Massanutten Resort, Virginia

January 27 - 30, 2017

Damon was able to get a long weekend of leave as our last long trip before the baby came.  We decided to go down to Virginia to spend the weekend at the Massanutten Resort where they have ski slopes and also an indoor water park.  Owen absolutely loved the water park.  We spent a full six hours at the park where Owen was moving constantly.  He even loved going down the big slides. Damon would take him up to the top and then I would catch him at the bottom.  The water wasn't exactly warm, but we got him a life jacket as an extra insulating layer and then there was a warmer pool that we could take kiddos into where Damon and Owen would warm up.  To say the least, he slept wonderfully that night.

We made two stops in my NPS stamp quest over the weekend. I got five stamps from Cedar Creek and Belle Grove Historic Park and one from Booker T. Washington Monument.

The Cedar Creek and Belle Grove Historic Park is another one of the many Civil War sites in the DC area. Civil war battles are difficult to summarize because you want to cheer for both sides.  I had family that fought on both sides of the war. The battle of Cedar Creek took place on October 19, 1864 and is considered an Union victory. At the conclusion of this battle, the final Confederate invasion of the North was effectively ended. The Confederacy was never again able to threaten Washington, D.C. through the Shenandoah Valley, nor protect one of its key economic bases in Virginia. The stunning Union victory aided the reelection of Abraham Lincoln and won Sheridan lasting fame.

Since Owen was grumpy about trying skiing, he and I took the day and drove down to the Booker T. Washington National Monument in central Virginia. Booker T. Washington was born in 1856 into slavery on a tobacco farm. With the 1865 Emancipation Proclamation he was now freed along with his mother where they went to join his stepfather in West Virginia.  He was a very hard working young man and found as many ways as possible to try to get an education.  When he was 16 he travelled 500 miles to enroll at the Hampton Institute, a new school for black students. He stays at Hampton as an instructor in 1879.  His most notable accomplishment was founding the secondary school for blacks in Tuskegee, Alabama. He was very outspoken for civil rights but to do so through education.

Valley Forge National Historical Park, Pennsylvania

Valley Forge is outside of Philly and we were able to meet up with Kory and her girls for a nice outing after leaving Philly. This was the site of 1777-1778 winter encampment of George Washington’s Continental Army. Valley Forge is most known for being cold and ill-equipped. What I found most interesting was that it was more of a small city than just a camp.  Many of the officers' wives were there along with other families.  The women were given half rations from the military offerings and children were given quarter rations.  Many of these women earned their keep by doing laundry, mending, or other camp chores. Female nurses were also critical for the army’s survival. When they finally emerged from the camp in June of 1778, they found victory at the Battle of Monmouth in New Jersey.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Damon got off a long weekend so we decided to drive up to Philadelphia.  We were able to meet up with Kory that was a lot of fun to see her since she has moved up to the house just a short distance from Philly. It was fairly chilly so we spent one day in the city hopping around for me to get my National Park passport stamps.  The last time I had been to Philly was 10 years ago as per my NPS passport book stamp dates.  

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the fifth most populous in the U.S. Upon researching what a commonwealth is versus a state there is little clear definition.  I think that they just want to feel special and refer to themselves differently than the states. There are only four commonwealths which are Massachusetts, Kentucky, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The connection with Philly and early American history is significant as it was the location for several continental congresses and where the Declaration of Independence was signed.  It served as the nation's capital (among a few other cities) during the Revolutionary War and also as a temporary capital while Washington DC was under construction. Apparently, Philadelphia is the birthplace of the United States Marine Corps, the first library (1731), first hospital (1751) and medical school (1765), first Capital (1777), first stock exchange (1790), first zoo (1874), and first business school (1881). Also, Philadelphia is the only World Heritage City in the United States.

We were also able to visit the new Philadelphia temple which was very beautiful.  I did not plan it, but our hotel was across the street from the temple. Without a doubt, Owen's favorite part was going to the Benjamin Franklin Institute that is a very kid-friendly museum.  There was an exhibit on the nervous system that had a jungle gym type of thing that Owen could craw up and all around which he loved.  We had to bait him back down with some diet coke and chocolate for him to get out. The train exhibit was also really fascinating because it had a real train locomotive to go inside and see all the levers and knobs to turn. A very fun weekend trip. 

January 2017

This month we have really seen a blossom of words for Owen. "What are you doing?" and "Where are you going?" are Owen's favorite questions. Trucks and tractors still reign supreme for his interests.  He loves his fleet of Tonka trucks that Damon and him will take out in the back yard to play in the mulch around the big trees.  We found a sand volleyball court just a short drive away that will work well once it drys out.  We went to Philly at the beginning of the month and his favorite part was the Franklin Institute and seeing all the trains and getting to climb around in the brain neuron exhibit.  Definitely an excellent museum for kids.  Later in the month we went for our final long trip pre-baby to a ski resort place down in Virginia.  Owen's favorite part hands down was the indoor water park.  He loved going down the big slides.  Damon would take him up to the top and then I would catch him at the bottom.  The first few times he did not seem to be a fan, but then he would want to go up again and again.  We stayed there all day and that night he slept wonderfully.  We tried to get him to play with some skis, but no dice there.  He was more interested in stabbing the snow with Damon's ski pole.  So, that day Owen and I drove down to a nearby National Park so I could get a stamp and he could have some rest time in his car seat. The other major adjustment is that we got Owen into a twin size bed.  We had to get several parts and pieces to have it actually work as a bed, but amazingly it all came together within a few days.  He is using my twin bed which was also used by my mother at her grandmother's house back in the day.  A multi-generational bed. Owen has no idea what is coming at the end of March.  We do have a baby doll hanging around that he will give kisses and be "nice" so that's progress. We had to retire our faithful tv as Owen turned it into artwork with his frequent beatings.  The new tv has a plexiglass cover mounted to the bookshelf.