The Yankee Visits Harpers Ferry

As I've mentioned before I now live in the midst of a whole new historic setting with new places to visit and new things to learn. Today Dennis and I headed west on Route 7 to the Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets. Okay, not a historic site, and Premium Outlets all look pretty much the same. I could have been in the one in Clinton, Connecticut or Central Valley, New York. I suppose once you develop a branding, you want to keep it consistent no matter what the location. Restaurants are the same way. Olive Gardens, Pizzeria Unos, Applebee's, and the like are the same wherever you go. You know exactly what you're going to get when you walk in the door. That's the reasons my friends Kellee and Bob eat at local restaurants when they travel. Why go someplace you can go any day when you can explore something new. Kellee and I had some great meals while we were in Albuquerque for the Forma Conference last month.So while outlet malls are nothing out of the ordinary, I needed new shoes. For things like that, knowing what you're getting when you walk in the door is a good thing.

When we left the outlets, Dennis headed west rather than east. He decided he'd take me out to Harpers Ferry. I knew I lived pretty close to the state line, but I hadn't realized just how close we are to West Virginia. We drove through the wineries of Loudon County, up and over the mountains, and down into the valley where the Shenandoah and the Potomac meet. Into a place I've read a lot about but only seen for the first time today. In spite of how much I've read, there's quite a bit I didn't know about Harpers Ferry. The armory was established at the suggestion of President Washington. Merriwether Lewis stopped here for supplies he would need before heading west with William Clark. Both armies occupied the town during the Civil War, and George Armstrong Custer met his wife there.

And the Appalachian Trail runs through the middle of  Harpers Ferry. You can sort of see the railroad bridge to the left in this picture. The trail crosses from Maryland and then goes through town out toward Storer College, one of the first historically black colleges. The college closed in 1955, and many of its assets were transferred to Alderson-Broaddus College in the early 1960's (did you know that Kellee?). The campus is part of the Harpers Ferry Historic Park.

I probably wouldn't have ventured to Harpers Ferry on my own. I much prefer to go places with friends. Each person notices something different and calls it to the others' attention. Shared experiences are enjoyable ones.