Morning Ride on the Bike

I took my first morning ride on my bike for the year this morning. A big contrast from last year.

It was a great ride. I tried out the new bike route near my house. It goes from Union Station to Silver Spring. I only did part of it. I ran into some friends along the way who looked like they were out for breakfast.

The Postal Museum

The Postal Museum is right across the street from Union Station. It is a really great museum. The exhibits are very well done and very informative. And there are thousands upon thousands of stamps to look at. It was a treat.

Pony Express

A very interesting exhibit on the Pony Express. It wasn't started by the government. It was a private enterprise. Last picture is of a post office in a general store.

The Mail Train

The mail train was also a sorting train. As the train moved to its final destination the mail was being sorted as the trained moved. The last mail train stopped running in 1977.

More from the Postal Museum

There was a great display called Alphabetilately which is stamps literally from A to Z. It was great.

Sandy Point State Park

I left my house a little after 7. I was at the beach right around 8. I used the GPS which didn't exactly get me right to the spot I wanted. But I was able to figure out what to do. This is a great park. Has a long beach some parts that you can swim in. I did some wading. It was fun. The picture of me is when I'm in the water.

It was great to be there that early. Very few people out. Also before it heated up.

More at the Beach

It was early in the morning so there were not many people at the beach. I also didn't expect many people to be there because schools are back in session. It is a great beach. Another spot close to my house, less than an hour, and I should be going more often. I'm thinking maybe a trip in late September or early October. This time I'll get all the way in the water.

Annapolis

Next stop was Annapolis. I really need to go here more often. It's around a 30 minute drive my house and so there's no excuse for not going more often. It just a beautiful places. The last picture is the place where I had my French Toast. It was great!!!

Woodrow Wilson House

Woodrow Wilson House is the only presidential museum in Washington. There are monuments but no other museums. This is the home that he bought after leaving the White House and the house where he died.

The tour is fantastic. It costs $7.50 but is well worth it. It starts with a video of an overview of Wilson's life up unto the time he leaves the White House. You then have a personal guide for the 45 minutes it takes to go through the house. As the guide mentioned 85% of the furnishings in the house are authentic. The only thing that isn't are the books. Wilson donated the over 5,000 he had to the Library of Congress.

Wilson left the White House with very little money. His friends raised the funds to buy the house. Wilson's second wife was very well off but her money was not used. The guide said that many gifts were left for the Wilson literally on the front steps so it's hard to say where and when all of the articles came from.

This is a great place to see and I highly recommend it.

Wilson House, II

The first picture is a mosaic of St. Peter, presented by Pope Benedict XV to the Wilsons during their victory tour of Europe. All of the gifts they received from foreign heads of state or anyone for that matter they were allowed to keep.

Th second picture is the second Mrs. Wilson, Edith Bolling Galt Wilson. She was a direct descendant of Pocahontas. Her first husband was Norman Galt who ran Glat jewelers the store closed just a few years ago.

The third picture is of the first Mrs. Wilson and their three daughters.

Wilson House, III

More of the house. There are pictures of the official White House China. The last one shows the huge oven used in the kitchen.