Summary: A few years ago our family--my wife and our two sons--took a road trip from Pennsylvania to Tennessee. Plotting the drive, we decided to break up the trip, spending one night in Winchester, Virginia. Playing a key role in both the Revolutionary and Civil War, this small town possesses sites and stories of great historical consequence. One of those sites is a tiny log cabin that from the fall of 1775 to Christmastime 1756 housed the military offices of one George Washington. That cabin is now part of a museum dedicated to Washington's time in Winchester. We decided that this would be the site we would visit before we got back on the road. Walking from the hotel we came to the museum from what I later discovered was the rear of the building. There were no signs marking an entrance or hours and no one was there to meet us. We simply walked in through an open door. After about five minutes exploring the exhibits, we heard an indignant and aggressive voice directed our way, "What do you think you are doing?" We turned and standing there was a woman with a nametag indicating that she worked for the museum. "We are visiting the museum," I said. "Well, I can see that. But are you going to pay for your visit?" I responded, "I didn't know there was a cost. The door we came through had no sign saying there was a fee." She said, "Maybe so but the front door has a sign and had you come through that door you would have seen that you had to purchase tickets." After trying to explain--to no avail--the efficacy and practically of having signs on all the doors that are open, we purchased tickets and enjoyed the rest of the museum.
