The Tube or London Underground

 The London Underground is the world's first underground railway. The Metropolitan Railway opened 10 January 1863.

West Finchley, Barnet, London

My first journeys on the underground were from this station in West Finchley near our old home. of course, it doesn't look like an underground at this point. But it doesn't take long to look a lot like a tube as in the photo below taken in 2016.

Aside from being a classic icon of London, the underground is personal. My mother's older brother Henry (aka Harry) New and dad (Thomas New) worked on the Northern Line in the early 1900s. Sadly, I do not have photos of them at work.

For me, riding the underground trains is an adventure but I suppose for millions, it's an annoying task as they pack in to get to and from work everyday. Some of my cousins describe the downside.

I'm still impressed by the steep escalators. I can't imagine where every one was on this 13 October 2017.

The modern stations are busy places like Kings Cross pictured below.

Kings Cross 15 August 2013

If you miss the sounds, here's a short video from the East Finchley station -- home station to many of my relatives.

You might like this fun and informative guide to British words and phrases.

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Read more about the London Underground, at this BBC site.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh Castle

Any first trip to Scotland should include the ancient capital of Edinburgh--the seat of Scottish government since at least the 1400s. It's also the second largest financial centre in the UK and the place where you will find the Parliament and Supreme Courts.

Edinburgh Castle Gate

You can't miss the castle on the hill, which is one of Europe's oldest. It's been a royal residence, military garrison, prison, and fortress. It continues to a military role but is well known as a must visit place for visitors. Apparently, there's been a fort hill since the Iron Age.

The oldest part of today's castle is Queen Margaret's Chapel, built by her son, King David I following her death in 1093.

Greyfriars Kirk

In the Old Town of Edinburgh is Greyfriars Kirk, which is the parish church of the Church of Scotland. It's named for the "Grey Friars" who came to the city in the 1400s. The church was founded in 1620 and will celebrate 400 years on Christmas Day 2020. In 2020, the church held services in the Presbyterian tradition and included weekly services in Gaelic.

Sir Walter Scott Monument, Edinburgh

The monument to Sir Walter Scott, known as the "gothic rocket" is located in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, Scotland. The gardens are near Edinburgh Castle.

Sir Walter Scott statue

Photo Credit - some photos were taken by Nathan W. Sutton.

Other highly rated places to see in Edinburgh include:

The Edinburgh Museum

Scottish National Gallery

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

Royal Botanic Garden

The Writer's Museum

St Giles' Cathedral

John Knox House

Palace of Holyrood house

 

Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge NJ

 

The picture above is a video collection of favorite pictures and a video clip, 

which are mostly from 2015 and others from 2017. The video is on YouTube.

I began visiting this area as a student when the refuge was called Brigantine. The photos and video are mostly from 2015 but a couple were from 2017.

The refuge is well worth visiting. You can learn more from their website at https://www.fws.gov/refuge/edwin_b_forsythe/

The Osprey grabs attention early on.

I will add a few more photos. To see a larger collection, watch the video above, which is also on my YouTube channel.

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Monongahela National Forest and Seneca Rocks

 We spent most of the day, 1 October 2020, in Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia after staying in nearby Elkins.

The Sites' family homestead is near Seneca Rocks and worth a look at the building and gardens.

The view of Seneca Rocks is simply awesome.

We couldn't resist climbing up for a better view and some much needed exercise.

After crossing a stream, we hiked a tree-covered trail, which was steep in parts.

We were rewarded with great views at the lookout point.

At the end of the day, we logged over 7.5 miles. We headed for Charlottesville Virginia to see Monticello on Friday. Our final destination was Virginia Beach.

Following are a few videos of this day from my YouTube Channel

The Sites Homestead

Seneca Rocks

Deer along the Seneca Rock's Trail

And, before leaving Monongahela, we stopped at Cass to see the scenic railway.

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Virginia Beach, Virginia USA

 

We visited Virginia Beach in early October 2020 because I was feeling a bit desperate for the Atlantic Ocean having spent the first 20 years of my life on both sides of the Atlantic. The Covid-19 restrictions did not affect us on the beach or in the area. We had a nice room facing the ocean at the Holiday Inn Express.

In addition to walking along the beach and enjoying the warm water, there was some action near our hotel.

There's a variety of art works along the "boardwalk." The quotes are needed because, unlike New Jersey, the walkway is cement rather than boards. The photos were taken with our Pixel phones.

I took a few videos and posted them on my YouTube channel. The videos were also taken with my Pixel Phone- handheld.

Beach Football

A Beach Wedding

And, riding horses

As a finale, the Ocean Waves...

From a certain angle in our hotel, you can just see the ocean, which made us feel like we were on a cruise--cruises were cancelled this year due to the Covid virus.

Overall, a great place to relax and consume novels for a change of pace.

Learn more about Virginia Beach at the city website VBgov
WiFi: The hotel WiFi wasn't so good so we used Google Fi, which worked well.

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Monticello Virginia

 We visited Monticello on Friday 2 October, 2020.

The visit was modified because of Covid-19 adjustments. We reserved a house tour online and arrived early. There's a brief film at the visitor's centre. 

We decided to walk up to the house, which was a surprising climb. We sat for a brief introduction then entered the house in small groups. Photography was allowed so I will include some photos.

Jefferson as a man of science

Georgian Silver

Outside, an actor provided an impressive talk as Thomas Jefferson. He answered all questions posed to him by the attentive and challenging audience.

There are a few cabins where slaves lived and locations marked where they worked. Jefferson enslaved more than 600 people during his life.

Here's a look inside a cabin representing the home of Sally Hemings (1773-1835) known as Jefferson's concubine. She was a half-sister to Jefferson's wife, Martha Wayles (1746-1782). According to the tradition, Sally and Martha had the same father, John Wayles.

There's also a furnished kitchen close to the main house.

It is not hard to detect which headstone is for Thomas Jefferson in the family cemetery.

Books about Thomas Jefferson and Monticello

Thomas Jefferson eBooks

Visitor notes

I suspect things are subject to change so I advise checking the website for current information.

Monticello.org

There is an app, which provides an audio guide to the rooms and text with additional information. There is WiFi in the home.

The website has an extended section on  slavery at Monticello.

I did not see people of colour among the guides and staff who interacted with us.

There is a gift shop, but we did not purchase anything.

There is a small museum at the visitor centre.

You can purchase food onsite, but we went back to our vehicle and ate lunch there. At the time we were there, you could take a water bottle with you to the house and grounds.

There are toilets and a place to refill water bottles.

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Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge Virginia

 

We visited the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge on Monday, 5th October 2020. We paid the $5 entrance fee and soon stopped to view an Osprey on the westside of the entrance road.

Next, we parked by the closed visitor centre and followed an short eastward trail to the beach.

We then walked south of the centre along available trails, which were not fully open to the public. Here's a sample of what we saw.

I took a couple of videos available from my YouTube channel.

Birds on the Beach video

Short video of an Osprey