Feelin' 50!

It was a big day today...Anne's 50th Birthday. We began the day with a visit to the Manassas/Bull Run battlefield where we learned about both battles that took place there. First Manassas was where Thomas J. Jackson was first referred to as "Stonewall", hence the statue to him that we saw on the battlefield.

We also saw the bridge that was a part of both First and Second Manassas.

After visiting Manassas in the morning, we had a casual, relaxed lunch and then headed back to our hotel room to take it easy a bit and to catch up on some supply shopping and laundry. We went out for a fun dinner at the local Silver Diner where we celebrated Anne's birthday. The restaurant staff brought cake and after asking for the attention of the entire restaurant, sang "Happy Birthday" to Anne. She was only mildly horrified at the attention. (She actually had a great time and handled things terrifically!)

In front (below) is our waitress, Beverly, who was a lot of fun the whole evening.

Anne got a Mother's pendant for her birthday, which contains a big stone at the top for her birthstone and then smaller stones for Steve, Rebecca and Erik.

All in all, it was a very relaxed day compared to what we've been doing recently. It was nice to recharge our batteries a bit as we prepare to leave the Baltimore/D.C. area tomorrow morning for the Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania battlefields and Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNE!