What?  You say you’ve never heard of Matildaville?  That would be because it doesn’t exist anymore.  This “lost town” actually has a really interesting story attached to it.  It all starts in 1785 with the creation of the Patowmack Company by a gentleman named George Washington.  You may have heard of him.

Anyway, if you look at the date, the United States of America is still a VERY young country, only recently independent and not yet embroiled in the War of 1812.  There are 13 colonies but people are pushing ever westward and  George Washington worried about the tenuous connection between the more “civilized” eastern states and the western frontier, fearing a break of the union between states.  (As we all know, that happened much later and along north-south lines, rather than east-west.) George Washington’s idea was to connect the east coast to the Ohio River Valley through a waterway – the Potomac.  His vision was to “bind those people to us by a chain which never can be broken.”  Pretty clever, yes?

However, as great an idea as that is in theory, there were a few technical difficulties with the creation of a Potomac river east-west waterway.  One of the amazing sights we saw and what would become one of the biggest obstacles for Washington is Great Falls where in just one mile, the river drops 80 feet.  The only way to get barges up and down the river was to bypass the waterfalls completely by building a canal with several locks to raise and lower the boats, like a giant staircase.  That’d be difficult enough to do today, now consider cutting into rock and earth and building a stone-walled canal in 1785!

Information from the local historical society and the Park Service gave us some more details – Matildaville came into being really as a result of the construction of the canal – a “construction town” built around the laborers and travellers. The town was named Matildaville for the wife of one of the founders, Harry Lee (who for you history buffs was the father of Robert E. Lee). Matildaville grew to include markets, gristmill, sawmill, foundry, inn, ice house, workers’ barracks, boarding houses, and small homes.

But the canal was never really profitable.  Actually it was a downright failure. Construction costs had been high, and the Potomac route wasn’t useable much of the year because of water levels. The company went bankrupt and the canal was abandoned in 1830. Matildaville followed soon after.  Over time the woods reclaimed the town.  Now it is part of Great Falls Park and the Patowmack Canal has been declared a National Historic Landmark.

You can find out more about Matildaville and its fascinating history here:

• Formation and Development of the Town of Matildaville, Virginia by Debbie Robison
• Great Falls Historical Society, Virginia

I hope to post more of our photos from the day soon!

And for those of you looking for a picture of yours truly, below are a couple of shots from the Victorian Day of the Dead Picnic in Rock Creek Cemetery.  One is a group shot and the other is a time lapse photo showing our “ghost.”  Very cool.  We had fun dressing up, met some awesome folks and had a tasty picnic lunch/dinner.  Overall, a great and spooky way to spend Halloween!

Group photo by Thomas Izaguirre

Ghost Photo by Christian Meade

So…I’m cat vacuuming.  Some would call it blogging, but I know what’s really at stake.  I’m just putting off actually writing.  I can’t say that I’ve done any “real” fiction writing in a couple of weeks; although I WILL say that I’ve been submitting.  And have the rejections to prove it.  So perhaps I should post a bit about the two most recent rejections which came with comments.  But before I do that…and just to keep ya’ll entertained – a few snow photographs!

Veni the dog in snow up to her head. Behind her is the small cleared out potty spot

I love this photo of Veni.  She seems so unsure about the whole potty in the snow “thing.” 

Veni and Renee in front of the house

And the photo of both Renee and Veni shows our front walk BEFORE we got an additional foot of snow.  Let me remind folks, Renee is 6’2! 

Today was all about wedding invitations. I never realized there were so many different kinds, and yet there isn’t any that is quite what we’re looking for. *sigh*

I’ve submitted three pieces for potential publication. I’ve got my fingers crossed and I set us up to attend Balticon in May. So now, in keeping with my vow from last year, I’ll have to complete a major writing project or I cannot attend.

Wednesday is the first meeting of the local Coast Guard Auiliary and it is my intention to attend. This is in relation to a promise I made myself a long time ago.

And finally, both Renee and I have been out doing a little geocaching and photography. Below is a photo by a downed tree that was just amazing.

Blythe and David, the Fabulous Couple. We love you!

 Any complaints?  Only that the pool itself is only 3ft deep and it closes at 7pm!!!!!  This is Las Vegas and it is HOT.  I don’t understand how a 3 ft. pool that closes early could be beneficial to a hotel.  I’d sit out there all night!  Hmm, maybe that’s the problem.  We’d all be out by the pool instead of in the casinos!

View from Cabana #5 by the Luxor's pool

I LOVE the Venetian, thus multiple pictures there. I’m particularly proud of the photo below. Friends have photos of me laying on the ground in the grand hall of the hotel trying to take a photo. I believe it was worth it. What do you think?

The Grand Hall of the Venetian (taken from the floor)