Visiting Northern Virginia

Last week, we visited our daughter and son-in-law in Fairfax, Virginia, and then continued to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I’ve written several posts about some of the highlights of the trip, but I wanted to add some photos from both places. Today: our visit to Virginia.

Sunday, February 11, we traveled the Ohio and PA turnpikes and continued
south to Fairfax.

We arrived just in time for the classic Superbowl refreshments: chili and guacamole.

We were also in time for Mardi Gras and Paczki.

Two Towns in Virginia: Occoquan and Alexandria.

When I was a child, there were several carriage stones in my neighborhood, but we called them 
“wishing stones” and thought if you sat on them and made a wish it might come true.

Near Alexandria, we enjoyed birding, especially the owl.

The Torpedo Factory, an art space in Alexandria.

The National Museum of the American Indian, Washington DC

I have written about the special chocolate festival at the museum
Evelyn, Tom, Len, and I also looked at a variety of other exhibits.

I enjoyed a case dedicated to children’s toys and dolls.

Symbolic gifts to the Europeans to cement a treaty.

“Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations” is a long-term exhibit at the museum (from 2014-2028). The exhibit documentation states:

“From a young age, most Americans learn about the Founding Fathers, but are told very little about equally important and influential Native diplomats and leaders of Indian Nations. Treaties lie at the heart of the relationship between Indian Nations and the United States.”

The first rooms were focused on several early examples of the very numerous treaties between Indian tribes and Europeans from early colonial times through the early 20th century. These pre-Revolutionary and early 19th century examples were often made in good faith, though later broken by the settlers and politicians eager to take over land and expand the European domination of the continent. As time went on, the treaties became more and more exploitative and cynical, and the national policy of  “removal,” which became law in 1830, replaced any good will towards the Native Americans. I was very interested in the artifacts, the facsimiles of treaties, and the historic information in this exhibit.

Visiting Evelyn and Tom

We took several walks around the neighborhood.
The weather was beautiful, with only a touch of snow.

Houseplants!

 A puppet from their collection.

Evelyn makes wonderful ceramic gnomes.

Tomorrow, I’ll continue with our visit to Arny and Tracy in Pennsylvania.

 

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