Flat Travelers Go Historic

If you've been following our adventures with visiting flat travelers, you can see that we've been having a ball hosting friends from all over the country!

Unfortunately, our own travelers Flat Ginger and Flat Super Aron were detained by a member of the swap and never sent out after their first and only adventure.  :(  We are saddened that someone would do this, but rather than hold up the cycle of swaps any further, we've decided to just continue to host travelers.  We may make a new set and send it out at a later date, but only to people we know and trust to return them to avoid further disappointment.

We had two sets of travelers with us as we took our trip to Virginia to see my mom.  Flat Coal hailed from West Virginia and Flat Stanley and Flat Stella belonged to friends of ours here in North Carolina!

In between trips to the hospital and my mother's home, we took some time to explore one of my favorite places from my hometown area, downtown Fredericksburg.  It's a great place to wander and has great little shops, historical markers, food, and just a beautiful atmosphere.  I'm a city girl transplanted to the rural south and while I enjoy raising our family in the quiet scenic foothills of the mountains, sometimes I pine for the busy hubbub of city life.  Fredericksburg makes me smile and brings back memories.  I enjoy sharing it with my family when we do travel back.

This quaint Italian restaurant is where I filmed part of the independent movie I was a part of shortly after high

 school

During this particular day, we were trying to get Lydia, our youngest to fall asleep and nap a bit.  A few too many hours in a hospital room and/or in a car had her a wee bit cranky.  I thought that a nice stroll through the downtown area might lull her into a nice slumber or at least occupy her by giving her a ton of sights to take in. 

We passed by the James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library.  We didn't go inside, but thought it would be a good photo op for our traveling companions. 

Shortly after the museum, we passed by the home of Mary Washington, mother of George Washington.

It is a beautiful, stately home.  You can go inside and tour it, but we didn't think that would be conducive to toddlers napping, so we admired it from the outside, made a mental note to come back the next time we visited and kept strolling.

The churches are fantastic in this area. You have to lean back, shield your eyes, and squint to see the tops of the steeples.  Beautiful.

Gabriella and Aron really enjoyed walking.  They were being so sweet to each other.  I just love moments like these.

This is an actual slave auction block sitting on the corner.

A sad part of our history...

The stroller ride didn't work and we wanted Lydia to nap before we headed back to the hospital room, so we took a driving tour through the Fredericksburg battlefield.  Not only did Lydia fall asleep, but so did BOTH of the older children. :)  Alec and I got to enjoy quiet conversation as we took in the sites so important to the Civil War.

Even though I grew up in this area, I had never seen this landmark before.  It was interesting to read about this little pyramid in the midst of the battlefield.  Learn more about it here.

Meade's pyramid

You can still see the trenches all throughout the battle grounds.

We also drove through the Chancellorsville battlefield.

We parked and snuck out to get a few pictures with the cannons.

My husband is a Civil War buff and LOVES could spend hours and DAYS walking through all the historical places in that area.  But alas, this trip to Virginia was not for pleasure, so we headed on back to the hospital.  There's always next time!

We've made it a tradition to follow the Blue Ridge Parkway home from Virginia to North Carolina and we always stop at The Natural Bridge of Virginia.  It is a beautiful place.  There is a wax museum, a butterfly exhibit, and more to visit.  Plus, the bridge is a wonder to behold.  Truly.

The travelers got to measure up with the giant stuffed bear in the gift shop.

Right down the road from the Natural Bridge is a fabulous attraction that we've visited before...

That's right, folks.  Foamhenge.  A life size replica of Stonehenge made out of Styrofoam.  How cool is THAT?!

Running up the hill...

Flat Stanley and Flat Stella were overwhelmed by the magnitude of the "stones."

Flat Coal enjoyed taking in the sights.

Apparently one of the theories on how Stonehenge was constructed centers around some wizardry.

We were here last year as well and already we could tell how the weather is slowly tearing away at the paint and Styrofoam.  I'm not sure how long this structure has been here, but I'm not sure how much longer it will still be gray.

After a good stretch of our legs, we loaded back into the car and headed out on the last part of our journey home.  After we crossed the state line, we stopped for dinner at a great restaurant called Pirate's Landing that is actually shaped like a pirate ship.

Arr, matey.  We ate amongst some scurvy scallywags, but nary did walk the plank.

A long trip for not so happy reasons, but we managed to have a good time anyway!  We hope that our visiting friends enjoyed themselves and we wish them safe travels to their next destination! 

Have you ever hosted or made a flat traveler?