Alex's Trek: Raleigh, NC, Petersburg, Richmond, Williamsburg, VA Washington DC and Annapolis, MD

Lincoln and me

NC Capitol

She's in a boat!

I have truly neglected you. I planned on once a week but this past Sunday didn't give me an opportunity to write so I pushed it off farther. All of a sudden here we are 12 days later! I have seen a lot and at the very least I have a ton of stuff to talk about. Hope you guys enjoy I will try not to be long winded.

Govornor's mansion in Raleigh

some clothes you could try on at the battle field

The last I left off I was feeling down in the dumps and sick for home. I can't say I don't desire to go home but I truly feel refreshed after what I have been through. Our first stop after Wilmington was Raleigh. The poor weather had been plaguing us a ton and that was no different in Raleigh. The great part about Raleigh was that the history museum was free. Turns out a lot of museums in this part of the country are free. We have been overwhelmed with history thus far. We saw the capitol which was interesting because there were nuances like divots in the stone stairs from when the slaves in the 1840-50s used metal wheeled wheel-barrows to take wood up to the furnace to keep the legislators warm while they were in the senate debating. The building had a mix of architecture because the in style architecture changed midway through the 8 year build and they ended up going with a different style on the inside on the 3rd story. They had some great preserved historical artifacts that were interesting to see.

Pulling a carriage

Across the street from the Capitol was the history museum which we were able to go in for free. It was a pretty impressive museum for being free. We saw things that honored North Carolinian athletes, WWII things, Some early activist photojournalism that shed light on child labor in North Carolina circa 1905. After a night where there were tornado warning which Anna got pretty nervous about we were on our way. We stayed a night at a KOA in Roanoke Rapids, NC which is just south of Virginia then onto Petersburg.

Looked amazing

reproduction cabin found in Civil war era

what a fort looked like back then

We got to Petersburg and saw that there was a park that preserved where a Civil War Battle had happened. We decided to make our way there and check it out. Once again we got a reasonable charge on exploring the are, $5 per car. This park is actually quite large and has places where both Confederate and Union armies created forts. There were major battles there where the Union tried to get to Richmond, Petersburg is just a bit below Richmond. There were many earthworks where the soldiers built up the land so they could better defend. They had cannons all over and recreated some things from the war. On this site they had the battle place where the Union effectively won the war. It was amazing because the Union built a mine underneath the Confederates then loaded it with ammunition and blew it up!

Cooking up some good stuff

What is hilarious about the story is that they blew it at about 4:30am then the Union rushed in after the explosion, however, they didn't have much of a plan. What ended up happening was the Union soldiers would rush in see the crater and just start staring in awe of what they were able to do. The Confederates regrouped and send a counter attack and Union soldiers ran into the crater for cover and ended up getting messed up pretty bad. While apparently the Confederates won that battle overall it was able to bring ultimately a surrender from the Confederates apparently... I'm no historian, just going on what was told to me. The placards and stone memorials all around the area were interesting. People truly treasure the past in this area. They are very proud of different occurrences and want everyone to know about them.

the mine where union dug to blow em up

the crater

I was happy I was able to see where the Civil War began, Fort Sumter, and where is ended, Petersburg at the Battle of Crater Hill. We ended up going to a pub after seeing all of that history and had some excellent food. As I have stated before the buildings and towns are just much much older than what I am used to. We are talking 1600s here. We meandered around the historic district which wasn't too much then were off to Richmond.

petersburg old building unlabeled

Richmond Capitol

Richmond felt big and industrial. It was difficult to navigate for the most part and we found another episode where trying to navigate and get to places we wanted to had Anna and I at each other's throats. The weather wasn't good at all and we spent a day where we saw a movie then got some food then quickly got to a Walmart to chill for a few. For the most part the weather was not good here and we were lamenting our situation. We did however go to the Historical Society's Museum. It was ranked really high on things to see in Richmond and it too was free. This place was actually an information overload. All the exhibits were excellent and pretty soon we were wore out from all of the information they were providing for us. We spent a good portion of the day working our way through the museum and after were pretty exhausted. Anna was able to contact her cousin who lives and works in New York at the time and he gave us all these suggestions and is available to hang with us some when we are there so we were getting very excited about getting to New York. We decided we will stay in the city in a hotel for a couple days and those few days will likely be pretty expensive. I look forward to it a ton though.

Williamsburg we were best of buds

Governor's Palace

After Richmond it was time to go to Williamsburg. It was one of the first cities here from England. We planned on meeting Micah and Rachelle here and seeing the sites. Williamsburg was actually restored in about 1920-30 by one of the Rockefeller's. Here they are all decked out in their colonial gear giving you a very 1600s to 1700s feel. It was great seeing and being with family after feeling so homesick. Micah and Rachelle had already booked a Hotel that had two beds and they invited us to stay with them! We spent two nights there and it felt like we got a reset from all of the travel and sleeping in Maander. We spent much more money in Williamsburg than we typically would have if we were by ourselves but we definitely felt like we got to know the town and experience everything it had to offer. We left Williamsburg for Washington DC agreeing to meet up with Micah and Rachelle there.

Micah getting to work

Inside the Palace

Oxen

This guy did an awesome speech where he pretended he was a frenchman
coming to fight in the revolutionary war

DC is really busy and really hard to navigate. So conflict was present here but we made due. Parking was impossible and the Bus was hard to switch lanes. We finally found a parking spot and walked a bit and saw the Lincoln memorial. Seeing all the sites here that I have seen in pictures were quite surreal. I never thought I would see these places. I never really had a huge urge to come to DC. I was very glad I did reflecting on the experience. The weather got bad and we snapped a few pics then we were off to a Starbucks to figure out where was the best place to lay our head. We made arrangements to see our friend Jami who we haven't seen in like 3 years. She is now this really important Lawyer for a big firm and soon will be moving to New York. I was happy she was willing to give us peons the time of day :).

Washington's Monument booom

Abe's hat

Jefferson's memorial, the neglected one

We met up at a bar and immediately it was good times. We were laughing and joking. It was cool seeing her and catching up because there were so many things to catch up on. We talked about our journeys and this is probably the first person we have really known well that we have shared with now that we have been on the road quite some time. We reflected on a bunch of places we have been what we enjoyed and what we thought was lame. We joked about going to Dollywood because she worked there for a summer. We got to know all about how hard she has worked to get to where she is at. I hope all she seeks she gets and that she doesn't have to sacrifice parts of her where she would feel like she is being fake. We laughed and joked and had a beer and some calamari and talked more. We ended up staying and talking till the bar closed which was at 11 for whatever reason. We hugged and said goodbye with hopes of meeting up the next day or the day after. Unfortunately, we were unable to meet again so this sweet meeting will have to suffice. She was able to give us tips with getting around DC which ended up being very helpful.

Natural history museum

White house... no Obama

We went to the Holocaust Museum the last day in DC. This was an experience I won't forget. I know that the atrocities that happened there were unthinkable but man when confronted with photos and video of it it is sickening. We must not forget this tragedy and we must not allow this to happen. I felt so sad but felt that in a way I was trying to memorialize these victims whose lives were cut short for no valid reason. It is unthinkable that humans are capable of doing what had happened. The evil man is capable of is so extreme and so disgusting. I filled with anger at points and felt helpless at others. I remember seeing video of when the army was liberating a concentration camp and one of the prisoners started hitting and attacking one of the German army men that was now under arrest. I felt like the prisoner should have been given an opportunity to torture and kill his captors. I quickly recoiled however. This feels like an appropriate response but is it truly? More killing and more torture will only beget more pain and death and evil. These people need to be punished but we must do it civilly. I have conflict in my heart still thinking about this situation. I pray and I hope that I can sift through the spin that my own government puts on issues and come to a clear understanding. I pray and hope that all information on controversial subjects I am able to see the clear true information and make a good decision on it. This world is filled with bias. I often want to reject all news or expository text because I feel it is strife with half truths and leanings I don't desire to let enter my brain.

Top of Jefferson's monument pretty cool

Emotionally exhausted and feeling generally done with DC we left for Annapolis Maryland. Here we enjoyed a 24 hour fitness and today walked around the downtown area. It is a beautiful town and used to be the Nation's Capital very briefly. The Treaty of Paris which ended the Revolutionary War was signed there. We ate at this delicious joint that specialized in corned beef. We walked the town and got some ice cream. We basically made a day trip out of Annapolis and now we are just south of Baltimore in a suburb.