Marine Corps Historic Half, part 1

Day 1: Friday

I started off the weekend relaxed and calm prior to entering the southbound traffic. First off, my regular massage. Definitely a good way to push away the stress of the week and work out some of the kinks that might hinder my running performance. Where I have come to enjoy a sports massage before my full marathons (which is largely a stretching session), this was a more traditional Swedish massage, and focused a bit more on my neck and shoulders.

From there, I went the opposite direction of my ultimate destination to take advantage of the rededication of the LDS temple in Maryland and took a tour. While no photos permitted inside, the grounds are pretty. And the temple is just as impressive up close as it is when traveling past it on the Beltway.

From there, it was south the Fredericksburg. Why the traffic ALWAYS crawls between Quantico and Fredericksburg is beyond me. The hills shouldn't be so bad, and the entrance ramps/lanes are pretty long. After a brief respite at the hotel, it was off to the expo to man the Half Fanatics/Marathon Maniacs table. Alas, I was solo for the whole time (3-hour shift). And there were only a dozen people, maybe, who came up to the table to ask any questions. Of course, that doesn't factor in Miles and McHalf:

Day 2: Saturday

Rather than stay cooped up inside the hotel room the whole time save for meals, I decided to tour some of Fredericksburg, focused on the Revolutionary period. I started off at the Rising Sun Tavern, owned originally by Charles Washington (George's brother).

Next up, a few blocks down the road, Hugh Mercer's Apothecary. Rather amusing hearing the staff recite the script about all the different "treatments" and "medicines" that could be purchased there, and different procedures (chiefly bleeding and tooth extraction) that would be undertaken.

Next up was a stop at the James Monroe Law Office Museum and Memorial Library.

Among the many artifacts that his descendants collected over the years and donated to the museum was the desk where he penned the speech that contained what was eventually known as the Monroe Doctrine.

Finally, I had a brief stop at the Mary Washington House -- Mary being the mother of President George Washington. Some interesting history literally hidden within the walls of the structure, and some interesting anecdotes about Mary and some of the rooms of the house.

Scattered along my walking was a series of otter sculptures. Not sure why, nor how many more there were that I never saw/noticed, but these sure were cute:

And, finally, a rather moving sculpture:

It was blazing hot Saturday, so by the time I finished walking around downtown Fredericksburg (and catching glimpses of the marathon course and where some of the hills would be), I drove back to the hotel by way of the last 5 miles of the marathon course (to be able to see just what was in store with Hospital Hill).

After relaxing for several hours and getting a good Thai dinner, I actually caught a show -- Nunsense!, starring Sally Struthers. I had no idea just what to expect. And while it looked like she was out of step at times (intentional part of the story??) and sometimes dropped out vocally (did she forget the lyrics at spots?), it was a fun show. And buying the ticket at half-price was a nice surprise.