Williamsburg, Virginia - Day 9-10 (Warrenton/Washington DC)

Our last full day and we’re sad to see it come. This morning I made a call to Monticello to see if our purchase in the gift shop had been turned into the lost-and-found. The gentlemen on the other line asked what I was looking for. I ran through the contents and he said they were right by his side. What a tender mercy. He took my address and said he would put them in an envelope and mail it to our home in Wenatchee. WAHOO!

Today we drove to Downtown DC to see the Jefferson memorial, as we didn’t get to see it the last time we were here. It was a beautiful day to visit, and again, we were not disappointed. We took a drive down Embassy Row and stopped at Sweetgreen for lunch. We split a Summer BBQ salad and it was so delicious. After lunch, we set out to see the White House but failed to find a parking spot, so we headed back toward Warrenton.

We decided to find another Sweetgreen and try a different salad. The GPS took us to the furthest one out of downtown, located in a high-end mall called Tyson’s Galleria. We entered by way of Neiman Marcus and headed toward the courtyard. It was immediately apparent the mall was loaded with high-end only stores and we felt a bit underdressed in our jeans and flip flops.

At Sweetgreen we ordered a Chicken Pesto Parm salad. Flavors were amazing and we wished we had more room in our stomachs to try another.

On the way back through Neiman Marcus Alecia paused at a rack of blouses. She said she was a bit sad to find a store with a line of clothes she was a bit in love with and knew she’d never owned a single piece. As she flipped through the rack I asked her to guess how much she thought a particular blouse was. She guessed $350.00, it was $398.00. Then she sauntered over to a coat announcing she didn’t have a winter coat and she thought she’d look pretty cute in this one...then she asked me how much I thought it was. Before I could guess she flipped the tag over and we both saw the $990.00 price tag. Ouch! She said, “Oh my gosh, I’d be afraid to wear that outside.”

When got back home to Warrenton, we got to visit with the dogs, Moses and Molly, while the family was out running errands. We had one last night of chatting and visiting before turning in for the night to make the 4:30am drive to the airport in Baltimore.

Our travels were safe, we made our car rental return by 6 am and got to the airport to check-in. The TSA lines were much longer than what we have been accustomed to, but we got through with just enough time to buy some refreshments, go to the restroom, and get to our gate. There was no one there and I thought it would be a light passenger flight, but it turned out that our plane had boarded earlier than I thought. We headed straight to our seats, the plane was packed, and was off. The pilot said we’d be flying through the remnants of Hurricane Florence and it was going to be bumpy for the first 30 minutes...we felt nothing. Smooth sailing all the way to Vegas for our connecting flight to Seattle.

The flight from Vegas to Seattle was packed. This plane was a little older; the seats were more padded, but the pitch or space between the seats was much tighter than any other flight. Even petite little Alecia was struggling not to knock her knees on the seat in front of her.

A short two-hour flight and we were back in Washington. We returned to the Marriott, where our car was parked, safe and secure. I had pre-purchased our parking and got a great deal for our ten days away. When I went to exit and put in the parking pass, the price read $285.00 payment required to release the gate. Say what!!! I panicked, a bit, and buzzed the help button. No one answered; I buzzed again. A woman came on the line and when I told her I had prepaid she opened the gate without any questions and we were out of there.

We stopped for a quick bite to eat in North Bend at one of our favorite little Mexican Restaurants, Rio Bravo, and made it home to Wenatchee by 7 pm. Yes!!!

Williamsburg, Virginia - Day 8 (Charlottesville)

We packed up and left the “Colonies at Williamsburg” condos we’ve called home for the past week. What a great vacation with the Winters family! We’ll spend the next two days at the Winter homestead in Warrenton. After leaving Williamsburg, Alecia and I made a last-minute decision to visit Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello home in Charlottesville. Before arriving we dropped into Bodos Bagels a popular spot in Charlottesville. Alecia got a Caesar salad and I got a garlic bagel with egg whites and sausage. Both were really good. The Caesar salad dressing was a classic Caesar olive oil which was different than the creamy dressing we’re accustomed to.

Upon arriving at the Monticello visitors center, we bought tickets and caught a shuttle to Monticello. The home tour took about 45 minutes. Our grandfatherly guide was informative, witty, and very knowledgeable on the details of Jefferson’s home. There is so much to learn about this man who couldn’t live without books, believed strongly in education and exploration, and viewed what most would consider failure as progress toward success. A bit confusing that a man who didn’t believe in debt died owing $107,000 to creditors, kept at bay by his reputation. Today, that would amount to somewhere between $1,000,000-$2,000,000. Much of this debt was inherited from his father-in-law and additionally many had not made a payment that owed him. He also spoke against slavery, yet he formerly only freed seven.

The skies were overcast, the humidity was down, and the temperature was just right for a stroll so we joined a tour of the floral and vegetable gardens. TJ was inquisitive and would have explorers bring back vast varieties of seeds from other countries as well as American explorations. He was willing to try anything and kept detailed journals charting planting location, quantity, growth, and maturation to the table. His organization, persistence, and consistency set a great example of a model that works.

We bought seeds at the gift store and set off back the way we came to check out the spectacular views while treating ourselves to a homemade apple cider doughnut at Carter Mountain Orchard. Alecia also picked up some free recipes and is pretty excited to give them a try.

On the way to Warrenton, we grabbed dinner at Popeye’s a competitor of KFC’s. We ordered chicken tenders, beans and rice, onion rings and buttermilk biscuits. It wasn’t greasy or heavy, the onion rings were spicy and addictive, beans and rice were new to us and tasty, and the biscuits melted in our mouths. For fast food it was great.

Arriving at the Winter’s homestead, we went to share the seed packets with Aunt Grace and realized we’d accidentally left them behind. Oh, the sadness!!! We drowned our sorrows in some Greek desserts we brought back with us and then it was off to bed.

If you want to learn more about Thomas Jefferson, book a tour, or order seeds from Monticello, visit www.monticello.org.

If you’d like some free recipes from Carter Mountain Orchard visitwww.chilesfamilyorchards.com. Yes, that’s Chile’s, not Carter, there are three orchards.