Grabbing a burger at Five Guys

Another of our RoadFood.com stops was to be Five Guys in Alexandria. Well... we didn't get to that one but we did get to one not far up the road. Let me tell you, this is a very good hamburger. You get to select from a long list of topping options to make the burger just the way you want it. I took a look and found the list: mayo, relish, onions, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, fried onions, sauteed mushrooms, ketchup, mustard, jalapeno peppers, green peppers, A-1 sauce, bar-b-q sauce, and hot sauce. That should meet most peoples needs! As you can see, I personally chose a pretty tasty set of toppings for mine.

Visiting Arlington National Cemetery

On a hill across the Potomac sits a mansion overlooking the capitol city. Around that mansion is the Arlington National Cemetery.

One of the things that impressed me the first time I visited the cemetery in high school was the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns. The guards, more accurately called sentinels, made a big impression with their discipline and precision. A rubber mat cushions their path as they execute their duty. Those sentinels that "walk the mat" have one of the most prestigious duties in our military.

The changing of the guard is a very solemn ceremony performed with a minimum of speaking and great deal of precision. The routine is repeated so often and so accurately that wear patterns mark each footstep in the mat and you can trace the movements of the change in the stone tiles. Click the link to read more about the symbolism.

On a side note, one of my team members at work served this duty.

Linda and I wandered the rows, reading several of the inscriptions. Many served in our military but there are also memorials for those lost on the space shuttles, war time correspondents, and 3,800 former slaves. Of course, the graves of President John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and Senator Robert F. Kennedy are also found here.

It's quite a place to stop and consider the sacrifices that have been made in the interests of our nation and the ideals that we champion.

Visiting the Renwick Gallery

Just up the street from the White House is the Renwick Gallery, one of the Smithsonian museums of art. One of the featured exhibits was George Catlin's Indian Gallery of nearly three hundred paintings intended to capture their way of life shortly after the Lewis and Clark expedition. George spent a lot of time on and sometimes beyond the frontier of European settlement and preserved some wonderful images for those who could not make the trip. It was nice to get to see them.

In the lower left is Beth Lipman's Bancketje (Banquet). Beth Lipman has used her talents to translate still life paintings into three dimensional productions in glass. Everything on the table, some four hundred pieces, are made of glass; food, drink, linen, everything... and it's amazing. If you click on the image and get the full sized picture, you'll also see a shattered piece on the floor behind the banquet table; it's supposed to be there. At first, I was concerned and was tempted to notify the museum staff; then I thought, it might be intended. I've since seen this piece photographed at other locations and that broken piece is also present. Nice touch, scaring the viewers!

In the lower right is Ghost Clock by Wendell Castle. Click on the link and then return to read the following. That sheet over the clock isn't a sheet at all. The grandfather clock under the "sheet" isn't a clock. The whole thing is evidently one piece of mahogony. Makes you want to look again, doesn't it? I'll wait.

When I saw Ghost Clock, I thought it was one of those statement pieces that sometimes defies my logic. I read the little plaque and learned that the "sheet" was actually very nicely bleached wood; I looked again. I peered intently, trying to see something that would have revealed that it was wood; I didn't see it. Pretty amazing! Whatever message there may have been behind the image, the amazing craftsmanship eclipsed it for me. I can appreciate the skill and attention to detail that went into this piece without any futher understanding.

Stopping by the White House

When in Washington, one of the stops has to be the White House. I was a little bit surprised at the difficulty we had finding it! I didn't see any markers along the streets showing us the way. Eventually, we found a double ring of vehicle barriers; they had to be protecting something. We were at least a block away from the edge of the grounds and security was still impressive. Eventually, nestled among major trees, we found it. The sun was shining and flowers were in bloom so everything looked great.

We headed around to the front; with all the barriers, it's a bit of a hike to get around the grounds these days. The view was familiar and very impressive. It is an important symbol of our nation. I remember taking a tour of the White House on our senior class trip. I didn't notice any lines or obvious promotion of such an option that day. I checked the web and found the following on the Visiting the White House website.

White House Tours
Public tours of the White House are available for groups of 10 or more people. Requests must be submitted through one's Member of Congress and are accepted up to six months in advance. These self-guided tours are available from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday (excluding federal holidays), and are scheduled on a first come, first served basis approximately one month in advance of the requested date. We encourage you to submit your request as early as possible since a limited number of tours are available. All White House tours are free of charge. For the most current tour information, please call the 24-hour line at 202-456-7041. Please note that White House tours may be subject to last minute cancellation.

Guess you better plan ahead... and get there early.

Taking in the Monuments... some of the Monuments

There are way too many monuments for the time we had available. You could make a very good argument that we didn't do justice to those that we actually did visit!

Thomas Jefferson Memorial
The Thomas Jefferson Memorial sits across the Tidal Basin to the south of the Mall and is a wonderful domed structure, open to the breezes. On the walls are four inscriptions taken from his letters and documents giving an insight into the thoughtful, passionate mind that helped set our nation on its way.

I particularly liked the following from a letter he wrote in 1816:

I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.

The text of all four inscriptions can be found here.

Washington Monument
Our visit to the Washington Monument was in passing or from afar. Fortunately, it's probably one of the easiest monuments to see at any given moment and absolutely recognizable. In this photo, you can see it towering over the cherry trees along the Tidal Basin.

I remember going up in the monument one evening on my high school senior trip. I offered the opportunity to Linda but we figured that our time was limited so we'd pass on going to the top this time.

Factoid: The cornerstone of the monument was put in place in 1848. It officially opened forty (40!) years later. Hmmm... government project, eh?

Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial anchors the west end of the Mall, overlooking the reflecting pool, and generally being a very impressive building.

Along one wall is the Gettysburg Address, "Four score and seven years ago..." His second inaugural speech is on another.

As we were leaving the monument, we overheard a guide talking with his junior high class tour group. He'd asked them to count the steps leading up the monument. The correct number was eighty-seven, four score and seven; coincidence, I think not.

Factoid: While we were there, a man pointed out two oddities in the monument. One is a carving error. As I recall, the carver cut an E where he needed an F; if you look closely, you can see that the lower groove was filled in making it look like an F today.

The other oddity is that, on the day that Mr. Lincoln posed for the statue in the image, his right hand was quite swollen from shaking hands. Rather than capture that image for all time, sculptor Daniel Chester French used his own hand as the model.

Korean War Veterans Memorial
Located along the south side of the reflecting pool, near the Lincoln memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial takes the form of a triagle intersecting a circle. I'm not sure of the symbolism. Within the triangle stand a chilling collection of statues depicting a group of soldiers apparently on patrol. Each is bundled up against the elements and appears to be outfitted in a manner accurate to the time. Along the sides of the triangle are carvings further depicting those who were there as well as the statistics of war. The circle is a reflecting pool of water. Overall, it was a pretty somber reminder of where we've been, what we've done, and one price paid in the name of freedom.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial has a history of controversy, much like the war that made it necessary. Out of that turbulent start, it certainly appears to have risen to a place of particular status on the Mall. We joined a pretty steady stream of people passing by, looking for names, or simply, silently paying their respects. Here and there all along the base of the wall, items are left to remember those listed on the wall.

Checking out the Cherry Blossoms

As we were discussing our plans for the day, Linda and I realized that we were only a couple of hours out of Washington, D.C., with what could be an extra day. We'd talked about visiting Washington on this trip but thought it would be out of our way and a better fit for a trip to the race in Richmond; we reconsidered that idea. While the forecast looked gloomy, it didn't look much better anywhere else we'd consider going. Worst case, we'd get to drive around and at least see the monuments. I loaded the GPS with our route and we set out.

As we neared the capitol city, the weather cleared but the traffic picked up. We'd heard that the cherry blossoms might be out; this could be a pretty good day... if we could find a place to park. We considered the commuter trains but before we could find a station, the traffic cleared and we cruised into town. The blossoms were out and the sun was shining; this was the first sunny day we'd had on this trip. This was going to be good!

Visiting one home of Wilmer McClean

In my experience, Wilmer McClean is not a household name. Wilmer had two major events in nineteenth century American history occur on two of his properties within a few years. In July,1861, early action in the First Battle of Bull run took place on the McLean farm in Manassas, Virginia. Not quite four years later, April 9, 1865, McClean's home in Appomattox Court House, Virginia, hosted Confederate General Robert E. Lee's surrender to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the Civil War.

This is the home at Appomattox Court House. The National Park Service has done a very nice job restoring the home (once dismantled in the early 1900s) and the battlefield to form the Appomattox Court House Historical Park.

Though we arrived in the last hour of a rainy day, the rangers were very good about getting us to the right house, explaining the time line of events, and answering various questions.

Preparing this entry, I ran across an excellent account of the interaction between Generals Lee and Grant leading up to the surrender.

Visiting Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest Retreat

Not as well known as Monticello, Jefferson's Poplar Forest retreat is also an impressive site. Linda's reading about Jefferson has an explanation: Jefferson was often renovating Monticello so getting away from the noise and chaos of destruction and construction makes a lot of sense. Unfortunately, the site is still under renovation so we didn't see it at it's best. That... and we were there the day before they actually opened the gate. Fortunately, the route the GPS suggested brought us up a service entrance. We surprised an attendant, explained how we came to be there, and got to take a few minutes to see the exterior of the house.

Visiting Scenic Mabry Mill

Along the Blue Ridge Parkway sits Mabry Mill, one of the places we'd said we wanted to stop. Well, pouring rain didn't stop us. I'm not even sure it did much damage to our photos; sure, blue sky and sunshine wouldn't have hurt but I think these shots do fine as they are.

We huddled under an umbrella and crept along the walkways that show the mill, blacksmith workshop, flume, and other points of interest. Signs at various spots told some of the history of the location. It's interesting to imagine building the sawmill. I'm guessing that it was pretty rustic at first, sawn lumber being kinda hard to come by until the local sawmill is up and running. Then, once sales pick up, maybe you could think about putting a nicer exterior on the place. Interesting stop.

Enjoying Stuart, Virginia

After the race in Martinsville, Linda and I headed west on highway 58 and found a great little town, Stuart, Virginia. We enjoyed a very good dinner at a mexican restuarant in the evening, spent the night, and then stopped in at the Coffee Break Cafe in the morning.

The cafe is slender with tables down the left, booths down the right, and a counter overlooking the grill at the back. When we walked in, there were a few people at a couple of booths and it looked like every stool at the counter was occupied; mostly women in the booths, all men at the counter.

We placed our order and, as we waited, I noticed that the wall by our booth was decorated with items with a clear NASCAR theme. There was a side panel from the 21 and photos of men at race tracks; one of them looked like it could have been racing star Cale Yarborough at a dirt track; this fans roots went deep.

As we waited for our food, a woman who was leaving the cafe stopped at our booth, introduced herself, and asked if we were new in town. We explained that we were from Iowa, passing through after the race, and on an exporation of western Virginia. She quickly promoted stopping at Mabry Mill at Meadows of Dan. When we shared that it was our next stop, she gave directions and shared that we would be passing right by her business, the Best Little Hairhouse in Vesta, a few miles up the road. Pretty cute. When another couple left, our new friend hooked them and introduced us as travellers from Iowa. "Wow, is there anybody left up there?" Ah... humor... nice.

I commented that I'd been admiring some of the decorating and our new friend from Vesta explained that yes, folks around here are mostly Wood Brothers racing fans. It's not uncommon to see Glen Wood and his wife stop in for breakfast. Stuart was their base of operations until just a few years ago. Our food came and our new friend went on her way. Pretty fun.

Evidently, we'd stumbled onto the home town of legendary Wood Brothers racing, recognized as one of the top racing teams in NASCAR and innovators who changed racing. One of their greatest contributions was the pit stop.

The Wood Brothers invented the modern Pit Stop. In the early days of all types of motor racing, it was common for the drivers, when service was needed during the race, to pull into the pits; turn off the car; get out and even smoke a cigarette as the crew took their time changing tires and servicing the cars. The Wood Brothers recognized that by limiting the time off the track, it could increase their position on the track. Thus, they created and perfected what is now known as the Pit Stop, and is as common to all types of racing as the checkered flag itself. - Wikipedia

The success of this style of pit stop got the Wood Brothers hired as the crew for Driver Jim Clark from England in the 1965 Indianapolis 500. Clark consistently improved his positions in the pits and went on to victory.

Curious little fact about the town: originally incorporated in 1792 as Taylorsville, it was renamed in 1884 to honor Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart who was born twenty miles away.

NASCAR: Martinsville

NASCAR: Martinsville

Week 6 was at one of NASCAR's short tracks, Martinsville, Virginia. My team produced the win.

Johnson, Jimmie Qualifying Points : 34
Sprint Cup Points : 165

Mears, Casey Qualifying Points : 5
Sprint Cup Points : 146

Montoya, Juan Qualifying Points : 15
Sprint Cup Points : 124

Riggs, Scott Qualifying Points : 8
Sprint Cup Points : 40


Hatethe8 583 582 Team of Tomorrow
Tri-Oval Grover 571 569 League of Tomorrow
DUI Racing 552 370 Left Side Rubber
Tenth Frame 537 376 JLT Racing

Watching them run at Martinsville

The green flag fell and the race was on. There were a couple long green runs that let the drivers really race one another, working for their openings to make the passes. As you can also see, there were a couple of accidents but nearly everyone finished the race just fine. In the end, Virginian Denny Hamlin got the win. Linda and I were racing against one another in the fantasy league; my guys prevailed. It wasn't the best day to have been there but I thought it was still a good time; Linda enjoyed having been there with me.

Checking out the camoflage and Carhartt

Clearly, we were in the presence of folks who knew how to remain comfy through an afternoon in the chilly mist that settled over the Martinsville Speedway. I think the crowd shot in the upper left shows the general opinion that more layers might be better. The guy in the Carhartt in the upper right did a good job firing up the crowd. In the lower left, we have a proven veteran; he's got his camo cap, his headphones, and is holding one of about a dozen hard boiled eggs he brought for himself and his buddies to snack on during the race; nice. Yes, that's Linda and me in the lower right. I picked up the stocking hat, sometimes called a toboggan I guess, at Jimmie Johnson's hauler the morning of the race; nice, isn't it? At least Linda looked good.

Checking out the Martinsville Prerace

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, also known as Virginia Tech, sent their mascot and marching band to participate in the pre-race activities. The band marched the circuit of the track and did a nice job with the national anthem.

We were nice and close to the track and allowed to get right down to shoot photos through the chain link. These two shots, Kyle Busch and Tony Steward on the left and Virginia native Denny Hamlin and Aric Alimirola were nice to capture.

Getting to the gate in Martinsville

Race day morning looked like most so far: rainy and cold. The drive from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to Martinsville, Virginia, went smoothly and took the expected hour and change. About twenty miles out from the track, we saw our first sign looking for tickets; I was a little surprised we didn't see more until we were within a couple miles of the track.

The weather improved... a little: the rain stopped. It was still only around forty... yes, forty degrees. When we finally found our parking place and got out of the car, we could see our breath... unless the wind was too strong. This was gonna be quite a day. Linda and I had a few hours before the green flag and we had things to do!

One of my favorite things to do is catch a little of the Race Day show with John Roberts, Jimmy "Mr. Excitement" Spencer, and Kenny Wallace; that's them across the top of the image. They were prepared for the chilly weather as well.

I also like to swing by the haulers to see if I can find a driver signing autographs. This time, we were fortunate enough to catch Kurt Busch signing autographs at his hauler; that's him in the lower left.

Linda shot a couple of photos of the haulers; the image in the lower left is from Kyle Busch's hauler; he drives for M&M's. Actually, Kyle and Kurt are on Linda's fantasy racing team so this was a little bonus.

One of the great traditions of Martinsville is found at the concession stand: the hot dogs. Linda and I each ordered one with "everything." For two bucks each, we got an uncommonly pink hot dog buried under chili, mustard, onions, and that vinegar cole slaw that showed up on the barbecue in North Carolina. Well... it's what you do here so we tried them. They were great! Unfortunately, we ate them up before we got a photo; sorry about that uncharacteristic slip.

Everything outside complete, it was time to find our seats.

Trying North Carolina Barbeque

A few months before the trip, I caught part of a show on the Food Channel talking about regional barbeque. When I saw that North Carolina had their own style of barbeque, I paid a little more attention. When they said that Lexington was the place to go, I looked it up on the map; it was close enough to add to the itinerary. I'm sure glad we did.

I found the address to a place that was supposed to be one of the better examples in Lexington and put it on the GPS. Unfortunately, the address was vague and, when we got to the spot, it wasn't there. Fortunately, an apparent local showed a little southern hospitality and gave us directions to Stamey's. She said it wasn't true Lexington-style but it was where she took her family... and it was just up the road.

We found the place easy enough and stepped inside. The waitress was clearing a table for us so we waited and looked around at some of the posters on the walls. There was an annual competition between four or five of the local barbeque joints. Maybe we could try a couple places; better order small.

We arrived and placed an order for one of their pulled pork sandwiches and some hushpuppies. The sandwich arrived but the meaty middle had a generous layer of cole slaw on it; that was different! The pieces in the slaw were finely chopped and the creamy sauce was replaced with something more like a barbeque sauce. We took a chance, took a bite, and were sold; it was delicious. Also delicious were the hushpuppies; very flavorful and not overdone like many places. These folks are onto something.

We next found our way to Jimmy's. As you can see, the "order small" idea still produced a lot of food. This really shows that the main thing about North Carolina barbeque is about the meat. You can have other things with it but the meat isn't soaked in sauce or even one cut of meat; it's chopped pork, blended into a great, flavorful foundation of the meal.

Working clockwise from lower left and spiralling in, we have hushpuppies and bread, a cup of barbeque sauce, slaw, baked beans, pork, and onion rings. That's quite a meal. Linda and I shared this feast and felt we'd really had an excellent taste of Lexington-style North Carolina barbeque. I'd go back!

Visiting Mayberry... er Mount Airy

Depending who you talk to, the fictional home of Sheriff Taylor and the actual boyhood home of Andy Griffith could be one and the same. The Andy Griffith Show was set in North Carolina, not far from Mount Pilot; coincidentally, Mount Airy is not far from Pilot Mountain. Hmmm... While Andy steadfastly states the two are not related, it's not hard to see how people could connect the dots.

Linda and I took a spin down main street, hoping to get a pork chop sandwich at the Snappy Lunch. Unfortunately, we were about thirty minutes too late to try this treat.