Lisa & Bud Gould's Travel Blog

2 June 2009
Today we went back to the New Market Battlefield and toured the farm house and battlefield. Then we drove to Shenandoah NP and continued on up to the northern exit. Then to Harper’s Ferry for a few hours. We started out to return to Ohio with no firm plan in mind. While talking we remembered that Lawrence had told us he went to a casino near Wheeling, WV. We were not sure where it was so we stopped at a WV info center and looked through some stuff about Wheeling and found it. Keep in mind that we had been in several states today – starting in VA, then WV, then MD, then WV, then PA, and finally WV. Anyway we found that we were only about 110 miles from Wheeling and it was only 5 PM, we decided to call Wheeling Island Hotel Casino and Racetrack to see if we could get a room. We were in luck as they had one room and one suite left due to a cancellation. So they gave us the room with two queen size beds for $59, it usually runs $121/night. The room is nice and Lisa is very happy being down in the casino while I’m trying to post this information. I am having problems with the hotel’s wi-fi and am going to give up and post this tomorrow.

3 June 2009
We left Wheeling around 9:30 this morning and headed for Columbus, the first stop being the Asian grocery store. Then to Lee and Jennifer's home for a visit. Lee seems to be doing good and is scheduled for surgery Monday morning. While talking with Lee, Lisa decided to call Linda and wish her a Happy Birthday. No answer on the home phone, so she tried the cell and still no answer. About 15 minutes later Linda called us back. She was supposed to meet Steve and the boys at a restaurant in Montgomery for a birthday lunch. She fell due to some uneven concrete in the parking garage and broke a bone in her foot! She was calling us from the emergency room and was getting ready to go home. She does not need any surgery, but has to see a podiatrist. So Lisa is hobbling around with a bum right knee, Lee a broken ankle, and Linda a broken foot. The rest of the family better be very careful. So, after visiting Lee and Jennifer, we headed home. As soon as we left it started raining like crazy. Had to have the wipers on high all the way home. It sort of stopped as soon as we got into the driveway. That about wraps up this trip. Not sure when the next one will be, but, we have a week in Charleston SC in mid-Sept. Will probably have at least one more business trip to either Texas or Virginia before then.

Well, as I said we would, we left Richmond about 9 AM this morning. I needed a couple hours to finish up some paperwork and get it submitted. It worked out great as we missed most of the rush hour traffic in Richmond. We got to the Shenandoah National Park entrance about 10:30. It was a great drive with a lot of stops at the scenic overlooks. We did see a lot of deer. Only a few crossing the road a good ways in front of us. You need to keep your eyes open as some of the deer are monsters and could destroy a van if you hit one. We left the park about 3 PM and headed for the New Market Battlefield. It is mostly a Hall of Valor for about 257 VMI students who were ordered to march up here from Lexington, about 75 miles I think, to support the Confederate army against an attack by Federal troops send to secure the Shenandoah Valley. They won, the Yanks lost. There is a nice museum and some restored buildings on the battlefield. We are going back in the morning and tour the farmhouses and the battlefield. We are not sure what we are going to do tomorrow, maybe go back into the park then go to Harper's Ferry.

I had some internet access problems last night (and also tonight) and thought I lost that posting. So, I wrote a new one, but, when I tried to post it, the old one got posted and I lost the new one. One thing I wanted to mention was that on Sunday night, eight of us went to a Brazilian steakhouse called Texas de Brazil to sort of celebrate the end of the job. It was pretty pricey, but the food was great, all you would want to eat, and a really great salad and soup bar. Filet mignon, top sirloin, lamb, pork, chcken, sausages, ribs, and much more. They bring it your table on a skewer, tell you what it is, and you get it if you want it. Pushed off the skewer with a sharp sword. You could just have filet mignon if that is all you want, and it was excellent.

Lee did not have the surgery on his ankle today, he will see the surgeon at 9:30 tomorrow morning. We will post anything new.