Two places you should visit - Waterford & Harper's Ferry

I love living in Virginia. It has rich history, beautiful landscapes, and a perfect mix of large cities and small towns. Sometimes I have the need to get out of the city and back to a more simple way of life. Thank goodness for this past three day weekend that enabled me to do such a thing. Trent and I decided to take a day trip to a few out-of-the-way towns in Virginia and West Virginia. By the end of the day, I had sufficiently learned about raids, found out that I could not buy a home in Waterford, and been in three states: Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland. What a great day!! Here are some of the details:

Waterford
Waterford is a National Historic Landmark due to the fact that most of the homes have been standing since circa 1820. The Waterford Foundation has done a tremendous job of maintaining the town's historical landmark status and conserving the homes. We drove into town and it felt as if we had drove into another period of time. The town was completely charming. It is as if nothing had ever changed in Waterford.

As we drove into town (a whole two blocks), we noticed a little store where we might find a map. We were given a map of some historical homes and went on our way to discover Waterford. As we left with map in hand, a man walked out of a quaint building and said a friendly, "hello." We struck up a conversation with him about the town. He told us that he sold real estate in the town. I asked him to tell me about the homes in the town. He asked me, "Do you have money." My reply, "Not yet." He told us that the most inexpensive home in the city was $500,000. I asked what the residents did for work. He said, "half do not work and the other half work in DC (1 hour away.)" He had lived in the "pink house" up until a few years ago. He sold the home and the new owners began renovations. He stated that after it is finished it will have cost the new owners 3 million dollars. Quiet a bit of money for a slightly above average home that is old and was used as a "place of entertainment" when it was built .


Another home I liked was a log cabin that was reconstructed from two separate log cabins that were moved from another town (see below). I dreamed that all the people in the town were friendly - an almost Utopia environment. Maybe it was not Utopia but it was friendly as seen by a driver that passed us and gave us the three finger raise. He did not even know us. I loved it.



Waterford Mill * A funny sign at a local church "counsel with the coach."

"Please, do not let the dog out". Who is letting the dog out? Who is coming into this private property?

Harper's Ferry, WV



Our next stop was at Harper's Ferry, WV. It was very scenic. It is situated right between the convergence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, where Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland meet.

Here are some interesting tidbits of facts/ history of Harper's Ferry.

- Thomas Jefferson called the site "perhaps one of the most stupendous scenes in nature.”

- The town is one of only a few that the Appalachian Trail passes directly through.

- This were there were the largest surrender of Federal troops during the Civil War

- On October 16, 1859, the radical abolitionist John Brown led a group of 22 men in a raid on the Arsenal. The raid was unsuccessful and John Brown was taken captive and later hung for treason. The raid was a catalyst for the American Civil War. The town now celebrates this man and his determination to free slaves. There is a regular museum that discusses his life and purpose and an additional wax museum (around 87 full sized wax figures of John Brown - not a good looking man.)

- Meriwether Lewis began his expedition by getting supplies at Harper's Ferry, which were shipped to Pittsburgh.



Picturesque: you can see a railroad going into a mountain pass, a river, and a church.

I loved the slate walls that ran through the entire town. We also found this strange cave that Trent was a little apprehensive about going into.

Thanks to wikipedia for this aerial shot of the town.

Public Service Announcement # 85: If you need help to save a historic site click here http://www.ehow.com/how_135724_save-historic-properties.html