An afternoon in Olde Towne Portsmouth

As I mentioned earlier in the week, on Sunday, J., Baby A., and I took the ferry to Portsmouth. We had no particular plans of places to go or things to do. The wonderful museum district was right there, but because of the Redskins game later in the day, we didn't dare do anything too time-consuming that might prevent us from being back home in time for kickoff.

So we just walked for a bit. And ended up discovering some interesting little features about the city that we'd never known about before. In case you ever find yourself in a similar predicament, I give you a recap of our impromptu mini-walking tour of Historic Portsmouth, VA. Here are some of the things we saw and enjoyed.

-The seawall

The Portsmouth seawall stretches along the riverfront and walking it gives a wonderful view of the boats going past. Just on our way between the High Street and North Landings, we saw a couple of tugs (who sounded their horns obligingly -- is there anything more satisfying than the reverberating sound of a tugboat horn on a cloudy day?), a container ship, and a few beautifully painted yachts. Baby A. had a blast waving at them and added the word "boat" to her expanding vocabulary.

-Hog Island Lighthouse Lens

The Hog Island lens stood in a lighthouse on Hog Island (one of the Virginia barrier islands) until the island finally eroded away in the 1940s. Now the lens lives at the Portsmouth waterfront, just by the High Street ferry landing. The lens, dating from 1898, is cut through with tons of prisms, and huge, towering over even James, who towers over me and A. It was fun to walk around the glass pavilion and try and count all of the rainbows (hundreds and thousands of them. We didn't stand a chance).

-Trinity Church

Trinity Church was founded in 1761, served as a British garrison in the Revolutionary War, founded the Children's Hospital of the Kings Daughters in the 1890s, and features several beautiful Tiffany windows. It surrounds a gorgeous courtyard, and next to it is a really gloomily spooky old graveyard. Have I mentioned that one of my favorite things is to walk through graveyards and read the old names? My fingers itched for my grave-rubbing supplies.

-The Pass House

Currently, it's a photography studio, but from 1862-1864, the unassuming brick row house at the corners of Crawford and London Streets was a Union Army headquarters. To go outside the city, or across the river to Norfolk, you needed a pass, which you had to get at (you guessed it) the Pass House. We peeked over the gate and saw the door to the old pass office, and we also saw some really beautiful roses blooming by the fence. (We love January roses. Thanks, global warming!)

-Confederate Monument

It's a little unsettling to see the monument 'to our Confederate dead' standing so imposingly at the intersection of Court and High Streets (at least it was for me). From a purely objective standpoint, the monument is finely done, the carving of the soldiers who stand sentry on the four sides of the tall obelisk are super convincing, at least to a toddler -- Anouk kept pointing to them and calling, "Hi! Hi!" It was an experience to see it -- it made me mindful -- but all the same, it's one I'm glad I don't have to have every day.

-The Lightship Portsmouth Museum

The Lightship Portsmouth was built in 1915, kind of a traveling lighthouse used to help ships enter harbor at night. She was retired after almost 50 years of service, and now she's a museum featuring artifacts, photographs, old uniforms, and fitted out seaman's quarters (NONE of which we got to see because the museum itself was closed the day we went -- boo!) But we did get to explore the outside of the ship and pronounced it awesome.

Bonus attractions: The areas next to the High Street and North ferry landings, respectively, feature a red post-box and telephone booth donated by the city of Portsmouth in England. The telephone booth has an actual working pay phone in it, which is notable in and of itself. Definitely something to show the kids. A phone with a cord!

A dial tone! How quaint!

I hope you have enjoyed this brief collection all of the random things we happened to see as we moseyed along Olde Towne (those 'e's are driving me nuts!) Portsmouth. We sure did! I always make James stop when we see one of those old bronze historical marker signs so I can read it and on Sunday I read a dozen to my hearts' content. Hooray!

If you are wondering exactly what route we walked and are interested in recreating it, according to this map, we went up High Street to turn right on Dinwiddie, then right again on London Street all the way back to the ferry landing. Or you could just let the professionals take the lead.

Winter reading: for the littles

We missed our visit to celebrate Solstice with our DC friends last week thanks to a nasty last-minute cold that swept through our household (and infected most of our extended family -- sorry, guys). Luckily, we were feeling much better by Christmas and had a blast at home (and we hope that you did, too.)

We did manage to celebrate the longest night of the year with a roaring fire and some winter-themed books. Here are a few of our favorites.

Northern Lullaby by Nancy White Carlstrom: This book was a random thrift store find and a fast favorite. It's one of the ones we come back to again and again year round but love especially to read by the fire on chilly nights. The illustrations of Native Alaskan imagery and the spare prose are haunting -- in the best way. We've read it so many times that I can recite most of the book from memory, and do, some nights, while putting Anouk to bed. "Goodnight, Sister Owl! Quiet your cry."

Animals in Winter by Henrietta Bancroft: This book is perfect for the scientific-minded kid who wonders what different animals do during the long, cold months of winter. From butterflies, who migrate, to woodchucks, who hibernate, to bats, some of which hang around all year, this book features drawings of habitats and clear, concise answers to questions about how real animals live in the wild.

White Snow, Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt: Sort of a flip side to Animals in Winter, White Snow, Bright Snow tells of how different types of people -- postman, policeman, schoolchildren, farmer and his wife -- deal with an impending snowstorm. They get new boots, they stock up on cough syrup, and (because this book was originally published in the 1940s) they do old-fashioned-type things like mix up mustard plasters to ward off chest colds. The language is clear and vivid and descriptive: "Automobiles looked like big fat raisins buried in snowdrifts. Houses crouched together, their windows peeking out from under great white eyebrows." And I love the vintage illustrations of village life in winter. 

Trouble with Trolls by Jan Brett: A favorite from my own childhood -- my sister K. and I were obsessed with this book growing up. I think we love it so much because the heroine, Treva, doesn't need any help in outsmarting a band of mountain trolls to protect her dog, Tuffi -- she does it through a lot of quick thinking and hard work. Another reason might be the beautiful illustrations of the snowy Norwegian landscape and traditional clothing (K. visited Norway a week after A. was born and brought her back an authentic "Trouble with Trolls" dress -- she wore it in our Christmas card photo on the beach this year).

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats: A little boy named Peter steps out of his apartment building and spends the day exploring the snowy city streets. He finds a stick, makes snow tracks, and puts a snowball in his pocket to try to keep the fun from ending. The Snowy Day won the Caldecott medal in 1963, and has the honor of being one of the first childrens' books to feature an African-American child as the main character. (To read a little more about the story behind this groundbreaking book, click here).

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen: Another childhood favorite, about a girl and her father, who go off in search of a Great Horned Owl on a cold winter's night. Along the way they are watched by quiet animals -- deer, fox, fieldmouse -- moving through the dark woods. The enture story is illsutrated from an "owls-eye view" from above, a neat trick that helped Owl Moon win the 1988 Caldecott.

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Have you and your kids read any of these books? What did you think of them? Do you have any wintertime book recommendations you'd like to share? We are always on the lookout for new favorites.