Today was a long driving day for Pam and Company, all the way from Richmond, VA to Huntsville, AL. They passed back into CDT somewhere around Chattanooga, TN. More than half of me wishes I had gone with them, for more than one reason. Of course, I miss my family, but I also missed air conditioning. Today was a scorcher! It wasn’t as humid and muggy as it was in Nauvoo, but it was hotter.
At the Jamboree, I am working in the Technology Quest area, which has a lot of great high tech stuff for the scouts to play with. Or will have once we’re done setting up. Today I worked inside a metal shed about 50 yards long and maybe 20 wide at the base. When I started working, I thought of it as a hangar, but others called it a Quonset hut. To me, it looked like a giant soup can split in half lengthwise, a concept strengthened by the fact that there was an identical building sitting right next to it.
In our building, we were constructing an oversized aluminum framework from enormous erector set pieces. We spent all day working on it, and had all of the metal pieces up where they belonged by the end of the day. We had started putting up the vinyl and fabric hangings in the open spaces, too, which made the building into a temporary giant informational display. We also got to unpack the Apollo-11 spacesuit, the life-sized and detailed Predator and Alien mannequins, the imitation Mars landscape and NASA Mars rover, and lots of other things. We’ll finish setting up tomorrow.
Every twenty minutes they called a water break, and every break I drank a half liter of water. It wasn’t overdoing it at all, since I was thirsty again by the time we stopped. It was about 5:30 when they decided to call it a day and put us back on busses to get us to our barracks. I’m staying in Wilcox camp, which is to the east, outside of the normal Jamboree area. The Technology Quest area is to the far west side of the Jamboree site. I don’t mind the commute, since those staying over on the west end are sleeping in tents and the barracks building has some a/c, though it can’t keep up. Still, I was lucky to be put there. Most everyone else in the building is assigned to work on the merit badge midway.
29 July, 2010
Day Fourteen: Friday, 23 July, 2010
Today, we toured Colonial Williamsburg, once the capital of Virginia. One day was not enough to see everything. After lunch we split into three groups, we all went and saw different things and we still didn’t cover everything.
The first thing we saw was the old capitol building. The man giving the tour stayed in character throughout, and behaved as if it were June of 1776. Virginia had just declared itself to be independent of England and was urging the other colonies to do the same. A government was still found to be necessary for administering various needs, the people were gathering to create a separate commonwealth. As we walked out, there were actors portraying scenes that might have occurred at that time. A woman found some old friends after walking all the way from Charlotte, SC. Her husband had been captured by the British, and might or might not be incarcerated in a prison ship in Charlotte Harbor. Several men spoke out in favor of asking the French to join our fight against the British. And later, General Benedict Arnold tried to persuade the people to lay down their arms and accept King George’s letter stating that he would no longer tax the American Colonies without representation.
We had a great lunch, in a period-authentic restaurant, and more actors came in playing contemporary roles. When we split up, Pam and Delia went to the drama workshop for Delia to participate in. Mica and I went to the museum, watched a short play about the three women in George Washington’s life: his wife, his sister, and his mother. Pam’s dad saw a number of things, including the smithy and some of the military fortification. We all met together to hear Thomas Jefferson give a speech. The actor who portrayed him deserves an award. He was amazing! He spoke for 45 minutes or so, with no notes. I recognized enough quotes of Jefferson’s to realize the speech was entirely composed of Jefferson’s words. And after he was done, he took questions from the audience, and responded exactly the way you would expect Jefferson to have done; evincing his attitudes, speaking plainly and directly, and with the greatest eloquence. We were floored at how great it was.
Following that, we went to see the army assembled and General Lafayette addressed the troops. There were fifes and drums, marching and martial displays, and they fired off cannons and muskets.
After that, we had to head back the way we had driven the day before, all the way to Bowling Green, VA. That is where Fort A. P. Hill is located, and that is the site for the 2010 National Boy Scout Jamboree. It was past dark when we arrived, but we found our way and I was able to get checked in and settled into my barracks bunk.
Pam, et. al., apparently got lost getting back off base, but eventually made it down to Richmond, where they stopped for the night.
The first thing we saw was the old capitol building. The man giving the tour stayed in character throughout, and behaved as if it were June of 1776. Virginia had just declared itself to be independent of England and was urging the other colonies to do the same. A government was still found to be necessary for administering various needs, the people were gathering to create a separate commonwealth. As we walked out, there were actors portraying scenes that might have occurred at that time. A woman found some old friends after walking all the way from Charlotte, SC. Her husband had been captured by the British, and might or might not be incarcerated in a prison ship in Charlotte Harbor. Several men spoke out in favor of asking the French to join our fight against the British. And later, General Benedict Arnold tried to persuade the people to lay down their arms and accept King George’s letter stating that he would no longer tax the American Colonies without representation.
We had a great lunch, in a period-authentic restaurant, and more actors came in playing contemporary roles. When we split up, Pam and Delia went to the drama workshop for Delia to participate in. Mica and I went to the museum, watched a short play about the three women in George Washington’s life: his wife, his sister, and his mother. Pam’s dad saw a number of things, including the smithy and some of the military fortification. We all met together to hear Thomas Jefferson give a speech. The actor who portrayed him deserves an award. He was amazing! He spoke for 45 minutes or so, with no notes. I recognized enough quotes of Jefferson’s to realize the speech was entirely composed of Jefferson’s words. And after he was done, he took questions from the audience, and responded exactly the way you would expect Jefferson to have done; evincing his attitudes, speaking plainly and directly, and with the greatest eloquence. We were floored at how great it was.
Following that, we went to see the army assembled and General Lafayette addressed the troops. There were fifes and drums, marching and martial displays, and they fired off cannons and muskets.
After that, we had to head back the way we had driven the day before, all the way to Bowling Green, VA. That is where Fort A. P. Hill is located, and that is the site for the 2010 National Boy Scout Jamboree. It was past dark when we arrived, but we found our way and I was able to get checked in and settled into my barracks bunk.
Pam, et. al., apparently got lost getting back off base, but eventually made it down to Richmond, where they stopped for the night.
28 July, 2010
Day Thirteen: Thursday, 22 July, 2010
Today we toured George Washington’s home at Mt. Vernon. It was a fabulous tour, and very informative. Pam was particularly impressed with the working farm and all the work and planning that Washington had put into it. We were able to see the original Arnold Friberg painting of Washington Praying at Valley Forge. There was again more to see than we could fit in, so we grudgingly headed off.
It wasn’t a very long drive from DC to Mt. Vernon, but we were in the car a bit longer before we made it to our next stop, Jamestown, where we learned that Disney films are not entirely historically accurate. I was shocked to learn this. Right. So Pocahontas, at the time the ships arrived, would have been a bare-skinned ten-year-old covered in bear grease. And Grandmother Willow doesn’t talk. At least not anymore.
We did get to board and explore replicas of the three ships that carried the first settlers in Jamestown, saw how dugout canoes were fashioned, and saw examples of daub and wattle constructions. I also learned that daub has the same Latin ancestry as adobe.
We had German food for dinner, and then checked into our hotel. Tonight was laundry night once again. That will allow me to start at the Jamboree with everything clean. Today was also another really hot day. We haven’t really had anything else since we got to the east coast.
Also, Jamestown put us just a smidge short of actually seeing the Atlantic once again. C’est la vie.
It wasn’t a very long drive from DC to Mt. Vernon, but we were in the car a bit longer before we made it to our next stop, Jamestown, where we learned that Disney films are not entirely historically accurate. I was shocked to learn this. Right. So Pocahontas, at the time the ships arrived, would have been a bare-skinned ten-year-old covered in bear grease. And Grandmother Willow doesn’t talk. At least not anymore.
We did get to board and explore replicas of the three ships that carried the first settlers in Jamestown, saw how dugout canoes were fashioned, and saw examples of daub and wattle constructions. I also learned that daub has the same Latin ancestry as adobe.
We had German food for dinner, and then checked into our hotel. Tonight was laundry night once again. That will allow me to start at the Jamboree with everything clean. Today was also another really hot day. We haven’t really had anything else since we got to the east coast.
Also, Jamestown put us just a smidge short of actually seeing the Atlantic once again. C’est la vie.
Day Twelve: Wednesday, 21 July, 2010
We started today’s touring at the Folger Shakespeare Library, an amazing place to see. They have 17 copies of the first folio in their collection. This site was particularly interesting to Pam, Mica, and me, since we’ve put so much time and effort into two years of teaching Shakespeare at the commonwealth school.
Our time there was too short (sound familiar?) but then we moved onto the Library of Congress. I had no idea the building was so ornate! We got to see copies of the Guttenberg Bible, and also the Bible of Mainz, which Gustavus Adolphus claimed as a trophy after the battle of Mainz in 1631. The octagonal reading room was stunning, and full of art to depict all areas of human learning. It was a beautiful place to see. This period of European history is much more familiar to me now, after getting caught up in Eric Flint's 1632 series.
After that, we headed over to the U. S. Capitol Building for a guided tour. We had been told to expect a one hour tour, and after three hours we opted not to go see the Senate floor from the observation balcony. We did get to see most everything worth seeing, though. I was glad to have seen the Apotheosis of Washington, as well as the LoC reading room, after they played such prominent roles in The Lost Symbol, which I read earlier this year.
We had to get moving, though, because this evening was our one and only chance to see Brian. We hadn’t seen him for a week before we left because he had gone to scout camp all week and arrived home Saturday afternoon, when we had left that morning. We did have time to grab a quick dinner in between the Metro station and the Lincoln Memorial, where we wound up crossing paths with Brian’s troop. They had just flown in that afternoon, and the memorials were the first things they went to see. We have to leave Washington tomorrow, so I am glad that we were able to catch him.
We also visited the Korean and Vietnam War Memorials. I found that there are four men named Cheney who appear on the roles of the Vietnam Memorial stone. This was another place that was very special for Pam’s dad, and we spent a long time there. Mica and Delia were very tired and overheated by the time we got back to our hotel, where they showered and then collapsed into bed.
Our time there was too short (sound familiar?) but then we moved onto the Library of Congress. I had no idea the building was so ornate! We got to see copies of the Guttenberg Bible, and also the Bible of Mainz, which Gustavus Adolphus claimed as a trophy after the battle of Mainz in 1631. The octagonal reading room was stunning, and full of art to depict all areas of human learning. It was a beautiful place to see. This period of European history is much more familiar to me now, after getting caught up in Eric Flint's 1632 series.
After that, we headed over to the U. S. Capitol Building for a guided tour. We had been told to expect a one hour tour, and after three hours we opted not to go see the Senate floor from the observation balcony. We did get to see most everything worth seeing, though. I was glad to have seen the Apotheosis of Washington, as well as the LoC reading room, after they played such prominent roles in The Lost Symbol, which I read earlier this year.
We had to get moving, though, because this evening was our one and only chance to see Brian. We hadn’t seen him for a week before we left because he had gone to scout camp all week and arrived home Saturday afternoon, when we had left that morning. We did have time to grab a quick dinner in between the Metro station and the Lincoln Memorial, where we wound up crossing paths with Brian’s troop. They had just flown in that afternoon, and the memorials were the first things they went to see. We have to leave Washington tomorrow, so I am glad that we were able to catch him.
We also visited the Korean and Vietnam War Memorials. I found that there are four men named Cheney who appear on the roles of the Vietnam Memorial stone. This was another place that was very special for Pam’s dad, and we spent a long time there. Mica and Delia were very tired and overheated by the time we got back to our hotel, where they showered and then collapsed into bed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)