| s/y Nine of Cups Maryland / West Virginia Summer 2010 |
| Maryland Facts... Capital: Annapolis Area: 12,407 sq mi - 42nd largest state Population: ~5.7 million High Point: Backbone Mountain - 3,360' Low Point: Chesapeake Bay, Atlantic Ocean State Nickname: Old Line State State Flower: Black-eyed Susan State Bird: Baltimore oriole Maryland became the 7th state in the USA in 1788. |
| Maryland was named to honor the Queen consort Henrietta Maria (1609-1669), the wife of Britain's King Charles I. |
Maryland Trivia...
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| On we traveled through Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Delaware and before you know it, we were in Maryland...those Eastern US states are pretty small. |
| Annapolis is a beautiful city and fun to walk around and explore. |
| Crossing the George Washington Bridge in NYC and heading south. |
| We spent the night in Baltimore, then headed down to Annapolis to meet up with John Santic, our friend and crew member when we sailed to the Galapagos and Easter Island. |
| Heading to Williamsport, Maryland on the West Virginia border to visit our friends Doug & Fay Grimm, we encountered lots of rural, scenic views. |
| Fay's English garden was beautiful and definitely attracted the butterflies. |
| Marcie waited patiently...NOT...okay, she waited (impatiently) for the resident hummingbird to make an appearance. |
| Fay's a rider and they have two horses in the barn at present. That's Sugarbaby above. |
| Since the Grimms had to work during the day and since the Civil War historic sites of West Virginia were so close, we decided to explore during the days and enjoy time with the Grimms at night. |
| West Virginia Facts... Capital: Charleston Area: 24,231 sq mi - 41st largest Population: ~1.8 million High Point: Spruce Knob - 4,863' Low Point: Potomac River, 240' State Nickname: Mountain State State Flower: Rhododenderon State Bird: Cardinal West Virginia became the 35th state in the USA on June 20, 1863. |
| Harper's Ferry witnessed the first successful application of interchangeable manufacture, the arrival of the first successful American railroad, John Brown's attack on slavery, the largest surrender of Federal troops during the Civil War, and the education of former slaves in one of the earliest integrated schools in the United States. The little town of Harper's Ferry itself is quaint and charming with preserved Civil War period architecture and large areas turned into open air museum. Shops and restaurants abound midst historic sites and buildings. |
| The gray-weathered split rail fences seemed to go on for miles and miles. |
| Old canons on the Bolivar Heights Battlefield. |
| The spire of St. Peter's church peeks out overlooking the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers in the background. |
| West Virginia's state bird, the red cardinal, made a quick appearance on the Bolivar Heights Battlefield. |
| Not far away is the Antietam National Battlefield. A sad place, this location marked the bloodiest one-day battle in American history. |
| 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after twelve hours of savage combat on September 17, 1862. |
| Burnside Bridge -a site of one of the day's battles. Based on what we read, it's a wonder the North won the war! General McClennan (Union) was no match for General Lee or Stonewall Jackson. |
| During this battle, Clara Barton played a significant role in providing aid and food to the wounded and subsequently founded the American Red Cross in 1881. |
| An all too short a time with the Grimms and we were off once again...heading West back to Denver. This time we took the "low road" to see more of beautiful West Virginia and Kentucky and then connect with I-70 through Missouri, Kansas and Colorado. Come along for the ride from Kentucky to Missouri and Kansas...Sip some bourbon with us in Kentucky, visit Harry S in Missouri and then head "over the rainbow". |
| or you can be boring and.... |