A Visit to Strasburg ~ April 18 - 20, 2019
A Visit to Strasburg ~ April 18 - 20, 2019
April 18, 2019
Up and out the door in McLean promptly at 10 a.m. I don't regret having to leave a day earlier than I thought as this condo was not my favorite place. It felt like a college dormitory and not a cozy place. Anyway, we set off for Strasburg, listening to Becoming along the way. We are winding toward the end of that book now, but we did not finish it before arriving in Strasburg. We stopped for lunch at a Red Robin just outside of Strasburg, and arrived here at the Limestone Inn at about 1:30 p.m.
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| The Limestone Inn |
The house was built in the formal, symmetrical, five-bay Georgian plan with a central hallway, but it does have some Germanic overtones. It has a pent roof and decorative tumbling between the second floor windows, linking medieval and formal Georgian architecture. It was built for a local merchant and housed the first Chief Burgess (mayor) of Strasburg and the first Post Office in 1805. From 1839 to 1860, the house was home to as many as 50 boys who were attending the Strasburg Academy.
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| You can see the "decorative tumbling" between the two windows |
I love the red bud trees that we have seen everywhere on our trip north. These are a native species (as my lovely, smart, wonderful niece, Anna tells me) that are so very beautiful this time of year!
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| The cozy living room - has a player piano that Jeff has been enjoying playing the last two days. |
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| The "Gathering Room" has a variety of snacks - including home made carrot cake! |
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| The dining room where we gather for delicious breakfasts |
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| The staircase to our Jacob Pfoutz room |
It has a wonderful gas fireplace and a bathroom ensuite and is absolutely charming. There is a library/sitting room on our floor, and several public spaces downstairs. This is definitely a place we would return to on another visit.
This morning we were treated to a delicious breakfast. Coffee and tea, of course, followed by a fruit parfait and then french toast made from cinnamon walnut bread and topped by a cranberry compote with mandarin oranges. I was stuffed (and I didn't eat all of my french toast).
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| Dramatic skies over Amish Farm |
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| The cows are everywhere! |
Here we are at the museum. It is a beautiful museum - clearly well funded. Every car is beautifully restored and painted. Several of the cars had stained glass windows.
Jeff loves to see steam engines, so this has been a real treat for him. It's fun for me to watch his excitement and happiness whenever we do these kinds of trips. It's contagious!
Jeff jested that none of the signal towers he ever worked in were as well kept and beautifully painted as this one!
The weather was rather grey all day long with peeks of sun here and there. When we stopped for lunch it began to rain, but it was a light rain and did not impede anything we wanted to do. The entire three weeks have been marked by terrific weather. Whatever rains we have had occurred at night. Today was the first day that we've even gotten a little bit wet!
Tomorrow we head for home - a day earlier than we expected, but it will be good to get home.
All in all, this has been a spectacular trip. We have done so many different things - from seeing Nichole and Amanda's new house to hearing Veronica Swift at The Line Hotel to the auto train, the Final Four games, Savannah and Charleston, a quick trip to DC and now Strasburg. How different each segment was - although there were commonalities. We became masters of the moving in and moving out routines, and nearly every place we stayed was comfortable and pleasant. We did just enough at each city. I seldom felt as though we had overdone it, and we will be ending this vacation feeling relaxed and reconnected.
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