As many of you know I’m a history freak. Especially American History, and even though I consider myself fairly educated in these periods I’m always amazed and fascinated when I visit a historical site. Even with today’s technology and ability to see pictures and video’s of places, there is no replacement for being there. The one thing that pictures can’t replace is topography. The feel of ground, the hills and valleys where you can stand and see and imagine what went on. In every place I’ve visited from Vicksburg to to Appomattox to Monticello, this has been true. These places take on a feeling of walking on sacred ground and are more than just a place to see. Sunday I retraced my steps back to Yorktown, Bob and I had visited the town itself but had missed the battlefield since it was late in the day. After Bob left for home Sunday morning, I decided to ride south and cross the bridge at Yorktown over to Glouster VA then up to Fredricksburg ,York town, a short ride of 11 miles from Williamsburg. As I got near York town, I decided to detour and ride around the battlefield and then visit the visitor’s center. Standing on the earthworks where the British stood and seeing the view really did solidify understanding of what went on there. The desperation Cornwallis must have felt of being bottlenecked by French and American troops, with very little chance of escape due to the French Navy's blockade. The old saying being more true than we want to think. The Revolutionary War was stared in the North, Fought in the South and Won by the French. Here's a 360 of the British Fortifactions. and another cannon still Riding from Yorktown to across the bridge to Glouster then up VA-17 north was a pleasure. Being Sunday morning the traffic was light with most church parking lots filled. I’m a lover of historical markers, those signs along the road that show what happened at a place. Problem in Virginia is the are literally 100 ft apart lining the highway in some areas. It would be impossible to see all of them and I was
mildly saddened that I couldn’t stop and see them, but I pressed on. Getting to Fredericksburg shortly after noon, I stopped at the Battlefield Visitors Center. Fredericksburg, a place of some of the bloodiest fighting in the Civil War with several battlefields close by was high on my left of places to see. Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Chancellorsville and “The Wilderness” were all only a few miles apart. At the Fredericksburg site, I walked the “Sunken Road” on Marye’s Hights where Confederate Soldiers held off thousands of Union Soldiers that were sent by Gen Burnsides like cattle into a slaughterhouse. Again I got the feeling of being in a special place something I’ve often felts while touring these types of sites. Here are a few shots from Fredericksburg Battlefield.: The fisrt two are from "Sunken Road" where Confederate forces held off Union infantry. Though the confederates were outnumbered by the Union Forces, major tactical mistakes by General Burnside allowed Robert E Lee's forces to hold them off at Marye's Heights. The third of the graves of Union soldiers who lost their lives as Burnside affraid of a counter attack by Lee's forces, continued to send the men into a meat grinder. Thousands of men in Blue were sacrificed.
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Packed up the tent at Pocahontas State Park and headed east toward Williamsbrug. A busy Saturday had a large bicycle race going on along our route making traveling slow. We stopped at Jamestown for a few minutes at a place called the "Glass House" this was where the first settlers made glass for the Jamestown settlement. There were several artisans making glass in the same manner that the settlers did except they had a gas furnace. After purchasing a very nice oil lamp that they would ship home for me we continued on to Williamsburg. Once there we took a few hours walking the streets of one of the oldest english settlements and home of WIlliam & Mary the oldest college EST 1608. The streets were crowded with a street fair at one end but once out of the crowds I was able to get some pretty decent pictures. Availing myself the use of the town punishments called "Stocks" proved for a light momemt as we wandered around the town. My wife especiallly likes this and wants it enlarged and hung in the hallway. We ended the day with a nice meal at "Red Hot & Blue" BBQ restaurant which was quite good and put down for the night at the local Econo Lodge. This was the last day Bob was going to be with me, as he was headed home to Greenville S.C. My Time with Bob was great and we enjoyed many new sights on the road durning our travels. I'll miss our friendly banter and jokes and Bob's company.
Today I'll head up to Fredericksburg. Weather forcast for Sunday night through Tuseday is not looking good rain 80% Monday, 50% Tuesday will probably find me holed up somewhere, but I've been considering taking the train to Washington DC to visit the Smithsonian Museums on those days,if the weather is to bad. I've been pretty lucky with weather with only 1 day of rain riding. A day of rest after 5 straight riding will also be welcome. Friday the 11th found us getting up and heading out to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home near Charlottesville, VA. Aftger taking a short stop at “Becky’s Diner” for a very homemade breakfast. Bob had what we called in the service “SOS” or in civilian language “Chipped Beef On Toast” and I had an Omelette with a small bowl of the “Chipped Beef Gravy”. We arrived at Monticello and purchased our tickets and after a short shuttle ride up the hill we found ourselves at the estate. The view from the top of this mountain was spectacular with visibility of 50 miles down onto the lower piedmont area. We took the tour through the lower rooms of the home (pictures were not allowed inside) and walked around the grounds. I did however get 2 nice 360’s in the front of the house. and the back of the home with its large grass expanse. Thomas Jefferson great inventor and statesman on his gravestone he listed 3 accomplishments
1. Author of the Declaration of Independence 2. Author of the Statute of Religious Freedom 3. Father of the University of Virginia He died 50 years to the day of the signing of the Declaration of Independence the same day that John Adams another signer of the Declaration died. Governor of Virginia, twice Vice President, 2 term President of the U.S, Envoy to France after the Revolutionary War, and still had time to catalog thousands of plants and herbs. From Monticello we road to Richmond and viewed some of the old Civil War Buildings then traveled south to Pocahontas State Park where we camped for the night. It was another great day for Bob and I and we went to bed early ready for the next days adventure. Colonial Williamsburg. The Morning found the skies blue with a slight nip in the air, which was a pleasant change from the day before when we rode 300 miles in the rain. We packed up our steeds and headed to the Blue Ridge Parkway just north of the Virginia/North Carolina state line. The morning flew by as we rode the ridge with the scenery of old homes, green pastures and the occasional vista point. We headed NorthEast on the parkway and stopped for a cup of coffee at Mabrey Mills. Here there is an old grist mill that looks like it came off a post card and it was a pure pleasure to get out my camera and take a few shots. The weather though cool and breezy was perfect riding weather as we progress traversed 80 miles of the parkway enjoying the views from some of the vista's. Our goal for the day was to ride to Appomattox Courthouse where Robert E Lee surrendered to U.S. Grant to end the Civil War. As we were headed towards Lynchburg Va we saw a sign that said "National D-DAY Memorial". We had never heard of this and curiosity getting the best of me, we made a slight detour at Bedford Va to see this site. To say we were impressed would be an understatement as this Memorial stretched over about 10 acres as a timeline (no not a facebook timeline). Starting at the North end was the planning with bronze busts of all the generals that participated in the invasion. Looking back toward the planning area you could see a large sword pointing toward the beach area. I have to say that the people that designed this memorial did a very impressive job and there were some very touching moments for me as I walked the grounds. The Beach Area had soldiers in various positions in the water and there were water jets that went of randomly representing bullets striking the water. A very moving point of the beach area where the bronze soldiers seemed to be alive pulling in one case pulling his comrade towards the beach. Above the beach area was a bronze monument that showed soldiers climbing the cliffs of Normandy in various stages including one soldier falling. Again a very moving representation of the struggle and courage that our fathers, Brothers and Sons went through on that June 6th morning. (You can click on these pictures to enlarge them) At the top end of the memorial was a large red granite marker that basically summed up the whole memorial. I don't thank I could express the sentiments any better than they were here. Truly this was the "Greatest Generation" It was a very moving 90 minutes walking though this testament to the definitive moment that D-DAY was. I'm so glad we decided to make that short detour to see this. If you ever get a chance to visit the "National D-DAY memorial" in Bedford Virginia I would highly recommend it.
We did get to Appomattox and walked around again a very stirring place and wonderfully restored to look like it did the day that Lee surrendered. We ended up riding to Charlottesville Va where we spent the night. Today we will head to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home then East toward Richmond Va. Who know what detours we will take today. After heading out yesterday with expectations of overcast weather and a 30% chance of rain and 40 miles under our bikes, we arrived at Brevard NC where we had a nice breakfast with my cousin Dave and his wife Jean. We mounted back up amid some light mist and headed toward Hendersonville where we had decided to ride a short way on the interstate to connect with the Blue Ridge Parkway. As soon as we got onto the interstate the skies opened up and it started to pour. Now since I'm a California kid, this was my first experience with riding in the rain and it was unsettling. Visibility was pretty limited and I got separated from Bob. I took the next exit off and sent a voice mail to him telling him where I was so we could reconnect which we did in about 30 minutes. The rest of the day was slogging our way through the rain east on I40 then north on I77 finally landing in Hillvilles VA just north of the North Carolina/Virginia border about 5pm. The rain gear worked pretty well and I got fairly accustomed to riding in the rain by th end of the day. I commented that I now had been baptized in the waters of North Carolina.
This morning after a solid nights dry sleep, we find the skies are cloudless and the temps brisk. We plan to intersect the Blue Ridge Parkway here in Virginia and head up to Appomattox Courthouse the scene of Lee's Surrender ending the Civil War. Then up to Charlottesville where Thomas Jefferson had his now famous home Monticello home. Hoping for better riding today. I'm optimistic. Seems that the weather is going to cooperate and we'll be headed out this morning. More South and North Carolina roads, perhaps a run Northeast on the Blueridge Parkway. I feel like I've been sitting around for a month (only 4 days) but I'm ready to get some more miles under me. So onward north to Appomattox Va and then Charlottesville Va. Reminding myself that:
"No Ride Will Be Done Before Its Time" Woke up this morning with intentions of resuming the ride north towards Charlottesville Virginia and found that it was raining. We are reevaluating the weather by the hour to see if we can get some miles in later today. While that was going on I got the opportunity to upload and edit a ride video I made on Sunday. Shot with my GoPro Hero I was impressed with the quality that it gave this ride. The ride is from Caesar's Head State Park in North Carolina riding south across the South Carolina Border to SC-11. This gives you a little idea of the kind of roads in this area. Enjoy Today Bob and I headed out for a ride up to the Blueridge Parkway. Headed up to 276 and over Caesar's Head State Park to Brevard North Carolina, we had a nice breakfast at a pretty decent Mexican Restaurant. Then saddling up we road up 276 to get to the Blueridge Parkway. We stopped at a lovely waterfall about 1/2 way up...I was able to get a pretty decent 360 of it. Once up to the Blueridge Parkway we turned west..This road goes for hundreds of miles and is purely a scenic highway. It runs on the top of ridges and offers wonderful views on a clear day. We then rode back to South Carolina and Greenville where I did a oil change on the bike. I have a nice road video that I made yesterday and spent a great deal of time trying to upload it to YouTube without success. I'll make more attempts till I get it done. Tomorrow we pack up and leave Greenville headed toward Charlottesville Virginia. After resting up since last friday, its time to hit the road again. Bob plans on riding with me for about a week then turn back to Greenville. I
After as week of riding and touring historical sites, I spent a great night in a bed at Bob's home. My accommodations more than I had anticipated. My own room, man cave, kitchen and bathroom. I asked Bob if he and Cathy would adopt me. Took a ride in the car down to the street fair/farmers market, the first of the year there. I found a few small items. After a tour around town we came back to the house where I pretty much vegged out. I'm beginning to realize that I need to take some, complete, rest days from time to time to recharge. Later in the evening we grilled up some steaks with a nice salad and some sauteed spinach. The neighbors came over and we sat on the veranda enjoying each others company. At sunset I looked to the west and saw a beautiful thunderhead building lit by the setting sun growing to a huge plume as the sun reflected off the clouds. After the sun set we continued our conversations and then about 10pm I retired for the night.
Today Bob is taking me on some local roads up into North Carolina and I hope to get some good pictures and maybe even a road video. Woke up this morning refreshed and ready for another day of riding. After my usual cup of coffee, I packed up the bike and trailer and headed from Columbia to Greenville, with a short detour to Camden S.C. Camden was the location for one of the Major defeats of the Revolutionary War as British General Cornwallis routed the colonial troops lead by General Gates in 1780. So why would I visit this place? Well, I had at least 2 GGGGGGGgrandfathers that fought in this battle. Coming from North Carolina to meet the british as Camden. I stopped at the location of Cornwallis's headquarters where there a a few restored buildings and the house that Cornwallis resided in while in Camden. Camden by the way is the oldest inland city in South Carolina. To be at a place that one of my ancestors had fought for Liberty and a new nation, touched me more than I had anticipated and I felt a certain pride knowing somewhere in my DNA was a person that were the seeds of a person involved in doing it.. As you can see, British Generals didn't exactly camp with the men. Finding the most luxurious home to set up headquarters. Bringing with them their fine china and furnishings for the campaign. here is a 360 of the Common where the British Soldiers would have have there tents. In the 2nd battle at Camden the British were defeated by Nathaniel Green and Cornwallis burnt the town to the ground as he retreated, leaving only the house here. From Camden, I took a leisurely ride northwest on some really nice 2 lane blacktop to Greenville where I have hooked up again with my friend Bob Kendal. I'll be staying here for a few days to ride some local roads and an oil change. There are several places Bob will be leading me over the next few days. I must say my nights sleep last night was the best I've had yet.
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AuthorTim Stubbe AKA Archives
June 2013
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