Our 2nd Anniversary

September 1, 2013

Part 1

Written December 23, 2013, edited January 30, 2014

To my readers, I hope you are staying warm and safe this very cold January.  It has been a busy 5 months, between volunteering, housework, and new dog Toby.  I have not had time to update the blog.  However, I am back now in 2014.

Last September during Labor Day weekend husband and I spent some time celebrating 2^nd anniversary.  How did we choose to celebrate?  We spent some time in beautiful D.C. and historic Alexandria.

The first place we visited was the Smithsonian museum of American history.  The exhibit about the Golden books was very interesting. Unfortunately, the exhibit already closed on January 12, 2014 and had been taken down already.  I enjoyed it very much…reminiscing about when my parents read to me.  Life had been simpler when I was a little girl, now time goes so quickly.  Even though it had been short, one learned a lot about the beloved Golden books.  (E.g., they started around World War 2 to increase literacy to more people, not the rich.)  It was also a very effective marketing tool especially for tissues and Band-Aids.  There are three complaints that I did not like about the exhibit.  It had too much writing and too little artifacts to view, and too little interaction.  You are still able to view the online exhibit, so if interested, please click the link.

http://americanhistory.si.edu/documentsgallery/exhibitions/goldenbooks/

Afterwards, we decided to see a second exhibit titled “Change in America: Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 & March on Washington, 1963.”  I found it very interesting because it talked about how African slaves were freed.  The exhibit linked two important events, Emancipation Proclamation and March on Washington.  Right after the Proclamation thousands of slaves gathered in “tent cities.”  In 1963, the March on Washington was unexpected and there were hundreds to thousands of people.  Marchers were demonstrating for freedom and jobs.  If anyone is interested, you had better hurry because it closes in seven months on September 7, 2014. Please check out the following link of the online exhibit.

http://americanhistory.si.edu/changing-america-emancipation-proclamation-1863-and-march-washington-1963

The picture is a preview of what I will write about next.

Happy Blogging! Thanks for reading!

July road trips

Gunston Hall, home of George Mason IV

July 6, 2013 my husband and I went to visit Gunston Hall.  We had a great time.  The mansion was decorated in period furniture.  The guide who showed us the mansion was knowledgeable.  I especially enjoyed the decorative crown moldings and the wallpaper.  Two facts that I learned was George Mason wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights and he was married twice.  Jefferson used Mason’s Virginia Declaration of Rights as an example for the Declaration of Independence.

George Mason had a very nice view from Gunston Hall of the Potomac River.  Along with the mansion, there is the garden, a couple of out buildings, and a small visitor center/museum.  The out buildings were a kitchen, laundry, and schoolhouse.  Walking around, one gets a good idea what it was like to live on the plantation in the 18^th century.  The museum gave some very good information about Mason.

If one gets a chance, you should really visit this Founding Father’s home.  It truly is an architectural gem, and a piece of history.  I can see why George Mason loved his home.

            

Gunston Hall

 Kenmore Plantation, home of Fielding and Betty Lewis 

(Betty Lewis was George Washington's sister)

 July 28, 2013 my parents, Matt, and I took a tour of the beautiful Kenmore mansion in Fredericksburg, VA.  I used to volunteer here in college and even created a small exhibit during an internship.  Even though I was a little disappointed that they took down my exhibit, the curator did a great job creating a new exhibit. A visitor can really get a sense who Fielding Lewis was. I loved the few children activities they had to interact and teach the children.  I did learn two facts that I did not know.  Fielding Lewis was married once before he married Betty, and Fielding and Betty were actually related, distant cousins.

            The tour guide was relatively new, but knowledgeable.  The inside of Kenmore is beautiful.  I really love the ceilings.  They are so decorative.  It was somewhat also disappointing that we could not go upstairs, but I understand.  The foundation wants to protect the beautiful ceilings.  I truly think that it is amazing that Kenmore was not destroyed during the Civil War.  Since I last been to Kenmore, they added an herb garden.  The garden is beautiful.  The kitchen set up was cool.  One can imagine a slave cooking the dinner and supper in the kitchen.

            If one is in Fredericksburg, VA, you have to visit this gem of a house.  It is an architectural masterpiece from the 18^th century.  We do not build houses like that anymore.

http://www.kenmore.org/kp_home.html   http://www.gunstonhall.org/

Kenmore Plantation

 Happy Blogging!

American History

One Saturday afternoon in January, my husband and I went to the Smithsonian American history museum in DC to meet friends.  We saw two exhibits: first ladies and food exhibit.  I enjoyed the first ladies exhibit.  It is interesting to see the different styles through the ages.  I thought the exhibit was done well and organized in logical way.  One thing that I would change though is to place a couple of benches around the exhibit.  Afterwards we met our friends, and went to the food exhibit.

It was interesting in how it discussed food, the preparation, and ideas about food.  One great aspect of it was the long table in the center with various food pyramids through time. The long table was there to stimulate conversation about food, very cool idea.  I did notice people were talking at the table, but do not know about what.  I did not like how it was organized, and thought it was a hodgepodge of information.  In addition, the info was written in a confusing manner.

Happy Blogging!

new career

Hello, whoever is reading this, Job-hunting is very frustrating especially in this economy.  I am thinking about getting into the photography business.  Even though that I may be a little shy, but I enjoy taking pictures, and talking to people.  If you are interested, please view my portfolio.  I am interested in working in a photography studio.  If you happen to be hiring or know somewhere that is hiring, please contact me.  Thank you.

Happy blogging and have a great day!

bbubelnik@gmail.com

Culpeper Sept 2012

September 10, 2012

Trip to Culpeper September 6 and 7, 2012

Historic downtown Culpeper is like stepping back in history.  It is quaint with antique stores.  There are also modern stores, and several restaurants.  If one enjoys antiquing and historic towns, then you would love Culpeper.  It has a lot of charm, and only a one and a half hour train ride from Washington D.C.  If you were driving from D.C or Richmond, it would take about one hour and 40 minutes.

Culpeper, VA

Prince Michel Winery and Vineyard is very charming and enjoyable place.  A tasting was inexpensive at $5 for 10 wines, and most wines were delightful. Some staff was friendlier than others were.  They had a self-guided tour of the winery that had clear explanations.  Overall, a great and quick stop that lasted about 45 minutes.  If you were looking for an entertaining afternoon with your significant other or friends, I would recommend Prince Michael Winery.   

 Prince Michel Winery and Vineyard

Rating: 3 out of 4 stars

Museum of Culpeper History is a small but informative museum.  Exhibits discuss history of dinosaurs up to late 19^th century.  If I could find one fault, there was too much reading.  The museum had a great, new permanent exhibit to commemorate the Civil War sesquicentennial.  The 3D terrain map was good and gave good verbal battle accounts. One improvement would be better markings on the map.  They had reproduction time-period clothes and hats to wear for interactive display, which is a great idea.  The clothes and hats would be fun for kids and young at heart.

Culpeper museum

Rating: 3 out of 4 stars

March 2012

My husband and I went on two road trips on different weekends.  One weekend we went to historic Leesburg for a night out.  If you like quaint, historic towns, then you would enjoy historic downtown Leesburg.  We ate dinner at King’s Court Tavern.  It was great pub with delicious food.  Then we went dancing at Dance King Studios.  The dance studio was lovely, and the instructor was friendly and knowledgeable.  Afterwards we saw the movie “Mirror, Mirror” at Tally Ho theater. It may be small, and outdated, but also inexpensive.  Overall, it was a great night out.  I want to go back and explore Leesburg more.  If you are looking for a date night or girl’s night out, look at Leesburg, VA.

Leesburg, VA

Dance King Studios

Mount Vernon

Another weekend we went to Mount Vernon, home of George Washington.  It is full of history and majestic views.  No wonder the father of our country loved his home so much.  If you want to do everything, you should plan to get there early, and it does get crowded.  We had to stand and wait in line to get into the mansion.  They have a great new visitor center.  Unfortunately, my husband and I did not have time to go through.  I have been to Mt Vernon before and seen the visitor center when it first opened.  There are lots of interactive exhibits and historical videos.  If you are looking for a great place to learn about American history and to take the kids, then you should definitely plan on going to Mount Vernon.

Mount Vernon

Rating: 4 out of 4 stars