2023 DC Trip Day 8 – Tuesday, April 10^th – Fredericksburg to Arlington, VA

It was a tad noisy at the hotel last night – some hot-roddders on the road nearby – so I didn't sleep well and woke up early. So, what to do? Take a shower, pack up, and skedaddle at 0603.

Fortunately, I'd already noted a Waffle House just up the road, so had 2 eggs over easy, some scrumptious bacon, and my first grits of the trip – A fine breakfast, indeed.

After the traffic I'd contended with on main roads the last couple of days, I took a series of back roads to reach Manassas. Found the battlefield without too much trouble, with these guns silhouetted against an 0830 sky.

The two battles fought here covered much of the same ground. The area around the visitor center interprets the first of them, in 1861, with a focus on the Henry House hill.

                 This is where an eccentric Virginian, Jackson, earned the name “Stonewall”

                                   Implements of war sometimes gain more peaceful uses.

Do you remember that Army song about the caissons rolling along? This one carries a spare.

I didn't get any good shots of the fields of 2^nd Manassas (1862), but this stone bridge (rebuilt) served as an escape route for the Federals after both battles.

I left after 2-1/2 hours, heading for my Holiday Inn in Crystal City (adjacent to Arlington). I skipped the crowded interstates for US-29 and good old US-50. Despite an inordinate number of stop lights and a bit of confusion near Reagan airport, I got to my hotel without any disasters, checked in, parked in the garage near the elevator, found my room, and unpacked Subie.

After unpacking, I found the nearby block of restaurants, had meatloaf at a diner, then searched for the subway station. It's a good 20-minute walk from here. Tomorrow, I'll take that subway to the Mall and check out at least one of the Smithsonian museums.

91.6 miles for the day, 1709.9 for the trip.