5-30-10 Lynchberg, Appomatix, Univ of Va

We went to downtown Lynchberg pretty early on Sunday. Not many folks around. We parked by the James River, and walked along the riverside trail that was there. We went up into town to see what we could see. Pretty deserted. There was a long series of stairs with memorials to soldiers from wars, from the Civil War to Iraq. We poked around the municipal area at the top until we figured we were close to a part of town we might not want to be in, so we headed back to the car. We drove to an old mansion called Point of Honor, but it was closed.

So off we went for Appomattox. It was pretty hot but not muggy. We toured the buildings there that have been built to re-enact what the town looked like when Lee surrendered. It is a good place to visit, very laid back. The docents are good. We fund out there that West Virginia had seceded from Virginia during the war, going back to the Union. The W Va dirt farmers and miners didn't have much investment in slavery, like the wealthy plantation owners and tidewater societies did. We thought that was fascinating, that W Va seceded from a seceded state.

Leaving Appomattox, we headed for home, stopping in Charlottesville to see the Univ. of Va campus. We only visited the main square and the Main building designed by Thomas Jefferson. It's a gem, all symmetric, built with oval conference rooms and a perfect hemispherical dome.

A great trip, this was.

5-29-10 Shenandoah Trip - The Valley

We decided to see a bit of Staunton and wound up spending half the day there. What a great little town! We started at the Farmer's Market. Then we walked the downtown - a large part of Staunton was spared during the Civil War and lots of old buildings and homes remain. The name of the store that Sue is window-shopping in is "Grandma's Bait" - appropriate! We walked into the historic home district and eventually went to the Visitor's Center. There we found there was going to be a walking tour so we headed out to the Woodrow Wilson home where it started. Great history lesson. Found that Staunton did not secede from the Union during the Civil War. That fact, and its reputation as a whiskey producer, led to it being left alone mostly. We visited the Episcopal Church that has 12 Tiffany stained glass windows - just gorgeous, one signed by Tiffany.

After Staunton we headed south to Lexington since we had heard and read so much about Stonewall Jackson. We went first to the VMI campus and toured the Museum there. Attached here are pictures of Stonewall's India rubber raincoat worn on the night he was shot by his own pickets and the stuffed remains of his horse. We walked around the campus - it was pretty hot but not too humid. Very fort-like, but very open.

Next we visited the campus of Washington and Lee which is right next to VMI. This is a gorgeous campus and is what I expected when thinking of a Southern University. Broad lawns, columned buildings, very stately and peaceful - and it was hot! During the Civil War, when VMI was burned to the ground by the Feds, W&L was merely looted, mainly out of deference to Washington's name. Lee's name was added after the Civil War when he was president of the Univ. for 6 years or so. He died while in that job. His tomb and that of his family are on campus, as well as the burial site of Traveler, Lee's horse. Traveler outlasted Lee and his former stable, a garage now, always has the door open so his spirit can roam. I love the South!

We then went into town for a short visit, stopped at Jackson's house and saw his garden, drove by Jackson's grave and then headed to Lynchburg on the other side of the mountains. We spent the night there.

5-28-10 Shenandoah trip - Skyline Drive

We headed out for Skyline drive, entering at Front Royal, VA. I was a hot day a pretty humid. So we learned that "long view vistas" back here are best seen probably in Fall when the humidity is less. There was so much water in the air the views were really pretty ho-hum. See the examples.

But the Mountain Laural was in bloom, as well as lots of other plants and shrubs, so we got to see lots of plant life. Later the clouds descended and the rain started. We did stop and walk out to the Appalachian trail to take our picture on it - probably as close as we will ever get. The bugs were something else!

Since the weather was bad we took a powder and bailed into the Valley, to the town of Staunton (pronounced Stanton) where we stayed the night.

5-27-10 Our mind's eye

Sue and I went out for a walk this morning instead of going to the gym. It is quite light by 5:15am. We walked down to the water and saw a most amazing sight - unfortunately I can not share it since I did not have my camera. We must have come a just the right moment when the tide is still - there was no wind at all. The Woodrow Wilson bridge was perfectly reflected in the Potomac, which was as smooth as glass. The pink light of dawn and the light blue of the water, with the white of the bridge, really made for a spectacular scene. Not to be forgotten.

5-23-10 National Art Gallery

We decided to hit the Art Museum today. There were two exhibits that we wanted to see, the Chester Dale collection and the Sacred Made Real. The former was at the West wing, the more traditional art museum. There were many impressionist paintings there - we like that. Found a Picasso that Sue really liked - not what one would think was a Picasso modern art. We are not art students but we know we really like Monet and company. The second exhibit was at the East wing, the Modern Art Museum, although all the pieces were from Spain in the 17th and 18th centuries. They were religious sculptures that had been painted and poly chromed to make them very lifelike. And lifelike they were indeed.

5-22-10 Great Falls and surronds Visit

A warm day and humid too. We can feel it coming! The summer of our discomfort. But we are still going to head out - today's target is the Great Falls on the Potomac, upstream from DC, just west of where the beltway makes its crossing into Maryland northwest of DC. This area has been a favorite recreation area for the DC folks since the 1800s. It was also the area where locks were built to allow boat traffic around the falls. A big hotel was here, a famous carousel. But now it is a visitor center, overlooks over the Falls, hiking paths and lots of picnic sites. We stayed for about 2 to 3 hours and saw our fill. It was getting hot and more humid and we decided to head for the next spot - Glen Echo.

Glen Echo is an area that was once a very big amusement park. It went bust a long time ago and is now an artist's colony. The buildings have been renovated to be studios and classes are held there. But there is still a large Carousel with a steam calliope and there are little kids all over the place. It is a nice place to visit.

On the way to Glen Echo we drove along the Maryland side of the C&O canal, and the lock system is still there. Not operative of course, but signs and the old locks can be seen. There is a bike path that runs along the canal for a great distance I have heard. Maybe someday we will do that - but the weather back here does take the stuffing out of this Western boy.

The day was topped off by a visit from Sal. He came up from Fredricksburg for dinner. It was good seeing him again.

5-20-10 W Wilson Bridge opens

Big news in our small town - we have a cruise ship visiting (well a small cruise ship) and it is leaving tonight. The Woodrow Wilson bridge (the one that carries the Beltway across the Potomac south of Alexandria) is going to open at 8pm. Normally when this happens it is 3am or 4 am, but tonight we get to see it. Might seem like boring stuff but it's all new to us!

5-16-10 Chincoteague

After our day exploring the Assoteague part of the barrier island, we headed for the Virginia part of the barrier island to the South. We had to go inland, as there is no road or connection between the two parts - we found out later the boundary is fenced because the horses are managed VERY differently on the two sides. It was getting late when we got to the town of Chicoteague but we drove out to see the sights. First stop was the Chicoteague lighthouse - a really good specimen and still putting out light.

The Best Western we stayed in Saturday night is just outside the park entrance. Out time in Chinoteague on Sunday was occupied with walking some trails in the woods and marshes and driving between these trails. Mass was in a little church packed with people. We saw some birds, and the Delmarva (Delaware-Maryland-Virgina) squirrel, which is rare. We went to the Visitor Center and learned that the townspeople of Chincoteague have been taking advantage of the horses on the island for a long time. Now there is a yearly event called The Swim, where the horses are rounded up and made to swim over to the town site where the young ones (not all) are auctioned off to benefit the Volunteer Firefighters. Draws big crowds. That's how these folks manage the herd size. On the other end of the island, the National Park Service sends out Rangers to shoot darts into the mares with contraceptive drugs.

We had to leave about 3pm to get back to Alexandria but we were ready to go after we stopped at the famous ice cream store and pigged out on a homemade treat. It was a good trip.