Thursday, 1 Sep.  I thought I’d check out Harpers Ferry before spending the day at the Air and Space Museum in Dulles.  But ended up spending the day at Harpers Ferry.  The Museum will have to wait.

National Historical Park.  Not a National Historic Site.  Read over some of the rules for naming stuff and it’ll make your head spin.  Parking is an issue, so you park away from the town and take a shuttle. The Appalachian Trail goes through town.  There’s an Information Center there about the Trail and I had a good time talking about my walk in Scotland, which is part of the International Appalachian Trail.  There is also a Rail Trail that begins in DC and runs along the Potomac shoreline.  Besides the famous rebellion by John Brown, a lot of Civil War conflicts occurred in town.  Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were involved in some of its past.  I was surprised at the amount of history that is held by the place.  The “Fort” where John Brown was defeated was deconstructed and moved four times.  It’s now 50 yards from its place of origin.

Visited two tasting rooms.  Had one taste at each one.  Virginia’s pours are truly only one ounce. Maybe less.  Hardly a single swallow.  Quite different from what I’m used to in California.  I can only guess that inspectors are particular about amounts.  One Winery, Breaux Vineyards, was beautiful.  Perfect place for a quiet afternoon watching the world turn.  Wine was excellent too.

Had dinner at Mike’s American Restaurant in Springfield with an old friend.  Just as I was putting on the helmet, a typical DC rainstorm hit.  From nothing to everything between breaths.  I got to a covered gas station within a minute, but in that time I became soaked.  By the time I had my rain gear on the rain had mostly stopped.  But spray from cars was intense.  Made it to Annapolis after nightfall, the first time on the trip I drove in the dark.

Here for two days, attending reunion.  Will not be reporting on that, so expect nothing more until Sunday.

John Brown’s “Fort”. The Armory’s firehouse. The building was disassembled and reconstructed at the Chicago Exposition.

Yonder is Maryland. This is part of the Appalachian Trail.

There are people beginning the European tradition of hanging locks on bridges to commemorate a couple’s love.

View from “Jefferson’s Rock”. Thomas Jefferson visited Harpers Ferry and wrote that the view was worth crossing the ocean to see.

Another view from Jefferson’s Rock.

I think this legal tongue twister is at most wineries in Virginia. Find the typo.

Beaux Vineyard.

The view from the front of Breaux Winery.