50 States Trip #2: Mid-Atlantic States

Wanna make your minivan smell unique? Drive around with your family of 6 for a week or so visiting whichever states are within your reach in the time allotted. Our family has achieved this goal and then some. The minivan will never be the same.

We recently knocked off 5 more states and Washington, D.C. from our 50 states goal. We hit Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. We also spent another night in North Carolina for the sake of logistics.

Our goal is to see everything, everywhere so that we never have to return to that place again.

No, wait. That's not our goal at all.

Our actual goal is to see a little bit of everything and encourage our kids to see traveling as one big adventure.

And I think we're doing o.k. on that one.

In North Carolina, we visited the Duke University campus and relived a bit of our younger days (before children) when Jay and I lived in Durham. It happened to be the day that Duke was playing for the NCAAchampionship so everyone we saw was wearing blue and staring at us because we weren't. And also because we have a lot of loud children.

Boys and Duke Chapel

We went to Colonial Williamsburg and Jamestown Settlement in Virginia (not on the same day) and I have to say that Jamestown won hands down for me. Not only do they have a living history museum (replica ships that brought over the first permanent settlers from England, a Powhatan village, and a recreated fort), but their indoor museum was also really well done.

Learning from an original Jamestown settler (hee-hee, 'cause he's really old)

Harry, our four-year-old, has been telling every person who asks about our trip that "all the Native Amewicans died and that made me cwy." He gleaned this information from an interactive map that showed the decrease in Powhatan settlements as the English settlements increased. You may not see that as a positive, but I am a history dork and I do. And kids could be outside and they had a musket demonstration that was a really big hit with our bloodthirsty crowd.

 

Jamestown Musket Demonstration

Williamsburg would probably be more fun if you stayed longer and participated in all of the historical reenactment activities (they have a trial and a mob that starts the revolution, for instance), but with kids ranging in age from 2 to 10 it was not that great for us. It was, however, predominantly outside and involved running, which we always appreciate.

 

The Governor's Palace in Colonial Williamsburg, VA

In Maryland we hung out in the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, ate some delicious crab cakes at Mo's, and toured Fort McHenry. McHenry's claim to fame is that it was the site of the flag that Francis Scott Key was looking for when he penned the eventual national anthem. Although we were all taught Betsy Ross's name for sewing the first American flag during the American Revolution, it was really the War of 1812 and Key's era that saw the flag as we think of it as a symbol of the United States.

 

Baltimore Lighthouse at Inner Harbor

The short film at the fort was well done and made me feel pretty darn patriotic. Although to be honest, it is not all that difficult to make me feel patriotic. I learned that Key's grandson was actually held as a prisoner in Fort McHenry during the Civil War for criticizing Lincoln's use of force in eradicating slavery from the southern states. And, of course, I was reminded yet again that I'm glad I do not live 200 years ago. Or 100. Or even 50. It was fairly cold and miserable and windy, but all the people we encountered in Maryland were incredibly nice. And if I, a native Southerner, noticed polite behavior toward others, it was above average at the least.

 

Cannons at the ready at Fort McHenry

We kept our tour of Pennsylvania to Philadelphia just so that we could see the former capital of the United States and let our kids see that broken bell. The cold and rain (and occasional sleet) followed us into Philly so our cheesesteaks wound up being needed for warmth and not just delicious sustenance. The last time we were in the City of Brotherly Love it was 95 degrees and I had to take a baby to the emergency room, so this was still better than that.

 

The Liberty Bell, up close and personal

We toured Independence Hall and saw original copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the U.S. Constitution. We were also unfortunately asked to leave by the grumpiest park ranger I have ever met. He was arrogant and rude and proudly told our group that he had his doctorate, which we later learned was in Sociology, not History. Our 2-year-old was rather loudly talking during the presentation and unfortunately there is no other way but the guided tour to see Independence Hall. It was embarrassing and not cool. Oh, well. I am perfectly capable of explaining what happened in those rooms to the kids and we watched National Treasure so we would feel happy about Philadelphia and Independence Hall again.

 

Independence Hall before we got kicked out

And then there was Delaware. When we got this idea to see all the states we joked about something that we could do in every one--take a picture of a mascot of some sort or drink a local beer in every state or something like that. We realized we just didn't know what to expect in each one so we haven't really been doing any of that. I do wish we had tried to take a picture of each state's welcome sign. Georgia's says "We're glad Georgia's On Your Mind," which references a great song, but is also weirdly obvious. Virginia's says "Open for Business" which feels vaguely desperate, as though you need to be reminded that it's still there. Maryland's has every color of their awesomely busy flag and an arched shape and so many words I'm not sure what it said.

But Delaware. Delaware's is plain blue with white letters and says "Welcome to Delaware." That's it. No motto or pithy saying. No colors or flag. It doesn't even say "The First State," even though Delaware was the first to ratify the Constitution. Delaware is not flashy. It is absolutely lovely in parts and incredibly industrial in parts and practical everywhere in between. When researching the state I kept running into the DuPont name--the famous chemical company started in Delaware as a black powder manufacturer when E.I. du Pont de Nemour immigrated to the U.S from France.

 

Water Power of the Brandywine River--used to make explosives by the DuPont Company

So we went to see the Hagley Museum--a former home and explosives plant for the DuPont company. It was industrialization (company village, large scale nuts and bolts and gears, industry titans) and peaceful countryside all at once. The plant was along a beautiful river with the family mansions high above overlooking the valley and out of site of the homes of their workers and their families. They have a small explosive demonstration down by the river and we got to explore outside some more. The museum staff were incredibly gracious and proud of their state and we really enjoyed visiting. We also went by the University of Delaware and Jay bought a Blue Hen Snuggie for his boss because one grown man giving another grown man a Snuggie is only made funnier by the Fightin' Blue Hen on it.

 

Small Boy Enjoys the Former Home and Gardens of Rich People

After Delaware we drove west to West Virginia with the plan of coming back through Washington, D.C. on the weekend when hotels are cheaper. This meant we drove across Maryland and into West Virginia. The drive itself was part of the activity. Flat lowlands give way to rolling hills covered in mist and mountains hidden in the clouds. When West Virginia separated from Virginia there was debate about how much of Virginia to cut off. Having driven through that area I can see why.

 

Where the Shenandoah River Meets the Potomac at Harper's Ferry, WV

The busy cities of eastern Virginia look nothing like the hills and valleys of the west. In this one shot above you are within minutes of Maryland and Virginia even though I'm standing in West Virginia. What West Virginia has to offer is a lot of natural beauty and some pretty fun outdoor activities that our youngest kids are just too young for. So we stuck to driving around and visiting Harper's Ferry, site of John Brown's ill-fated raid and so many changes-of-hand during the Civil War that the industry located there was just abandoned after the war due to damage.

Clearly we pushed the little guy hard--he woke up in time for fudge

While on this exploration from Maryland to West Virginia we stopped in Sharpsburg and saw the Antietam Battlefield, site of the bloodiest day in American history. My sons, excited to be out of the car, ran up to a photograph on display and cut in front of an older man wearing an Orioles cap. I pulled them back and told them to apologize and the gentleman said, "No, no, let them up front. We want little ones to be excited about learning their history." I could have hugged him and Maryland continued to impress me with the kindness of its citizens. Good job, Maryland.

 

Boy Inspects Civil War Cannon

Our last stop on this trip was to Washington, D.C. Quite unintentionally we managed to be in D.C. during peak cherry blossom bloom at the end of the Cherry Blossom Festival. Which means that we unintentionally saw a parade. And were unintentionally near a public suicide (although we were in a museum and the kids never knew about it). There were a lot of people, to say the least.

Cherry Blossoms and Washington Monument

Jay and I have been to D.C. several times as tourists so we stuck to the biggies for the kids this time. We saw the American History, Natural History, and Air and Space Museums (all part of the Smithsonian complex) and walked all over the Mall. We visited the Washington, Lincoln, and new(ish) Martin Luther King, Jr. memorials and walked around the Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms. Our weather was spectacular and our tired kids were troopers throughout the whole thing.

Our View of Lincoln

Our final day we spent driving back to Atlanta from Washington, D.C. I was worried about an entire day in the car, but we honestly had a pretty good time and the kids were so exhausted from all the D.C. walking that I think they were glad to be sitting down. Jay and I were, too, until we had to get up in Atlanta and nearly died. And, of course, we got to see the Peach Butt in Gaffney, South Carolina. House of Cards may have made it famous, but that thing's been mooning us for years. Here's to you, Peach Butt.

The Pride of Gaffney, a giant Peach Water Tower

We are now up to 11 states and D.C. crossed off our list and Jay is making hotel reservations for our next adventure as I type. Hooray for family adventure and happy travels to all.

Best Mom Tip #144: Learn Vacation Accounting

We just got home from our family vacation. Here's a recap by the numbers:

3 cities visited with three kids in tow. Philly, D.C, and Baltimore were great fun. We got to show the kids some American history, teach them more about how to travel, and sort of feel like we got to go on a real vacation again.

MINUS (-)

500 dollars over budget because we forgot how expensive it is to feed 5 people when you eat out every meal. Literally every meal. We got pretty creative about ordering three meals to divide by 5 people, buying milk every chance we got so we always had some for Baby Harry, and giving the kids watered down juice to drink.

PLUS (+)

123 minutes spent in the Hahnemann hospital ER in Philadelphia. Harry had a mild case of croup, but the ER was our only real option at that point. That's why I found myself walking along the streets of Philly at 5:58 AM carrying my baby to a hospital I've never seen. I shared the dawn with hospital staff on their way to work and the battered and bruised homeless population heading out the doors to face another scorching day in the sun. It did not help that the preserved historic facade looked like a place where blood might rush out of the elevators and deceased patients may pull your life support plug.

PLUS (+)

8 modes of transportation. We saw two airports and three train stations. We drove in cabs, buses, and vans. We took the Metro in DC and walked miles and miles both there and in Philly. Of all the things we did, I think our kids liked the subway the best because it involved tickets, gates, and poles to hold on to. Finally, we drove on home in our faithful minivan where Griffin fell asleep in 2 minutes. Really. He was asleep before we got to the gate to pay for parking.

PLUS (+)

100 degree weather for 4 straight days. We are from Atlanta and we know what hot feels like. I am used to sweat that trickles down the backs of my knees because just standing outside makes you sweat. I know what it is like to get so hot that you get the chills. It was that hot and we were outside in it with our sweet babies. We made sure everyone drank lots and lots and we went back to the hotel after lunch every day to cool off. My cheesesteak would probably have tasted better if I hadn't been sweating while eating it.

PLUS (+)

261 times we had to pick Griffin up off of the ground because he fell/found something shiny/wanted to crawl into a hiding place/just likes falling. He careened around our hotel room until he ran into the wall and gave himself a black eye. He crawled on the floor of our hotel rooms, the buses, and every museum we entered. Why does he do that?

PLUS (+)

2 reminders of why we don't go on guided tours. We heard a "man" who may have been a really good robot tell us about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in Ford's Theater (while Griffin crawled around on the floor, naturally) and suffered through a description of the room where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed (while Griffin stood over an air conditioning vent giggling and yelling, "dat's COLD!"). We did not realize that either of these events involved listening to a park ranger or we would not have entered. You don't willingly take the bull into the china shop.

PLUS (+)

4 good friends who hosted us in their home in Baltimore. Kim (one of my college roommates) and her family picked us up from the train station, let us play with their toys, fed us Maryland crab cakes, and took us to the airport the next day. We got to tour their lovely town, chat with Kim's hilarious 3-year-old daughter (she has an imaginary deceased husband named Coco), and play some kind of dancing game on the Wii that I loved.

EQUALS (=)

1 great vacation that let us prove to ourselves that one day we might actually be able to return to Europe and show our kids what we love about our favorite places in the world. What joy it will be to get to tell Griffin to get up off the floor of the Louvre, the Coliseum, the Tower of London...