Dear Kristy,

I wanted to tell you about one of my favorite days while my family was visiting. After church on Sunday, the girls(no boys allowed) loaded up and took a trip to Abingdon, Va. It took us about two hours to arrive at the Barter Theater where we had tickets to see the musical production of Annie.

We arrived early so we walked across the street to the famous Martha Washington Hotel. The hotel was built back in 1832 by General Preston, his wife and nine children. “In 1858 the Preston family home was purchased for the incredible sum of $21,000 dollars in order for the mansion to become an upscale college for young women. In honor of the first lady of our nation, the school was named Martha Washington College and affectionately coined “The Martha” by locals. The college operated for over 70 years through the years of the Civil War and the Great Depression.” It was gorgeous and grand. The hardwood floors squeaked when you walked on them and much of the house was decorated with original furniture. We ate lunch at the fancy restaurant, Sisters, housed inside the hotel. The meal was upscale to say the least. I have attached a photo of Adelyn eating her meal. I don’t think her summer charm school did her any good, do you?

After lunch we made our way across the street to the Barter theater. The theater was small yet stately in style and history. The orchestra pit was under the stage floor. It took us a while to realize the music was live. We figured it out the first time we saw the conductor’s hand pop out of a small square hole at the front of the stage as he swung his baton back and forth. The actors/singers were incredible. I swear I teared up a dozen times. It was just so magical. The Barter Theater is one of the last year-round professional resident repertory theatres remaining in the United States. The girls loved every minute of it. We even ran into the dog, Sandy, out in front of the theater. The highlight was realizing how much Mattie and Adelyn enjoyed themselves. The rest of the day they opened and closed their new locket necklaces as they sang Tomorrow to the top of their lungs.

It’s a good thing the boys stayed home with Jeff. He took them to play putt-putt. It would have been ‘A Hard Knocks Life’, for sure!! But that’s neither here nor there!

Cultured,

Carolyn

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