Monticello - Home of President Thomas Jefferson. This is the back side of the house that you see on the 'nickel'! 

Montpelier - Home of President James & Dollie Madison 

Desk that Pres. James Monroe used to write the "Monroe Doctrine" on. 

Dedication of a new cannon at Fredericksburg Battlefield 

History Time - Fredericksburg, VA

May 28 - 30.…We have been some busy tourists the last 2 days - visiting Presidential homes, museums and civil war sites. This area is rich with history & also is very beautiful with it‘s rolling hill & green wooded landscape! We arrived at our campsite Sat. afternoon. It is located outside of a small town of Gordonsville. It is located southwest of Fredericksburg, VA. On Sunday we went to Fredericksburg where we visited the James Madison Museum, Chatham (mansion used as Union headquarters & field hospital during Civil War) the Fredericksburg Battlefield visitors center, the Chancellorsville Battlefield (where Stonewall Jackson was mortally wounded). It was a full day of very interesting history. This area was one of the bloodiest of the civil war. Memorial Day we visited Montpelier, the home of James & Dolly Madison and Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson. Both were within a short driving distance from where we are staying. Montpelier is under renovation to restore it to what it looked like when the Madison’s owned it - 11,000 sq ft. (one of the owners added several thousand sq. feet onto the home & remodeled it quite a bit). It is amazing how they are able to determine where actual walls, doors, mantles, etc were. The view of the Blue Ridge Mountains from this area is great.
Here’s some 'did you know ' history facts:
1) Jefferson, Madison & Monroe where good friends and had homes within 30 miles of each other?
2) 3 of the first 5 Presidents died on the 4th of July and another died the week before? (Adams, Jefferson, & Monroe on the 4th . The Dr. told Madison he could prolong his life so he could also die on the 4th - Madison choose to go naturally, the same way he came into the world. He died on Jun 28th) Jefferson died 50 years to the day of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
3) Jefferson & Madison both died as debtors?
4) Stonewall Jackson was shot buy his own troops & he actually died of
pneumonia?
We are on enroute to our stop, of Reston VA (just west of Washington DC). Going to soak up some more history !!!

Brandon receiving his "Silver Star" from the General! His was the only Silver Star - there was 1 Purple Heart & the others were Bronze Stars.

The Division Review of the 82nd Airborne. There were approx. 15,000 soldiers on the field in formation. Quite a site! 

Parachutes dropping equipment! You don't get the real feel for it from this photo! 

Mike with the Apache Helicopter 

The last of North Carolina!

May 22 - 27.…The week was full! Monday was Dixie’s post op appointment - progressing slow but sure. Still having some of the same pain. They did another Ultrasound and a liver blood test later in the week. The ultasound was good but haven’t received the results on the liver. We had grandkid time - sure going to miss them as we have spent so much together! On Wednesday we attended Brandon’s Silver Star presentation. It was a very proud moment for all of us. The Silver Star is the army’s 3rd highest award for valor. He received it for a firefight in east Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border in Oct 05. He lost one of his men in this firefight. Also this week we attended some of the activities for “All American Week”. One was called the JRTX, where they simulated a supply & paratrooper drop into an enemy drop zone. First came the Appache helicopters which fired missiles on structures. Then the C17 aircraft dropped MANY parachutes with all types of equipment, including Hummer vehicles. Next came the C130’s which dropped the paratroopers (the winds were too bad so this didn‘t actually happen for this simulation). Once the paratroopers are on ground, they secure the area (gunfire to the bad guys) so other aircraft can land. Let me tell you there was A LOT of equipment dropped - there were parachutes everywhere dropped from several aircraft. Friday afternoon we helped Brandon & Katherine do some packing and moving to their new house on post. Today is there big move! Ooops, we missed that as we had to leave today! We are enroute to our next stop - near Lake Anna in Virginia. It’s north west of Richmond. We will be there until the 30^th and then on to DC.

We are very proud of Brandon and all soldiers who sacrifice so much for our freedom so that we may enjoy life as we know it! On this Memorial Day weekend take a moment to say a prayer for all the men & women who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving their country .

The view from our camp site. The apache & blackhawk helicopters our regular sites around here! They are actually must closer than this photo shows. 

Grandma Dixie & the Grandkids hiking - searching for Lizards! 

More in North Carolina

May 15 - 21.…Dixie’s Gallbladder was successfully removed on Tue! All went well - it was a quick in and out. They don’t waste anytime - we were in at 730a and out of there by 1100a. It felt good to get back home and lay down. It hurt a bit more than anticipated! Somehow you think since it is done laproscopicly that there is no pain! You forget that they were still in there moving things around & removing an organ! Still having some symptoms but hopefully they are just part of the recovery. The follow up appointment is Monday.
We went to another of Nicholas’s soccer games Saturday and had the boys over to the motor home to hunt for more Lizards. They spent the night once again! During today’s hike we spotted several deer that let us get pretty close up. Later today Mike will help Brandon take down their chain link fence and dismantle the Trampoline. They are preparing for their move this coming weekend.
This week is “All American Week” at Ft. Bragg. There will be activities and a parade. We are also hoping that Brandon will receive his “Silver Star” in a presentation this week. We are scheduled to leave here on Saturday!

The Grandsons playing 'in the motorhome'. They thought it would be a good place to 'sleep'! 

Capt. & Mrs. Teague 

Fort Bragg Army Base

May 8 - 14.…We are now military folks -- at least we are parked on a large military base! We are currently staying at the Fort Bragg Travel Camp on base. Most of our week has been busy with Dixie’s doctor appointments. Wednesday was the Endoscopy - the good news is the problem is not in the stomach. Friday was the surgical consult where it was determined that this coming Tuesday would be the day to remove Dixie’s gallbladder! We are hoping that will solve the problem. We are thankful we can get it all taken care of in the next 2 weeks while we are here. We had the grandkids again from Thursday to Sunday. Thursday we stayed with them while Mom & Dad went to a Brigade Ball and Friday they came to the motor home to ‘camp’ with us again. Activities for the weekend was Nicholas's soccer game, hiking in the woods, a little baseball, a campfire, and lots of exploring. This weekends 'catch' was 2 Gecko’s! (they‘re quite the campers!). The big view at this park -- Army Helicopters coming in for landing! We are right next to the landing strip for Simmons Army Air Field! I haven't been able to get a good picture of it yet but will put one on as soon as I do. Today we had a wonderful Mothers Day dinner at Brandon & Katherine's. We are sure thankful for the time we have been able to spend with the family! We will be here for another 2 weeks so plan to spend alot more time with them~

The Pinehurst Clubhouse 

Mike with Payne Stewart at Pinehurst

The Rv Park! 

Our neigbors! 

Aberdeen/Pinehurst Area

Apr 28 - May 7.…We moved to an RV park called Travel Resorts of America that is located about 12 miles from the Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen area of North Carolina. The park is on a very rural road an covers a 194 acres among towering pine trees…it’s very peaceful. We have decided it is the nicest park we have visited so far. We are parked near a small lake (which we take evening walks around). The park has a log cabin lodge (6,000 sq ft) that was hand built in the early 1900’s from timber taken from the property. Each room has a built in fire place. It has many antiques in it and is used as a clubhouse for the park. We go there daily to use the Wifi to check our email, etc. We have toured the Pinehurst area taking the famous clubhouse of Pinehurst #2 where two US Opens have been played (1999 won by the late Payne Stewart & 2005). There are more than 50 golf courses in a 20 mile radius. Many more when counting the towns near by. We hit some golf balls on Tue and played a 9-hole round on Thurs. It wasn’t one of the big courses but the price was right - we had the course to ourselves so it was good practice. Next week we plan to play another one! Dixie had her Doctors appt Friday with the GI specialist in Fayetteville - that lead to more tests & appointment for next week. Also on Friday we got to see our son, Brandon for the first time since his return from Afghanistan. We took our 2 Grandson’s back to the RV with us. They will stay for the weekend. Their Mom & Dad came out to spend the day on Saturday. We had a great time with the kids - we went out on the lake in peddle boats, had a campfire, & fished with no luck. However we did catch 3 frogs, 6 minnows and about a 100 tadpoles! Needless to say we have a great time! We drove them back home today but look forward to seeing them several more times. We move to an RV park on Ft Bragg on Thursday so we will only be about 6 miles from them.