Back from Virginia and DC


We are back fom our short vacation and family trip to Fredericksburg VA and Washington DC. The weather was lovely, visiting family was fun (as always) and we enjoyed DC.

Fredericksburg is a lovely old Virginia town at the site of one of the Civil War's notorious battles fought December 11–15, 1862. Burnside's Army of the Potomac was unable to displace the Confederate Army of Virginia led by Robert E. Lee. The union forces withdrew on December 15th. Today along with the Historic Battlefield, Fredericksburg is home to the University of Mary Washington and a beautiful downtown right on the river. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Barvarian Chef one evening.
Old Print of the Battle of Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg Battlefield National Monument
Old Mansions abound in Fredericksburg
We were then off to our nation's capital, Washington DC, for a couple of days of museum strolling and shopping. Georgetown is always a great walk, even if the shops are a bit upscale and lunch at the Peacock Cafe on Prospect was superb.

This visit we visited the American Art Museum for a Contemporary Folk Art exhibit and the Hirshhorn Museum for a splendid exhibit: Over, Under, Next: Experiments in Mixed Media, 1913-present. (More on these two exhibits in a future post.)

Both the Hirshhorn Museum and the National Gallery of Art have sculpture gardens that are definitely worth strolling through.
WOW! This is a large typewriter eraser!
A Tall Chair Ladder
Roy Lichtenstein Pop Art House
Roly-Polys in the Hirshhorn Garden
Giant Spider in the National Art Gallery Garden
Washington also has a lot of small parks and gardens where flowers are putting on a colorful display right now. Our hotel also had a spectacular flower arrangement in the lobby.
The lobby in our hotel.




Garden near the Mall

On our last day we headed down to Old Town Alexandria, an old waterfront town on the Potomac River. We took a long stroll on King Street, had lunch at an outdoor cafe and spent a while at the Torpedo Art Factory, which is an interesting community concept combining artist studios with sales outlets for the artists. It is right on the waterfront as well.
Old Town Alexandria
Shopping along King Street
Torpedo Art Factory on the Alexandria Waterfront
Our nation's capital and surrounding areas are a great place to visit. It is filled with art and culture, antiques and boutiques, great food and countless events.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hi! I'm Buster Brown. I live in a shoe....

Image
Do you remember Buster Brown shoes? I do. I also remember watching the Buster Brown TV show ... Smilin' Ed's Gang and later Andy's Gang. The shoes were "special." Back in those days I went to Catholic school and the nun's required us to wear shoes ... I mean real shoes ... "oxfords" we called them. Mom bought us Buster Brown shoes 'cause they would last the whole year! The advertising line for Buster Brown was: Hi! I'm Buster Brown. I live in a shoe.  That's my dog Tige. He lives in there too! The Brown S hoe C ompany has been around for over 130 years. Today they also market Famous Footwear and Naturalizers, and they are a contract manufacturer for other shoe brands.  But they are most well-known for the Buster Brown line of shoes. In 190 2, cartoonist Richard Outcault introduced a new comic strip character, a mischievous little rich boy named Buster Brown and his dog Tige. Two years later, at the 1904 St. Louis W...
Read more

Old Lava Stone Church in Kilauea, Kauai, Hawaii

Image
Christ Memorial Episcopal Church, Kilauea, Kauai, Hawaii On our recent vacation to the Hawaiian island of Kauai, we stopped in to this wonderful old church. We had seen is many times, but this was the first time we stopped to look inside. Wow! The hand-carved altar and communion rail are gorgeous! The stained glass windows are equally as beautiful. The Christ Memorial Episcopal Church is located just off the main highway in the town of Kilauea. It is still an active mission church, with services on Sundays and Holy Days. According to the church's website: There is also an interesting history attached to the church itself. As early as 1888 worship services were held in Kilauea ... By 1924 the time had come for a permanent church in Kilauea ... In 1939 the Kilauea Sugar Company deeded the churchyard to Christ Memorial Church and gave the native stone used in the erection of the present building ... The graveyard surrounding the church dates back to the earliest days of ...
Read more

Rosaries, Prayer Books & Religious Medals

Image
It's the time of year when Christians, Catholics in particular, celebrate post Easter rituals like first communion and confirmation.  And June is known as weddings month!  At Vintages we always have a nice selection of vintage religious items like rosaries, medals of saints and the Holy Family, prayer books and pocket shrines.  Below is a sampling of what is currently available. Rosaries with beads of crystal, sterling silver, olive wood and molded glass.  We even have a few that have reliquaries included. Rosary cases, holy water fonts, little plaques with holy pictures and ecclesiastical sayings. Wonderful old miniature prayer books, first communion mementos, and a new testament bible from the early 1700s. Religious medals, pocket crucifixes and shrines.  In addition, we have a large selection of crosses.
Read more