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.