Virginia/Washington DC

Williamsburg, VA
Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting part of a historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Colonial Williamsburg's 301-acre (122 ha) Historic Area includes buildings from the eighteenth century (during part of which the city was the capital of Colonial Virginia), as well as 17th-century, 19th-century, Colonial Revival structures and more recent reconstructions. The Historic Area is an interpretation of a colonial American city, with exhibits of dozens of restored or re-created buildings related to its colonial and American Revolutionary War history.

The town is really quite charming and takes you back to a different time.

The Governor's Palace: in Williamsburg, Virginia was the official residence of the Royal Governors of the Colony of Virginia. It was also a home for two of Virginia's post-colonial governors, Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson, until the capital was moved to Richmond in 1780, and with it the Governor's residence. The main house burned down in 1781, though the outbuildings survived for some time after.
 The Governor's Palace was reconstructed in the 1930s on its original site. It is one of the two largest buildings at Colonial Williamsburg, the other being the Capitol.

The Rockefeller's bought the land for restoration in the 1920's, they wanted to preserve the colonial town for future generations to experience and learn from, the sad part is that there was many historical buildings from the 1800's here as well that were all removed. 

Bruton Parish Church is located in the restored area of Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. It was established in 1674 by the consolidation of two previous parishes in the Virginia Colony, and remains an active Episcopal parish. The building, constructed 1711-15, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970 as a well-preserved early example of colonial religious architecture.
It is still a working church today.




Monticello was the primary plantation of Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, who began designing and building Monticello at age 26 after inheriting land from his father. Located just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, in the Piedmont region, the plantation was originally 5,000 acres (20 km²), with Jefferson using slaves for extensive cultivation of tobacco and mixed crops, later shifting from tobacco cultivation to wheat in response to changing markets. The current Nickel (United States coin) features a depiction of Monticello on the reverse.

There are a lot of things I could put here about President Jefferson, he is a well known man, famous for different things but as I learned more about his life and Presidency I became acutely aware of what his true motives in life were, as a result I thought I should be more honest about who he was as a man, Thomas Jefferson was a well respected man, he was a wealthy man to be sure but he gained his fortune off the backs of others, he was a slave owner of over 150 slaves, all of which grew and harvested his cotton that made him rich but also grew his food, as president he was approached about helping to end slavery, his response was that it was another generations job. He could have made great strides in this endeavor but without slave labor he knew he would not be able to retain his wealth or lifestyle, I see him as being a very selfish man that should have put justice before fortune.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as "Washington", "the District", or simply "D.C.", is the capital of the United States.
The signing of the Residence Act on July 16, 1790, approved the creation of a capital district located along the Potomac River on the country's East Coast. The U.S. Constitution provided for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress and the District is therefore not a part of any state. The states of Maryland and Virginia each donated land to form the federal district, which included the pre-existing settlements of Georgetown and Alexandria. Named in honor of President George Washington, the City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the new national capital. In 1846, Congress returned the land originally ceded by Virginia; in 1871, it created a single municipal government for the remaining portion of the District.

I found DC a little disappointing, it was pretty filthy, way over crowded, the people were insane, everyone jaywalked even on the highways through it, as big cities go it wasn't for me.
It makes since that this is where our laws are made because nothing made since or functioned properly there. also they call the white house the peoples house because it's suppose to belong to us but I've never owned a house that I couldn't go in, so that's bogus.

The Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) — formerly known as the Old Executive Office Building (OEOB) and even earlier as the State, War, and Navy Building — is a U.S. government building situated just west of the White House in the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C. Maintained by the General Services Administration, it is occupied by the Executive Office of the President, including the Office of the Vice President of the United States.
Honestly this building was way more impressive than the White House, it was easily four times the size with amazing design.

The Smithsonian Institution is an educational foundation chartered by Congress in 1846 that maintains most of the nation's official museums and galleries in Washington, D.C. The U.S. government partially funds the Smithsonian and its collections open to the public free of charge. The Smithsonian's locations had a combined total of 30 million visits in 2013. The most visited museum is the National Museum of Natural History on the National Mall. Other Smithsonian Institution museums and galleries on the mall are: the National Air and Space Museum; the National Museum of African Art; the National Museum of American History; the National Museum of the American Indian; the Sackler and Freer galleries, which both focus on Asian art and culture; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; the Arts and Industries Building; the S. Dillon Ripley Center; and the Smithsonian Institution Building (also known as "The Castle"), which serves as the institution's headquarters.



The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in 1937 for the American people by a joint resolution of the United States Congress.

 This museum holds lots of my favorite artist, from degas, to Picasso and many more.


Degas's ballerina's are some of my favorite pieces.

The Lincoln Memorial is an American national monument built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.
He is one of my favorite presidents, honoring true values that made our country better.







Two of my favorite Lincoln quotes are:

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.

All in all this was a great trip, we got to see old friends, learn new things and experience fine art, it makes me remember how much we are divided by our own prejudices and how the best way forward is always to open ones heart and mind to difference and understanding, I pray for our nation that this happens for all of us, because united we stand, divided we fall. As always remember to be kind to one another. 

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/abraham_lincoln.html

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/abraham_lincoln.html