- Tudor's Biscuit World
Biscuit World has called out to us, or to me, anyway, since we started driving from Kentucky to Washington, and we finally took the chance and had the experience. We got close several years ago, and actually went into one, but decided we didn't like the look of the customers and went on down the road.
This time, we went in and had a nice lunch...and it was cheap. We might become regular customers. Here's a picture of the place, somewhere in West Virginia:
Anyway, we continued on, staying overnight in Grantsville, MD, which comes pretty close to the middle of nowhere, and pressed on to Alexandria the next day. The high point of that particular day was stopping at a Costco in Fredrick, MD to buy new windshield wiper blades. Hey, I'm a simple guy; it doesn't take much to excite me.
Wyndham's Alexandria Old Town, in appropriately enough, the old town of Alexandria, VA, is a nice place that we like because of the convenience of the Metro station just a block away.
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| Alexandria Old Town |
We stayed in Alexandria for a week, and did a bit of sight-seeing. We visited the National Archives, the offices and museum of the National Geographic Society, and the Bureau of Engraving. We hadn't seen any of those places before, except for a cursory visit to the main hall of the archives several years ago. We took a better look this time.
The Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom is the permanent home of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States, and Bill of Rights. These three documents, known collectively as the Charters of Freedom, have secured the rights of the American people for more than two and a quarter centuries.
- The Declaration announced to the world on July 4, 1776, that thirteen British colonies in North America were leaving Great Britain to form a separate nation, called the United States of America. In justifying the revolution, the Declaration asserted a universal truth about human rights.
- The Constitution, drafted in 1787 after a hard-won victory in the War for Independence, codified the spirit of the Revolution into an ingenious practical scheme of government to promote the welfare of all its citizens.
- The Bill of Rights, added to the Constitution in 1791 as the first ten amendments, explicitly protected freedom of speech, of the press, of religion, and of assembly, among many other rights.
It was all very solemn, and well guarded, as it should be. That's really important stuff.
The National Geographic Museum was very interesting: It's located at 17th and M Streets NW (that's downtown Washington). The Society itself is one of the world's largest nonprofit scientific and education organizations. In addition to that remarkable magazine that they've been publishing for more than 125 years, there's a television channel and a robust "on-line" presence. The museum was featuring an exhibit on food........the "complex and intricate food system that brings what we eat from farm to fork. In sections devoted to growing, transporting, cooking, eating, tasting and celebrating, the exhibition illuminates the myriad ways that food is and has been produced and moved throughout the world. I found it really interesting, and Kate just loved it.
There was also an exhibit about the largest predatory dinosaur to every roam the earth, bigger even than T. Rex. The story of the exhibit took us from WWII Germany to the Sahara Desert to uncover the origins of the rare and bizarre dinosaur. The exhibit seemed to me to be aimed at the junior set, but I found it interesting, never the less.
Here's the blurb about the exhibit:
Meet Spinosaurus. At over 50 feet long, 20 feet high and weighing in at 6 tons, Spinosaurus is the largest predatory dinosaur to ever roam the Earth — even bigger than T. rex. This bus-sized dino’s extraordinary features include a crocodile-shaped skull and 7-foot spines forming a sail along its back. Spinosaurus is unlike any other dinosaur you’ve seen or heard of before. Encounter this bizarre predator for the first time at the world premiere of “Spinosaurus: Lost Giant of the Cretaceous.”
In this exhibition, you can explore a full-sized skeletal model as well as genuine dinosaur fossils and learn about the latest technologies modern paleontologists use. Travel with National Geographic explorers and scientists to the remote edges of the Sahara to discover the origins of this rare African dinosaur and the mysterious journey that led to its rediscovery.
Spinosaurus first came to light more than 100 years ago when German paleontologist Ernst Stromer discovered a partial skeleton in Egypt. These Spinosaurus fossils were displayed in a museum in Munich, but Stromer lived in a dangerous time and was an outspoken critic of Hitler’s regime. In 1944, a bombing raid hit the museum, destroying Stromer’s life work and all of his Spinosaurus fossils.
More than a century after Stromer’s original discovery, National Geographic explorer and paleontologist Nizar Ibrahim set out on an improbable journey to uncoverSpinosaurus once again with the help of fellow explorer Paul Sereno and clues from Stromer’s historical records. With the help of fellow explorers and scientists from around the world, the result is an unbelievable story of adventure, scientific discovery, and perseverance.
The last sight-seeing activity this trip was a visit to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
I was actually rather disappointed in this one. It was just like, no, it really was visiting a highly secure, top-quality printing plant. I suppose I had expected to see little gnome-like figures hunched over metal blocks, cutting elaborate scenes into them backwards........but that didn't happen. See The Money Factory for more detail than you probably care about.
We left Alexandria on Saturday morning, and drove to Hillsville,Virginia, en route to a Royal Dunes board meeting at Hilton Head, South Carolina. As the day turned into dusk, we were in the rolling hills of that part of the Blue Ridge mountain chain, and as the sun set, we passed several very long fields on the hillside, each field covered with pumpkins. It was really pretty.
On Sunday morning, we drove through Mt. Airy, North Carolina the home town of Andy Griffith, of Mayberry fame. It was just another sleepy little southern town on Sunday morning. Everything was locked up and there were about three people on the street.
People started saying that Mayberry was based on Mount Airy. It sure sounds like it, doesn't it?"–Andy Griffith
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| It appears the Snappy Lunch really existed in Mr. Airy. Not so much for Floyd's Barber Shop |
After a quick tour of Mt. Airy (the Andy Griffith Museum was closed) we headed on south to Hilton Head. and our board meeting. A couple of days after that, we headed west to Montgomery, AL, and toured some of our rental properties. That wasn't very much fun, but it needed to be done. As part of the tour, we went through Wetumpka, Alabama, a small bedroom community near Montgomery. Interestingly enough, about 80 million years ago, Wetumpka got to be really exciting. SeeWetumpka Impact Crater, which is 'way bigger than that one out in Arizona; you just can't see it.
But, for a modern big time Saturday night, there is Wind Creek Casino. It's a seriously big-time operation, fronted by the 7 members of the Porch Creek Indians (I'm not making that up!) that got the permit. See Wind Creek.
We got back home on Friday, November 14th, and were glad to be here.
Stay tuned..................
Whew, it makes me tired just READING about the constant movement you two instigate! I'd love to visit the National Geographic Museum ... one of these days!
ReplyDeleteI recommend it. And if you can't visit, subscribe to the magazine. For about $12.00 per year, it's a fabulous window on the world.
DeleteSay, what/where is that place old Les used to talk about where they had 'thrown biscuits'? Is this it?
ReplyDeleteNo, that was one of several Lambert's restaurants: See http://www.throwedrolls.com/. Ol' weird Lester used to insist that the only one was near Foley, AL, that was not correct; actually there are three or four of them. They're fun.
ReplyDeleteI would've thought the biscuit place was all about cookies! Mt. Airy looks very quaint, and DC wonderful. There are some great shots up in this post!
ReplyDelete