NORTH CAROLINA: RALEIGH

 October 2022

On my last day I had several hours to kill after my son went to work and before I had to head to the airport, so I decided to take a look at North Carolina's capital city, Raleigh, named after Sir Walter Raleigh of Roanoke Colony fame. With a population of about 475,000, it is the 41st largest city in the United States, the 2nd most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, and one of the fastest growing cities in the country. In 2011 was ranked by Time as the third most-educated city in the US. 

Andrew Johnson, the 17th President of the US, was born here in 1808. Other notables include Olympic figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, American Idol star Clay Aiken, and writer David Sedaris.

I was headed for the capitol building, but I detoured when I saw Christ Episcopal Church, built in 1848 to 1853. I love this sculpture entitled Peaceable Francis.

Down the street and around the corner is the First Baptist Church, completed in 1859.

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND: THE STATE HOUSE

I'M SO CONFUSED. You know the building where the governor has his office? What is it called? "The Capitol," you say? Not in Maryland, and not in Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Carolina, or Vermont. They all have State Houses.  And then there is Ohio, which, just to be difficult, has a Statehouse. Not to be outdone, Delaware has a Legislative Hall. Geesh.

The Maryland State House is not your typical capitol in spite of the columns out front and the long portico. There is a small, stacked dome rather than the typical massive white one. This building looks like it was built in a different era than most of the capitols we've seen, as indeed it was. Constructed in 1772, it is the oldest state house (and I'm assuming that means oldest capitol building too) in the nation still in legislative use. George Washington himself walked these halls. The treaty that ended the Revolutionary War was ratified here.  For nine months between November 26, 1783, and August 13, 1784, this building even served as the capitol building for the United States, so I guess they can call it what they want, right?

VIRGINIA: MOUNT VERNON

George Washington was the son of wealthy planters in Virginia, but his father died when George was only eleven, and as a result the family experienced some financial hardship (which meant George couldn't go to England for his education). However, his father had owned some property he had named "Mount Vernon," and he deeded it to his oldest living son Lawrence (by his first wife--George was the oldest son born to his second wife). When Lawrence died of tuberculosis in 1752, 20-year-old George moved to the estate to help Lawrence's widow manage the place. When she died a few years later, George inherited it. Not long after that, he married Martha Custis, a wealthy widow one year older than he, in 1759.

We didn't waste any time waiting to get to know George, Martha, and their two grandchildren:

After all, they like visitors:

Mt. Vernon consists of 500 acres of prime real estate on the banks of the Potomac River.

The house was built in stages by George himself between 1758 and 1778 in the same spot where the previous home had been since 1735. I'm sure Martha must have bankrolled some of the expenses.

I always thought Mount Vernon was painted white.

We got in a LONG line behind about 1.5 million children on school field trips. Luckily, a colonist had been resurrected so that he could lecture the young 'uns on their behavior (which was, actually, amazingly good):

WASHINGTON, D.C.: THE REFLECTING POOL AND TIDAL BASIN MONUMENTS, PART 1

After a few hours in the Smithsonian Art Museum, we made our way towards the Reflecting Pool and Tidal Basin. Bob had a long walk planned, and it was already mid-afternoon. I told him there was no way we could do all of this with what light we had left. He assured me that we could, and off we went.

There's always something interesting to see while walking through the D.C. streets, like Colossal Head 4 in front of the National Museum of Natural History. It is a copy of the original Olmec stone carving on display in a museum in Xalapa, Mexico:

Bob had tried to get tickets to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, which had just opened eight months before, but it was already sold out for the dates we were in D.C.

Walking past it really piqued our curiosity. This will be at the top of my list next time we are in D.C.:

The building looks like a giant slave ship:

We had seen the Washington Monument from a distance from several locations, but it was awe-inspiring to approach the actual structure. Too bad we couldn't climb the 897 stairs inside (which have been closed to tourists since 1971 anyway). The elevator is being renovated, and the building will be closed until at least 2019.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: THE NATIONAL CATHEDRAL

Day two in Washington, D.C., was Mother's Day, and we decided to spend the morning in an unusual way--attending a service at the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, more commonly known as the "National Cathedral." Since we had been running on empty on our first day, we decided to sleep in and catch the 11:15 service.

The National Cathedral isn't a non-denominational church as we had expected, but an Episcopalian Cathedral. It was granted a charter by Congress in 1891, was begun in 1907, and was completed in 1990. Congress has designated it as the "National House of Prayer." The funerals for Presidents Eisenhower, Reagan, and Ford were held at the National Cathedral, which is the sixth largest cathedral in the world and the second largest in the United States, topped only by the St. John the Divine Cathedral in New York City.

It's difficult to capture the size of the building (the central tower is 301 feet tall) with just one photo, but maybe five will convey its enormity:

Every December I attend a Christmas program at the local university that is basically an Episcopalian service (minus the eucharist), so the service at the National Cathedral felt familiar--lots of pageantry and processionals, lots of anthem singing, some reading and response, lots of up and down, etc.