Virginia - Day 2 - Founding Fathers

7/23/17, “Founding Fathers”

Scarsdale, New York

At dozens, or perhaps hundreds, of local and national historic sites across the country, printed on signs and brochures or spoken by staffers are four simple words: “George Washington Slept Here.”  All the random homes and farm sites where General Washington spent a night during the Revolutionary War, each one of them can parlay that claim into a status as a historic site.

I have been to a lot of those sites, but today I took it one step further and went to the place he was born.  I also visited Thomas Jefferson’s iconic home of Monticello.  The signifance of these sites cannot be diminished, and it is hard to express what I felt standing in the spot where Washington was born or staying at what I consider to be the most significant piece of architecture in the country.

After I closed last night, I headed over to the cigar store, and I immediately knew I was in my element.  They had a nice selection, and the owner was friendly to me.  I noticed that I was the only white person in the whole shop, and, excluding the last customer of the night, that applied even when considering all the customers that came in and out.  It was a good crowd, and I was soon given a beer.  I lit up a Padron and good times were had by all.  I was in my element, and it was the first chance I had to relax in quite some time.

After they closed, I took a Lyft back to the hotel and finished my cigar.  I then went to bed, or tried to, but I was kept up for twenty precious minutes while Pablo washed and combed his hair.  That twenty minutes was the difference between getting four full REM cycles and coming up short.  We woke up at 6:30 AM and were now pressed for time, as I wanted to get to Monticello when they opened at 8:30 AM.  We got breakfast at the executive lounge, which consisted of a bagel with sausage and egg, fruit, and coffee for me.

We were on the road just before 7:30 AM, and I lit up a Graycliff for the road.  When we got there, it turned out I had to pay a steep admission to get up the mountain, pun intended.  When I was at the top, I looped around to find the spot of the inscription photo, lit up a Partagas, took my ceremonial picture, and it hit me.  This building was the most significant cultural historic site in our country.  The Classical Greek architecture represented Jefferson’s vision for a renaissance of the governments found in Classical Greece and Rome.  This was the shining city on the hill.  That’s what Jefferson wanted for America, and it was well represented here.

I made my way back down, got some souvenirs, and asked a staffer to take my picture with the new Plaque.  I held my folder of brochures, and he asked me if I had been to a lot of World Heritage Sites.  I smiled coyly.  Other than the ones in Hawaii, the brochures from every WHS in the country were in that folder.  From there it was a straight shot to George Washington Birthplace National Monument, which is self-explanatory.  I lit up a Prensado for the drive.

When we got there, it was short walk to what is believed to be the birth spot, and I lit up a PDR.  This was something special.  George Washington was born here.  It was a little past noon, and I needed to be back in Scarsdale in time for Game of Thrones at 9 PM.  Easy, right?  Wrong.

We first stopped so that I could get lunch at Five Guys, a Virginia original fast food chain.  I got a burger and fries, which were really good, but no better than they are in New York.  I then put Westchester Airport into my navigation, where I needed to return my car, it said I would arrive at 7:30 PM.  I thought that was ambitious.  It started pouring, and the traffic was brutal.  I thought I would be lucky to be in Scarsdale by 9 PM.

I lit up an Undercrown, followed by a Perdomo.  Eventually, the rain stopped and the traffic let up, but my navigation was now showing an 8:15 PM arrival.  That would be tight, and I expected more traffic.  The traffic actually let up a bit, Iand I was soon greeted by the familiar site of the Manhattan skyline.  Not long after that we were crossing the George Washington Bridge.

I dropped Pablo off at an exit in Manhattan, continued to the airport, arriving at 8:15 PM, where my mother was waiting with a menu from Chop Stix.  It was a bit of a process to return the car, and I knew the timing would be tight.  I ordered sweet and sour chicken, and we raced to the restaurant to pick it up, arriving at 8:45 PM.  We got the food and were home at 8:45 PM.

We finished eating just as the opening credits began.  I lit up a Davidoff, and we watched the episode, which was really good, as the action is heating up.  After the episode, I went out to the porch, where I sat down and proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close so that I can publish before I head to the train station.