Wandering Through Time with Statues and a Pagoda...

While working a job The Bear discovered a fantastic little nugget of beauty that we had no idea existed inside the beltway of DC. The place is called National Park at Seminary. If you are interested you really should go visit their website. It's history reaches all the way back through 3 wars serving to rehabilitate wounded soldiers, a finishing school for girls in 1894, a lovely Inn in 1887 and finally back to it's original origin as a tobaco plantation. The gathering of architecture is out of this world. There's everything from and English Castle, a Japanese Pagoda to a Dutch Windmill. All I may add are for sale as either condos, townhouses or single family homes. So if you always wanted to tilt toward your very own windmill home, then this is your place! The Bear, Beanie and I decided to get out of the house yesterday and go explore this magical place. I had been hearing about it for days from The Bear so I was eager to get started.

It seems that no matter where you turn as you wander there's a statue of some kind. So awsome.

As we wandered further into the woods it began to feel like we were being swallowed by the secret garden.

I am just so very glad that all these beautiful buildings are being saved. It would be a horrid shame to let them disapear.

It's hard to belive that just a little ways through those trees is the very busy DC Beltway. The sound of the traffic a constant reminder that this land with it's magical buildings and statues are very precious and must be saved.

Little worlds everywhere.

On the left are stone stairs leading up the slope lined by what we belive to be Yews. On the right you'll notice the castle! Yep, that's right, a castle.

I feel like a fairy tale character. Princess rescue anyone?

She's been asleep for a long time.

This image is actually 2 photos stiched together. I wanted to try and give you a sense of what it felt like to wander around there with all the different trypes of architecture all connected together. This area sort of connects the older section with the castle to the newer section that has been turned into condos already.

As promised, here's the Pagoda. Yes it is for sale. Wouldn't that just be so very sweet? Invite people over and when then ask which one are you? Oh, just the first Pagoda on the right!

As we made our way back through the wonderland I couldn't help but walk up to the castle and peak in some holes in the boarded up doors. When I turned around to walk back I saw this image. What girl wouldn't want to live in a castle and wake up to walk out her door every morning to see a wishing well.

This magical tour could not have been possible with out The Bear. Days like these are just one of the many reasons I fell in love with him. You have to love a man who takes you to wander around a castle and secret garden statues, then when the weather suddenly turns dark and starts to hail on you, takes you for coffee afterwards.