Checked out of the hotel and immediately drove to Aquia Church in Stafford, VA to meet Christy's Aunt Jane and cousin Doug (first time the kids and I have had the good fortune to meet them). Aunt Jane is a historian and is clearly an expert on the history of the area. It was a privilage to listen to her stories of the Civil and Revolutionary Wars and have her show us a few sights. The Aquia Church dates back to the 1750's. There are marks in the sandstone from the Civil War soldiers who controlled the church in the 1860's. The church also had a very unique 3 pulpit configuration - one of only 3 left in the US. The first pulpit was for reading messages being relayed from England (it was originally part of the English Church). The second pulpit was for reading of passages from the Bible and the third pulpit was for the minister to deliver his sermon. Next stop was the Chatham House in Fredericksburg where we met up with more cousins, Michelle and her daughter Hannah (also first time for the kids and I). The Chatham House also had a very interesting history specifically with the Civil War. On the way to lunch, we did a drive by of the Ferry Farm where George Washington lived from age 6 to 21 and, if legend is true, would have chopped down the famous cherry tree. We had lunch at an old pharmacy (Goolrick's) in Fredericksburg before saying goodbye and getting on the road. The time with Aunt Jane, Doug, Michelle, and Hannah was definitely a highlight of our trip. My mom and Aunt Jane discovered they both grew up in the same area in SoCal. They went to rival high schools during the same time period. Hope to see them visit us on the west coast sometime soon. We made one stop on the way to Philadelphia at Iron Hill Brewery in Wilmington, DE. It was a spontaneous stop which ended up being really good food and a pretty sweet location just of the Delaware River. We got to our (very tiny room) at the Club Quarters Philadelphia around 8:30.
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