D.C. Trip - Day 3

Usual morning preparations and a few arguments with the kids out of the way, it was decided that the kids would ride a horse before we left to tour Old Salem. This turned out to be one of the true highlights of the trip.
Our driving tour started with some of the older Moravian structures that are not in Old Salem proper. It was after weaving through streets to get to the different places that I realized having a local history teacher as a guide was a definite advantage. We didn't have to worry about directions, wrong turns, or trying to gather any historical information. The best part was that our tour guide brought a handy helper, which meant that the adults sitting in the front of the van got a more detailed, fact oriented tour while the kids in the back of the van got a tour that was directed to their learning level and they were able to ask all the questions they could think of and they tought of quite a few. Kudos to my cousin and her quick thinking to answer them all.
We also had a driving tour of the R. J. Reynolds estate, Reynolda Gardens. I would have liked to explore this estate in more detail, but time did not permit. Next time we head to North Carolina, I am making a point of exploring the learning gardens and the main house that is now an art museum. Both of which are maintained the local university, Wake Forest University.
When the driving tour was finished, we stopped in at the Old Salem Visitor's Center before we walked over to the artisan shops. We were able to listen to the largest surviving pipe organ built by David Tannenberg. The kids actually lasted for 2 full pieces before we had to excuse ourselves, it helped that the 2 year old was asleep.
We walked over to Historical Old Salem. Once again time was short, so we decided not to get tickets for all of the museums, something I would also like to do on another visit, but we did get a bit of a walking history tour. We walked by the Moravian Church and it was explained to us that the Moravians are still a very active people. If you get a chance to visit around Easter, I understand it is well worth your time to be a spectator/participant in their celebrations. The members spend much time and effort to scrub down all the white marble headstones in the cemetery. As part of the Easter Morning worship service, everyone watches the sun rise over the gleaming white headstones and it is said to be quite a moving experience.
I can also highly recommend the Bakery. Everything that I tasted was very delicious. They even have samples that you can try to help you make up your mind. In my case, the just made the decision more difficult. After taste testing, I wanted everything. My kids liked the lemon cookies and I really enjoyed the onion bread, but we also had some sugar cake that was very tasty. If it is a hot day, they serve ice cream in the upstairs level of the Bakery. We wanted to go there, but our kids had melt downs before that could happen. We knew at that point that they need some lunch more that they needed ice cream. The picture of the Old Salem Bakery taken by Cybjorg from Wikimedia.com.
My cousins recommended that we enjoy a fabulous Italian food before we headed up the road. How do you resist fabulous Italian food? The restaurant that we went to was called Little Italy and it was fabulous. The food and service were great. My favorite thing that we ate was a tomato, fresh basil, and mushroom pizza. My husband would recommend the combination pizza. My kids of course enjoyed their usual half cheese and half pepperoni pizza. I am looking forward to trying some of their pasta dishes next time. I wish I could find a website so that you could have more information just in case you are ever driving through King, North Carolina.
After lunch and a many good bye hugs given by my kids, we headed back out on the road and had an uneventful drive to Lynchburg, VA. The kids were tired from the morning activities and settled into the drive with movies and naps. It wasn't until we got to our hotel in Lynchburg that the drama began again. Once again it was over the pool. This time the pool was filling. I guess the typical opening weekend for out door pools is Memorial Day weekend and we had arrived a few days early. The kids eventually settled for McDonalds food and the Disney Channel. I am not a huge fan of McDonalds, but it is nice to be able to offer the kids their idea of comfort food no matter where we may be.