Fredericksburg

We are 6 days from closing on our new home. I can't describe how anxious we are to be moving from this three bedroom apartment. We have been able to tolerate it fairly well but having our stuff in storage has stifled creativity. Lauril took the kids to the park and they flew some $10 kites made of cloth. The kids had such a nice time that there was no fighting at all for 4 days.



Today we went to Fredericksburg. It has Civil War era history and colonial history as well. We'd been a few weeks ago and visited Kenmore plantation which had been owned by George Washington's sister. Today we visited the home of Mary Ball Washington, George's mother. We also visited the Rising Sun Tavern which was run by George's Brother and the Mercer Apothecary and Dr.'s Office. They are all restored to their Revolutionary War Era condition and the people who give the guided tours are dressed in period costumes.



The kids sure loved it and so did the adults. There about 10 neat things to see in town related to both eras. We boutght a passport of prepaid entrance to 9 sites that has no expiration. We expect that it will take at least three more visits.



Afterward, since we were so far south of Manassas, we decided to seek the nearest beach. We ended up at Fairview beach. Unfortunately, the whole beach is "private for residents of Fairview" we finally found a restaurant that was on a pier out into the water which technically made it in Maryland. We didn't go in since we'd packed sandwiches but we felt like we could step onto the beach just outside the place. The kids found all kinds of shells and thought that was pretty cool. To be honest, this beach is not on the Atlantic but on the Potomic near the mouth of Chesapeak bay. Since it was a little overcast we couldn't see to the other side so it felt just like the ocean. It was really a lot of fun.

This is the house we are buying. it is just over 2000 sqft plus 1000 sqft unfinished bsmnt. More info soon.

Its been a wild time...

Friday night, 3-9-7.
We have good news and great news. We accepted an offer on our Nampa Home and the deal should close next week toward the week's end. We are anxious for all the details to fall into place. The better news is that we had our offer accepted on a home here. We'll be posting photos of it in the next few days.





Last Saturday we had several sets of plans that kept getting shuffled and jostled so we could place our offer so ultimately we ended up at the battlefield where the Battle of Manassas or Battle of Bull Run was fought. It was the first battle of the civil war. There is a very nice museum and 5000 acres of preserved land including some restored and original buildings. It was at this battle that Thomas Jackson stood calmly atop his horse and was dubbed Stonewall. The man who gave him the nickname died shortly thereafter but Jackson was not to blame.
Stonewall Jackson died before the end of the war due to complications from gangreen developed after he was accidently shot in the hand by his own men. He lost his hand then his arm then his life.

We'll try to keep more frequent updates. We are still deciding what to go see tomorrow...