Appomattox Court House (Lynchburg, VA)

Law office

We spent a couple of hours visiting the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park.  We did not stay long because of the sweltering heat was almost unbearable.  Standing in the shade watching sweat pour off us just wasn't our idea of entertainment.

McLean's Home - Grant & Lee agreed to surrendering terms

It was interesting to see the place where the Civil War finally came to an end and heartbreaking descriptions of the men’s reactions to the surrender.  The McLean house gave great insight to how they lived back in the 1860’s.   The kitchen and the ice house are still separate from the main house and the slave’s quarters were nearby. I did see some old quilts, but there was no information about them.

The local weather man says this heat will break next week.  I hope so because it is not fun spending all day inside the motorhome.  I hope everyone is staying cool during these hot days.


I received an email from Borders about closing their doors.  I love visiting Borders.  When we lived in Albuquerque, I would drive an extra 15 minutes to a grocery store just because their neighbor was a Borders.  I know there are still other bookstores but for some reason, Borders was my favorite.  I will miss them.

Virginia Quilt Museum (Harrisonburg, VA)

Crossed Laurel Leave (c. 1836)

My visit to Virginia Quilt Museum (museum link) was very inspiring and fulfilled my quilting needs...well, for a month…okay, for a couple of weeks....hmmm, maybe.   It has been too long since I have talked quilts with another quilter besides online or to view other quilters art work.  It is such a wonderful feeling.

Oh! And talk about a small world!  The receptionist (and I’m sorry I did not get her name) had lived in Los Alamos, NM.  It was nice to talk to her about New Mexico, Virginia, Harrisonburg, and quilts.

Chiquita Banana by Carolyn Lynch

I picked a good time to visit, because the museum’s exhibit featured a non-conformist quilter Carolyn Lynch.  My kind of quilter!  I have seen her work off and on over the years, but I have never read about her dilemma with quilting rules.   Carolyn did not follow the rules; she followed her heart and her sense of humor.  Carolyn’s quilts did not fit into any of the judging exhibits when she submitted her unique work.  That’s when they created a new category: "Articles of Merit Not Listed".  I have linked the museum’s write up on Carolyn’s story, but it will only be there for the time of the exhibit which ends on 3 September.

The result of years of quilting showed a very diverse and entertaining quilt exhibit.  If I did not know that the quilts were all made by one quilter, I would have sworn they were made by many different quilters.

“Puff’s Revenge” is my favorite quilt!  Two of my favorite things: Dragons and quilts – together even better.

Puff's Revenge by Carolyn Lynch

The second quilt that caught my eye and I spent a lot of time looking at was the “Ode to Candle Salad”.  I have never heard of this salad so I was very curious about it.  Have you heard of the candle salad?

Ode to Candle Salad by Carolyn Lynch

Another exhibit I thoroughly enjoyed was the Civil War quilts.  Beautiful quilts with such tiny stitches.   It is amazing the great condition they are in today.

Friendship Star Pieced Quilt (c.1856)

This is the Greene Family Album Quilt.  Mary Ware Greene found the original quilt in her late husband’s trunk.  It had been stored in the attic for their entire marriage.   One block is signed Cinnie C. Pearce.  I think it is such a shame that this beautiful quilt spent all that time hidden away in a trunk.  At least now, it is on display for all to admire.

Greene Family Album Quilt (c. 1882)

Links to Shenandoah National Park  and Virginia Quilt Museum Webshots album.

Okay!  Time to quilt!

Shenandoah National Park

Wild Flowers along Skyline Drive

I’m back!  WooHoo!  I missed my internet!  It is amazing how much I need my internet connection.   With a few strokes of the keyboard, I have information, news from family and friends along with entertainment.  Instant gratification!  Oh yea!

Well, the good news is that I did get a little more quilting done in the evenings.

2nd Pumpkin and 2 more snowmen

Started Garden Nouveau

Since the last time I blogged, we have been busy exploring the Shenandoah National Park and some of the surrounding area.  We stayed in Loft Mountain Campground inside the Park.  I felt like we were on top of the world.  All the scenic views were spectacular. We had to drive 25 miles on Skyline Drive to get to the campground.  I wasn't so sure about this drive in the motorhome since I had read a description saying the drive wound around on top of the ridge of the mountains.  But it wasn't that bad.  Most of the time it was a tree covered road with wide and very spacious overlook areas.  We could fit our motorhome towing the car with plenty of space for many more cars.

Great views from Skyline Drive

We had just settled in to our new home when the park received a good downpour.  I don’t think it lasted more than an hour, but it certainly made a difference in the temperature.  The weather stayed cool most of our stay.  Which was a big plus since we were dry camping (no hookups) during our stay.  It was so nice to be able to sleep with the windows open.

For our first full day in the park, we did a 3.5 mile hike on Doyles Fall Trail that was described as being “moderate”.  I felt so out of shape!  It felt more like “difficult” to me.  It took me two days to recuperate from that hike.  The next hike was a little over 4 miles on Rose River Falls.  Two friendly Rangers advised us that the trail was an easier walk than Doyles and better because it followed the cascading river.   I did not feel as wimpy on this trail, but I still need to get back into shape.

I’ll try to get my photos uploaded to Webshots in a couple of days.

Next blog:  Virginia Quilt Museum

We move to Gladys, VA.  Not too far from Lynchburg.   I’m not sure how long we will stay here before moving west to Tennessee.