A Bit of Yorktown History

Years ago, we visited Yorktown, but never visited the Colonial National Historical Park.  We picked a beautiful day and arrived about 30 minutes after it opened.

While we waited for the start of the 16-minute overview film of the Yorktown Historical site "The Siege at Yorktown".

Yorktown was established as a 50 acre plot of land designated in 1691 by an Act for Ports passed by the Virginia House of Burgess.  It had a customs house for the purposes of collecting taxes on shipments along the York River.

It had a population of about 1800 people by the early 1700's and with the primary cash crop of tobacco being grown and shipped out of the region.

Even before the colonial declaration of Independence in 1776, relations with Britain were locked in skirmishes of the Revolutionary War.  In 1780, French forces landed near Rhode Island to aid their American friends.  At sea, the French fleet blockaded the Chesapeake, depriving British forces an avenue of escape.

British General Cornwallis moved his army toward Yorktown to establish a naval base there. With a force of 8,300 men, he fortified the town and prepared for battle against the larger French and colonial forces near Williamsburg that was close to 17,000.

The allied forces began a nine-day round-the-clock bombardment of Yorktown pinning Corwallis and his army down with no escape.  Cornwallis requested a cease-fire to discuss surrender terms  and on October 19, 1781 he formally surrendered his army

We walked through the museum and then down to path to the area of old Yorktown.

The pathway made for an easy walk.  I like the detailed maps along the way.

About 500 yards down the path toward town, the Victory Monument.  With the defeat of Cornwallis, citizens immediately knew the significance of the event.  News reached the Continental Congress a few days later and on October 29, 1781 directed that a monument be erected.

In what may be the slowest construction plan in history, the cornerstone was not laid until October 1881.

As we continued on the walking tour, we passed the Nelson House.  Thomas Nelson Jr. was one of Yorktown's influential citizens.  He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and owned this home that was built by his grandfather in about 1730.

We walked up the steps and onto the property and found a few shaded benches in the back of the house overlooking an active garden that was being tended by a volunteer.

It was time for lunch and had a picnic.  It's been fun to remember all the places we've packed a lunch and enjoyed the surroundings all over the country.  This simple pleasure has brought us great joy as we've been to different places and soaked in the history and surroundings. 

This home was built in the Georgian architecture style, named after the British kings by that name.

We wandered down the lane of old homes and taverns and walked over to the Yorktown Beach.  This was a surprise.

The Riverwalk Landing is nice little city park with public facilities and a shaded tree line with park benches.  It overlooks the wharf and the York River.

After some time at the Riverwalk Landing, we looked at the city map and found the nearest trolley stop to get back to the Visitor Center.  It was heating up and getting a little humid, but it was a great day in Yorktown.

We felt like we added a little more understanding of the early days in our country.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

How To Spend a Great Day in Santa Fe

We are staying in Albuquerque out at the Kirtland AFB FamCamp.  It is a great stop for us.  Very convenient getting into from the Eubank Gate and we like the big gravel sites.  We always try to go up to Santa Fe at least one time during our time here and yesterday was the day.

We started off the day with breakfast at Frontier Restaurant on Central.

Its right across from UNM and one of the premier places to eat and people watch in the city.  Not to mention we like the food.

You can't go wrong with a breakfast burrito with green chile or Huevos Lite with red chile sauce, coffee and one of those dietary sweet rolls (heated).

The drive to Santa Fe on I-25 took about 55 minutes.  The speed limit is 75 but we got passed frequently.  Before you know it you are on top of La Bajada Hill and looking down into Santa Fe against the backdrop of the Sangre de Christo mountains.

We took the exit for Cerrillos (suh-REE-yos) Road.  It is always amazing to me to see how this end of town has grown and changed so dramatically.

We were a little early to meet up with Steve and Karen, so we got picked up some tourist maps and info at the Santa Fe Outlet Stores.  We weren't sure if the stores were open (they weren't at 9:30) but they did have a self service tourism kiosk where we were able to pick up a couple of city maps and tourist info.

This was the inaugural effort of Roadrunner Tour: Santa Fe, so we wanted to do it right and have some handouts.  Santa Fe is known as "The City Different" for its blending of some many cultures,  and for its art, architecture and chiles.  It was founded in 1610 by Spanish colonists and the oldest church in the United States (San Miguel) still stands.  It continues to be a record setting city with attractive vistas and a popular tourist destination.

Besides that, it's my hometown and I love to come back for a visit when we can.  And yesterday it was fun to share it with good friends.

I always love a good map and find them useful to get oriented.  Here are some I found:

We still had some time and went to one of the many Car Washes on Cerrillos Rd.  First one cost $19.  Oops wrong one.  Next one was $9. Better (similar to the $3 car wash we go to in Virginia Beach, but hey-- you are in Santa Fe!)

After the tour limo (our Honda CRV) was cleaned and vacuumed, we went to the Santa Fe Skies RV park and met Steve and Karen.  I think the last time we saw them was over a year ago in Red Bay.  Good to see them again.

Off we went for the first stop which just off Cerrillos Road and a drive by of my old house where I grew up.  I keep hoping that the broken down appearance and cars (in the front yard) would be replaced by some owners with a sense of pride and orderliness.  Nope -- still in a needy condition and no where near the grass lawn and shade trees and flowers that we worked hard to bring about in the 1960's and 1970's.

Next, we continued on toward downtown past the old Kinney Shoe Store, St. Michael's College, El Rey Motel,

Ashbaugh Park, and the Indian School (owned by the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico and serving 700 Native American Indians in grades 7-12).

After the passing the School for the deaf and crossing St. Frances Drive, we continued on and turned left to go by the The Railyard District.

The Railroad Yard was established about 15 years ago and now is the terminus for the  Railrunner and host to a number of trendy cafes, art stores and the local Farmer's Market and Art Market.  The Farmer's Market is open daily and the Artist Market is open during the summer on Saturdays.  We recommended Tomasita's Restaurant.  We have eaten there and like it.

Moving through the area, we drove past the Old Capitol building (with the Territorial style buildings) on Don Gaspar, then turned on DeVargas and past the Oldest House and Oldest Church.  We continued on our windshield tour over to Canyon Road and up the art mecca area of the city.  100's of galleries along this famous road.  We continued on the back streets going around the city on Paseo de Peralta and found a city parking garage on Marcy Ave.

From the garage we went over to Sena Plaza and ate at The Shed.

That was a treat!  It never disappoints.  We all had chile with our meals.  Growing up there, I remember green chile being the hotter of the two.  Over the years though that seems to have changed.  Most places in where we eat, they said the red chile is the hottest.  Our waiter took a different approach and said, neither.  They are the same.

More correctly I think is the response, "It depends".  Sometimes the green is the hottest, sometimes its red.  Lately it seems to me that the red is the hottest.  Steve had the red, Karen had the green and Pam and I had red.  Karen and Steve grew up back east and thought the chile is spicey.  I thought it was flavorful.  No matter though -- it added to the burrito, combination plate and Carne Arvado plate that Pam and I shared.  It was simply excellent!

After lunch we stolled along the Plaza, looked at the jewelry from the Indian vendors under the portal of the Palace of the Governors.

Then we continued down Palace Ave past the Georgia O'Keefe Museum.  We walked up Burro Alley, saw the Lensic Theater and the rest of the shops along W. San Francisco Ave.  We went a few blocks to where I remember Woolworth's was and the famous frito pie.  Now the Five and Dime sells it.

Going on past the opposite side of the Palace of the Governor's I noticed how nice the Plaza is these days.  There a plenty of park benches and the green grass and those wonderful shade trees.  It is all a lot nicer than I remember years ago.  There was something was going on at the Bandstand but we kept walking and strolled through the lobby of the La Fonda Hotel.

La Fonda is such a landmark and interesting place.  We walked around for a few minutes then went back out onto San Francisco to the St. Francis Cathedral.  It was built by Bishop Lamy and completed in 1886. What a beautiful cathedral.

We looked around and took a few pictures and then went a couple of streets over to the Loretto Chapel and Miraculous Staircase.

The Staircase was a $3 entry fee but completely worth it. As the story goes when the chapel was being built, the nuns needed a way to get to the choir loft high above. They were at a standstill and there was not enough space in the small church to build a standard staircase.  So they prayed.  Later a mysterious man who was an expert carpenter showed up and figured it out.  Without nails or supports, he completed the task with a circular spiral staircase.  Without fanfare or formal notice he left and told no one.  He was never paid for his work.

On previous visits to the chapel, I don't remember a recording with speakers providing the history and story.  It was a nice way to accommodate the visitors while they wandered around the ornate chapel.  Some stood and looked at the staircase, others sat and listened to the story or gazed upon the beautiful  stained glass windows on one end and the white altar on the other.

That was the last stop on the Roadrunner Tour: Santa Fe and we walked to the Plaza toward our parked car.  As we were moving along we saw a few people gathered and went over to see country and western star Randy Travis enjoying his celebrity with some friends.  The person with him asked if anyone wanted a picture so I accommodated.

A fan was telling him how she won a talent contest in school by singing one of his hits:  "Forever and ever Amen!".  It was released in 1987 and became his third number one single.

We took a drive around the Scottish Rite Temple and around what was Santa Fe Mid-High School.  Back in the day 9th and 10th grades were in the old high school and the new Santa Fe High was built on the edge of town on Yucca St. 

We drove past the old high school, the Government building and Post Office and then out past Rosario Cemetery and De Vargas Mall and took St Francis Drive down to Cerrillos Road and out to the Santa Fe bypass (Highway 599) to Santa Fe Skies RV park.

The few hours went quickly and it was a fun filled day with our good friends Steve and Karen.  Hopefully, you can see our approach to spending a few hours in a place where a week is really not enough to take it all in.  Still, there are some memorable and interesting things to do in only a few hours.

We never tire of seeing Santa Fe and spending some time there.  It was a beautiful day in a beautiful city with beautiful friends.

Thanks for joining us to day on the Roadrunner Chronicles.

Its a Zoo!

It was a great day to go to the zoo! The Virginia Aquarium had a reciprocal pass promotion with the Virginia Zoo and we took advantage of it.

It was a big success.  Pam, Kelly and the boys and I went to the Virginia Zoo shortly after 10:00 AM on Friday.  Maybe Friday's are a big field trip day for the local schools because there were probably 10 groups of kids at the entrance.  But that was no probably - its a good sized zoo and we got around without too much congestion.

We only had time for a few of the exhibits but they were great!

The first one on the trail was the Trail of the Tiger.  

We didn't see a tiger but did find a orangutan or two

 I thought the whole zoo and layout was very well done.  The walkways and suspended overlooks into the cages and animal exhibits were safe, kid proof and good viewing.

 We saw a couple of bears who were quite active in their compound.

We took both boys and the double stroller and Brooks got out of his seat about 5 minutes into the zoo.  He had a great time running around.  He couldn't wait to see the "amals" and was not disappointed.
It was impressive to see Kelly keep up with him and keep him hydrated and fed and entertained to stay ahead of the dreaded meltdown.  He's an active and curious 2 year old.

An added bonus was meeting up with one of Brooks' buddies - Owen (a few months older that Brooks).  He was there with his mom and grandmother.  It was nice to see them again and spend some time together.

After the bears, we made it over to Africa exhibit and saw the giraffes and rhinoceros.

And a sleeping lion.  You can barely see it on the right under the tree.

About lunch time, Brooks had seen enough and we headed out.  It was a beautiful day and we all had a good time at the zoo!

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Crossing the Border

It was time for another day trip but first we entertained Jon and Kelly and the boys.  They drove out to our new campsite at Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads which is near Chesapeake.  The Stewart Campground is a good find and we like it out here.

With the summer upon us, there are a lot more people out camping.  We were not able to extend our stay at Ocean Pines RV Campground (military) in Virginia Beach, so we came farther south to Stewart Campground.

Instead of the $50+ per night camping fees at commercial campgrounds in Virginia Beach, we pay $18 for this site.  It has a lot going for it.  Despite gravel roads at the campground, they are well maintained.  And the site is level.  We have room to park our car (though it is pictured at the next site while we got set up.)

The campground has 18 sites and all but one are full for the weekend.  We have 50 amp service and had no problem getting DirecTV satellite reception.  Cell phone service is OK and we are on our own for internet.   Our Verizon Jetpack works fine, though a little slow.

And we are out in the country!  It is a beautiful drive here and quiet and we can listen to the birds and frogs outside our bedroom window.  This campground is about 45 minutes away from Jon and Kelly but the roads to here are excellent and it is a beautiful drive out here.

On Saturday morning Kelly and Jon and the boys came to see us.  I went to escort them into the base (since I have a retired military ID card, I can sponsor them on base) and met them outside the gate in the parking lot.  Except I drove out there and left my wallet in the Roadrunner.  Yikes!  Now what to do...

The Security Police were nice enough to drive over to the campground five minutes away. Pam retrieved my ID card from my wallet and the Security Police drove out to meet me in the parking lot.  That was awful nice of them!  It was a slow Saturday morning for them I guess, but I really appreciated that!

Once at the campground we fields and played some.

Brooks had a snack and Harrison got fed and changed.  And we went over to a playground a while and they enjoyed their short stay with us.  They needed to get back by noon for naps.

We thought about taking a day trip across the North Carolina border and did just that.  We had a few hours and it was a beautiful day.  So off we went.  First stop was the drive-thru at Chick-Fil-A and then on down Hiway 168

Before we knew it we were across the border and into North Carolina.  I'll bet it wasn't 15 minutes.  We found the Information Center and went in for some maps and such.

We find it is always useful to see what we can find out at these places, so if we often stop and check them out.  It was a good choice.  The friendly folks at the desk were full of good ideas and very helpful.  We met Debra who is going on an RV trip later this summer with her husband along the Eastern Coast into South Carolina, down to Florida and over to Louisiana.

 That was fun!  And she gave us some good tips of what to see in town.  We found the local Sports store and picked up a couple of hats and such.  Next door was Skip and his chain saw sculpture/woodworking business.

 He was the friendly sort and does some nice work.

 He also has some great looking rustic cabin tables and furniture which were beautiful.

Debra told us we needed to stop in and get some 12 layer chocolate cake at Kevin's down the road.  It was another place that normally wouldn't catch your eye but we were on a mission.

Cindy's kitchen is next door but she has a lot of shelves in the gas station convenience store dedicated to her cakes and desserts.  We say the cake but thought those layers were a little thin and opted for the massive chocolate fudge brownie.  We saved it for dinner last night and it hit the spot.


We continued our drive around the area to see what we could see and found Bells Island Campground on the water.  It was a crowded place but there were a lot of people there for the weekend.  Not sure we'd ever stay there but there were a lot of folks who did.  RVs and tents.

Not far from there is the Currituck Ferry Terminal that goes over to Knotts Island.  Might be another fun day trip some time.

On the way back to our campground we stopped at a produce market on the highway.  This was a real treat!  The Morris Farm Market has a lot of great fruits and vegetables.  And it is an attraction with more that just the produce.

 We looked around and listened to some music for a bit at the outdoor bar and also took a minute to go to the restrooms.
They know how to do restrooms right at Morris Farms.  They have six individual he/she rest rooms that are private.  Once in there, you do your business but I couldn't help but admire how they have done things.

 Each rest room is an experience and well decorated and clean and just a nice place.  And its the first place anywhere I have seen where they put paper towels under the urinal (that gets changed every day I assume)to collect males that can't hit the urinal.  Nothing more grungy than seeing that all over the floor.  It made an impression.  It was very clean.

Next we took the 20 minute drive and before we knew it we were back at the campground.

Another memorable 'day in the life of a full-timer'.  It was a beautiful day for a short drive and we saw and met some interesting people across the border in North Carolina  We are going to enjoy this place for a few weeks.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles.