Williamsburg

This past weekend, Lacey and I drove down to southern Virginia for the 400th anniversary of Jamestown. We started out on Saturday morning, and we reached Richmond around noon-thirty. Our first stop was Shirley Plantation, about 20 minutes outside of Richmond. It's the oldest plantation in Virginia (a fact that our tour guide neglected to mention...I read it on the internets). The fascinating thing about this place is that the descendants of the original owners still live in the house! And it's still a working plantation.

Going up the drive...

...to the Big House.

It was so muggy, y'all. Luckily you can't tell how sweaty I am in this picture.

This is the view of the James River from the back porch.

The gardens.

Some of the outbuildings.

Keeping watch.

We then drove onto Williamsburg to check into our hotel. Our next stop was the Williamsburg Winery, which is the largest winery in Virginia (also not mentioned by the guide). We got a tour of the whole facility, which was really interesting. It had the feel of an old French farmhouse.

They had a large collection of antique wine bottles.

After tasting many fabulous wines, we headed over to Colonial Williamsburg to walk around before dinner. And look what I found in a candy store!!!

It's a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II made up entirely of jelly beans! Isn't she gorgeous?

The Governor's Palace (the colonial governor - not the current one).

Colonial gentlefolk.

Duke of Gloucester Street (the main thoroughfare).

We had dinner at an old-timey tavern called Shield's.They were having an all-you-can-eat feast. And I wish I could have eaten more, because it was delish!

The waitress first brought us a "pot o' beef."

We also had ham and turkey with all the fixin's.

Dessert was bread pudding and apple cobbler. Lacey can't wait to dig into hers.

After dinner we walked down to historic Bruton Parish Church for a candlelight concert. (No photography was allowed, but it was a beautiful church.) We finally crashed at the hotel around 9:30. Whew! That was a long day!

I'll post later about the next day's festivities at Jamestown.

Waiting. And waiting.

Last night was the state dinner at the White House for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip. As promised, I camped outside the mansion waiting for a glimpse of Her Majesty. She was staying across the street at Blair House and was scheduled to arrive for dinner at 7:00.

I walked down F Street and turned onto Pennsylvania, and the entire street was blocked off to pedestrian traffic.

Secret Service was corralling everyone into Lafayette Park. A good number showed up, actually. I'm glad to know I'm not the only stalker.

There was even a guy in a bear suit. (I later learned that he was with PETA.)

Since I had some time to kill, I walked around the park a bit.

Department of the Treasury. (That guy was totally getting busted for riding in the street.)

Hi snipers!

Notice the surveillance cameras installed in the lightposts.

Secret Service, hard at work.

The honor guard kept marching back and forth on the lawn. Good thing it wasn't hot out.

Finally, the moment arrived at last! The queen's motorcade came driving up Pennsylvania...

...turned into the gate...

...and disappeared behind the large screen that was put up.

And that was it. All that waiting....and then disappointment. No royal wave. No glittering tiara. Sigh.

The Queen is coming! The Queen is coming!

Most of you who know me know that I have a slight obsession with royalty. I remember asking my mom for a Princess Diana doll when I was about 7. In third grade we had an assignment to write a report about a famous person; I wrote mine on Queen Elizabeth II. In college I had pictures of Prince William plastered all over my wall. When Prince Edward got married I made a cake and watched the ceremony on tv.

So you can only image how ecstatic I am that the Queen and Prince Phillip are visiting Washington this week. I may just camp outside the White House so I can catch a glimpse of her. I will keep you posted of any developments.

Heartbreak

This morning a beloved historic landmark on Capitol Hill went up in flames. Eastern Market is a favorite weekend hangout for locals, and the 130-year-old South Hall has been completely gutted. It's so tragic. Everyone in DC is just devasted.

When the weather starts getting warm, I get the urge to go to the Market and get fresh produce from local farmers and vendors. (I had actually thought about going this past weekend, but I was too tired to go anywhere.) Hopefully the outdoor farmers' market and flea market will continue until the structure is rebuilt.

One columnist in the Washington Post wrote a touching tribute today. Here is a brief summarization of why Eastern Market is so precious to Washingtonians:

Eastern Market was what people talk about when they get all misty about the possibilities of a city. It was a place where people came not merely to gather necessities or shop for frills, but rather a place where people came to see and be among each other. I don't live on the Hill. I don't even live within 20 minutes of the Hill. But my family and I try to get over to Eastern Market regularly because we know for a certainty that we will run into people we know, that we will meet folks who will enrich our lives, and that we will feel as if we are part of something less random than a walk through downtown or a visit to a suburban shopping center.

It's so true. Visiting Eastern Market almost felt like I was going to the farmer's market back in Turlock. You meet some down-home folks, get delicious fruit for real cheap, and often run into people you know. Anywho, here are some photos from a trip I made to the Market last winter.

It's spring again!

I have no idea what kind of trees these are, but I think they're gorgeous. I see them all over the place.

Hey, what happened to spring?!

Remember a few days ago when it was 80 degrees? Well, I woke up this morning, and as I was walking past the window, I did a double take. Is that what I think it is??

That's right. It snowed last night. Or early this morning...whatever.

When I moved to the East Coast, I was excited about all the white Christmases I would experience. But I didn't sign up for a white Easter.

And I have tickets to tomorrow's Nationals game. I'm not looking forward to sitting outside for three hours. Watching a terrible team. (Sorry, boys.)

Opening Day 2007

Opening Day: The most sacred of baseball traditions (is it a coincidence that it falls during Holy Week?). Connie and I ditched work this afternoon to go to the Nationals' Opening Day (it's ok - the boss went to the game too). It was my first ever Opening Day and I had a great time. The weather was a perfect 80 degrees. The crowd was enthusiastic. But unfortunately the Nats fell to the Marlins 9-2. But on the bright side they had no errors! And the Amazing Ryan Zimmerman had a single and a triple...he's fun to watch no matter how the rest of the team is doing.

There's a new "W" in the outfield grass (obviously upside-down from where I'm sitting). I'll have to ask my dad how they get those patterns in the grass.

Look at the fun new beer bottles! And they're insulated so they keep the beer nice and cold.

My boy John Patterson warms up before the game...

...and throws out the first pitch.

They're probably talking about how much they miss Soriano.

What's Teddy Roosevelt doing on the roof?

He's cheating in the Presidents' Race by taking a zip line to the finish line. He still didn't win.

Note: I was just alerted to the fact that there is a video of Teddy cheating on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM-Am2w8rhA&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Edeadspin%2Ecom%2F

It's cherry blossom time!

It's every Washingtonian's favorite time of year...time for the cherry blossoms! Because of the wacky weather we've been having, the blossoms peaked a little earlier than they were supposed to. Lacey and I headed down to the Tidal Basin this afternoon and luckily the predicted rain never came.

Oh so many people (not as many as last year, actually).

Jefferson thinks your fanny pack is stupid. (I stole that from Heather.)