Day 2 - Richmond

To say that Noah had a rough night would be putting it mildly; the second day of our trip almost became a trip home. However, Noah woke up the next morning insisting that he felt much better, and the kids were all gung-ho about continuing our adventures, so off we went.
First stop of the day - Tredegar Iron Works

"The Tredegar Iron Works was the biggest ironworks in the Confederacy during the Civil War, and a significant factor in the decision to make Richmond its capital."

David had to poke fun at Savannah who, even after watching a 15 minute video about the history of Tredegar which included extensive information about the man who brought it to prominence in the 1840's, Joseph R. Anderson, asked who he was when we pointed out his picture at one of the exhibits. She was a good sport about it and was able to laugh at herself.

"Shortages of both raw material and skilled labor kept Anderson's operation from functioning at full capacity during the war years; nonetheless, Tredegar produced more than 1,000 cannons for the Confederacy. It also made armor plating for use on Confederate ironclad warships [and] experimented with submarines, cannon designs, and countless other projects associated with the southern war effort."

We really enjoyed our visit! The Civil War Visitor Center at this site provides three floors of exhibits, an interactive map table, a film about the Civil War battles that were fought around Richmond, NPS rangers that were fabulous at explaining things to the kids, and some pretty cool collector cards.

We posed for pictures with this statue which was commissioned to commemorate the historic arrival of Abraham Lincoln and his son Tad and their tour of the burnt-out Union-captured Richmond, Virginia, April 4, 1865, 10 days before his assassination. Controversy surrounded this statue when it was first unveiled in 2003. The chairman of the historical society stated that the statue was for the purpose of reconciliation. "He came on a mission of peace and reconciliation and I think the statue will serve that purpose for a very long time." Opponents of the statue saw it as "a slap in the face of a lot of brave men and women who went through four years of unbelievable hell fighting an invasion of Virginia led by President Lincoln." The words "To Bind Up the Nation's Wounds" are carved into granite behind the statue but it seems that those wounds still exist close to 150 years later.

Many original buildings of the Tredegar Iron Works were lost to war, time, and a fire in 1952 but scattered throughout the grounds are pieces of machinery and structures that have survived.

Near the Ironworks was a suspension bridge that we walked across to our next stop of the day - Belle Isle.

Savannah hated every second of being on that bridge...

and really had to battle her inner fears to even look at me for a picture. The rest of us thought it was pretty cool.

Belle Isle is a small island that lies within the James River. During the Civil War the island served as a prison for Union soldiers and was home to about 30,000 POWs. It was not a pleasant place and as many as 1,000 prisoners died.

Today it is a city park and was a beautiful spot for us to spend the rest of our morning.

We spent some time sitting on the boulders, soaking in the sun, and watching people kayaking down the James River.

Also on the island are many old and ruined buildings so we did a bit of exploring as well.

What a beautiful, outdoorsy spot, right in the heart of the city!

And Savannah made it across the bridge a second time!

The kids had been begging to have lunch at McDonalds for some odd reason so David decided to treat them and we stopped there right in the city. What a mistake! Clearly we were in the wrong spot when we heard one of the customers ask, very loudly, "Why are white people eating here now?" As we looked around, we were the only white people along with one other guy in line. Oh, dear. The food wasn't that great either, which really isn't a surprise, and as we walked out to our car there was a lady breaking into the car next to us. I told David to call the police as we watched her start to go through everything but David was all about just leaving the place. I guess I can't blame him. Well, it made for one heck of a memorable lunch!

Next stop - The White House of the Confederacy.

I'm always so bummed when tourists aren't allowed to take pictures inside of a famous building but I managed to sneak this one of the kids leaving the basement and heading up to the main level. David accused me of being a rebel. My response - "Well, that's fitting considering where we are!"

"The White House of the Confederacy served as the Executive Mansion of the Confederacy from 1861 to 1865, when Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy. The mansion was the official quarters during the Civil War of the only President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis. The house was the birthplace of his daughter Winnie, 'Daughter of the Confederacy,' and where his son Joseph died in a fall from a porch." It was a beautiful home and we loved learning the history of the family on our tour as well as checking out the astounding collection of objects associated with the Confederacy and President Davis that reside there.

After the White House we headed next door to our next stop of the day - The American Civil War Museum.

Wow! What an amazing place! The museum houses more than 15,000 documents and artifacts, some of which were owned by Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Joseph E. Johnston, John Bell Hood, J.E.B. Stuart, and Wade Hampton. The provisional Confederate Constitution and the Great Seal of the Confederacy can also be found here. We spent the next few hours wandering through 3 floors, completely in awe of so many, many cool items such as this sword - Noah loved the corn cob hilt.

Xander found an "Alexander" flag.

"Stonewall" Jackson's sword and cap.

Robert E. Lee's field tent.

At times we all needed a few minutes to take a break and rest...

and then we were off once again, looking at more cool things like this twisted railroad rail.

Along with all the amazing artifacts in the museum are around 500 original, wartime battle flags from the failed Confederate States of America.

Former enemies come together at Gettysburg for a 50th reunion in 1913.

It was such a spectacular museum and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there.

Time to hit the bookstore which tends to be Noah's favorite spot. That boy sure loves picking out a souvenir!

Our final stop in Richmond - the Virginia State Capitol.

The Virginia State Capitol houses the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, was conceived of by Thomas Jefferson and Charles-Louis Clerisseau in France, and is 227 years old.

Xander wandered over to the brick Bell Tower with me. It was completed in 1825 for use by the Virginia Public Guard.

While Noah and David rested on a bench, Xander, Savannah, and I visited the various monuments and statues located in Capitol Square. The Washington Equestrian Monument is pretty impressive and one of the first things I noticed as we drove past the square trying to find parking. "This monument was conceived to honor Washington and to glorify Virginia's contributions to our nation's independence."

"Virginia's role in the Revolution is represented by bronze statues of six native sons, which surround the mounted figure of General Washington at the top of the granite monument. Smaller allegorical figures below the six standing statues are inscribed with themes reflecting each patriot's contribution: Andrew Lewis, Colonial Times; Patrick Henry, Revolution; George Mason, Bill of Rights; Thomas Jefferson, Independence; Thomas Nelson, Finance; and John Marshall, Justice."

Also located on Capitol Square are trees and monuments honoring Virginia's greatest - presidents, governors, senators, generals, surgeons, authors, and heroes of the Civil Rights Movement.

Just east of the Capitol is the Executive Mansion, the official residence of the Governor of Virginia and his family since its completion in 1813.

This magnificent building is Old City Hall. It occupies an entire city block and overlooks Capitol Square. I would have loved to have taken a tour but it had been a long day so I just took pictures instead.

We got to hear the bells chime.

Thanks for the memories, Richmond!

Our final stop of the day - Charlottesville, where we had dinner at Noodles first thing.

Poor Noah was filling worn out and a little under the weather again.

After eating we drove around the University of Virginia before checking into our hotel.

David announced that he was in the mood for some ice cream so off we ventured into the charming neighborhoods of Charlottesville. It was such a gorgeous evening and I told David we would have to come back sometime, just the two of us, to check out all the fun little shops and restaurants we were passing in our hunt for a local ice cream shop that David had found online.

We walked and walked...and walked and walked...and walked ourselves into a bit of a dark, sketchy little part of town, but just could not find this ice cream shop David wanted. He eventually asked the stores that should have been right next to this place but they had never even heard of it. As we turned to start the long walk back to our hotel, we spotted this van in the parking lot with the name of the ice cream shop on its side. We all had a good laugh over this little adventure!

And thank goodness, just a few blocks away from our hotel, we found ice cream!!!