Rolling Through History

I imagine the 10,000 Confederate soldiers being overrun at 5 Points by 50,000 Union men, the battlefield laid out before me. The bunker they built overnight, and the bones and evidence of war in the ground beneath my feet. Richmond and the Southern Railroad Line were no longer secure, and the Civil War ended 9 days later. A bird pricks the heavy tropical air, and like that, I leave on a small highway into the arms of the Chesapeake.
Tappahanook River first, I stare across it, and imagine the people that once inhabited this area and plied these waters with their boats. I keep rolling, tracing the Potomac now, a major colonial waterway. Washington's birthplace is here, I approach it and take a turn down a side road, and it leads to the river. It is beautiful and tropical. There are shells and nice white sand, the water is very warm. Such a nice area, I take my time strolling on the sand, imagining the people that have done the same, and the things that had happened here. A sign says this is where they loaded in most of the supplies coming into the Pope Plantation from England, most of the work being done by slaves. There will always be the hipocritical, peculiar, complex history all the founding founders had with slaves, this story reminding me of that.
Back on the highway, I cross the wide and historic Potomac, make my way into D.C at dusk. The beautiful soft orange and sherbet light reflecting off the majestic capitol and Washington monument. It looks as though I am in the middle of a Roman city, and I can’t believe I'm here. After driving for almost 12 hours, I go from North Carolina, to Washington's birthplace, and into the capitol of my country that bears his name.