Virginia - 4....

(I know, I know... but let's just pretend I posted this a day or two after I posted Virginia 1,2,3 , and completely ignore that it's actually been a small eternity of time between the two, during which I have formulated many new posts in my head that have nothing to do with our vacation.  Mkay?)  

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Day four found us traveling northward through Virginia, to the town of Spotsylvania.  Spots, as it is locally known, is famous for four main battles in the Civil war, one being the Battle Of Chancellorsville, in which Stonewall Jackson was mortally wounded.  The farm country is as rich in history as it is in farmland and rolling green hillside.

Too bad we saw very little of it.

But we did stay the night in Stevenson Ridge.

Stevenson Ridge is a homestead set on 90 acres of land tucked discretely off of 208.  The property was purchased in 2000 by a builder with a passion for restoring older homes.  With the help of special permits, he moves historic buildings board by board numbering each one, and then like a puzzle, rebuild the home on his property.  The completed homes are then rented by the night, similar to a bed and breakfast, but with the privacy of having your own home. 

One of the two original buildings on the property is the old corn shed.  The Corn Crib, as it is now called, has been restored, updated, and holds all the amenities that you could ever need for a retreat away.

Each cabin has central air, kitchen and a full bath.  The Corn Crib even had a walk in shower.  Also on the property was an antique Post Office....

 .....but sadly it only slept two people and was not an option for Tony and I to stay in.  So instead, we chose the Spy Hill House....

Located just down the gravel road from the Corn Crib...

The Spy Hill Hose was a little gem all of it's own.  For starters, this was our view through the antique 1700's glass windows...

Through the front door we came to find a home full of period antiques as well as modern day necessities (hello air conditioning in August).  Some of the things in the home were actually found in the original, much larger home, including the old crank telephone. Wherever there was a board missing or something that needed replacing, it was salvaged from the larger portion of the home and sized to fit.

Towards the front of the house was a small kitchen on the left and to the right, an old spiral staircase which lead to the upstairs bedroom and bathroom...

The bathroom was obviously a newer part of the home, and came complete with the newest copy of People magazine and plush terry bathrobes. Notice the stairs on the edge of the bed? A welcome detail, as the bed was a good two feet from the floor. The attention to detail was everywhere.  The only television in the home was upstairs, much to the disappointment of the boys, that is until they found the array of board games in the downstairs chest, which provided much laughter and old fashioned game time.

Downstairs there was a small photo book of the original home, some photos of the family that lived there in the 1800's and the deconstruction/rebuilding of it there on the property.  Here's where it gets really cool (as per their information booklet)...

"The original Spy Hill House was once part of the Round Hill Estate in King George, VA.  The land was acquired in the 1650's by George Washington's grandfather, John, and stayed in the Washington family for years.  Lawrence Washington, George's half brother, seems to have built the house sometime in 1732. The home still retains some of the red scalloped shingled on the roof, the same shingles used on Mount Vernon."

Neat, yes? 

Well, not as neat as staying in the old post office, but we slept surrounded in history.  And while I believe the house is totally haunted, clearly the ghost-ies were fine as they let me sleep through the night and no one's head spun around and spit pea soup. (Because that would have been tough to get out of an antique rug!)  In fact, the only thing that woke me up was the sound of crickets and Youngest coming up the stairs to use the bathroom at 5 am.

We did get a quick look around downtown Fredricksberg while we were there, parking in a little off street parking lot guarded by this guy...

Downtown looked like a quaint little village from way back in the day....

With a few modern day throw ins...

We deliberated over a few different dinner options down town, hit the candy store where the kids stocked up, and checked out the local sports card store, which sadly closed at 7 and left Tony very little time to find any of his favorites.  And while we opted for a fast food place on the main drag back, it was a nice change of pace from the roller coaster, water slides of the previous days.

And a welcome rest for the day ahead...