Impulse Cruising Again

Even with the frequent, very loud aircraft flying over the boat, we slept pretty late today. After breakfast we took showers at the marina facility and headed out to see the sites Alexandria offers. The Visitors Center on King Street came first but we really didn't learn any more than we knew from the pamphlet we had. But it was good to find out that was the case! The tour of the Gadsby Tavern building was very interesting. It is amazing how much original woodwork and flooring has been preserved and maintained. Learning how the customers of taverns in the 1700's behaved and were treated was entertaining. There was a whole lot of drinking going on then, that is for sure! After the tour we checked out the Ice Well, which is visible from a few steps down off the street. This cylindrical brick-lined hole was filled with ice in the winter from the Potomac River (brackish water) and then from lakes and ponds (freshwater) and was used for cold storage of food, and ice was sold in the summer (8 cents per pound!). We had lunch at the Gadsby Tavern restaurant - the food was delicious. Off we went to see the skinniest house in the US (see the photo) that is 7 feet wide and 470 sq feet. It is called the Spite House because the man who built it did so just to fill in an alley next to his house to prevent loiterers from gathering there. We checked out Captain's Row, which is one of two cobblestone streets in the city. The stones are small and very lumpy - very different than the cobblestones we have seen in Philadelphia. The tour of the Apothecary Museum was amazing. This pharmacy started in 1792 and went out of business in 1933 and nothing was removed. It is "frozen" in time. The ingredients for all kinds of medicine, compounds, paint, and perfume are all still there in their cans and containers on the shelves. Upstairs is a storage area and lab where medicines were compounded and pills were made. Real "Harry Potter-looking" ingredients sit on shelves - Dragon's Blood, Potters Clay, Cuttlefish Bone, etc. We walked back toward the waterfront and stopped at the Torpedo Factory, which is a three story facility filled with artists' studios and galleries that was an actual torpedo factory at one time. There must be close to100 studios there, very professional looking displays, and much art of all kinds for sale. I could spend a full day there, but it was late afternoon and Bill was pooped. Me too. Wine time followed, and then we walked several blocks to Bugsy's for pizza. Back to the boat for a little Face Time with Colby and Lillian, and then time for bed.