Appropriately, we spent our day being "wild and wonderful" and taking a scouting trip for a middle school Tubing Adventure we'll be going on in a couple weeks. We wanted to test it out and make sure it would be fun and safe and so we could be better prepared. So we grabbed some of our new favorite people, Travis and Carly, and headed to West Virginia to float down the Potomac River in an inner tube.
It was SO fun and relaxing and beautiful! We floated down the Potomac to where it met the Shenandoah River right where Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland meet.
It was so pretty floating down a river surrounded by mountains full of giant trees and herons wading in the water next to you. I even saw a snake on a rock eating some sort of amphibious creature. Of course I couldn't take my camera in the river, so I couldn't take pictures...but when we take the middle schoolers I am DEFINITELY getting a waterproof camera or maybe renting a waterproof casing for my camera. But here is a google image of exactly what it looked like...in fact, we floated under that bridge.
On a side note: I know it's ignorant...but here is what I pictured West Virginia folk to look like:
And I'm not gonna lie...I definitely saw a bearded man wearing dirty overalls and no shirt, standing next to another bearded man with a crazy boot tan and a Wu-Tang Clan shirt...but most other people were fairly normal.
So, ANYWAY...after we were done floating down the rapids, we had definitely built up an appetite, so I used iphone to find a nearby restaurant...and we stumbled into the most incredible place...historic Harper's Ferry. We had floated by it in the river, but I couldn't tell exactly what it was from the river with the trees blocking most of it. Well, you might remember learning about it in history. I know Jared and I are a little bit of history nerds...and luckily Travis and Carly are a bit too...but hopefully you are too. In the late 1700s, George Washington selected this small strip of land where the Potomac meets the Shenandoah River to be the location for the Federal Armory, where they made most all of the weapons for the USA. Then in the early 1800s, Lewis and Clark went there to get all their weapons and supplies for their journey...including their collapsible boat.
Then in 1859, the abolitionist John Brown (you probably remember him from US History), led a raid on the armory with the intent to steal weapons to give to the slaves in Virginia and start a slave revolt. He was unsuccessful and he and his men took refuge in the firehouse there for a couple days until Robert E. Lee led some of the army to take care of him. Brown was captured, convicted of treason, and hanged nearby. However, this is said to be the event that catapulted the south to secede and the Civil War to begin....and Harper's Ferry was very instrumental in the Civil War. Being a border town, it changed hands 8 times, and the Armory was consequently burned down.
Ok...now that I've bored you with a history lesson...I'll tell you other reasons why Harper's Ferry was so great. It was seriously like stepping back in time. Travis and I decided that it reminded us of what we would picture Diagon Alley from Harry Potter to look like. We were secretly looking for Olivander's Wand Shop and Gringotts. It had small narrow cobblestone streets and really old store fronts with wooden signs hanging over the doors. When we got out of the car, I grabbed my camera...only to discover that I left my memory card at home like a moron. So I had to settle for iphone pictures...less than satisfactory. We ate DELICIOUS BBQ in an old converted caboose. There was this man with the most INCREDIBLE sideburns grilling some delicious food outside and we couldn't resist the smell. It was SO delicious. I had a pulled pork sandwich with homemade mac and cheese. So yummy!
After our bellies were fully satisfied, we walked around the old town and browsed the shops and admired the old buildings and even found some people dressed in colonial gear hanging out front of an old boot store. Here are some iphone pictures...
An old tunnel...
The firehouse where John Brown and his men hid out and were captured.
Cute Carly and Travis
The caboose we ate in with the delicious smoking BBQ out front and the man with the sideburns who walked behind the smoke RIGHT as I snapped the pic. So disappointed.
So that was our lovely day spent adventuring, learning, and enjoying the company of new friends.
A day well spent. I look forward to topping it!
1 comment:
Olympus makes a GREAT point and shoot waterproof camera. We have one and took it on a tubing trip and it was great. Glad you guys are having SO much fun!
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