Digging up the Past: Washington DC

On July 3 I collected a new block on Prince Street in Old Town Alexandria when serendipity struck and I ran into my buddy Matt from architecture school days!

On July 4 I finally achieved a long held dream of visiting Harpers Ferry WV, with Jeff who is an excellent navigator and fellow appreciator of backcountry roads and historic places. We passed through Burkittsville, MD, stopping at the general store for a time warp to the 1850s to hear the gory story of the Civil War in this pastoral region of farms and crossroads towns. We drove through charming Shepherdstown, right through the middle of their small-town parade.

Harpers Ferry is the confluence of rivers and state lines: Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland, as well as nineteenth-century history - including Meriwether Lewis' staging ground for the great expedition, John Brown's raid, a short-lived Confederate victory, and a seed of African-American movement for justice and education. Then finally to Antietam, scene of the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, for a quiet walk through the peaceful battlefield followed by the bang of the 1812 Overture and fireworks!

It's always nice to come home to Savannah, to roll in from the dark misty wasteland of Jasper County, South Carolina across the Talmadge bridge to the Forest City, her towers and spires lit to punctuate the skyline. The view is complemented by the stench of the paper mills along the river. She's lucky she's so pretty because sometimes, just occasionally, she smells kind of bad.