Arrived later in the afternoon at Natural Bridge. Steve knows that he was here as a young child and has wanted to return for many a year. Came for the dramatic light show and a look at this awesome geologic feature in the evening light. It was surveyed by George Washington when he was 19 years old and was purchased from the King of England by Thomas Jefferson!
Ever since its debut on Broadway the two of us have wanted to see “Wicked the Musical”. Today we realized that dream. In the Apollo Victoria Theater in London’s West End we were witness to the incredible prequel to The Wizard of Oz, the story of the Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
London’s National Portrait Gallery’s temporary exhibition, “Six Lives: The Stories of Henry VIII’s Queens” presents an amazing collection of portraits, jewelry, personal effects, books, costumes, and more to illustrate not only the lives of the six women who married the second Tudor king, but the effort across five centuries to keep their memory alive.
The purpose of our trek to Strawberry Hill House in Twickenham in the southwest of London was to see a recently recovered bronze bust of the Emperor Caligula but we discovered so much more in the recently restored 18th Century “little Gothic castle” built by Horace Walpole.
Apparently this place is now a Virginia State Park since 2016 rather than a private tourist park as it was when we visited. Among the changes is more historically accurate interpretation including a debunking of the myth that the property was surveyed by a young George Washington. Here’s and interesting link: http://www.virginiaplaces.org/geology/naturalbridge.html
Seems we should return and check out the changes as well as once again marvel at the extraordinary geology.