8/11-13/11 – George’s 50th Class Reunion

One of us graduated from high school in Spokane, WA; one of us graduated from Las Vegas HS.    Guess who wanted to back to Washington for the 50^th class reunion???  Yep, got it in one!

George graduated from Rogers HS in 1961, and had been planning to go to reunion before we even left on our trip.  I wasn’t quite as excited as he was...  

One of the reasons we stayed at the RV park near Colonial Beach, VA, was its decent proximity to Reagan National in DC, with storage for the truck and trailer while we were gone.  For that we put up with heat, humidity, no internet connectivity, and lousy phone reception. 

We flew to Seattle on the 4^th.  Our house sitter “moved” to his sister’s for the duration.  That meant we got to stay in our very own house!  It was a little weird seeing someone else’s stuff there too.   Lots of new growth in the garden, especially in the designated weed section—the area I used to call the herb garden…

For the next few days, we caught up with family & friends.  I had lunch with people from Panasonic that I used to work with.  After lunch, I wandered around the office to gloat a bit.  People kept asking me if I was coming back to work.  HHHAAAAAAAA!

 

                           

We also got decent haircuts while we were in town.  Couldn’t we get haircuts elsewhere in the US, you ask?  Ha!  While we were in Texas, we got the worst haircuts ever.  George’s was lopsided and stuck out on one side in a Bozo style.  I was almost scalped with sort of a young Mia Farrow look. I wore hats for months.  (I think the moral is to never tell the person with scissors that you’re travelling and won’t be back.  Gives them way too much power!)  

We drove to Spokane on Wednesday, and stayed with friends, trying to be the most unobtrusive house guests we could be.  (I think it worked because we mostly weren’t there.)

We had dinner with George's daughter Judy & her family.  (Here are pictures of the grandkids.)

Brendan



    

Zachary

Alexis

George and his friends played in two golf tournaments.  (I don’t do golf—but we have a deal:  any money he spends on golf, I get to spend the equal amount on anything I want.  J )  There was a BBQ after the 2^nd one.   

While George was on the greens the second day, I had a 2-hour lunch with a friend who also used to work at Panasonic.  (All ex-PAC employees who have escaped toast our success!)  Wonder if that's why I wasn't very hungry at the BBQ?

On Saturday morning there was a tour of the remodeled and renovated high school.  Small groups of us were led through the hallways by the current cheerleaders (really young and bouncy—oh, wait!  That’s the definition of “cheerleader”. J ).  I decided it looks a lot like a high school, which may have been their intent.  As expected, I lost my direction immediately (even without the GPS) but we had guides.

That evening there was a reception, followed by dinner and dancing at the historic Davenport Hotel in downtown Spokane.  The entire event was funded by one of the class graduates, who obviously wasn’t much worried about social security.  That was really nice—it let people attend who couldn’t afford to come otherwise.  Since I knew a grand total of 6 people there, I practiced small talk about our trip with dozens of strangers with whom I don’t even have a yearbook in common.  I think George talked to everybody.

The next day we drove back to Seattle, then flew home a couple of days later (“Home is where you park it!”).  George had a great time, but it’s nice to be back in the RV to continue our trip.  

7/30/11 – Fredericksburg Battlefield NMP

The official title of the 4 separate Civil War battlefields near Fredericksburg, VA, is Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park.  Each battlefield has a driving tour, and a complete tour of the the whole thing covers over 70 miles.  After a hot and humid afternoon of running errands, we only visited one:  Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitors Center in town.  Just walked, didn't drive.

We saw the movie at the Visitors Center, then went outside for a tour of the battlefield.  The intern who led our tour is a college kid--I'd say she's a Valley Girl, but she's from Chicago.  She’s perky and enthusiastic, uses big wild gestures, which makes her fun to watch.  A little exhausting, but fun.

I don’t know how much Civil War history you remember.  (I can remember who won, a few battles, a few generals.)  Therefore, a lot of this history stuff seems brand-new to me. If I bore you, feel free to skip to the pictures.

Poor Fredericksburg was midway between the Confederate capital of Richmond and the Union capital of Washington.  It’s on the banks of the Rappahannock River, a natural defensive position.  There were 3 major campaigns near there, and 4 battles:  2 at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Wilderness & Spotsylvania Court House.  In all there were over 105,000 casualties!  More than 80% of the 15,000 Union soldiers buried at the Fredericksburg Natl Cemetery are unidentified…

Union General Ambrose Burnside (his weird whiskers prompted the term sideburns) seems to have been particularly inept; some consider him one of the worst commanders of the Civil War.  Fredericksburg was one of his fiascos.  After his troops finally crossed the river to occupy then sack the town, he kept pushing waves of soldiers across bare fields.  The Confederates had the advantage of high ground at Marye’s Heights (pronounced “Marie’s”), and were entrenched behind the walls of the Sunken Road.   One of the Confederate soldiers said that they didn't have to worry about missing, and often hit two at a time.  In 8 hours, Burnside's strategy lost 8,000 soldiers—1,000 died men every hour. 

Confederate position on Sunken Road





Brompton House (Confederate Headquarters)

Innis House

Fredericksburg was a triumph for Robert E. Lee & Stonewall Jackson, and a miserable defeat for the Union.  The park website has some pretty good info on the battle if you want to find out more.  NPS History of Fredericksburg Battle

Monument to "Angel of Maryes Heights" who carried water to wounded on both sides

Click on link for a few more pictures:  Fredericksburg Battlefield 

7/26/11 – Shenandoah NP

It's 5 miles from where the RV was parked to the Front Royal entrance of Shenandoah National Park.  The major attraction is Skyline Drive, which follows the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains 105 miles south where it joins the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It was built by the CCC during the Depression.  It’s just 60 miles from Washington, DC.

We stopped at the Dickey Ridge Visitors Center, but their power had gone off so we couldn’t see the movie…George got passport stamps though.

Skyline Drive is a narrow mountain road built by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) during the Depression.  The low rock walls they built line the road.  They built 75 overlooks too, and we stopped at a bunch of them. 

We walked a tiny section of the Appalachian Trail from one of the overlooks.  The mountain views are hazy, but there are marvelous views of the Shenandoah Valley to the west, with the river meandering back and forth, paralleling the ridge we were on. 

    

Summer is wildflower season and there were lots alongside the road—blue chicory, white Queen Anne’s lace and fairy candles, yellow goldenrod and coneflowers.   

Although there are 500 miles of hiking trails in the park, we only went on the one to Dark Hollow Falls.  It’s about ¾ mile downhill to the falls, but feels like double that going back!  We are so out of shape--too much flatland, heat & humidity lately!

        

We stopped at Byrd Visitors Center across from Big Meadows, but it was getting near to closing time so we didn’t get to see their movie either.   They have a statue out front as a tribute to the CCC.  (I took a picture--"Iron Mike" is the one on the right.)

We’d only gone 50 miles, but as the sun got lower the haze got worse.  We decided that we’d go back up to the Thornton Gap entrance just past the Marys Rock Tunnel, head east and north so we could drive through the Shenandoah Valley.  I think the Shenandoah Valley is the prettiest part of Virginia. 

Just as we got back in the truck, and I was digging out something for us to eat, a mama bear with 2 cubs crossed the road in front of us.  I wasn’t quick enough to get the camera turned back on so I missed the picture.  (The cubs were really cute though.) 

I think the views at Great Smoky Mountains NP were better; apparently Washington DC pollutes a lot more than just the political environment...Go here for more pictures:  Shenandoah National Park