Paint Bank Virginia (Field Trip)

Last week, our family made the long drive out to Paint Bank, Virginia.  The drive, in the fall is spectacular with changing leaves, mountains and wildlife.  The road has more twists and turns than a plate full of cooked spaghetti.  Lindsey bought a t-shirt that pretty well sums up the drive.

The town itself is pretty small.  There's the Paint Bank General Store which houses the Swinging Bridge Restaurant, Tingler's Mill, a craft store and the Depot Lodge.   The lodge has all kinds of options from glamping, cabins and a refurbished railroad car!    There's a pretty big buffalo farm there, and the restuarant has bison on the menu, and the store carries fresh bison to purchase.  This is a great day trip (depending on how far away you live), but would also make a great weekend (or week long) getaway for couples.

I'll share some photos from our trip.  It was just lovely.  The first photos are of the store (front and back), and in the gift shop above the restaurant.  Yes, there is an actual swinging bridge that you can walk on upstairs.

The mill is really neat, and you can go inside and see all the old equipment.

Obviously, with a mill, there's a water supply.  Pott's Creek runs beside the mill, and there's also a lovely fish pond up above the mill that's stocked with rainbow trout.

The Depot Lodge is next on our tour.

I'll wrap up our tour with photos of the buffalo farm, some bizarre artwork and random photos from our walk about.  

If you ever get a chance to visit, do it!  Take Dramamine and a barf bag along, just in case!

National D-Day Memorial Field Trip

The girls and I were up early this morning to make a several hour drive to Bedford, Virginia to the National D-Day Memorial for their Veteran's Day Program.   It was a wonderful program, with Brigadier General Lapthe Flora as the keynote speaker.   We had a wonderful time walking around the grounds beforehand.   Here are a few of the photos.  I won't bore you with details, they are pretty self explanatory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are lots more photos that I didn't post.  But if you are ever in driving distance of the museum, I highly recommend you take advantage of this gem.

George C. Marshall Museum–Field Trip

As we began to wrap up our World War II unit study, we took a road trip to the VMI campus in Lexington, Virginia to visit the George C. Marshall Museum.

Marshall’s military experience and leadership was fundamental in the outcome of World War II.   His ability as a military leader earned this Five Star General many honors and awards, including the Congressional Gold Medal.

However, the Marshall Plan calling for the rebuilding of Europe after the war was one of his most well known accomplishments, one that earned him a Nobel Peace Prize.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The museum shows snippets of Marshall’s life from childhood, training at VMI and after, followed by his World War I involvement.  However, the majority of the museum focuses on his accomplishments of  WW2 and beyond.

Below is Marshall’s desk/chair set up as he used it while in his role as commander.

After retiring from the military, Marshall served as both ambassador and envoy to foreign countries, and served as the head of the Red Cross.

George C. Marshall was truly a remarkable soldier, leader and patriot.   This museum not only shows his abilities, but also his humility in serving for the sake of serving, not for recognition.

While I did take lots more photos, I won’t bore you with them all.   I will show one final photo.   This wall sized narrated map goes from the beginning of the war through the end, high lighting the Axis occupied/controlled areas, the Allies and the shifts of boundaries as the war raged on.   VERY interesting.