Philly! First post from the "City of Firsts"

On the road again! Only this time I took a train. I liked it a lot! I didn't think it was much different than the ones in Europe--it was running a little late, but we actually made it to Philly sooner than anticipated! And when I arrived, guess how I was welcomed... by a Taxi strike! Hundreds of cabs were driving down Market Street (the main drag), honking and blaring bull horns the whole way. This did not make me want to give them my business. I walked the .7 miles to my hotel. =)

Upon arriving at the hotel, I got some maps and brochures and set out to find an adventure! First stop: Declaration House, or the Graff House. Actually the first stop was the sidewalk just outside the house. Yep, tripped on some uneven bricks and busted it. Left ankle: twisted. Right knee, busted. OW! Luckily for me, I am not too proud to depend on the kindness of strangers. When a woman walking past offered me a disinfectant wipe, I took it with a hearty thank you!

Upon recovery, it was onward-ho to the Declaration House! I wasn't impressed with the exhibits, and the video that was supposed to introduce you to the whole thing was messed up, but luckily the Park Ranger on duty stopped me before I left and we had a good long discussion about the importance of the house and the events that happened there that summer! This is the place where Thomas Jefferson rented two rooms while penning the Declaration of Independence between March and September of 1776. There was actually supposed to be a committee of 5 (Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Livingston, and Sherman), but dear sweet Jeff ended up doing it on his own! Franklin didn't want the bother, Adams knew he was too argumentative and they'd all hate it if he did it, and I guess the other two were ok with Jeff having run of their fate! He basically made 35 bullet-point grievances against the King, making it sound important and pompous so the King's advisors would take it seriously.

Anyway, Jefferson was only 32 at the time, and the second youngest delegate at the Continental Congress--kind of a lot of responsibility! He labored over it till presenting it to Congress on June 28. Congress voted on it July 2, made some changes (wow, the scrutiny and criticism Jefferson must have gone through!) and finally approved it on July 4. Whew! 200 copies were printed up that very day and distributed to the military branches and others. It was first read publicly on July 8, 1776, right behind the State House, which is now called Independence Hall!

Something interesting about Jefferson's time in Philly... he was a shopper! He bought so much stuff while he was here, he had to buy additional luggage to take it all back to Monticello to his lovely wife! At that time, Philadelphia was one of the most prosperous, most populated English-speaking cities in the world (second to London), so it only makes sense that this would be the place where Congress would want to meet and all these important things would happen.

After the Graff House, I wandered around the current, City Hall, walked to a couple of parks and found out some very nice things about historic figures around here. I went back to the hotel after a while to check on something for my boss (the whole reason I get to come to Philly!) and checked into my room. I went wandering a little more, just to get the lay of the land and gather information to make my plan of attack for the next couple of days. =)

By the time I went back to the hotel to change, it was time to get going to the job site! I'm here with the marketing company again, just like at the Hershey event earlier this month. This time, we're doing a cool demo (park assist--the Lincoln cars can parallel park themselves!) and playing a game to give away tickets to future shows at the venue: The Mann Center for the Performing Arts. So yes, this weekend I've been "Working for the Mann." =) I figured I'd just take the public transportation system to get to the Mann Center, but luckily enough for me, I saw one of my coworkers as I was crossing the street to pick up a sandwich for supper! He has a car with him here, so I just bummed a ride with him. He was easily recognizable in his black Lincoln cars shirt, as was I. =)

The event went pretty well--better than anticipated, in fact! I tried out the park assist for the first time that evening, and it was VERY strange! Cool, but sort of uncomfortable the first several times I did it! The car has sensors on it that detect a parking space for you, tell you where to stop and when to go, and the steering wheel spins on its own for you! And sure as the world, it perfectly parallel parks each and every time! Crazy.

And that was day 1! Get ready for Day 2: The full day of touring! =)

SEE PICTURES HERE!

Hershey Hill Climb and Fancy Cars!

I experienced something last weekend that I have never knew existed. It was part soapbox race, part antique car show. It’s the Hershey Hill Climb, and apparently it’s been happening for years. Older gentlemen who own antique race cars race up a steep, windy hill to see who can make the best time. In a word, it was LOUD!

So what in the world was Adventure Whit doing there? I was working! I’ve done some events with a marketing company that contracts with Lincoln Cars, and they needed help with this event—so I said to sign me up! Basically what I was doing was just helping set up and talking to people about Lincoln cars. We had a contest going on for people to enter a key code into one of the cars; if the code opened the door, the person won a spa package from the Hotel Hershey! We also had test drives going on. Anyone with a valid license could take the car out with one of the “specialists” for a drive around the area, and Lincoln would donate $20 for juvenile diabetes research. Works out well for everyone!

Anyway, these race cars were something else! There were lots of Aston Martins, Porsches, Corvettes, and LOTS of fancy cars I’d never heard of before. I think some of them were just made up for the race. ;) Anyway, it’s quite the challenge for all the old cars to go up this hill, but apparently some people make a hobby of this and make their cars specifically for this type of thing. I was just waiting for Spanky and Alfalfa to jump out of one of the cars! The old men doing it were so funny, too. They’re just like little boys! I liked looking at them all, but after a couple of hours, the noise and exhaust started to get to all of us! I’m glad I got to be part of the event, though. =) There were a few moments of excitement whenever one of the racers had an accident. No fatalities, as far as I knew, but a couple of the cars unfortunately had to come down on a truck and be taken away! It’s a pretty dangerous course, even for just .7 miles up and .8 miles down.

Lots of fancy old cars were there for sale, too. I know nothing technical about old cars, I just like to look at them. =) And there were plenty to look at! Lots of them had very interesting stories attached to them as well—who the owners were, what happened to them over the years, some were stored for 70 or more years before they were uncovered. What amazes me is that some of these cars are over 100 years old and can still run—not to mention run uphill!

A few of my coworkers and I took a hike part way up the hill to watch these cars take the turns—quite the feat for these cars! While we were up there, we got to talking to some of the volunteers, and they let us know that there was going to be a foot race the next morning. Oh boy! It’s only about a mile and a half course, but remember that a good portion of it is uphill! So I thought… why not?!

That evening, a bunch of us went out to supper at a place called the Warwick Hotel and Restaurant in the next town over. I’d heard it was good and it’s historic, so of course I was all about it! =) It’s in an old hotel that was built in the 1790s when this was still the “frontier,” and it’s been a restaurant and/or hotel every since! Several people have owned it, including sports people (I know, that’s not descriptive enough for some!), so it’s also a bit of a sports bar, too. It was an interesting mix of sorts. =) The food was good!

And the next morning… I put on my proverbial “big girl panties” and ran the hill climb race! After about the first .3 of a mile, I thought to myself, “Why did I want to do this? Is this worth paying $25 and getting a t-shirt? Do I REALLY like running enough to do this?” But by the time I got to the top and started making my way back down, I was proud of myself! I came in 46^th out of 54 people, and I finished in about 13 minutes! Whew. So thankful for that downhill part—and free breakfast afterward! It was a pretty run up through the trees and back down the path, but I wouldn’t want to do it again soon. I’ll stick with a flat course and relatively small inclines, thanks. =)

Saturday was pretty much the same as Friday. More racing and cool cars to see! More contests for spa packages and more test drives. Another girl and I got to go up to the Hershey Hotel and stuff gift bags for a dinner and event that night at the hotel. We did 350+ bags all together! We caught a couple of snags. At one point, I got a splinter stuck UNDER my fingernail from one of the wooden tables, and then we had to move all the bags and supplies from one room to another (stop stuffing, move stuff, rearrange, remove splinter, start stuffing, stop for lunch so we didn’t injure anyone around us, etc.). We got it all done around 4! Whew.

Then it was time to wash and move cars! I’ll be glad to tell any and everyone that it’s NICE driving or riding in a Lincoln! One of the cars actually has back massaging seats! Of course the outsides need to look as fancy as the insides, so my coworker Brad and I took the display cars to the Hershey Hotel, positioned them on the special carpets with lights pointing at them, then we realized we needed to take one of them to the car wash and do a thorough cleaning—with less than an hour before the event was to start! So off we went! We made sure to do the best washing cycle, then dried it by hand, then were on our way again! It took a while to do it all and get everything spotless, but they looked good!

Next up, supper time! Me and the guys went to a really good place on one of the Hershey golf courses for supper, and we ate well! And then it was back at it. We needed to wash and move more cars over from the Hill Climb area (gravel road—so dusty!) to the Hershey Hotel for the next day’s event. And then it was bed time. I was SO pooped!

And Sunday was the cream of the crop—the very best, very oldest, very coolest, most expensive cars were all out on display! The earliest I saw was from 1905. Other earlier ones may have been there, but I didn’t see them. So many of them were gorgeous! Several had been owned by actors, a couple were one of a kind, and others had very interesting stories behind them! One had been left in storage for over 70 years before it was discovered and sold, and it only had around 20,000 miles on it! My 8 year-old car has almost 80,000 on it!

The best car, however, hands-down in my opinion, was the one that was a twin to the car that went down on Titanic! It was in pristine condition, and it had been restored to look exactly as it had when it was built. WOW! See the picture!

The event was fun for me, and I’m praying that I’ll get to do more events with them this summer! =) On my way home, I stopped at a church in Marietta, PA, for worship that night, which was exactly what I needed! I love how the church really is a family, especially in places where churches are so few and far between. I ate at an historic tavern called Revere Tavern in Paradise, PA, the heart of Amish country. It was very good! I plan to go back to Amish country at some point this year. I’ve always been intrigued by it!

And then it was time to go home! It took me about 2.5 hours, but finally I was home and in my bed around midnight! Woohoo!

Please see the pictures HERE!

Hershey, PA! Tours, chocolate, and chocolate tours

Hershey, PA

Hello from Hershey! I’m up here for the weekend, so I thought I’d take in the sights and bring you along with me! Most people who know me know I’m not a huge chocolate fan, but Hershey is what came up, so Hershey is where I am! Honestly, I knew very little about Mr. Hershey until now. He was actually a very interesting and inspiring person—I like him!

He was born to very VERY opposite parents in 1857. His mom, Veronica, was sensible, frugal, and seemingly reasonable, but his father, Henry, was of the more adventurous and spontaneous type. He was a writer with lots of ideas but little real direction. They were Mennonites, although I think they must have changed faiths at some point. He was religious, but with all the innovation and new things he was all about inventing, I don’t think he was still Mennonite by the time the Hershey company came around.

At any rate, he tried several different business ventures, but none really worked out for him. Milton, on the other hand, seemed to have the best from both sides: big dreams, big heart, love of knowledge and an adventurous spirit, and obviously responsible enough with his money—4 business failures and all!

That’s right: He failed four different times before succeeding… with caramels! He started off working as an apprentice in a newspaper printing place, but he “accidently” dropped his hat in the printing press one day and got fired! Next he went to a confectioner… and that’s where it all started.

He went into business for himself a few times, trying things out in New York, New Orleans, Chicago, and Denver, and married Catherine (Kitty) Sweeney in the meantime. He moved back to Derry Church Township and tried again, but just days before their house was to be foreclosed, he got a huge order for caramels from England! That was enough to float him until his next order… then his next… then his next, until he was out of debt and making money! He named his company the Lancaster Caramel Company, and the name was later changed to the Hershey Caramel Company. Hershey dabbled in chocolate on the side, and he decided that caramels were just a fad. He knew chocolate was the way of the future, even though at this time it was a delicacy in Europe and hardly even affordable in the States. So he sold his caramel company in 1900 for a million dollars and started in head-long on chocolate!

He was not a chemist (he only had a 4^th grade education!), but he experimented with all kinds of chocolate-making techniques. He wanted to make it inexpensive and more nutritious, and what he got was very good, at least to the American taste! When he opened his first chocolate plant in 1903, it was only six acres. Hershey Kisses came along in 1907, and the chocolate plant expanded to 35 acres by 1915; by 1979 it was 46 acres, and that’s the same plant they use today! He made chocolates cheaply by using the assembly line idea from Henry Ford, and he strategically put the plant in his hometown in eastern PA, where people needed steady work—right next to the dairy farms! No transportation costs=LOTS of savings and cheap chocolate!

Hershey wasn’t like other entrepreneurs of his time because he actually encouraged innovation. Mr. Reese (of Reese’s peanut butter cups) actually worked for Hershey to begin with! Later, Hershey would acquire the Reese’s company as well. And the Phillippy brothers actually invented the Hershey Kiss Wrapping Machine. From 1907-1921, Hershey actually hired people to wrap them ALL by HAND!

And speaking of Kisses, they actually decided to stop production from 1942-1949 because of foil rations during WWII. Instead, Hershey focused on making Ration Bars for the troops. He was asked by President Roosevelt to develop something that would be nutritious and caloric enough to sustain troops overseas. And he did it! Hershey was known around the world by then. =)

Hershey was also committed to philanthropy and using every part of the chocolate-making process so there was no waste. He secretly donated $60 million to start an orphanage and school for boys in 1909, which still operates to this day! He sold the cocoa bean shell pieces as mulch, sold perfectly good dairy products that weren’t used in the chocolate-making process (sour cream, cottage cheese, butter, soap, ice cream, chewing gum), and he was so resourceful in his marketing and promotional strategies, the Hershey company never even had to use a big advertizing campaign until the 1970s. He was part Swiss—that’s probably where the innovation, efficiency, and precision came from!

He and his wife couldn’t have kids, so that’s why they started the school for boys. People ask, “Why only boys?” Well, back in the early 1900s, the Hersheys visited several orphanages, and they discovered they were overrun with boys. Girls went more quickly because they tended to be “less trouble” and could help around the house. Boys just needed more help. Now, the school is home to boys and girls, and they live in houses with house parents who can give them a stable home life. Upon graduation, each graduate received $100 from Mr. Hershey—also a tradition that lives on to today! When Mr. Hershey was alive, he even made it a tradition to have about 10 boys over to his house for supper once a month. Pretty generous!

And then there’s the town of Hershey itself! It was built, of course, for the workers and their families. Other industrial towns had their good and bad points, and Mr. Hershey took all that into consideration. He wanted people to truly form a community, not just a place to live because of your job. He encouraged ball teams, innovation, etc., and it ended up being very successful. It still exists today! Something interesting is the fact that he also built another Hershey community—in Cuba! He started that one for his sugar field workers. During the Great Depression, however, he decided to sell those plantations and the community, and he used that money for building projects. NONE of the Hershey workers was without a job during the Depression because of that! There were seven big projects completed during this time, including the Hershey Hotel (FANCY!), Hershey Gardens, and the Hershey Training Facility. Nice stuff that all still exists today!

Fun facts about Hershey and the Hersheys:

·      There are three chocolate factories in this town alone, including the biggest one in the world

·      They make 3-5 billion pounds of chocolate here per day

·      They make 20 billion Reeses peanut butter cups per day here—my favorite!

·      The Hersheys were supposed to be on the Titanic! Luckily enough for them, there was an emergency at the factory in Hershey, so Mr. Hershey ended up taking a different ship, the Amerikana, instead. Interestingly enough, the Amerikana was one of the ships that responded to the Titanic distress call—not sure if Mr. Hershey was on it at that time or not.

·      Hershey Park opened in 1907

·      The first ride at Hershey Park was the carousel in 1912!

·      The first roller coaster at Hershey Park came along in 1920

·      The trolley tour guides pass around free Hershey Kisses, chocolate bars, AND Reeses!

Obviously, I liked the museum, although it could have been laid out better. I feel like I missed some important details, or they were just not included. But I did learn a lot about something I knew next to nothing about!

Hershey Chocolate World was my next stop. (Mostly so I could take the Trolley Tour!) But you know the best part about the tour? The hotel where I’m staying told me to let the tour company know I’m a tour guide, so when I told them about it, they asked for a business card and gave me a ticket for FREE! Woohoo! Good thing I got those business cards in last week! =)

The tour was great—the guides dressed in early 20^th century clothes and sang. It was a true performance, complete with costume changes and characters from the past. It was so much fun! I think people on my tours would feel much more “American” if we sang “Yankee Doodle” and “Johnny Boy” don’t you? ;) We rode the trolley all around downtown and the outskirts of Hershey. My favorite stops were his original house, the school he started, a church that was started in 1729 (Derry Presbyterian Church, and the original building is preserved!), and the Hershey Hotel—it’s gorgeous! I would absolutely recommend it.

Other than that, Chocolate World wasn’t my thing. The smell of chocolate definitely hit you in the face as soon as you come up to the building! You can make chocolate and desserts, and you can buy bulk amounts of Hershey products—whatever and however much you want!

And then it was time to go back to the hotel! I needed to check in and wait for my weekend boss to get here so we could start getting set up. I’m here for a classic/antique/racing car event called “The Elegance at Hershey.” More on that soon—it’s pretty cool! =) 

Pictures are HERE!

The Greene Mountain Inn: A Home Away from Home. =)

If you’re coming to Shenandoah, this is the place to stay! Val got this great Living Social Deal to come to this Bed and Breakfast in Standardsville, VA, just a mile or so from the entrance to Shenandoah National Park. It’s a beautiful 5-bedroom house on the side of a large hill, with a wrap-around front porch and a gorgeous view of the tree-covered mountains to the west of us.

The husband and wife owners, Mike the Scotsman and Michelle the American, actually met in Afghanistan in 2010. She’s American military, he’s former Royal Army, and they met while they were both deployed. Before they married, he needed a way to obtain a visa to stay in the States, so he decided to invest in a business, and a B&B is something both he and Michelle were interested in. Lucky for us!

It’s called the “Greene” Mountain Inn because it’s totally green and eco-friendly (and it’s in Greene County!). They use as many natural products and fresh foods as they can, and from what I could tell all the light bulbs and such were the energy-efficient kind. Since Mike and Michelle are both military, they’ve been all over the world, but Mike said Michelle spent most of her time in South America—and that’s very apparent in their décor! The artwork and tapestries displayed are all things Michelle had collected from her travels, all very unique and quite beautiful! They bought and renovated the place in 2011, and everything about it is calm, efficient, relaxing, and comfortable.

When Val and I got settled in, we immediately found a little nook in the corner to claim as our own; I guess we’re territorial. =) I took over the wicker loveseat while Val claimed the corner table. I’m glad she and I are the kind of friends who can sit together and not talk! She read and I wrote—what a pair!

Supper was delicious, and it was nice to have that opportunity to get to know our housemates for the weekend. This is the only B&B I’ve been to that actually made dinner for you the first night, too! All the guests were just friendly and happy to be there—a few were escaping kids, and others were just there for a weekend away in the mountains! I think all of us had found out about the place because of the Living Social Deal that had gone out a few months before.

Val and I were both pretty pooped from a long week and hiking around Montpelier, so we ended up getting a DVD and watching it from the comfort of our room, snuggly in our HUGE and COMFY bed! Those of you who know me and have seen my place know that I typically sleep on a futon. Sleeping in a real bed is such a treat! =) It was a stormy, rainy night, which is perfect sleeping weather.

The next morning, things had cooled off quite a bit, but the day was turning out to be beautiful! Val and I had already decided to go to the Shenandoah National Park and hike, so we got our snacks together and set out! All went well until the whole bear incident. But we made it out alive! Thank God for His protection! Looking back at it, it hit me later that the bear incident was probably the time in my life when I was in the most danger. If we had done anything at all differently, we very well could have been in trouble!

Once we made it back to the car and had our little picnic at a scenic overlook, we set out for the Inn once again. Home Sweet Home! We cleaned up and relaxed for a while before heading out to dinner. The Living Social deal included a $50 voucher for a meal at one of two fancy restaurants in town. We decided to go to the Standard, which we would both highly recommend! The food was tasty, servers were friendly, and we laughed because throughout the course of dinner, two other couples from Greene Mountain Inn had decided to eat there, too! We really got to have fun and enjoyed the company.

When we returned, Valarie and I finished up the blog post about the bear stuff, chatted with our companions a bit, and headed to bed! We were both just pooped—I can’t imagine why. ;) Again—best night’s sleep I’ve had in a while!

And Sunday morning it was time to get ready to go! I went down stairs before Val got up and talked with Mike a while—he’s just the friendliest person!—and had my morning coffee. The others came down eventually while Mike prepared breakfast for us. They use REAL eggs—not from the grocery!—and real, whole fruit in their pancakes. I think those may have been the best blueberry pancakes I’ve ever had! He even makes his own granola. The whole experience was just a great one!

Around 10:30, we said our last goodbyes to our B&B companions and headed home to DC. We made a couple of stops to take pictures and have lunch on the way, picked up Val’s dog Beaker, dropped them off at home, and that’s that! It was a wonderful weekend, but I was glad to be able to go to church that evening and see my Annandale family. =) I do love to travel, but I like going “home” to DC and my church family.

Pictures, anyone? CLICK HERE!

Bear Sighting: Is there an "App" for That?

Why yes! It’s the Appalachian Trail! Val and I had a close encounter today with two bears. Thank the Lord we didn’t do anything differently than what we did! Pictures HERE!

It all started when we decided to go hiking in the Shenandoah Mountains today. We were excited and having a great time out there for a while. We saw some chipmunks, pretty red birds, nice flowers, even a doe and her fawn. We saw some other people on the trails, chatted with them a bit, then decided to hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail. We met a few hikers who were doing the entire thing—Georgia to Maine! One of the guys we met was from Scotland and had just finished high school, and this is how he decided to spend a few months before starting college. Cool kid, awesome accent. =) He said he was pretty disappointed that he was half way through and hadn’t seen a bear yet.

Valarie and I had a snack and hiked a bit further, then decided to turn back and head to the car. We were trying to be quiet so maybe we’d see more deer, but instead we stumbled upon… BLACK BEARS! We both stopped and stayed quiet for a minute. I knew running away and getting excited would be a bad idea, but I didn’t know what else to do or how to get out of the situation. Luckily for us, Val had read an article about bears and remembered the things to do in this situation.

Val said to make noise to let them know we were there (you don’t want to sneak up on a bear!), so we talked in normal volume and tones, and we clapped our hands, and when we thought they were gone, we started walking again. A few steps later… Here they come! The two of them must have gotten spooked further ahead, because they were rushing down the trail in our direction. So we turned right around and walked—not ran—in the direction we’d just come from, making noise and talking in regulated tones the whole way. At one point, I looked back at Val to see how far behind us the bears were, but they were only a couple of yards away and walking toward us! I knew I couldn’t let Val know about that because I think she was flipping out inside even more than I was. She said the look on my face said I had a great secret, but that I couldn’t tell—and she was so right!

We kept walking, talking, clapping, singing, etc., hoping to see more people, but we didn’t see anyone. I looked back again a couple of minutes later, and while the bears were no longer there, we still didn’t want to go back that direction. We made it to a clearing at a creek and sat there for a while. I had to use a tree, we both needed to sit down for a minute, and we wanted to wait till we saw more people coming from one direction of the trail or the other. We sat for about 15 minutes or so, sang a fabulous rendition of Zippedee-doo-da, and when we didn’t see anyone (or, thankfully, anyTHING!), we decided to keep walking the direction we had come from (opposite from the bears, of course) and find Skyline Drive, which is the highway that runs along the mountains. We had remembered seeing it just a half-mile or so up the trail, and we knew it went right by where we’d parked my car.

Up the trail we went, praying the whole way not to see any other bears! We came to the highway and tried to find the best way to get through the weeds without getting poison ivy (Val is highly allergic). We started up one way, I got bombarded with thorns; we went up another way, and we made it! Ironically enough, at the place where we came up to the road, there was a deer crossing sign. If you ask me, it would be better to post a BEAR crossing sign!

We flagged down the first vehicle we saw. We were not entirely too worried about getting arrested for hitch hiking; we figured a bear sighting could be a special exception! Especially since the bears were blocking the only path back to the parking lot. The nice, elderly couple who picked us up is from Louisiana, and they were happy to give us a ride back down to the visitor center/parking lot. Whew! We could have walked there, but we didn’t realize at the time how close we were by the road. Oh well! We made new friends. The comic relief in all this is the fact that we had to clear out a spot for ourselves in their minivan because it was full of traveling stuff… including a real-life pair of granny panties! Got to laugh. =)

We went inside the little gift shop/diner where we’d parked the car and asked the ladies working there if we needed to alert anyone that we had a bear sighting. They said no, that people see them all the time. They were a bit more sympathetic when we told them how close they were and that they were following us down the trail! Thinking about it later, we realized how terribly things could have turned out had we done anything differently!

We got in the car to find a nice overlook where we could eat our picnic lunch, saw another deer crossing the road in front of us, and we just so happened to stop at the “Rocky Top Overlook”! Now, everyone who knows my football views knows I’m not a UT fan, but even I got excited as a Tennessean seeing a Tennessee reference in VA! We ate our PB and bagels, chatting about our close encounter, and that’s when I told Val how close they had been. Yeah, glad I didn’t tell her when I looked back and saw them 8 or so feet away. =) A “Bearable” distance indeed! (Added by Val.)

We found out later that being charged by bears like that is called a “bluff charge”, which is what black bears do when guarding territory where they’ve just killed something. In which case, it’s REALLY good that we didn’t go back by the place again later. Apparently it’s very rare to be charged by black bears, but the one exception is when you’re in their territory like we unknowingly were. All the things we did were exactly right, especially since we were in the very rare instance of being “run off” by black bears.

We made it back to the B&B without further incident and got cleaned up for dinner. More on the really awesome B&B later; I think the bear encounter is enough for one entry!

President James Madison: The Scholarly Stud

And Adventure Whit is off again! This time I’m staying more local and just going away for a three-day weekend with a friend. My “Gal Val” and her husband got a Living Social Deal to the Greene Mountain Inn in the Shenandoah Valley a few months ago, but they had a bad experience while the owner was out of town, so she gave them a negative review on Yelp. So the guy called her and asked them to come back for a free stay! Her husband, Michael, is out of town right now, so she asked me to go with her in his place—woohoo! =)

We left earlier today and made a special point to stop at Montpelier, James Madison’s home, since it’s on the way. We have an historical interpreter named John Douglas Hall at Gadsby’s Tavern, where I work part-time, and he plays President James Madison a few nights a week. Anyway, Val and I had really been looking forward to spending the day there!

I honestly never realized James Madison was such an amazing person! He was incredibly smart; extremely small (5’4” and 100 lbs.); he loved, lost, and loved again; and the man studied 2000 years’ worth of world politics over the course of one winter (1786-1787) just so all Americans (“We the People”) could have a sustainable, successful government.

But we’ll start at the beginning. The land (which was once 26,000 acres!) was actually given to Ambrose Madison by King George in 1653. The Madison family was English and had political ties with the king, and he wanted to grant land to certain people so that people would hopefully explore and settle the “West,” which at that point was anything west of the Blue Ridge Mountains—the edge of Virginia! The Madisons did very well for themselves as far as farming and trading. They dabbled in tobacco, corn, wheat, foundry, barley, rye, various animals, blacksmithing, etc. But aside from that, the Madisons apparently valued education and knowledge. More on that in a moment!

The house itself was quite large, but it’s not all that ornate or elaborate on the outside. Certain presidents’ homes are pretty recognizable, but this one looks like a typical Southern plantation house to me, which I actually really liked. =) It’s Georgian style (symmetrical), and the original part of the house has been around since 1765. We got to walk through the original front door! James Madison was born in March of 1751, so his family actually moved here when he was about 13 or 14.

A lot of the furnishings are original to James and Dolley Madison, which I think is pretty amazing! There are even 10 beautiful red and white chairs there that were bought by Madison from Alexandria’s own… George Washington! The inside of the house is quite bright and elegant downstairs. Yellow was Dolley’s favorite color (mine and Val’s, too!), but she also liked red and green, all of which are prominent colors in her house. The upstairs was really plain, though, which surprised me a little bit.

Another interesting thing about the colors of the house—and actually about Dolley in general—is the fact that Dolley grew up a Quaker. She was used to having very plain things—living plainly, dressing plainly, no jewelry, no make up, no fancy dresses, and no bright colors! When she married Madison, since he was Anglican (Episcopal) and not Quaker, she had to be “read-out” from the Quaker church, which is basically excommunication or disfellowshiping. So when she was “set free” from those restrictions, she went to town! She became the most fashionable first lady (she’s credited with “defining” the role), hosted 100-person barbecues and parties, and lived a full life with all due exuberance. She took changes of life in stride! She was also quite the opposite of James Madison. He was quiet, introverted, reserved, and shy; she was outgoing and warm! They were quite the compliment to each other, even though he was generally sickly and 17 years older than she.

All her life Dolley had been interested (and dabbling) in the “worldly” ways. She liked bright colors, and her Aunt Anna Fleming, actually, was Anglican and was an influence on her. She would give Dolley jewelry on occasion. Dolley would have to hide it, but she kept it all in a little bag. When James asked her to marry him, she did not seize the opportunity immediately, however. As a Quaker, she had a lot to consider marrying an older, politically influential, Anglican man. She quite conflicted between keeping in her faith and her desire to be part of the world.

Martha Washington actually summoned Dolley from Philadelphia to Mount Vernon when she heard James asked Dolley to marry him. Martha was a classy, considerate woman, so when she spoke with Dolley, she spoke in Dolley’s Quaker dialect. She said, “Does it be true that you be engaged to James Madison?” She did this out of respect for Dolley. She also said that both she and George Washington approved. Martha and Dolley were alike in many ways. Both had been previously married, had at least one child from that marriage, and were pulled into the political realm with their husbands no matter what—a commitment to either man meant a commitment to this new country. Ultimately, they did get married in September of 1794!

So that’s scratching the surface of Dolley, but there’s so much more to know about her! She was a truly remarkable woman. And James Madison did well marrying her! He was actually engaged 10 years earlier. At 33, he asked a 15 year old daughter of his friend to marry him. She agreed, but just a few months later she fell in love with a 19 year old medical student and broke her engagement to Madison. Being a shy, reserved man, this had quite the effect on him. He was not, to our knowledge, involved with any other women until he met Dolley.

But he was quite the interesting man himself. He was the first of 12 children in his family, 7 of whom lived to adulthood. Madison was sickly most of his life, but he lived to be 85. As a young boy, he read a LOT. He’d already read all the books in his father’s library by the time he was 11. He was sent to boarding school between the ages of 11-16 and studied under a Scotsman. When he moved back to his father’s home he studied under another Scotsman, this time an Enlightenment scholar. In just two years, he studied four years’ worth of material in just TWO years at the College of New Jersey at Princeton (now Princeton University). He even requested to stay at the college an extra year as a graduate student. That was not the norm then that it is today—he had to ask permission to continue studying!

In all, he studied over a decade with at least three Scottish scholars. It’s important to note that Madison went to NJ for school instead of William & Mary, which at this point was better-known and closer to home. W&M was declining in the education department and had developed a reputation as a “party school” (can you imagine the REAL old-school Colonial parties?); it was also further south and in what was considered a more tropical climate—which was thought to be bad for Madison’s already poor health. All these factors literally changed the course of Madison’s life, and ultimately changed the course of American history! You see, studying under instructors with a more Calvinistic/Enlightenment influence opened Madison’s mind to a broader spectrum of possibilities, as opposed to only the traditional way of thinking.

Studying under these men and in these situations helped him in his later studies of other cultural politics and world issues when he was preparing to write the Virginia Plan and the U.S. Constitution. He spoke English and French fluently, but he could also read at least five more languages! While studying to write our Constitution, he read over 400 books in seven different languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish, Latin, Greek, and HEBREW! James Madison was a scholarly STUD MUFFIN! =)

Madison actually lived out his last years at Montpelier in his study. He had such terrible rheumatoid arthritis that he could no longer go up the stairs to his and Dolley’s bed chamber, so he needed to move to the ground floor. He read, ate, slept, studied, and accepted visitors all in this room. The servant attending him was his good friend and personal servant, Paul Jennings. Paul became a servant at age 10—and his first assignment for Madison was in the White House! Paul is the one credited with helping Dolley save the portrait of George Washington from the White House fire in 1812. He was a personal servant to James and Dolley at least until James died in 1836.

The house was entirely torn apart and rebuilt with the same materials in the early 2000s. You can tell that the glass windows are original because they’re spun glass—they’re wavy. =) The floorboards are pine, and there’s a room called the “refurbishment” room or something to that effect. You can actually see the insides of the walls to the original construction from the 1750s! They found things in the walls, painted plaster from the original walls, etc. There are rooms like that in other historic homes in the area, but theirs was probably the coolest.

We looked in the cellar on our own, found the hands-on tool tent, and—our favorite—we got to see some folks cooking using the same recipes and methods the Madisons servants would have used! We even got to try some fresh made pink pancakes. Can anyone guess what they were made with to make them pink? See the picture. =)

And then we went for a lovely hike and got lightly sprinkled on, which was actually quite nice! And then it was time to drive through some storms and find out way to… the Greene Mountain Inn! More to come…

See the pictures HERE!