3/5/2011
Being invited to a surprise birthday party in the DC-area has two great benefits: 1) Hang out with a good friend and 2) You can probably guess. Our codename for this weekender was “Not DC.” There are a handful of “places to see” in the DC area, but not actually within the city limits – so the goal was to hit these places and save DC itself for a proper trip of its own.
We live about 8 hours from the birthday party, so luckily we reached Berkeley Springs right around that point when our lower bodies were starting to fuse to the car seats. The nation’s smallest state park (4 acres) was surveyed by George Washington when he was 16 and soon became America’s first spa resort and one of his more frequent haunts. A town now surrounds the park, which Patricia promised to be an egalitarian wellness hub. I’m sure it once was, but as we drove through it we saw a few abandoned buildings crumbling. More than likely another dying way of life – why go here now when there are spas in shopping malls?
As stated above, the park itself is so small it can be explored quite easily in a few minutes. Nonetheless, it’s a beautiful place and well worth a stroll. Plus, you can fill up a jug with the spring water that has attracted people for centuries. It’s yummy!
Daniel and Philip really enjoyed looking at the flowing water and I had fun pondering a replica of George Washington’s bathtub. TMI, George.
Speaking of George Washington, there was a guy there dressed as him. At first we thought he worked for the park, but we overheard him asking the (rather unknowledgeable) ranger a few questions that led us to believe he was just a visitor like us. Well, like us, except dressed like George Washington. When Daniel saw him in the distance he ran away from us, and before we could stop him, he grabbed the father of his country and hugged him with patriotic vigor. George Washington then gave him a quarter. Yes. This really happened. You can't make this sort of stuff up.
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