2011-06 Ft Chiswell, VA

After leaving Solitude Pointe, we traveled about 80 miles over to Gaffney, SC and had our motorhome serviced at the Freightliner Service Center.  We highly recommend this location for service to a Freightliner motorhome chassis.  We stayed several days and enjoyed meeting and spending time with several very nice RVers.  Then we traveled up to Ft Chiswell RV Park.  It is a very convenient stop where I-77 intersects I-81 in southern Virginia.

We only intended to stay 2 nights, but our rear AC stopped working.  We were fortunate to find a skilled mobile RV repairman.  However he had to order parts late on a Thursday, and they did not arrive until late the following Tuesday.  So we changed our plans and stayed 9 days rather than 2. It all worked out fine since we met several more nice people and enjoyed touring the area.

One of the highlights was an evening at the Wohlfafrt Dinner Theater in nearby Wytheville, VA where we were joined by our neighbor and new friend John Williams from Georgia.  The dinner show was a musical they had developed called "American Bandstand".  We enjoyed hearing lots of 50's and 60's music.  We have plans to stop at Ft Chiswell on our return journey and hope to go see another presentation by this talented group of young performers.

The countryside around Wytheville is really beautiful.   Here are some of the photos we took on several long rides in the area.  (The first photo at the top of the page was taken in the campground parking lot.)

One of our drives took us to Big Walker Overlook.   It is at an old country store that is a bit of a "tourist trap".  It sits at the top of a ridge and has a tall observation tower.  We did not climb the metal tower because we could hear thunder in the distance, but the views were still very nice from either side of the ridge.

 There were three pretty Luna Moths on the side of the wall just over the entrance to the old store.  Here is one of them:

We stopped in Wytheville for lunch at the "The Old Log House 1776 Restaurant".  As the name implies it is an old historic 2 story log house.  On the outside it looks like it is about to fall down and it is pretty rustic on the inside.

We had a very good lunch.  While it was being prepared we wandered around the garden and gift shop out back and the waitress came to find us when our meal was ready.

We had a good time at the restaurant and will go back when we return later this year.  We also enjoyed visiting a couple of gift shops just down the street and there are more in the area we want to see when we return.

06-09 Ash Lawn-Highland

From 06-09 Ashlawn-Highland

Our time in Virginia seems to have been the tour of Presidential homes. Friday we drove over to James Monroe’s home, Ash Lawn-Highland. Monroe lived about 2 miles from his good friend Thomas Jefferson and about 25 miles from James Madison another good friend. His family lived at Highland from 1799-1823. Later owners changed the name of the plantation to Ash Lawn because of the Ash trees that lined the driveway.

Monroe was not nearly as wealthy as Jefferson and Madison so his home was not as grand, but it was still lovely. Unlike the other homes we have toured, Ash Lawn-Highland has not been restored to the way it looked in Monroe’s time. Instead it still has the additions and changes made by other owners. In the photo below, the white portion dates to Monroe’s time, and the yellow is a subsequent addition.

From 06-09 Ashlawn-Highland

It is set up to display life in the 19th century. It is furnished with beautiful period antiques. Many are from the Monroe family, but others are from the succeeding owners or were added to represent similar furnishings to the Monroe’s. Again we could not take interior shots.

There are several slave dwellings and the overseer’s house in the back of the house.

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There was a small formal garden in the rear. It was aligned so that at one time you could look down the distant walk way and see the dome of Monticello. Trees block the view now.

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There were pretty lilies in bloom.

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From 06-09 Ashlawn-Highland

There was a boxwood garden with a statue of Monroe in one alcove. (See picture at the beginning of this post)

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The Monroe’s had a vegetable garden but only about 1/5 the size of the one at Monticello.

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This tree dates from Monroe’s time.

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The views across the pastures were lovely,

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and along the entrance drive.

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We enjoyed our time at Ashj Lawn-Highland. It is well worth a stop when you are visiting nearby Monticello. Allow 1 1/2 to 2 hours for your visit. The house tour lasts about 45 minutes.

06-09 Virginia Scenic Views

From 06-09 Virginia Scenic Views

I have talked about the beautiful scenery we have enjoyed in our drives while in Virginia. Before we headed to James Monroe’s home, we drove arounf the area near the campground. Here are some photos from our drive.

This is a farm across the road from the Campground. Note the tall grass ready for mowing after all the rain we have had for the past few weeks.

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This is a large horse farm.

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From 06-09 Virginia Scenic Views

This is a view of the same farm from the opposite direction. The white building to the right is a huge barn. The farm’s mansion was just down the road. It looked like it had more rooms than all the combined rooms in the President’s homes we have visited. It was huge.

From 06-09 Virginia Scenic Views

This is an overlook off nearby I-64. It is very near where the Blue Ridge Parkway ends and Skyline Drive begins.

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When we saw this sign at the overlook, we thought about our friend Tony at the Barnyard RV Park who flew sport gliders when he lived in England.

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This is another overlook a few miles further along I-64.

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This overlook also had a memorial to workers from the Virginia Department of Transportation who were killed in accidents while working on Virginia Highways. We were saddened to see how many names were listed. It is a reminder to slow down in construction areas.

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06-09 Poplar Forest

From 06-09 Poplar Forest

Did you know Thomas Jefferson had a second home called Poplar Forest? We did not but learned about it during our visit to Monticello. It is about 75 miles south of the campground. So we drove down Wednesday. It was another beautiful drive. This may be the prettiest area we have visited so far in our RV travels.

Jefferson’s wife Martha inherited the Poplar Forest plantation in 1773. It had just over 4800 acres and was located near Lynchburg. VA. They visited Poplar Forest periodically, but it was not until 1806 during his second term as President that Jefferson started building a home there. It is a unique octagonal shape. The whole structure, including interior walls, was built of brick. The interior walls were covered with lathing, and this was then covered with plaster similar to other colonial homes with traditional wood framing. It has large windows and a long skylight in the middle dining room. So it is very bright and pleasant inside.

The house has one main story with a basement below.

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The basement was used for storage. This room held his wine.

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Now the basement has an excellent display explaining the history of the house, story of the renovation, things found in archeological digs, etc.

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They are still doing archeological digs on the property. A group of college students arrived during our visit to work there during the summer.

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Jefferson later added a “Wing of Offices” similar to those under the patios on each side on Monticello.

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The “Wing” contained the kitchen, smoke house and other work spaces. The kitchen was very modern for its time incorporating features Jefferson had seen in France and were already in use at Monticello. In the right corner in the photo below there is a large round opening and 3 square ones. The round one was to keep a pot of hot water constantly available. The 3 square ones were for simmering pots. Hot coals were taken from the fireplace and placed on a recessed grate. Ashes fell below and could be removed from the opening at floor level. Then pots were placed on a grate at the counter top height to simmer. Jefferson installed the same cooking arrangement in the White House when he was President.

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There are two “necessaries” (out houses) on each side of the house. Jefferson had 3 inside toilets at Monticello but none at Poplar Forest. The necessaries are also Octagon shaped.

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Jefferson’s will deeded Poplar Forest and 1,000 acres to a Grandson who later sold the property and moved to Florida. It has passed through several owners since. One family kept the house for 118 years. During their ownership the house burned in 1845. Because all the walls were originally built of brick, they were able to rebuild in the same shape but with significant changes to Jefferson’s design.

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In the 1990’s local businessmen formed a foundation to buy and protect the home. They have acquired 600 acres of surrounding property including a golf course they own but do not manage. Without the foundation’s intervention, significantly more development would have occurred.

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They are slowly doing research and restoring the house and property to the way it looked in Jefferson’s time. They do not have near the funding as the foundation at Montpelier. The interior and exterior walls have been restored to Jefferson’s design and the office wing rebuilt. There is much remaining to be done to finish plastering and painting the walls plus adding all the molding and other finishing touches. They have examples of how it will look when finished.

Some day they also plan to restore the garden, lawn and trees to Jefferson’s design. It is pretty now, but I would love to see it with all the flowers, shrubs and trees like we saw at Monticello.

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He planted Mulberry trees at Poplar Forest just as he had done at Monticello. We had a picnic under one. I did not realize the berries look much like blackberries or boysenberries.

From 06-09 Poplar Forest

We were glad we visited Poplar Forest. It was interesting to see more of Jefferson’s work, and we enjoyed another drive across the Virginia countryside.

06-09 National D-Day Memorial

From 06-09 National D-Day Memorial

After leaving Thomas Jefferson’s second home at Poplar Forest, we traveled 17 miles to Bedford, Virginia to make a brief visit to the National D-Day Memorial. The small town of Bedford (population 3200 during WWII) suffered the highest proportional loss of any community in America when 23 of their young men died on D-Day or shortly thereafter in the Normandy Invasion. So the National D-Day Memorial has been established there.

My Uncle, James Rone, Jr. called “Sonny Boy”, was killed on D-Day so I have always had an interest in that battle. In my Grandmother’s attic I found some of his letters written while he was in the Army and that made an even stronger connection for both Monique and me.

There is another interesting connection. We always were uncertain exactly how Sonny Boy died. His death was so painful that no one in our family ever talked about it. So one of my cousins, also named James Rone, did some research. He interviewed a man named Max Bollinger who served with my Uncle and was a close friend. It turns out Mr. Bollinger even came to my Grandmother’s funeral, but James and I were unaware who he was. Anyway, one of my best friends and roommates at Mississippi State was Phil Bollinger. I talked to Phil and yes he had an Uncle named Max. Sure enough when Phil talked to his Uncle, he found out his Uncle Max was my Uncle’s friend. Small world!

As we pulled up to the Memorial, Monique looked up and saw this cloud. It looked like a WWII bomber flying overhead. It was a bit eerie seeing it overhead. The formation was breaking up as I found my camera, but I think you can still see the general shape.

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The memorial is outstanding. There are plaques and features honoring all the nations and military branches that participated in D-Day.

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From 06-09 National D-Day Memorial

There is a fountain that represents the beach landings and uses underwater bursts of air blowing spouts of water to simulated the gunfire surrounding the men.

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Another area has a flower garden in the shape of the shoulder patch worn by the American troops.

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There is a prominent statute of General Eisenhower

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and busts of the major Allied Commanders including Omar Bradley seen here.

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We found the plaque with Uncle Sonny Boy’s name.

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I was glad to see that he had been honored, but it was a very sad moment seeing his name and thinking of the loss.