Sunday, November 23, 2008
Our flight to Lynchburg VA was uneventful. We flew through Charlotte and arrived around 10:30. Dad and I headed to the hotel but our room wasn't quite ready so we hung out in the lobby for a while. The Craddock Terry was a great hotel, a former shoe factory and the nicest hotel in the city. After throwing our bags in our room, we headed to the nursing facility.
I brought my GPS along on the trip and it was a lifesaver. It got us to the facility and Uncle Nick was waiting for us when we arrived. I didn't recognize him but dad did when we got close. They had arranged lunch in a private room and it was nice sitting in there and talking. Uncle Nick wasn't very responsive but I think he knew who dad was and enjoyed the photos we brought. Alzheimers is a strange disease, you're really not sure what memories are there as it progresses. Lunch wasn't much, typical hospital food but I at least ate my ham. Dad did okay with the visit. I think he was a little upset when we left but that's understandable.
After lunch, we headed to Appomattox Court House. You may remember it as the place the Civil War ended and that's about all I knew of it. After stopping by the Appomattox County Court House (the current one, although it certainly looked Civil War material) and the visitor's center, we finally were on our way to the National Park. I'm probably like a lot of people, I thought a document was signed by Generals Lee and Grant in a court house building. But Appomattox Court House is the name of a village, not just a building. The surrender was in a private home, we didn't tour it but did get a chance to walk around a bit. And I bought my 4th National Park Service patch for my new "collection". Afterwards, we went back to the hotel and I walked around downtown Lynchburg. I walked and walked and was unimpressed. It had looked interesting when we first arrived but it was just another small town in a state of decay. Big box stores outside the city had robbed the downtown of its business.
At 5:30, we headed down to the casual restaurant inside the hotel for a drink. We each had a Chivas, dad's favorite drink and one we shared when mom passed away. Cousin Ann and her husband John joined us at 6:00 for a nice dinner. I think we all learned a lot about the others. We were back in the room by 9:00 and in bed shortly thereafter. It had been a long day.
I brought my GPS along on the trip and it was a lifesaver. It got us to the facility and Uncle Nick was waiting for us when we arrived. I didn't recognize him but dad did when we got close. They had arranged lunch in a private room and it was nice sitting in there and talking. Uncle Nick wasn't very responsive but I think he knew who dad was and enjoyed the photos we brought. Alzheimers is a strange disease, you're really not sure what memories are there as it progresses. Lunch wasn't much, typical hospital food but I at least ate my ham. Dad did okay with the visit. I think he was a little upset when we left but that's understandable.
After lunch, we headed to Appomattox Court House. You may remember it as the place the Civil War ended and that's about all I knew of it. After stopping by the Appomattox County Court House (the current one, although it certainly looked Civil War material) and the visitor's center, we finally were on our way to the National Park. I'm probably like a lot of people, I thought a document was signed by Generals Lee and Grant in a court house building. But Appomattox Court House is the name of a village, not just a building. The surrender was in a private home, we didn't tour it but did get a chance to walk around a bit. And I bought my 4th National Park Service patch for my new "collection". Afterwards, we went back to the hotel and I walked around downtown Lynchburg. I walked and walked and was unimpressed. It had looked interesting when we first arrived but it was just another small town in a state of decay. Big box stores outside the city had robbed the downtown of its business.
At 5:30, we headed down to the casual restaurant inside the hotel for a drink. We each had a Chivas, dad's favorite drink and one we shared when mom passed away. Cousin Ann and her husband John joined us at 6:00 for a nice dinner. I think we all learned a lot about the others. We were back in the room by 9:00 and in bed shortly thereafter. It had been a long day.
