Who, you ask?

Whad'ya mean "who's Virginia Dare?"



What are you, some kind of half a moron or something? Well, in spite of your obvious lack of a basic elementary education in American History and a clearly inferior intellect, we will explain just what led us on the search for Virginia Dare and exactly who she was.



In 1587, a group of approximately 115 English settlers, including women and children, landed on the beach of what is now known as Roanoke Island, NC. When supplies ran low shortly after their arrival, John White, their leader and Grandfather of Virginia Dare, the first English child to be born on American soil, decided to make the trip back to England for assistance. Due to the fact that most of England's ships were fully engaged in defending the country from possible invasion by Spain, his return was delayed and when he finally arrived back at the island, all trace of the colonists were gone, but for the word CROATAN, carved into a tree.



In the last 400 years, many theories have been presented as to just what may have happened to the colonists; from their being beset upon by a nearby tribe of Croatan Indians, to an epidemic illness, to the following (and our personal favorite) so eloquently offered by our own "George Martyn". On a scorching August day at Roanoke, similar to one the colonists may have experienced, he sagely surmised, "Ya know what?! I know what happened to those people. I think they packed up and left this place because it's too f@#king hot!"



Likely as "George's" well thought out hypothesis would seem to be, our human curiosity compels us to dig deeper into the mystery of the disappearance of these brave pioneers. It is therefore that we dedicate this year's vacation to discovering...............



"Where, Oh Where, is Virginia Dare?"



email us at: lookingforvirginia@gmail.com

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Cyclorama







The cyclorama is amazing. A 360 degree painting depicting three day battle at Gettysburg complete with sunrise to dark lighting that is so realistic you can't believe it and sound effects to enhance the illusion. Even the bottom edges of the painting are "blended" in to actual props that give a 3-d effect. In the photo with the well, the back half of the well is painting but the front half was actually a stone wall built to complete the scene. You stand elevated to about the middle of the painting so it appears as if you are on a hill and looking down a grassy incline which just "becomes" the painting. Unreal! You have to see it to fully appreciated it.

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