Virginia (Part 2)

8/6/26 - We drove ~30 minutes south to Richmond, the capital of Virginia.

I scheduled a tour of the Virginia Supreme Court. We learned about 1) how their court system differs from AZ and USA, and 2) some of their important cases in the past.

The state capitol building was right across the street and we were able to get a guided tour there also.

The original capitol was finished in 1788. In 2005, they went through this massive renovation to add a visitor entrance and more office space.

Eating a piece of Virginia "chess pie". The name has morphed from "cheese cake pie", "it's jes' pie", or "pie from the (pie) chest"...they aren't sure!

8/8/26 - We drove back to Richmond to run on part of the extensive James River park trails. The heat, humidity, and difficult terrain made me think of "discomfort of nature" (quoted in our campground rules as NOT a reason for a refund)! It also made me think back to James River Corporation, which I worked for in the 1990s (before starting at Procter & Gamble) as an intern and full-time employee:

Since it was right next door to our campground, and we heard they would have a drone show, we decided to visit the Kings Dominion Amusement Park for a few hours in the evening. Despite saying "never again" 30 years ago, we rode on some rollercoasters. The first one was very exhilarating and we both had fun.

Then we rode this one, which got to 90 mph and 4.5G. We said "never again" after that almost made us black out!!

Our 3rd, and last, was a 300' drop. Fun!

We figured all the other rides would make us feel really old again so we just hung out until the fireworks and drone show at 10pm.

This picture doesn't do it justice. Google "drone show" to see how amazing they can be!!

8/10/26 - We drove a couple of hours NW to learn about 2 past presidents.

Woodrow Wilson's Presidential Library and Museum (quite small compared to modern presidential museums!) is in Staunton, where he was born. His family moved around quite a bit before he became president...

The museum had an area dedicated to WWI which was fought under Wilson's presidency:

Our next stop was Thomas Jefferson's home, called "Monticello", in Charlottesville.

Thomas Jefferson's house is quite small by today's standards

We learned quite a bit about our 3rd president and the late 1700s in the museum at the bottom of the hill.

Pat and I both used a quill to sign the 2nd version of the Declaration of Independence*

*We subsequently learned there are three versions:

Americans are used to seeing the third version. The signatures were added beginning in August 1776, after the Dunlap broadside (the first printed version, bearing the printed names of John Hancock and Charles Thomson) had already been sent to England.

Starting 8/12, our trip will move west...starting with West Virginia.