoyed the Fall colors that were everywhere.
Colin and Leslie live on a dead-end cul de sac street, which allowed Grandpa to let CJ “drive” the jeep for a short distance. I don’t know who had the most fun.
We took a day and drove down to Newport News, Virginia to visit the Mariners’ Museum.
There were many different displays, including a lot of Figureheads from the front of old sailing vessels. This Eagle Figurehead was one of the largest ever created, weighing over 3,000 pounds with a wingspan of more than 19 feet.
There were many more, but this gives you an idea.
I couldn’t even get all of this one in the picture.
There was a fascinating video about the first “Iron Clad” ships that changed the face of the Revolutionary War.
There were artifacts that had been brought up from the floor of the ocean.
One display that I found most interesting was a large number of miniature ships of all types that were hand-carved by the artist-carver, August F. Crabtree and his wife, Winnifred, that documented the history of sailing. They spent 30 years making this amazing collection.
The detail on these ships was amazing. There were so many of them they filled an entire room.
We chose a scenic route back toward Richmond, which took us past Sherwood Forest, the home of President John Tyler.
John Tyler was the 10th US President and lived here from 1842 until his death in 1862. Sherwood Forest Plantation has been (and still is) the continuous residence of the Tyler family since the President purchased it in 1842.
We entered the gate and walked up toward the house.
Family members still live here, so we could only walk the property, not tour the inside of the house. This picture only shows about 1/3 of the house, the center section.
Known to be the longest frame house in America, it is over 300 feet long. Sherwood Plantation reflects the lifestyle of this mid-19th century Presidential family.
Beautifully wooded landscape and 12 “dependencies” surround President Tyler’s home. “Dependencies” are separate buildings that house such things as kitchen, laundry, smoke house, out house, etc., that the family depends on for everyday living.
Smoke house and laundry.
The out house is frequently referred to as the “Necessary.” No kidding!! I was just surprised at how far away from the main house it was! I prefer mine much closer.
…And peeking inside… This is a ‘Three-Holer.’ Two for adults and one child. This leads one to assume that the family that “goes” together, stays together…hmmm!!
President Tyler also selected a burial site on his property for himself and his wife. However, at the time of his death, Sherwood Forest was occupied by Union forces. As a result, at his death, his body was draped with a Confederate flag and lay in state at the Confederate Congress, of which he was a member.
A solemn train of one hundred and fifty carriages, stretching a quarter of a mile, followed the hearse. He was laid to rest in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond. (You will see more about Hollywood Cemetery on a later blog.)
Apparently the family were also major pet lovers from way back as there was a large pet cemetery at Sherwood Forest. It contained the remains and markers of everything from President Taylor’s horse (lower right corner of picture) down to a recent poodle, all who have been buried there.
The road back toward Richmond has several plantations along the way.
This was Berkley Plantation, the ancestral home of two U.S. Presidents, William Henry Harrison, and his great-great-grandson, Benjamin Harrison.
We toured Shirley Plantation a couple years ago. This day we just drove in the driveway. The family still lives in the upper stories of the house. These homes were built in the 1600-1700’s and have been wonderfully maintained.
Next Blog: Williamsburg.
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