Broad Stripes, Bright Stars

Fifty flags for 50 states at the base of the Washington Monument.

Surrounding the base of the Washington Monument are 50 flag poles--one for each state in the Union. The birth of the Grand Union flag, as it was first called, came on January 1, 1776, when General George Washington ordered his troops to hoist the colors. That first flag was 13 red and white alternating stripes with a Union Jack in the upper corner.

Over the decades and two centuries of this nation, the flag has changed. In July 1776, Betsy Ross of Philadelphia unfurled her version with 13 stripes and a field of blue with 13 stars. As states were added, so were more stars and stripes. Risking a cumbersome flag--can you imagine a banner of 50 stripes and 50 stars?--the flag was eventually set at the dimensions we are familiar with today: 13 red and white alternating stripes representing the 13 original colonies and 50 stars representing each of the states.

The colors are also symbolic. Red stands for hardiness and valor, white for purity and innocence, and blue for vigilance, perseverance, and justice.

According to Eavesdrop DC, this summer a tourist actually asked a local resident how we get those flags to blow in the same direction at the same time. EDC's response: "It's all that hot air coming from Congress."

Zip: 20006

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, 09/07

Aquatic

Pair of waterlilies

Waterlily in pink

Waterlily in white

Lotus flower and bumblebee

Today, a couple of friends and I went over to Anacostia in southeast D.C. to visit Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens. The park, marshes, and gardens are maintained by the U.S. National Park Service and are, according to the NPS, the only "unit dedicated to cultivating water-loving plants." The gardens are spread across 12 acres in southeast Washington and feature more than 35 ponds filled with a beautiful variety of water lilies, lotus, and other aquatic species. There are also more than 70 acres of freshwater tidal marshes, which makes for great bird watching, if you like that sort of thing, as well as butterflies, frogs, fish, and small mammals.

Zip: 20020

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential (09/07)

Congressional

The marker for Civil War photographer Mathew B. Brady. His images of the War Between the States brought this awful conflict to life for the citizens of the USA and the CSA and remain a stark glimpse into one of America's most pivotal conflicts.

Tucked into a corner of southeast Washington near the D.C. Armory and RFK Stadium and abutting the Anacostia River is the Congressional Cemetery. According to the cemetery timeline, it was founded in 1807 as the Washington Parish Burial Ground. According to U.S. Senate Document No. 42, December 6, 1906, the official name of the cemetery was rarely used and had "nearly always been called the 'Congressional Cemetery.'" The reasoning for the secondary and more common name: "when the cemetery was first established, it was chosen by the United States as the place of internment for nearly every member of Congress or executive officer who died while holding office."

The grave of John Philip Sousa, USMC. Sousa is best known for his marches, including The Washington Post March, Semper Fidelis, and The Stars and Stripes Forever. Sousa is considered the father of "The President's Own" Marine Corps Band.

While many politicians and public servants are buried in Congressional Cemetery, the land has also become the final resting place for many other famous figures from American history. Most notably: Bella Lockwood, the first and only woman to be nominated for president; Matthew Brady, the Civil War photographer; J. Edgar Hoover, director of the FBI; Clyde Tolson, the man "who ate breakfast with Hoover every morning for 30 years"; and Ruth Overbeck, who epithet reads "Look It Up!" In addition, the cemetery features a 9/11 memorial from the neighborhood association of Ward 6 (the section, or ward, in D.C. wherein the cemetery lies) and a monument to a group of women who lost their lives in an arsenal explosion during the Civil War.

The cenotaph of then-U.S. House Majority Leader Thomas Hale Boggs, who died in a plane crash in a remote area in Alaska in 1972. Boggs was the father of journalist Cokie Roberts.

As mentioned previously, the cemetery was meant to be the final resting place of politicians and public servants. While some reside here, many others do not. However, they are remembered within the cemetery with a cenotaph. The word means "empty tomb," though at least 80 congressmen lie beneath some of the 165 of the cenotaphs. One of the most famous in contemporary memory would be that of the late Speaker of the House, Thomas J. "Tip" O'Neil of Massachusetts. He has a marker in the cemetery, but is actually buried in his home state.

Zip: 20003

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential (09/07)

Spicy

Cinnamon, cinnamon, cinnamon. There's Vietnamese, Chinese, Indonesian.... Who knew, right?

Not only that, but it's "fancy" too!

Like the sign says: Spices A - Z. If you can't find it in the retail store, you're sure to find it in Penzey's catalog where the inventory is even larger.

If you enjoy cooking and you like to keep a good stash of dry spices around, your purveyor of choice should be Penzey's. Recently, the spice trader has started opening retail locations around the country. Case in point would be two locations in the D.C. area--one in Rockville, Maryland, and one in Falls Church, Virginia. (The pictures here are from the Rockville store.)

This store has ten or 12 kinds of peppers, five kinds of cinnamon, six different grinds of sea salts, curries galore, four kinds of basil, taco seasonings, salad dressing mixes, and even hot chocolate! There's something here for every connoisseur, backyard BBQ'er, gourmet hobbyist, and stay-at-home mom/dad.

I spent $65 on eight bottles of spices and seasonings, as well as a gift pack as a birthday gift for a family member.

If you like to cook, head out to Penzey's. You'll love it!

In Rockville at 1048 Rockville Pike
and in Falls Church at 513 W. Broad Street.

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential (09/07)

Temperance

Cogswell Temperance Fountain
(Sculptor: Henry B. Cogswell, DDS, 1880.)

While many of the monuments and memorials around D.C. exist for obvious reasons, there are many that puzzle those who stop long enough to look at them. Case in point would be this monument to Temperance located at the corner of Indiana Avenue and 7th Streets NW. This seemingly odd sculpture sits in the same area as that of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Known as the Cogswell Temperance Fountain, it was sculpted by San Francisco dentist Henry B. Cogswell who desired two things. First, that Americans would stop drinking alcohol and start drinking water. And second, that he be remembered forever. Cogswell made his fortune in California in real estate and mining, but it is his eccentricity that is manifest in this fountain, as well as others he sculpted and set in 16 cities across America. Of the 16, this is the only one to survive.

Originally, the Temperance Fountain was a drinking fountain. Today, the fountain does not flow with water. And it's probably just as well. The District of Columbia is notorious for bad water, including high lead content, among other concerns.

Zip: 20004

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential, (09/07.)

Shenandoah

Labor Day 2007: Part I, Saturday

Jewell Hollow Overlook, Shenandoah National Park, 3,320 ft ASL

Wildflowers, Shenandoah National Park

Spittler Knoll Overlook, Shenandoah National Park, 3,150 ft ASL. It was at this point that Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson marched 25,000 troops from Antietam to Fredericksburg in November 1862. Jackson would later be mortally wounded in the spring of 1863 at Chancellorsville and would die of pneumonia following the amputation of his arm. His arm lies buried outside Chancellorsville, while his body is laid to rest in Lexington, his hometown.

This weekend, I drove down to Lexington, Virginia, instead of fighting the masses going to the beaches. Rather than take I-66 to I-81 or I-95 to I-64, though, I decided to take the scenic route. Literally. To do that, I take I-66 West from Washington to Route 29. Then I go through Gainesville and Warrenton, where I take Route 211 and head up into the Shenandoah National Park, entering the park at the Thornton Gap Entrance Station (Mile Marker ~30)--2,304 ft above sea level.

Shenandoah National Park starts in the north at Front Royal and continues southward to Rockfish Gap--approximately 105 miles--where it meets up with the Blue Ridge Parkway. The highest point in the park is Hawksbill Peak, which tops out at 4,051 feet. The views and vistas are impressive and, when the colors change in the fall, Skyline Drive in SNP can be bumper-to-bumper with folks out to see nature's fireworks.

It takes about four hours to drive from Thornton Gap to Rockfish, but it's worth every mile. If you like hiking, the park is filled with trails and scenic views galore. There are also several camp sites and lodges. This past weekend, temperatures were easily 10 - 20 degrees cooler than the city, which made it a beautiful getaway.

Zip: 22835

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential (09/07)

Blue Ridge Parkway

Labor Day 2007: Part II, Saturday

Appalachian Farm Building, Humpback Rocks, Blue Ridge Parkway.

Common weeds, but when they're backlit by the sun, they acquire a halo-effect and are quite charming; Blue Ridge Parkway.

Vista just north of Whites Gap Overlook, Blue Ridge Parkway

Once you exit the Shenandoah National Park at Rockfish Gap and cross over I-64, you then enter the Blue Ridge Parkway, which runs from I-64 in the north to just north of Cherokee, NC, approximately 470 miles. Saturday's drive covered about 1/10 of that and brought me out between Whites Gap Overlook (2,567 ft ASL) and Indian Gap at Buena Vista (pronounced Bwee-na Vista in these parts), 11 miles east of Lexington.

Near the entrance of the Parkway is Humpback Rocks Visitor Center, which features an Appalachian farm. In the 1800s, the government paid settlers to move out and settle the Appalachian ranges, thereby creating America's westernmost settlements at the time.

The parkway--like its sister, Shenandoah National Park--features beautiful vistas and winding mountain roads.

Zip: 22945

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential (09/07)

R.E. Lee

Labor Day 2007: Part III, Sunday

Washington & Lee University, Lexington, Virginia.

Lee Chapel on the campus of Washington & Lee University, Lexington, Virginia.

The grave of Lee's horse, Traveller, outside the Lee Chapel on the grounds of Washington & Lee University, Lexington, Virginia.

Recumbent Lee, by Edward Valentine. The sarcophagus of Robert E. Lee in the Lee Chapel at Washington & Lee University, Lexington, Virginia. (Photo courtesy of the Lee Family Digital Archive.)

Lexington, Virginia, was the destination this past weekend. For those not familiar with Lexington, it lies at the foot of the Blue Ridge. Located in Rockbridge County, Virginia, Lexington was named after the town in Massachusetts where the American Revolution began. Most of the settlers in this valley were German and Scotch-Irish. The town was, among other things, fairly education-conscious and opened Liberty Hall Academy in the town. The town is also home to the nation's first state military academy, Virginia Military Institute (VMI.)

The school eventually fell on hard times and only emerged from ruin because of a generous bequest of $50,000 in stock from George Washington. The school changed its name to Washington College, in recognition of Washington's generosity. During the Civil War, the Union Army burned the neighboring military school--VMI, alma mater and employer of Stonewall Jackson and later George C. Marshall--but refused to burn Washington College because of its namesake. After Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox, he rode into Lexington on his warhorse, Traveller, where he assumed the presidency of the college.

At the time Lee arrived in Lexington, the school only had 40 students. By the time of his death in 1872, the student body numbered 400. Lee was so loved, the school changed its name again and to this day it remains Washington & Lee University. For an excellent read of Lee's post-Civil War years, I'd recommend Lee: The Last Years. Lee is laid to rest, along with all of his family, in the R.E. Lee Chapel on the campus of Washington & Lee. He lies in a sarcophagus bedecked with a recumbent sculpture by Edward Valentine. Lee's horse, Traveller, is buried outside next to the church.

Zip: 24450

Photo copyright: Lee Family Digital Archive (Recumbent Lee), D.C. Confidential (All Other Pictures), 09/07.

Stonewall

Labor Day 2007: Part IV, Sunday

Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's first burial plot, Stonewall Jackson Cemetery, Lexington, Virginia. Note: Many gravestones in this cemetery are decorated with a CSA shield and the Confederate flag.

About 100 feet east of the original burial plot is this resting place, which is where Stonewall Jackson and his family lie in eternal repose. Stonewall Jackson Cemetery, Lexington, Virginia.

Lexington, Virginia's, other most (in)famous citizen is Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. One of the most storied generals of the Confederate Army, Jackson made his home and career in this tiny mountain town. While Robert E. Lee is beloved in this town, he is a blip on the radar when compared to Jackson. Nearly 1/2 of the buildings or areas of note in this town are named for Jackson.

Stonewall Jackson was a graduate of West Point (Class of 1846). It was at West Point where he met Lee. Following service in the U.S. Army that included a stint in the Mexican-American War, Jackson accepted a teaching post of "natural and experimental philosophy" and instructor of artillery at Virginia Military Institute. When the Civil War broke out, Jackson joined Lee and was called up to lead what would become known as "The Stonewall Brigade."

Jackson was wounded in a friendly fire incident at the Battle of Chancelorsville, Virginia, near Fredericksburg, in 1863. His arm was amputated and buried on the grounds of a farm serving as a field hospital. He eventually died of pneumonia, the result of his wounds, and was buried twice in Lexington. First, in a family plot and then beneath another Edward Valentine statue in the same cemetery.

Zip: 24450

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential (09/07)

VMI

Labor Day 2007: Part V, Sunday

Statue of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson on the campus of the Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia.

Statue of General George C. Marshall, United States Army, on the campus of the Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia.

In addition to Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, one of the Virginia Military Institute's (VMI) other famous figures was George C. Marshall, who graduated from the school in 1901. Marshall, related to the distinguished jurist and Supreme Court justice, John Marshall, had an equally distinguished career as a soldier and diplomat.

Following his graduation from VMI, Marshall entered the U.S. Army where he served in numerous overseas posts. He eventually served as aide-de-camp to General John J. Pershing. In addition to service in the Philippines and during World War I, Marshall entered World War II as a brigadier general. Marshall was only the second general at the time to earn five-star status. It was he who assigned Dwight D. Eisenhower as Supreme Commander, Allied Forces, Europe.

After World War II, Harry Truman appointed Marshall Secretary of State. In 1947, Marshall gave a speech where he outlined a plan for rebuilding Europe. The Marshall Plan helped Europe rebuild and modernize rapidly after the war that had devastated the continent. He went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Marshall would go on to be president of the American Red Cross and would briefly serve as Secretary of Defense for President Truman. Marshall died in 1959 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetary.

Zip: 24450

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential (09/07)

Random Lexington

Labor Day 2007: Part VI, Sunday

Rabbit in a Cemetery, Lexington, Virginia.

Stained glass reflection, R.E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church, Lexington, Virginia.

No grande latte cappucino no foam, high falutin' corporate coffee here! On Route 606, just outside Lexington, Virginia.

Just a few random, oddball pictures from this weekend's trip to Lexington, Virginia.

A rabbit in the Stonewall Jackson Cemetery.

The sun pouring through the window of the R.E. Lee Memorial Episcopal Church (not to be confused with the Lee Chapel, where Lee is buried. This church was built after Lee's death. He approved the plans for the church five days before his death.)

And an odd building in the shape of a coffee pot. Could this be the predecessor to Starbucks?

Lexington was lovely! If you're looking for someplace to visit in Virginia, this town is well worth the drive and time.

Zip: 24450

Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential (09/07)

Shenandoah Sunset

Labor Day 2007: Part VII, Sunday

Tom, an artist from Charlottesville, plying his craft in Shenandoah National Park.

Sunset over the Shenandoah Valley, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia.

And to round out the weekend, sunset in the Shenandoah. As well as an artist, plying his craft. Tom was kind enough to let me take a picture of him and his artwork.

A nice conclusion to the weekend.


Photo copyright: D.C. Confidential (09/07)