Lynchburg

I have to tell ya. We had a wonderful time this last weekend. Friday we packed up our ever present cooler and headed to our friends house in Lynchburg. It took a little over two hours but, the traffic was light and the weather was beautiful! We actually had a drive without the air conditioning on. Small miracle. :) When we arrived we were greeted with hugs and lots of excitement. How fun to see friends after five years! Way to long. After we settled in, we visited and then Mike offered to show us around the campus of Liberty University. They have an indoor, year round, snow tubing and ski center. That's cool. We walked a lot of the campus but were cut off from some areas due to construction that was going on. :( But when our tour was over, Lisa suggested this little Italian place that they had found. The hole in the wall type. She had mentioned that she had called and they had a few options on the gluten free menu, so off we went.

I was shocked! The owner met us at the door and showed us a table out of the way so we could visit longer. Then he asked if he could bring a small television out for the children while we were waiting for our food and such. Bonus points for the boss!!! The menu was great and there were lots of options for everyone. All the sauces were safe and they could make any pizza on the gf crust. Again, BONUS!!! They brought out these bread things that were to. die. for... I can still taste them. yum..... But I wish I could remember the exact name of the place. Villa something. Worth the drive for the food. Not kidding. Even on a Friday night. And I hate going out on busy nights.

So after games, visiting, and the most hilarious time watching my children figure out a wii, we headed to bed. We had planned a trip to Appomattox National Historical Park in the morning. They were offering a special history talk that we wanted to be privy to. Upon arriving, they direct you to the courthouse to pay and receive a map if you want one. I was shocked. Three dollars for anyone over 13 and free for the others. Or, five dollars per car load. Whichever was LESS! Great deal. We arrived within five min. of the start of the first live history talk so we jumped right in. The talk was given in the first person from a federal soldier, stationed at Appomattox, in September after Lee surrendered. For at least a hour and a half we sat spellbound as he told all about his months leading up to that moment and the conditions that he endured. Never once did he break character. Wonderful presentation. After his talk he offered to answer questions and such. We stayed and chatted with him and again he never broke character. Even when we tried to tempt him to. But, we learned so much from his chatting with us. The children even liked it...maybe not the youngest so much....but... The other buildings on the park grounds were neat to see. Life was so different. I think that the jail was the best building. I had all the children behind bars at one point. That was fun. I didn't realize that the jailer lived under the prisoners. He would have never gotten peace and quiet!

Overall, I would do it again. The history park wasn't so big that you were beat by the time you were done. They had a lot of things to explore, and if you wanted, they had information everywhere. Much more than we could digest with four children to keep happy as well. But they enjoyed their time too. I really think that it was time well spent. Happy travelin'. :)