I am spending the week with two nephews and the son of a Duke classmate from Charlotte–ages 11, 13, and 15–camping here in the mountains in my own version of “get a life”. We begin each day with a two mile hike, breakfast, and then a series of scheduled adventures. I have insisted that they keep journals (get your kids a pocket Moleskin) and read aloud to each other in the evening from their summer reading lists. Herewith, an update:

They arrived Saturday, the camp is squared away and we’re into the routine completely. Did our first 2 miles in the rain Sunday, had a big breakfast, then spent nearly 6 hours in the sun at Floydfest. With little prompting, they have taken to regular journal keeping, and make entries together as a group, and individually on the sly. We began the out-loud readings Sun. night.

They all stumble with about the same frequency during the evening readings on word pronunciations and meanings and I stop them and we go ever them without embarrassment or judgment, but with frankness, until we get them right and understand not only the meaning but the context of the usage. I am insisting that they all do their part in meal preparation, clean-up,
laundry, etc. and all are responding like galley slaves.

Exhaustive day Monday. About 13 hours without down time. Morning walk, breakfast, couple of hours rigging for afternoon fishing, then driving lessons on the tractor, followed by litter pickup along the roads for 5-8 miles. Then a hard, heavy hike in to the river and out through country that would give Army Rangers pause. Spent five hours on the water, thoroughly wet start to finish. And caught several nice trout–Browns. Our asses were dragging, though, and after the evening reads all fell into quick and heavy slumber. Breakfasted in Floyd yesterday, made Natural Bridge by 10:00 and had a nice look around–including a tour of a Monacan Indian village replica.

Took the tour of Stonewall Jackson’s House, on Washington Street, in Lexington. Delightful lunch at the 1820 Walker-Wilson House on Main Street. The two Ians had duck fajitas and Grant and I had good beef and shrimp kabobs. Of course, the three of them knocked back a few Shirley Temples.

From there we went over to the George Marshall–VMI Museum. That is truly worth a look–the Marshall Plan, in retrospect, makes our foreign policy since then look childish, mean, and small. Not to forget ‘Little Sorrel,’ Jackson’s favorite horse, which they have mounted there. Not holding up nearly as well. Shot some photos of the Jackson statue in front of the VMI barracks, whereupon is inscribed his words to the cadets as they approached New Market in one of the early skirmishes of the war–boys the age of these three I have with me: “Gentlemen, the Virginia Military Institute shall be heard from today!” The school has an illustrious history. Marshall graduated in 1901. General Patton–a line of them–went there–and it claims a dozen or so Medal of Honor winners.

From there we went to the Lee Chapel, where Marse Robert himself is buried in a white marble tomb beneath a magnificent, full-size marble sculpture of him in death repose that is so life-like that I halfway expected him to raise up and bid us greeting. Here’s the thing: Among some people, his burial site–inside an absolutely beautiful and flawless chapel–is the most sainted, revered piece of real estate in all of Virginia–and it was completely, utterly empty today. Even the guards and curators were absent–I have no idea why–but sensing a rare opportunity to engage in a little civil disobedience in the matter of the ‘NO PHOTOGRAPHY ALLOWED’ signs, I ordered my troops to fire at will, and at close range–and they all unlimbered and did just that.

This morning, it is horses into Rock Castle Gorge, lunch at the bottom of the gorge, and sporting clays this afternoon. Tomorrow it is the Virginia Museum of Natural History, in Martinsville, and a horse-pack to an overnight on one of the high peaks here. Friday is Fairystone State Park. Saturday is Charlottesville and Monticello. Sunday is a tour of the area by airplane and the week will be done. I may keep you posted.