Buena Vista, VA

We arrived at Buena Vista pronounced by locals as "Buna" Vista. After unhitching around 1 pm we noticed a baseball field, mostly fenced where we could turn Annie loose along with her new friend "Griz" a small mutt that is on our caravan.

This is Annie's first time ever to be able to just run. Run without her leash. She and Griz ran until they could not run anymore. It was great fun to watch them running just for the pure joy of running. It was good too 'cause Annie slept 9 hours that night before we had to let her out to "tee-tee."

In the evening we had a "cook-out" of Taco salad, it was good and great not to have to find food after the drive. Most of our caravaners are southerners and it was their first time for Taco salad.

Next day we drove to Lexington, just 8 miles away to visit Lee Chapel on the Washington-Lee University Campus. Our guide gave a talk slanted toward the south. He kept mentioning the "Yankees" but never once mentioned the "Rebels." I should have called him on it, but I'm out numbered here.

Next we visited Stonewall Jackson's house which was very interesting because I have read a lot about him. No photo's were allowed, but the tour was good and the talk was OK.

From here we went on a carriage ride pulled by two white horses named Minnie and Pearl. It was a nice slow ride but just as we reached the cemetery and I was taking a photo of Jackson's monument, the  horses broke the carriage tongue and were free. Fast thinking on my part due to watching all those old westerns as a kid, I jumped from the wagon onto the horses and stopped the runaway team just like Tom Mix always did. Well, actually I held Minnie's nose so she would hold still while the girl driver put things back together.

We had Annie along, and she got to see her very first horses up close.

After a costly lunch but great apple cobbler we drove to VMI and toured their museum. This is a great museum, some of our greatest soldiers came from here, Geo. Patton for one. We were to also have a guided tour and watch a Dress Parade, but they were rained out.

Yes, it rained hard. When we got back home, I don't know how we do it but the trailer was sitting in water. We can find the low spots to park on. By morning things were not too soggy and we hitched up for our next site.

Annie saw her first horse.

No pictures were allowed inside.

VMI Chapel 

This stop we did not see any battlefields but we did see a lot of history both before, during and after the Civil War.

See Ya! Barry, Shirley and Annie