April 3

Finally, a day whose travels ended before 7 PM. I will go back and place comments on the April 1 and 2 pages in a bit. Traveling on DE Route 1 from Dover towards Maryland gave me a couple of chuckles. A lone sign made sure everyone knew which exit was for the Dover AFB Golf Course. I guess the Generals and Colonels do not know the way. The couple of toll plazas stated that a car was $1 during the week but $3 on the weekends. No doubt the working person is paying enough income tax that the state decide it should not double-tax too heavily when one is trying to get to and from work. But for recreational purposes, more is merrier. Granted, the weekends probably see more NY and PA cars on the road. This morning was cold and windy, not a good combination for enjoying the beach or water activities. There is an outfitter on the barrier side of the island who will supply items like canoes. Plenty of campers had their tents up on the dunes. Great for them. I had hoped to see the herd of wild horses, but no luck. One person I talked to said to be sure to come in June to the Virginia entrance of the park to watch the Saltwater Cowboys take the southern herd across the bay. My understanding is that gets real crowded, and expensive.

GPS navigation systems are wonderful. I was to Harriett Tubman UGRR NHP in minimal time. The VC used to be with the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, but now the park has its own new, big VC. The area is mostly swamps and marshes. A few bridges get cars from one part of dry land to another section. The park is not as developed as one might have hoped for by now. On the eastern side is the building in which Tubman first realized she needed to help enslaved people. It was a general store, and a young black man was trying to escape his owner. But the owner found him in the store and began to forcibly remove him. Tubman tried to stop the encounter, but was hit with a two-pound weight by the white man. The rest is history. The farm to which she was enslaved is still private property, so one cannot drive to the buildings. They can be viewed from the county road.

George Washington Parkway can be a nightmare during D.C. morning and nightly rush hours. Otherwise, it is a fine drive. It extends from Langley (think CIA) to Mount Vernon, though the park is not uninterrupted. Various parcels of land are privately owned, so the parkway “comes and goes”. As an example, Mount Vernon is not owned by the NPS. You can stop off at Gravelly Point and watch the planes land at National Airport. Or park at Arlington Cemetery to visit that hallowed ground. Fort Marcey is near the parkway’s HQ, with earthworks from the Civil War defenses, and one cannon. Too many sites for me to list, so please visit www.nps.gov and pull up the GW Parkway pages.

Arlington House is on the grounds of Arlington Cemetery. One has to snake their way through the roadways in the cemetery to reach the top of the hill on which the house stands, but the view is worth the effort (can see all of D.C. which is by the Potomac). Along the way you can detour to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, JFK’s tomb, and other sights. The home was built between 1802 and 1811 by George Washington Parke Custis as a memorial for his grandfather. Custis’ daughter, Mary, would marry a young West Point graduate, Robert E. Lee, in 1831, in the home. When the Civil War broke out, Lee left Arlington House, never to return. The parlors on the first floor of the home have a wow factor. Slaves’ quarters are at the rear of the property, giving visitors a look into how an enslaved person lived at night. A new edition to this park is a Bookstore, about 40 yards from the house. It was not there the last time I had visited. About 15 Passport Stamps are now at this store, including T. Roosevelt Island and LBJ Grove on the Potomac (both of which are on D.C. land… it is a long story)… a bonanza. A park ranger spotted by tee-shirt and asked how I was progressing. He was going to place my information on the park’s web system so the entire staff would be aware of my quest.

Speaking of LBJ Grove, it can be accessed via the GW Parkway or Boundary Drive, next to the Pentagon. “Boundary” is the key word here. Both the District and Virginia feuded over who owned the land in the middle of the Potomac River. Every few decades the course of the river would change, sometimes helped by dredging, and new ownership was claimed. This flipflopping of Colombia Island had to cease. Work in the early 20th century forced the one side of the channel to officially be Virginia while the island could now always be in the District. This island is where LBJ and Lady Bird would come to relax and unwind. It was LBJ’s favorite outdoor setting in the District. But that was in the 1960s. With all the traffic running by on the GW, hard to get any peace today.

Since I had pulled into the GW entrance for the park, the only means to exit was to go south, which is opposite of where I wanted to go. T. Roosevelt Island is north. For those of you who know the road system around the Potomoc, you had better have either your wits about you or a good GPS device. After a couple of figure 8’s and criss-crossing, I was headed north. Roosevelt Island was once called Mason’s Island. In the 1930’s, some folks got together and decided to transform the island into a “new forest”, to reflect what had once stood on the land. Over the decades, the original forest and vegetation had been destroyed. Planting new growth would be a memorial to the greatest environmental champion who ever sat in the White House. The CCC was involved with the work. Today one can hike the various trails and sit on stone benches to rejuvenate. Please note the only way to enter the parking lot is by going north on the GW. Exiting can then only be to the north. So, decide on your next path (either up Spout Run Pkway, to I-495, or Chain Bridge) before you start the engine.