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Well, Autumn has finally come to Reston, as it does every year.  The trees are turning colors; Halloween is around the corner, and we are signed up to hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters in our building. Plus, we now have 49 degree mornings, although it begins to heat up pretty quickly when the sun makes an appearance. That won’t last very long though. 

Reston town center (where we live) has a nice fall glow, so I snapped a few photos with my iPhone the other day. The cameras in mobile phones really are pretty amazing. The one I used was an iPhone 15 pro. Some of the pix are included in this blog post. 

Finally we are back from a NatGeo trip that took us to the Grand Canyon in Arizona as well as Zion and Bryce National Parks in Utah. The sightseeing in all three locations was, in a word, spectacular. And not just spectacular, but also varied and informative.

The first stop was in the Grand Canyon in Arizona. You have to see the Grand Canton in person to appreciate just how big it is. One mistake people make (apparently routinely) is to look down into the canyon and figure that it’s no big deal going down there. Which, in a sense could be true. But then you have to get back up. That’s when the trouble begins. 

One way people people travel into the canyon and out is by riding mules. If you decide to go that route they impress upon you that if and when you see a mule on the trail, the way you deal with it is by flattening yourself against the wall so as to let the mule pass by. Otherwise you may very well be knocked off the path and down the side of the mountain. Needless to say, neither we, nor anybody in our entourage chose that route. 

We stayed for two days in the lodge at the North Rim of the Canyon. The cabins, which were described as “rustic” in the literature, were built in 1921. They were indeed rustic, but they were serviceable, at least for a short stay. A saving grace: the lodge had a Saloon (that’s what they named it) and they knew how to make martinis.

So we stayed for 2 days and did lots of exploring which included getting up (before 6:00 AM!) to see a beautiful sunrise and hiking the trails around the North Rim. All in all, a lot of fun, but quite a workout. 

We then went on to Zion National Park where we stayed outside the park in a modern up-to-date date hotel in town. Zion was a delight to see, with its many trails, scenic drives, and its restaurant at the Visitors Center, which is equipped with Wi-Fi. Where would we be without Wi-Fi? 

Zion gets in the vicinity of 4.5 to 5 million visitors per year, attesting to its popularity. Lots of tourists are from outside the US. While there we heard lots of different languages. We took the scenic shuttle ride up to the Temple of Sinawava; from there we went on a short hike by the side of the Virgin River before heading back to the visitor’s center for lunch. We took a different hike the next day. 

After 2 days in Zion we were off to Bryce National Park. Bryce is known for its hoodoos; the word “hoodoo” means to bewitch. And the hoodoos of Bryce surely do that. They can be thought of as relatively small, relatively shafts of rock that protrude from the bottom of arid basins of land. They are most commonly found in the High Plateau regions of Bryce and the Badlands of the Northern Great Plains.  They really are quite a dazzling sight to see. 

While in Bryce we stayed in the lodge in the park. The good news: It was more modern than the lodge at the Grand Canyon. The bad news: it didn’t have a saloon. However, they did serve wine with dinner, so all was not lost. 

And I have to say: Kudos for our guides (Matt Turner and Matt Hergert) who were tireless in smoothing out any wrinkles that occurred along the way. Nor can I forget the depths of the expertise of Jeremy Schmidt, the NatGeo expert who led the trip and pointed out invaluable information about roughly everything, ranging from the history of the canyon, geological theories that sought to explain some of the as yet unexplained phenomena of the terrain, and the best way to photographically capture some of the colors of the landscape. 

All in all it was quite a trip, and NatGeo gets 5 stars for their work. 

Joe Benning

Two of our very good friends from Brisbane, Australia stopped by to visit us in Reston Virginia over the Labor Day weekend.  The phrase “just stopped by” sounds a little casual when the starting point is so far away. Actually it’s just under 10,000 miles away. So it is quite a journey. 

They started out in the Western US, eventually came to Reston and are headed off to England for a wedding. Then, among other things, they will head out  for a cruise before heading back to Australia. So it will be a busy time. 

While in Reston, we basically chilled out as the summer comes to an end. All too soon I might add. During the visit we went to a vineyard in the Blue Ridge Mountains, said hello to John Denver (that bit is a lie), visited Potomac Falls Park, rested by the pool in our condo and saw some of the sights in Reston.  

Some other photos from the visit are posted below. 

Joe

Every year around this time Reston, along with local businesses, sponsors an annual “Cardboard Regatta”.  Basically, school kids, often with the aid of their parents and teachers build cardboard boats for a sailing competition in Lake Anne. Teams get in the boats they designed and constructed,  and then they are launched. The teams compete to make the best time paddling up to one buoy and back—without sinking. 

Today, August 10 was the Saturday for this year’s annual Cardboard Regatta. So…Mary Anne and I went over to Lake Anne to watch the proceedings, along with a throng of people who were also there to watch and to shop at the Farmer’s Market. The place was just packed. It was also hot and humid. But the crowd was in good spirits and rooted all the players on. And yes—at least one boat named the Purple People Eater, sank. The sailors were duly rescued by the volunteer rescue squad assembled for that purpose. All in all, a good time was had by all.

JFB

What can you say about one of the most beautiful islands in the world that hasn’t already been said?

We just came back after spending a week in the Hamilton Princess in Bermuda. It’s been a long time since we were there—maybe 25 years or so. But it is as stunningly beautiful as ever. 

There were some changes, but overall Bermuda remains beautiful, British and, of course, civilized. The Hamilton Princess is now a Fairmont Hotel and it has been modernized a bit. The changes however are largely cosmetic. The service is still first rate and the restaurants are as well. 

The Bermudian dollar is now pegged to the US dollar at a ratio of 1:1, so that leaves out a lot of calculating. Which is a good thing because the prices are really, really high and you probably don’t want to spend a lot of time thinking about it.  And the cabs predominantly deal in cash, not credit cards. The ATM machines dispense Bermudian dollars so the trick is to use them while on the island, and use them up before reverting back to USD when you are ready to leave.  

The houses still come in a variety of pastel colors; the beaches are spectacular and the locals are as nice as they come. All in all it’s a fine place to visit. Just be prepared to gulp when you see the prices. 

Joe

After leaving Roanoke we headed out to Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. The park is relatively small, very impressive and (of course) commemorates the surrender of the South and the end of the 4 years of U.S. Civil War. 

The U.S. Civil War was arguably the world’s first modern war. People often forget just how bloody it actually was. The total number of soldiers killed (counting both North and South) is estimated at about 700,000. To put this in perspective, the population of the U.S. at the time was about 31.5 million people.  Of those about 27 million were white and somewhere between 3.5 and 4 million were enslaved blacks. (Note the difference between the McLean House [above] and the Slave Quarters [pictured below]). There is not a reliable estimate of civilian deaths as a result of the war. 

In 1865, when the North was certain that the end of the war was near and that it would be the victor, President Lincoln met with Generals Grant and Sherman and Rear Admiral Dixon Porter to establish strategy for the war’s end. Lincoln wanted no more bloodshed and so the strategy they decided on was to allow the Confederate soldiers to return home provided they lay down their arms and pledge not to take up arms against the United States ever again. 

General Grant allowed enlisted Confederate soldiers to take the horses they owned back home, and the officers were allowed to keep their side arms. Jefferson Davis, the Confederacy’s President, wanted to continue with a guerrilla war, but General Robert E. Lee ignored him and surrendered. In so doing he touched off a wave of confederate army surrenders thereby ending the war.   

On April 9, 1865 the documents were signed at the Appomattox Court House and the war was officially over. The surrender was executed in keeping with Lincoln’s second inaugural address. In that address, which he had made about 1 month earlier, Lincoln closed with his famous exhortation “With malice toward none with charity for all with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan ~ to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”  

Barely a week after the surrender at Appomattox Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. 

General Lee, at General Grant’s request chose the Appomattox Courthouse for the surrender. Actually it was not a courthouse in the modern sense. Lots of buildings were called courthouses at the time. The place where the documents were actually signed was the McLean Mansion House. Lee chose it because  it was the grandest house in the town (Appomattox) where the closing battle of the war was fought. 

One irony is that Wilmer McLean, the house owner, had his savings in cash denominated in Confederate currency which was worthless after the surrender. He couldn’t keep up the mortgage payments and so was forced to sell the house. At that point he moved back to his home in Manassas and then later to Alexandria. Another irony: he worked for the Internal Revenue Service from 1873 — 1876. 

I couldn’t help but think, while watching the film, that it wouldn’t be a bad idea for our current politicians to read Lincoln’s second inaugural and devote a little thought to it. 

JFB

It’s been a while. Still recovering from 7 weeks in Bordeaux, and getting things up to date at home.

But we are on the road again. For a weekend trip we headed out to Roanoke VA. Among other things we wanted to travel along the Skyline Drive, see more of the Shenandoah Valley and finally, to visit the Appomattox Court House where General Robert Lee surrendered to General Grant, ending the US Civil War. 

The Skyline Drive was spectacular as usual. Here (below) are a couple of shots taken from the road that overlooks the Shenandoah Valley with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance.  

We also visited the Peaks of Otter, a series of mountains close to Roanoke, where you can take a bus up to the peak.  Except that once you get there, the “short walk” up to the peak is more like a climb on the rocks. Anyway, we gave it a try and made it most of the way up before turning back to catch the bus back to the lodge. Here (below) is a photo of a section of the trail that makes up the “short walk”.

The property that the lodge was on was quite nice; we visited a picnic grounds there next to a lake. 

The next day we headed off to the Appomattox Court House. More about that another time–but not too long from now.

JFB

As our trip to Bordeaux was drawing to a close, our good friends Sally and Michael Oxlade, from the time we lived in England, flew down to Bordeaux to join us. We spent the next several days catching up, tasting wines at various vineyards and touring around. 

After meeting in Bordeaux, the next morning  we drove out to the beach resort town Arcachon  where we spent the night. While there we took a ferry out to Cap Ferret and had lunch at a fabulous restaurant. 

Arcachon and Cap Ferret are famous for their oysters and other sea food, which we had along with, of course, some great wine.

Easily seen from the beach area is the Cap Ferret Lighthouse.

For some reason or other the oysters cling to sticks planted nearby in the ocean (see photo above) where they are easily caught and ready to be eaten—for those who like raw oysters. Mary Anne and I can be counted out on that score. 

The beaches at Cap Ferret were very peaceful, probably because it was just before the tourist season really gets rolling. In any event, there were people on the beach, but not many were in the water, almost certainly because the weather hadn’t yet warmed up enough for swimming.

After dinner back in Arcachon, we turned in and headed off to do some wine tasting in St Emilion the next day. More about that in another post. 

JFB