Day 10

We could not leave this tour of Civil War history without going to Appomattox Court House, the site of the surrender. The war that had lasted for 4 years and cost 680,000 men their lives was over. The surrender was dignified, humble and full of compassion. I''m glad we went because for me it was like closing the pages of a book ---- a conclusion. The picture of Ron is in front of the house where the surrender was signed.

The rest of the day was driving, driving, driving. We do not have time for side trips since we need to get home by Sat. night. The next two days we will head to Texas and not take time for adventures. So----alas, this will be my last post.

See ya next year.

Day 9

Have you ever heard the expression "head in a cloud"? Well this morning everything was in a cloud when we woke up in the mountains. We eased down the road until we could see more than 20 feet in front of us. The day finally cleared and we were on our way.

Today we saw 2 grand houses. First we went to Montpelier, the home of James and Dolley Madison. The house had been enlarged from 6000 sq ft to 26,000 sq ft. I would really hate to vacuum that floor.

Next we saw Monticello - Thomas Jefferson's house and grounds. This was really grand because the house still had original furniture and things. Ron would have hung around looking at stuff for hours but our tour had to move on. He did get to see a Peace Medal --- one of the coins that Jefferson gave Lewis and Clark to give to the Native Americans when they made their expedition. There are just a few of them known to survive. He saw one in the Westward Expansion Museum in St. Louis.

We stopped for the night in Lynchburg, VA. We have one more stop - Appomattox, tomorrow and then we have to head home. We will have about 24 hours of interstate driving to get home. We will be home by Saturday.

Day 8

We visited one more Civil War site - Antietam. The more I learned, the more I grieved for the people of our nation at that time.

On a much lighter note, we headed south today. We got on the Blue Ridge Parkway to travel on top of the world on the Appalachian Mountains. The views are absolutely beautiful. We had planned to travel on down and get off the parkway to find a room for the night but we came upon a lodge in the top of the mountains and got a room there. We had supper, strolled around for a while, and now we are headed to the lodge to hear some live Appalachian music.

No telling what we will find to do tomorrow.

Day 7

Do you remember learning about John Brown at Harper's Ferry when you were in school ..... probably in American History. We spent the day at Harper's Ferry. There is also a battle in the Civil War there. It was the most unique National Park that we have been to because part of the park was the old town of Harper's Ferry. The town is on the Shenandoah River. We walked over a walking bridge that is adjacent to an old railroad bridge. Well I thought it was an old bridge until later on a train came barreling through. I would not have walked across if I had know that was a possibility.

We actually stopped our day at about 5:00 today. We had a little relaxing time.

Sometime tomorrow we will head south and begin our meander home.

Day 6

We spent the morning at the Manassas Battleground.

We got our exercise in today. We started on a short walk on a footpath and it turned out to be a 2 hour journey. We just kept walking a little further to read another sign until we had meandered farther than we intended. We headed back to the visitor center "across country". We met a few obstacles but we conquered them. I am glad I was taking the pictures and not Ron!

After we left Manassas we headed north to Charles Town, WV where we will stay for the night. Ron took advantage of his race car driving skills as we swooped throught the foothills of the mountains. When I finally opened my eyes, I enjoyed the view.

The highlight of the day was when we met Lee for supper in Baltimore. It was so good to see her.

Tomorrow we will spend the day at Harpers Ferry.

Day 5

The day began at IHOP. Now that is what I call starting the day out right! We drove up to Fredericksburg VA and toured 3 civil war sites - Spotsylvania, Chancellorsville, and Wilderness. I have my very own personnel guide. Ron should teach history.....

I have to say that eventhough I have enjoyed the walk through history, the history of the Civil War itself was devastating.

As we drove through one road of the park, we came upon a place where a tree had fallen across the road. Ron got out and tried to move it but it was about fifty feeet long and wedged between other trees that were off the road. In the background of the picture is the tree across the road.

Tomorrow we will head to Manassas and then on to Harper's Ferry.

Day 4

We spent this day doing some of our favorite things.....Sandy - genealogy and Ron -Civil War. I was able to locate the site of the Bufkin Plantation - home of the first Bufkin to America. The home was not still there but we could see the place. That was cool for me. This was located in Isle of Wight, Virginia.

Up the road about 60 miles is Petersburg. They have an extensive Battlefield Park that we were able to visit. In the picture Ron is investigating the site. We had our own problems there. In the middle of the driving tour our car would not start. The hour was late and we had visions of saving money on a motel room because we would be spending the night in the car. However we were rescued by a couple who lived in Chapel Hill (Lee's college home) and who had visited San Antonio and Gruene. They jumped us and we were on our way.

We ended the day with Olive Garden.......yum.

Day 3

This day was packed with good stuff as we visited Roanoke Island and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. First we went to Kitty Hawk to the site where the Wright brothers made their famous airplane flight. They had an exceptional storyteller who gave a history of the events. We veiwed exhibits and walked the path of their flight. The guide challenged us to put our selves back into that time and visualize ourselves as part of the day. You should have seen Ron's grin as he was "seeing himself" on that airplane.

Next we drove down the Outer Banks to Hatteras Island. I got my feet wet in the Atlantic Ocean.

We walked around the site of the fort of the colony that was the first English settlement in this new world. In the evening we went to an outdoor theatrical production of "The Lost Colony". It was an excellent play about the settlement of the colony.

It was a late night but a very good day.

Day 2

How about this temperature! I though we left this in Texas....but no ... here we are in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Of course a little heat didn't stop us. We started the moring at a museum. The guide was waiting for another group but they were really late so he walked around with us and gave us a private tour. Of course Ron could tell the guide about as much as the guide told so. He is so smart about history.

Our next stop was the Airborne and Special Forces Museum. An excellent museum with much of it dedicated to paratroopers. We wandered around for 2 hours picturing Uncle Red jumping out of the airplanes.

Next we went to a civil war site near Bentonville, NC. We had a great day.

Tomorrow we are going to Roanoke Island and to the Outer Banks.

We may even put our toes in the Atlantic Ocean.

On the road again!!!

Ron spent a weeek with the youth of our church at Panama City Beach, Florida and I had a good time visiting with my relatives in Mississippi and Georgia. This morning I dug into family history at the Archives in North Carolina and then picked Ron up at the airport. Now we are ready for our adventure to begin.