From Appomattox Va. to the Virginia caost

Wed. We drove to Appomattox Va. where Lee surrendered to Grant. We went to what will be called a bed and breakfast.  There we had a person(top left) that went back in time(newspaper man from NYC) to 7-23-1864. He told us where Lee's men were and where Grant's men where on the property.  How the war came to a end.  How the Union paid tribute to the Confederates as they came to give there rifles and flags.  In turn the Union told the men to go home and gave them a paper(top middle) saying they were a paroled prisoner of the Army of Northern Virginia.  That way if they were found as they went the would not be shot as a deserter. Top right is a store with the post office in it. Middle left is the McLean House where Grant and Lee meet. Middle middle is a bed room in the house and middle right bedroom in a slave hove rear of main house. Bottom left picture of Grant and Lee papers ending the war. Bottom middle where Lee sat. Bottom right where Grant sat.

We then drove to Lynchburg did a walking tour. Picture below is the the 132 steps and 10 landings built in 1925 for WW1 memorial, but as time went on different landings were used to dedicate to other wars.

Picture below a fountain by the river and RR tracks. The other pictures are some of the many old churches in town.

Top pictures were pianos along the streets. Middle left art near the Amazement Square(middle middle). Middle right top a mosquito and middle right bottom the old train station.  Bottom left a wooden train in the train depot(bottom right) where we ate dinner.

Thur. A slow down day.  We walked around the park got ready to leave.

Fri. We drove to Gloucester  Va. to a Thousand Trails RV park(picture below top right)..  We were lucky and found the perfect spot.  It is on the river. We went shopping and found a BBQ place for lunch and a bakery for desert. We went to Pickelball lessons.  It is played like tennis and playing on a ping pong table with short rackets and wiffle ball. We both enjoyed it and want to play again.

Sat.This  morning Linda made bagel and cheese for breakfast and we ate at the picnic table.  This afternoon I played volleyball in the pool and Linda swam and talked to some folks we met.  We cooked steak and sausage on the grill and Linda fried onions and peppers.  That night the entertainment was a gospel country singer.

Sun. After church we had Mexican and ate too many of the chips. We went to the info place at Gloucester.  They still have a working courthouse from 1766. Next to it is a Debtors Prison(second row rt.) and across the street the old jail(top left) with four 16x16 rooms.  In the middle of town was a Confederate Monument and down the street a monument to James Daniel Gardner a Union Army Soldier of the civil black troops. This is also the place where Captain John Smith encountered Pocahontas(middle middle). Bottom some flowers that were around the courthouse.

Mon. We got caught up on the laundry, read some books, grilled out again and went on a bike ride.
 Tues. We went to Army Transportation Museum at Fort Eustis in Newport News Va. The picture below is the different means for moving men and supplies.  From horse back, train, helicopters and the different boats they used to move big and small.

 The picture below top left and middle the jeeps and helicopter. Top right small car transport. Second row left is a single man helicopter next to it a Flying the rocket belt and next to it a helicopter that could pick up large items. Third row more helicopters first two pictures then right a transport that looked like it should be in a Star War movie.Bottom row tow planes with different types of perpellors and in the middle one of many boats that glide over the water.

We then drove to Hampton Va, top left we had lunch by the water fountain,then went to a bakery to have the best chocolate chip cookie and coffee. next two pictures we rode a 94 year old all wooden carousel.  They say that the horse Linda is hugging is rare that it has Indian feathers on it. Second row left St. Johns church  next to it at the church was a memorial to the confederates. Bottom row going over a bridge bottom right a military cemetery.

 From there we drove to Fort Monroe in Hampton Va which was active 1823 to 2011. Top middle is a picture across the bay to Fort Wool which you can only get to by a boat ride. top right a moat around the Fort and the east entrance, built on 63 acres with 1.3 miles of walls. The moat is 3 to 5 feet deep. It was called Old Point Comfort. The light house (middle left)near the Fort. The next picture is one of the homes that are private now and Picture rt. one of the churches in the Fort. Bottom left Jefferson Davis Memorial Park next to it outside the museum and right I am standing next to the old Cistern that good drinking water was not found had to get water from main land.

 Picture top what Fort Algernourne looked like before it burnt down and was rebuilt to be called Fort Monroe. Middle left Edgar Allan Poe was station their and wrote and recited his poems from there even after he was out of the service.  Next to it was the cell that President Jefferson Davis was put into. Picture right the flag they put in his cell.  The bottom pictures the house they built for him when he was under house arrest.

 We then headed for Virginia Beach and the boardwalk.  On the way we stopped by the state Park and looked at the camp sights and what ones we would use.  The board walk was the best I ever have been on.  We both enjoyed our time there. The top two as we got to the beach. Top rt. they had 25 courts for guys and the same for the girls they played 2 on 2. Bottom left is Neptune and the next two is the old Coast Guard Station.

 Pictures below is some of the streets or walk ways to the beach. Each one was different.

 They had folks at different spots doing entertainment. The one I enjoyed bottom left they were talking about the presidents. The one we both liked the best bottom right where he was telling how the Navy Seals got started and what they had to do to become a seal.

Wed.  We did not wake up till 9 for it was past midnight by the time we got home and got ready for bed.  Today we relaxed did the blog and went to church.

Virginia

Thur. We drove uptown so we could use the internet and the phone. It was nice having a day that we did not do much.
Fri. Another leisure day.  We did some cleaning  inside the rig and get some reading done.  We were going to have a cup of tea this afternoon and the coffee pot did not work.  So back up town to get a new coffee pot for tomorrow.  While there we got caught up on the phone messages and text.

 Sat. It rained all night but we still went to the Sutton Dam.  They had a 5k run and tours of the dam.  We elected to go on the tour.  We went from around 500 feet above the river to 100 feet below the river.  We had a picnic there(picture below of dam) then went to the bulk food where we can get internet, coffee, and ice cream.  We are trying to see where we are going to head to on Monday. We still do not know. After we got home we ate and played a game(boy did I get the right cards).

Sun. After a pretty sunrise(picture below) we went to church then to the grocery for graham crackers and marshmallows (bet you can't guess what we are having at the camp fire tonight). We went back to bulk food(the Amish) had a hot pepper turkey sandwich, some of their baked beans and coffee. They also gave us the best choc. mint candy.  When we got home we got the rig ready for our trip Monday to Virginia. It rained and got everything wet and I could not get the fire started.
Mon. We left for Virginia when we stopped at the welcome center. The info. Lady told us about the D-Day Memorial.  It was on the way in Bedford Virginia.  We stopped and we are glad that we did.  The picture below showes the entrance with Overlord on the National D-Day Memorial. Operation Overload was a high-risk undertaking that changed the war. Picture bottom left side is the American and right side  other countries that  some 4,500 allied serviceman lost there lives on Dec.6 1944.  Their names are all listed on these plaques.

 Top left is Eisenhower, the middle picture is the ceiling of the rotunda and shows the plan for D-Day. Top right is a close up of Eisenhower. It was taken from a picture when he was talking to some of the troops. He asked someone where he was from and what he liked to do. He told him  that he liked to fish. That's when Eisenhower  was telling him he liked to fly fish(that story was told when one of the men in the picture was on tour and told our guide about it). The bottom picture is the emblem all the men were given for Operation Overload the blue is for victory the flaming sword, the rainbow represents all the colors of the countries.

The memorial had many symbols but what stood out the most was VALOR, FIDELITY, and SARCIFICE. Top left man in water VALOR, two on land FIDELITY, and the one on the ground SARCIFICE.  Top right shows a boat that the men landed on the beach the brown things in the water were to tear up boats that came ashore at high tide. They had water spaying at different spots.  The noise when it sprayed sounded like bullets being shot. Bottom showed a wall they would have to climb over 100 feet tall. It to has the VALOR, FIDELITY AND SARCIFICE.  The bottom right shows what a shallow grave would look like.  The one dog tag was put in his mouth and the other on his rifle which had his bandit stuck in the sand with his helmet on top.

Left picture is called "The Bedford Boys". It is to give honor for the men that fought in this area of the country.  More lives were lost here on D-Day than any where else in the nation.  This is why the memorial is placed in Bedford.  The U.S. Government said they could have a memorial but they were not going to pay for it so the folks got funds and made the memorial. The middle picture, a man dragging a fellow solider. It is a statue honoring all the wives who lost their husbands.  The top right picture  you will notice the gold wedding band.  That was donated from a wife who lost her husband and asked if they could put it in a sculpture.  The bottom right is a statue from WW1 that was shot at and took his face apart.  They did not want to fix it so it is that way today.  Since it is where the D-Day invasion was and the damage was done than they left it.  The folks doing the memorial wanted it and got a sculpture person to do it.

 Tues. We got up did our bible study, went on a walk, and we talked to our neighbors. After lunch we drove to  Natural Bridge Va. There we went to the Natural Bridge(two pictures on left) it is 215 feet high, 40 feet thick, 100 feet wide and has a 90 foot span between the walls.  "Natural Bridge " (the Bridge not made by hands, that spans a river, carries a highway, and makes two mountains one) def by Henry Clay , American Statesman, 1777-1852.  In early American history the Natural Bridge ranked with Niagara Falls in the top of the country's natural wonders. The picture on right is a water fall about one mile up stream from the bridge.

The Monacan Indian village. Indians that lived there before white men.

After our visit to Natural Bridge went to Pink Cadillac for dinner. They have a ice cream shop next door(middle picture on right).  They had one room done with nothing but Elvis(bottom pictures). We had there famous Elvis Burger.  

Picture below is a light show they had staring at 9:30.  They had christian music and songs and read about the creation of the world from Genesis. It was very well done and worth waiting for.

 

West Virginia

Wed. The picture below is when we went on the coal mining tour. Top left is a coal miner with his hat and light and lunch bucket with the top being a pie tray, next his sandwich then the lower part for water which they would put their deceased false teeth in so no one would drink their water.  The top middle is a one ton coal car which they would fill and get paid for every car they filled. Top right they explained the different light they used over the years and how they worked. Bottom left the modern way they get coal not the pick and shovel.  Middle the train car that pulled us through the mountain.  Right I stood outside the entrance to the mine.  Although I could not stand up it would have been two foot smaller when the mine was in use.  They got around on knees and would lay on there side to pick at the coal.

 Top left is a church that the coal miner owners would build for the miners. Middle is a class room and rest are the rules. You should read some of them! Very interesting.

 Top left is a bachelor home the next picture is inside.  Right is a married housing which at time they would sometimes rent out the bedroom to a single or a man who came to the mine during the work week(if they lived far away the hours they worked they could not get their and home and have rested). Bottom left is the superintendent's home (The three story home was very nice).  All the coal miners would have to rent from the owners and the rent would be taken from their pay. Bottom middle was the company store. The owners would pay the miners money they had made for them so miners could not shop at other company stores or else where(so come the phrase from the song "I owe my soul to the company store" .  Bottom right each of the small homes had a "out house" but the super. had inside pluming.

 Top left is what was used for curling ladies hair. Middle was a barber chair (the barber were like physicians which they bloodletting and tooth extractions. The red stripes on the barber pole symbolised blood; white bandages; and the blue the veins). Top right some of the places had a doctor this is his office. bottom left is the post office. Middle we went to the Tamarack(which the people from West Virginia would display there arts, crafts, and other goodies)bottom right is one of the tables someone made(the fisherman on top of the table and his legs and fish under the table gave you the feeling the glass was the water.

Thur. we drove to Charleston W.V. we had tours of the 30 room  Governor's Mansion and the State Capital. Picture below in middle is the Governor's Mansion. Top left the formal dinning room in the middle is the every day dinning room.  top right is a table Linda loves with a antique clock. Middle left top the stair case as you enter with the Schwartz crystal at base. Middle bottom the columns with gold paint on top. Middle right two antique clocks. Bottom left in the library done in W.V. hardwood in the Georgian-style butternut paneling which was very rare wood. Right a statue in the garden.

 Below left is the seal of W.V. the seal is also on their flag. Middle is the dome which is covered in gold. Right is the Senate and House chambers. Middle left where the Governor will make his public announcements. Middle is a fireplace in the same room. Right is the W.V. Supreme Court.  We were lucky enough to have a cub scout troop on our tours and one of the  ladies knew the guide for the Supreme Court and he spoke to us about their Supreme Justice. Bottom left is Robert C. Byrd served for 50 years holding the Constitution and pointing to the Senate chambers. Next a picture of the Capital building next to that is a picture from the rear of the building and bottom right is taken from the second floor at the dome.

 Before the civil war she organized mother club to raise money for medicine and food.  She wanted them to be neutral during the war helping both sides with the wounded. After the war she organized Mother Friendship Day to bring soldiers and neighbors together. After her death in 1905 her daughter campaigned to establish a nationally recognized Mother's day.  The first one was May 10 1908 six years later Woodrow Wilson signed a resolution setting aside Mother's Day as a national holiday celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Top right civil war medals which their are still unclaimed ones.  Below the flag quilts by Mary Levy.  She collected flags in premium cigarette packages and made them into a quilt to teach her children.

 Some of the quilts that were showed  at the museum.

 Water drain barrels found in the middle of city.

Fri. At Little Beaver state Park we went on a walk along the dam and lake.  As you can see there were many  types of mushrooms and flowers.

 We then drove to New River Gorge National River Park.  We went for a walk along the Grandview top left if you look you can see Linda at bottom of picture.  Top middle the path was very narrow and steep we walked 1.6 miles to a overlook as you can see in the top right.  The picture just does not capture the beauty God has made in these mountains.  At the park they had a play,before the play a church group came and sang songs for hour (bottom left). Then you have the McCoy's middle and the Hatfield's right. I know the story of the Hatfield and McCoy's but I can't remember seeing it.

 Sat. After a short night we went to Babcock State Park.  Along the way we passed a coal train (top left). They had a mill there(bottom left).  At the park office built in the 30's(Top 3rd picture) they had many items carved out of coal(top right). In the Second row left Linda and I stopped for lunch overlooking the mountains. Next picture you see a swinging bridge which was close to the two log cabins also built in the 30's(last two in the row). At the park they had a swimming pool,volleyball, baseball, tennis and a lake where you could rent boats (third row). Next to the lake a person was driving along the rocks which was like us extremely narrow road. In the fourth row you can see the road in the woods.

 This is Hawks Nest State Park. top three pictures are of the famous New River Gorge Bridge.  We took pictures from many angles(walking, truck and boat).  They had a cat walk which you can go across and we were going to do that but ran out of time.It spans 1,700 ft and is the largest single span arch bridge in the hemisphere.To picture it: It is 876ft high.Beneath the bridge, the Statue of Liberty could stand twice atop the Washington Monument with 20 ft to spare!! Second row first two pictures we were driving over the bridge.  second row right we drove over  the narrow old bridge which was the bridge before the big one. While we were down there we picked and ate red raspberries they were ripe and full of flavor(THIRD LEFT). Next we went to Hawks Nest State Park and walked a trail to lovers leap(3rd middle)Short of the story goes Indian chief daughter forced to marry chief of another tribe. She is in love with warrior of her tribe they escape hunted by tribe end up on cliff wanted to be together so with arms around each other they jumped to death. We went on the tram 3rd row right then on a jet boat (4th middle) on our boat ride we passed many fish houses on the river(4th row right). None of these houses have elec. sewer, or water.

Sun. Linda made pancakes for breakfast then we went to church and at bible class they had sausage and biscuits. We went shopping then back to Church.Mon. It was time to move again.  We drove to Flatwood, West Virginia a core of eng.park called Gerald R Freeman Campground.  It is a very nice park with alot of tent sites.  They have 3 playgrounds, 2 volleyball courts, 2 boat launches,marina, and Snak Shak(Top two pictures). They also have washing machine so we got caught up on it.  Tues. We had a hard rain last night and most of the morning.  We drove to a Amish bulk store had ice cream and did some work on the computer.  There is no internet (that is with our personal hot spot) and poor phone service at the camp ground. We drove to Flatwoods, Sutton(bottom four pictures), and Gassaway.  I did not know that there was so many Civil War battles in this area and in W.V.  The top right picture is of Holly Gray Park a park used for their fairs and special events.

 We also found out that in this area there was a Legendary Branxton County Monster aka the Flatwoods monster or Phantom of Flatwoods short of the story 4 boys playing football on Sept 12, 1952 they saw like a shooting star adjacent hill top.  Went to check it out Mrs. May and her 2 boys came. they saw object glowing and hissing about 10 feet tall. Two lights about 12 inches apart, bright red face, bright green clothing. Face looked like ace of spades, and it looked like it was floating on air  toward them.

Wed. We traveled to Cass W.V.  where they started logging in 1901 and the town started in 1902.  They have many trains from the early 1900's.  They have taken the train cars that carried the logs from the mountains and made them so they could carry people (top right). Top left picture is the conductor oiling the engine. This train was made to haul heavy loads in the mountain top speed on flat ground was around 10 mph.  If you look closely you can see the gears are on the side of the wheels and only driven from the one side of the train. Top middle you can see how crooked the tracks get going up the mountain. Middle left top is a wood mill that has been burned down. Middle bottom left a diesel and steam loaders built in the 30's. Picture in the middle is at  Cass station. Middle right pictures of the caboose. It was a kitchen on tracks. Bottom a portable camp shanty 12 x 16 built for the cook, superintendent, lever man, and surveyor the rest of the crew lived in bunk cars. Bottom right a view from camp at Whittaker.

 From their we traveled to National Radio Astronomy Observatory.  Top right is a example of the world,s largest movable radio telescope and bottom two pictures we are just outside of the fenced in area.  The surface is bigger than a football field by 20 yards.  It is as tall as the Washington monument. We saw a short movie presentation of what it does and I still do not understand it (but I think it is important to discover outer space).

 We then went thou Seneca State Forest to Cranberry Mountain Nature Center to find it closed on Tues. and Wed. We then traveled to Cranberry Glades Botanical Area where we took pictures of some of the flowers.  Then to Cranberry Wilderness trail where we saw one of the three falls(bottom middle.  Bottom right is a swing bridge to a house along the highway.  Folks park on the highway and walk to there home across the river!

Fourth Of July, Trip to West Virginia

Thur. We stayed home and went through our mail.  After paying alot of the Dr. visit bills we drove around some of the small towns found a Starbucks, had dinner and I got a hair cut we came home.
Fri. Happy Fourth of July!!!  Today we got up at 6 after a night of rain from Hurricane Arthur was hitting N.C. coast. The temperature was 60 with no humidity.  We spent the day reading outside and having a cook out.

 As night came we had a campfire and had s'mores (yum yum).  We then watched the fireworks on TV.

Sat. We had a hard time sleeping during the night it was 9 when we woke.  After breakfast we sat down with the maps to see where we are going to go.  The outer banks will be on hold till a later date.(thanks to the hurricane) It will give them time to get things cleaned up after the hurricane.  The park had a golf cart parade to celebrate Fourth of July.  I lost count when we got up to 40.

 Sun. We went to church I got lost on the way home so we stopped by the store and got some more ice cream and things.  We played putt putt for the third time, had a nice dinner, then back to church.  One of the ladies there gave us some cucumbers and squash. It is so nice to eat fresh veg's. right out of the garden.
Mon. We got the rig ready and left for West Virginia. The first two pictures show the beginning of the tunnels we went through and the top right we are in the tunnel.  Middle left row rt. coming out of the tunnel, middle picture is a run off ramp for folks that have lost there breaks on these steep mountains, right and bottom first two are of the parkway, and bottom rt welcome to West Virginia.  We got set up at Beckley Exhibition Mine Campground. We hope to go on the tour this week while we are here.

Tues.  We left for Lewisburg on the way there we stopped by a Info and exhibit of the sand stone in Blue Ridge.  He told us about the Greenbrier Valley.  We found they had a bunker tour at Greenbrier so we got reservations.  Upon arriving there the place was magnified. It has five champion golf courses and last week-end they had the PGA at Greenbrier. As you can see in the middle picture the front of the hotel and top left the side entrance. Top middle is a place where the spring water came in old days people thought it was healing waters. Top right is the swimming pool Middle top some folks playing croquet below it is one of many flower beds. Middle top is the front entrance from the hotel below it and the bottom row some of the golf course.

 The top left is the check in at the hotel, middle the pattern of carpet, right is one of the many meeting rooms with a fireplace. Middle left a ball room, middle meeting room, and right some of the figurines around the hotel.  Bottom left coming up the stairs, right of it is a dinning room, next to it a section of drapes and bottom right a meeting room.

 As we traveled around the courtyards there were many statues and fountains.  I like the top two on the right where in the garden they are across from each other and it looks like they are racing. Some of the statues were hidden or had vines on the picture bottom third from left.
What we do not have pictured of is the  bunker.  We went on a tour of it and had to give up phones and cameras.  It was built at height of cold war and kept a secret for 30 years. It was never used but came close during the Cuban crisis. It had 112,544 square feet, could house 1,100 people in the 18 dormitories.  It had its own power plant, communication area, clinic, meeting rooms and lounges.  The house could meet in its own room and the Senate in its room. It had 20 to 60 feet of dirt between it and the hotel above it. It stood in ready mode till May 31, 1992 when a article "The Last Resort" exposed the site. We both enjoyed the tour and the grounds.

  First two pictures top row are some of the buildings in Lewisburg where we ate at "Food and Friends" (the ribs and mussels were wonderful a large salad, mashed potatoes and veg. melody. This restaurant was featured on the food network. The last two picture top were of Carnegie Hall one of four in operation in the world. The middle four pictures the Cemetery where 95 Confederate soldiers were buried during the May 23, 1862 battle. The middle right is grave of Dick Pointer a slave who defended Fort Donnally in May 1778.  In 1801 he asked for his freedom because he defended the Fort but was denied and the town's people built him a cabin where he lived till his death in 1827. Bottom left was a Coffman Covered Wagon built before 1788 and bottom right two pictures our trip home on I64.