Fall Getaways

Without a doubt, fall is my favorite time of year.  Even though I know fall will eventually leave me and I'll have to take up a tumultuous affair with winter, I still love it.  Matt and I have taken advantage of this most wonderful of seasons with a few stereotypical autumn getaways.

We went apple-picking in Westminster, Maryland.

(and nearly risked our lives climbing trees)

And we celebrated our anniversary in Frederick, Maryland.  Since this was a milestone anniversary, Matt let me handle all the details.  I booked us a room at a wonderful bed and breakfast, much to my husband's chagrin, as evidenced here by his "this is what people who stay at bed and breakfasts look like" pose:

That night, we enjoyed a "Taste of Frederick," opting for drinks and appetizers at Volt, the trendy hotspot, and dinner at the more affordable and low-key (yet equally tasty) Acacia down the road.

Our waiter at Acadia was a rather uptight young man named Frank.  Matt thought it would be hilarious to say to him, "I have to be frank..." then say something ridiculous.  For the rest of the meal, every time he saw Frank coming, Matt would threaten to say something like, "I have to be frank: this food is terrible," or "I have to be frank: have you ever waited on anyone before?"  Thankfully, restraint won out.

The next day, we visited some of Frederick's historic covered bridges.  All "Madison County" jokes aside, they were nice.  Anything historical is always nice.  But they were just bridges.

This fall has been one of great family time with Matt.  I'm so lucky to have a husband who indulges my frou-frou whims and finds ways to laugh at the seemingly mundane.  Memories like these make our endless love affair with winter just a bit more bearable.

Magical History Tour: Silly Signs

The only low point of my history vacation was my tour of the Battle of Lynchburg. Unlike other Civil War battlefields I've toured, none of this battlefield was the same. It was hard to imagine soldiers marching through a field when the field is now a K-Mart parking lot.

Still, there was a bright spot to the tour: some ridiculous signs. First, the sign in the battlefield's visitors' center:

This appears to be helpful; however, the parking lot I pulled into looked like this:

Thank goodness there was extra parking. The inside of the visitors' center was even more ridiculous. I tried to buy a battlefield audio car guide from a man who I thought worked there...since he was the only other person in the building. Apparently, the center was actually closed. The man was preparing for a Civil-War-era music concert he was playing there that night. He was nice enough to take my $10 anyway. He even broke my 20.

One of the stops on the Battle of Lynchburg tour is now a synagogue. I don't remember what that parking lot was during the Civil War, but I do remember what the "No Parking" sign looks like now.

Take my advice: Thou shalt not waste $10 on a tour of the Battle of Lynchburg.

Magical History Tour: Montpelier

On the last day of my historical odyssey, I visited the home of James Madison, fourth president of the United States, father of the Constitution and good friend of Thomas Jefferson.

James Madison grew up at Montpelier, then a vast tobacco plantation. He spent much time there before, during and after his two terms as president. Madison spent hours in an upstairs study, surrounded by newspapers and books. Just as Jefferson served as Secretary of State for John Adams before becoming president himself, so Madison was Jefferson's Secretary of State. Also like Jefferson, Madison consequently spent a great amount of time in France. And while Monticello is heavy with French architecture thanks to Jefferson, so our Constitution is heavy with French enlightenment thanks to Madison. When all was said and done, Madison was the primary author of the Preamble to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and he was responsible for our three branches of government and their system of checks and balances. Still, some of Jefferson's French architectural influences are present at Montpelier, especially the dome over his "temple," which doubled as an ice house.


After his presidency, Madison continued to philosophize with his good friends, especially Jefferson. They spent many hours traveling the 30 miles or so between their two homes, a journey that took about a day in the early 1800's. The two men even had reproductions of the same painting of Mary Magdelene in their parlors. When I first arrived at the end of Montpelier's driveway, I imagined that Jefferson must have been very acquainted with the same view.


James and Dolley Madison entertained hundreds of other guests every year at Montpelier. Even when he was too old to walk up and down the stairs, Madison lived in a study near the dining room, and was wheeled next door during meals to discuss politics and philosophy. The back lawn of Montpelier was also filled with activity, from games to barbeques, all of which were overseen by the plantation's significant enslaved population. Madison's first-floor study was the large window on the lower right of the picture below, so even when he was too weak to go outside, he was still able to be part of the excitement.


Unlike Jefferson's Monticello, whose later owners recognized its historical significance (and left it alone!), the subsequent owners of Montpelier completely restructured the building. When it was finally willed to the U.S. government from the DuPont family in the 1980's, historians had to remove two wings that had been added and move door frames and fireplaces to their rightful places in the home. So while Monticello still looks just as it did in Jefferson's day, much of Montpelier is still being excavated. The architectural restoration is complete, but historians continue to hunt for historically accurate furniture and excavate the yards.


James Madison was the last of the Founding Fathers to pass away. In earlier years, three of the five Founding Fathers died on July 4th: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson on July 4, 1826 and James Monroe on July 4, 1831. As Madison was nearing the end of his life in June, 1836, his doctors wanted to give him medicine to keep him alive until July 4th. Madison replied that he entered the world naturally, and he intended to leave the same way. Ultimately, he died in his study on June 28, 1836, less than a week shy of Independence Day.

Though Dolley moved away from Montpelier soon after James died, the spirit of the Madisons remains on the back lawn. There, visitors can join John and Dolley in one of their favorite leisure activities, perfect for traveling English teachers.

(Those statutes are life-size, by the way. I would have fit in SO well with the Madisons.)

Magical History Tour: Appomattox Court House

On the second day of my vacation, I spent the morning in the town of Appomattox Court House, Virginia, site of the end of the Civil War.

The war never should have lasted as long as it did, but it labored on for years thanks in large part to the leadership of General Robert E. Lee. But he became outmatched when Lincoln appointed General Ulysses S. Grant to lead the Union army. Grant was aggressive, and he sent troops into the heart of Confederate strongholds. The Union army may not have been successful in Appomattox Court House, but a communication error left the Confederate soldiers without a renewed food supply. After a week of hard fighting, Lee surrendered to Grant on April 9, 1865.

There weren't many buildings in this small town in which to house two generals and their staffs. Moreover, there just weren't that many people in town at the time, what with a battle raging just a few miles away. They were finally able to use the home of Wilmer McLean:


Mr. McLean left his previous home in Manassas, Virginia, when the First Battle of Bull Run destroyed much of his kitchen and fireplace. Ironically, his desire to escape the Civil War brought the surrender to his front parlor:

General Grant brought just one or two men with him, and he sat at the large marble table on the left:

General Lee was flanked by an army of supporters (pun very much intended), but he was relegated to the smaller wooden table:

After the generals left the McLeans' home, other soldiers immediately realized the historical significance of what just happened, and they took anything that wasn't bolted down. Just a few years later, also recognizing the home's historical significance, historians dismantled the house brick by brick so that it could be preserved (more Civil War irony) in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, funds dried up quickly, and the house was left in a pile until the mid-20th Century when the town was named a National Historic Park and the house was reconstructed.

The surrender was an incredibly generous one. Lee was not forced to give up his sword, and every member of the Confederate army was given a pass to travel home without being harmed. Over the next several days, the passes were printed in the town's tavern:

Though generous, the surrender did call for the Confederate army to lay down their arms. They marched down the main street of Appomattox Court House and presented guns, flags, etc. By all accounts, the Union forces were quietly respectful of the brothers they had been fighting against just a week before.

Addition for my mom: this picture of the Appomattox Court House court house (now a very informative visitors' center)

Magical History Tour: Monticello

Last week, I took advantage of my delightful summer schedule and visited a few historical hotspots that I'd been wanting to see since we moved here. I spent three days in and around Charlottesville, Virginia. I spent my first day at Monticello, the beautiful home of Thomas Jefferson.


"Monticello" means "Little Mountain" in Italian. The house is built on the top of a mountain, completely unheard of at the time it was built. Jefferson was raised in a home at the base of the mountain, but he loved spending time at the top of it as a child. When his father died and Jefferson inherited the land, he (read: slaves) leveled the mountain and built a house on top of it.

Jefferson was an avid reader. He once wrote, "I cannot live without books," and "...read good books because they will encourage as well as direct your feelings." He would visit this little shelter in the middle of his mile-long garden to read and watch the sun set.


I couldn't take photos of much of the interior of Monticello, but I was able to take photos inside the iconic dome. Before he became president, Jefferson was Ambassador to France and Secretary of State, so he spent much time in Europe. Jefferson modeled Monticello after the buildings in Europe, many of which had domes. The dome of Monticello served little purpose other than to be an architectural marvel.

That dome is most usually viewed from the back lawn of Monticello, and this view was reason enough for Jefferson to construct it.

It was the first dome built in the United States, and it inspired the domes of the U.S. Capitol and the University of Virginia. As the University's founder, Jefferson oversaw its construction from the porch of Monticello. His influence is pretty obvious.

Jefferson modeled much of the little details of Monticello after European influences as well, from his dumbwaiter...

To his 16-foot-deep ice house...

To his deceptive windows. One-story houses were stylish in Europe, so Jefferson made his three-story home look like it was only one story by playing with the windows.

Even the beds at Monticello were influenced by the French. Instead of free-standing beds, residents and visitors to Monticello slept in cubbies to preserve the room's architecture and use of space.

Jefferson wanted to preserve space elsewhere in Monticello as well. He thought that a grand staircase would only suck up space, so he included two of these high, narrow staircases instead.

Perhaps the most important lesson Jefferson learned in France was the art of French cooking. More accurately, the enslaved members of his household learned the art of French cooking.

They would catch fish from the river at the base of the mountain and preserve them in this pond until they were ready to cook them.

They also learned how to brew beer and make wine.

All of this took place in the tunnels under Monticello, or the "Crossroads."

When Jefferson died, he was buried on the grounds of Monticello. He didn't want his presidency to be included on his epitaph, as he never particularly enjoyed being president. Instead, he asked to be remembered as the author of the Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom (which allowed Virginians to practice any religion...or no religion) and as the founder of the University of Virginia.

And miles to go before we sleep

Matt and I recently spent a total of nearly 40 hours in the car. We drove home to Minnesota and back to Maryland, a trip that usually takes about 17 or 18 hours each way, but which took us much longer because we had Barley with us.

That much time in a car is bound to make anyone a bit loopy. There are only so many rounds of 20 Questions or I Spy people can play. At one point, somewhere in the middle of Indiana or Ohio, Matt started making up song parodies with Barley's name. My favorite was "Barley Boy," sung to the tune of "Danny Boy":

Oh Barley boy,
Your fur, your fur is fuzzy.
Your eyes are brown,
And your bark is really loud.

After the fourth or fifth encore, however, even "Barley Boy" wore a bit thin.

As crazy as Matt and I may have gone in the car, we were nothing compared to poor Barley. Hours in the car without someone petting him drove him to grab the attention however he could:


And when he wasn't getting attention--or when he just couldn't articulate how uncomfortable he was--Barley let us know just how much he dislikes the car:

Canadian Circle of Life

Matt returned from his annual fishing trip to Canada last week. As soon as he came home, he showed me this video. For the two people we know who haven't seen it, here you go:



Both fish survived the ordeal. Sadly, the walleye was too small to eat, and the pike was too big to keep, so both were thrown back. And the circle of life continues.

Spring (Training) Fever

Matt and I spent the last week in Florida with his grandparents. The time with family was definitely the highlight, but a close second was our time at two Minnesota Twins spring training games.

My dad took me to tons of Twins games when I was growing up. At every one of those games, he told me how much better the game would be if it were being played outside, "where baseball belongs." The result is my crazy love of baseball, and a genetic insistence that America's pastime be played outside.

Spring training is, of course, outdoor baseball, but it's so much more than that. It's an experience of submersion in baseball culture. While we were having a picnic lunch by a training field, for example, Tony Olivia and one of the coaches strolled by. Kids and parents were playing catch, right next to scouts with clipboards taking notes on potential new talent. These pictures capture just a bit of that experience.

Hammond Stadium from a distance:
Hammond Stadium a little closer:
...and closer still:
Our picnic by one of the many training fields:
One of the four main practice fields:
...and the tower from which the scouts watch all the prospects:
Oh, and there was a little baseball going on, too:
Finally, just for Rebecca, the obligatory "my feet are on vacation, too" shot:

I can't think of a better way to spend a sunny afternoon than sitting outside at the ballpark. We went to two games on this vacation, but I could've gone to 20.