Wednesday, 8 October 2014

The capitol of the Union but with a large Confederate contingent

I had been advised that Manassas  was probably best Civil War battlefield site since it was on my route and is the site of the first battle of the war 


The volunteer guide was really good and knew his stuff


Stonewall Jackson would never be allowed to enter his mount in the Grand National





This was my 'slightly' or should I say 'very' noisy motel in Alexandria, Virginia




It was quite a shock to be back in the land of concrete



Though Washington was the headquarters of The Union it was in Virginia which was considered to be a Southern State so there was a large contingent Confederates in the city.  Particularly Alexandria which is still in Virginia and not in The District of Columbia which has the moto on their vehicle number plates 'Taxation without Representation' since residents cannot vote for a representative in the Senate.




Nice waterfront apartments in the old Ford factory in Alexandria


Meet Tim and Dale.  Good company in Virtue.  I walked home after this and the heavens opened so I caught a taxi.  Unfortunately I had forgotten the name of the hotel or the road it was on.  As a result we drove around for half an hour looking for it and clocking up $20.  PPPPPPPP was not followed for the second on this trip.



A truck (pickup) pulling a trailer loaded with 2 new Range Rovers took the corner too fast.  Really sad!!!  If they were Ford Explorers it would not have been too bad.


Weird house in Alexandria


This guy is wearing trousers covered in the Virginia Tech logo.  It is strange enough to see everyone in Blacksburg wearing VT sweat shirts but ti wear a pair of trousers in Washington.  Each to their own!!


A spinny thing.



Capitol Building Washington



Tall Thin Thing better known as the Washington Monument



The US National WWII Memorial




Lincoln Memorial


Me and Ab


Vietnam Memorial.  Head and shoulders only since it was surrounded by Chinese school kids






Thought I would make this a large picture since you could hardly see the Whitehouse.  I was told that they were giving the grass a chance to grow but I suspect the armed intruder a couple of days before had more to do with it.



Line up of Greasy Spoon wagons




I liked the Pentagon Memorial.  There was one of these benches for each deceased and had the person's name inscribed on it.  They were also laid out in rows with each row for the person's year of birth.  184 benches in total and 10 for 1963.



I believe this part is still being repaired after 911



When having a cuppa in an Alexandria cafe I got talking to Sarah and Heather.  I heard them say that they were going out on the street for a fly past and Heather's hubby would be along soon.  I assume that he had a Harley or something and would soon be passing.  The actual situation was that he was an Air Force pilot and would do a low pass over the junction where we were.   So there we stood on the central reservation waiting.  Then we heard the Huey and watched it pass over a junction about 200m away.  I am sure there was a reason such as we were in a 'No Fly' zone or something but WAFU comes to mind :-)



I assume this is Georgey Boy since it was on Washington Street




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