Buena Vista Budget Inn

... of the migratory “Flight of the Monarch Butterflies”, and for several miles through this region, almost every tree is filled with the ‘Caterpillar Tents” that will become the beautiful Monarch Butterfly around the end of September.

Back out on the Skyline Drive early, we headed on ...

Wow what a great day. We woke up around 8.30, had a yummy breakfast in the hotel then went across the street to see the Natural Bridge. It was amazing as you can see from the pictures. We walked the trail and saw the mock Native American Village. It was here that I plucked up the courage to ask a family if I could photograph their children and ...

--My first weekend Krissa and Andrew took me to Baltimore to watch the Preakness horse race, which is one of three in the Triple Crown. It was not was I expected, but I loved how everyone gets decked out in their big hats and cute dresses. There were a lot of people and a lot of betting. The horses were gorgeous.

--Went and stayed with Amara’s friend in Hampton, VA. We went to the ...

... Charleston, West Virginia, and then being thrashed by a driving rain- and thunder-storm while crossing the Appalachian Mountains. We're tucked in for the night, and heading on to Gloucester, VA tomorrow, to settle in for our Lewis Family Reunion. g'nite!

There are quite a few little videos in this blog, but we can't place them at the relevant places in the text, which is a shame, however do click on them it'll seem as if you were there too! (if you really were, the sound would have been better) Don't view as a slideshow as that doesn't allow you to start the videos (do that next time when you view again).

It seems that by travelling in the summer months ...

... parade as we didn’t know about it until too late. I’m sure it would have been quite a spectacle. Cadets from here have been part of every presidential inauguration, including Obama’s earlier this year. The campus, like W&L is open to the public, in fact they welcome visitors. VMI has its own museum which though small, proved to be very interesting. About 46% of the students join the military (most of these I would think have ...

... s stoicism, the president battled on with his address (he was under shelter though) and thankfully the rain eased off just before the first graduate was presented with their scroll. Many of the guests had escaped to the shelter of the terrace but this didn’t spoil the proceedings and despite not being as colourful as English ceremonies in that the graduate’s gowns are plain black with no distinguishing hoods ...

We left early this morning and arrived early afternoon at a campground in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. We arrived early enough to do a little sightseeing. We went to the Natural Bridge (it is amazing) and went through the Wax Museum and Toy Museum. We took a nature trail to a nice waterfall and that was our EXERCISE for the day! On the way back to the campground we stopped at a little "Country Cafe" and had a delicious country meal ...

... bit daft in this location; anyway the grounds man here has placed some protective stones around their eggs. The poor birds are forever feigning injury and broken wings every time anything or anybody comes near and they try to draw the threat away. Squirrels seem to be particularly irksome. They must be stressed out all the time! We carefully – and with a zoom lens – got this piccie for you ...

... holds all the evidence that has been recovered from Jamestown Island so far, including the original foundation still in place of the Governor's buildings that are under the floor of the archeatorium and covered by glass so they can be seen; and the displays are being added to as new digs are uncovering more 'stuff'. Today, I saw horse bones (probably having been eaten by the settlers) and other things from a midden that is being worked right now; and I watched a man who ...