Friday, August 1, 2008:
Leave Omaha for Luray, VA
Up at about 3:30am to get ready to go. Out the door at 4:15am. Park N’ Go by 4:40am. At the airport by 5:00am checking in. Swanson’s, Barb & Jim, Grandma Kathleen all boarded Midwest for the 2 hour trip. Oren’s sister Ima Jean was on our flight as well as Bill & Cheryl (Malcolm’s daughter – Malcolm was Oren’s brother). Plane departed at about 6:15. Kids did great. Alex slept for most of the flight…handled his first airline trip like a trooper. Andrew, Alex, Papa, and I slept for a little bit in the plane. I was excited to land at Reagan Int’l Airport because it lands near a lot of the DC monuments...unfortunately I was not on the Potomac River side, so didn’t see much.
We got the rental cars (I get to drive a Grand Marquis around Virginia…not my first choice) – I look like an old man or an undercover policeman. Drove Jill, Grandma Kathleen, Avery, and Alex. Followed Jim, Barb, Andrew & then picked up Phillip & Daniel at Dulles Intl Airport. Kathleen was quite surprised when we pulled up and they were waiting…what a pleasant surprise – one of Kathleen’s perks in her ‘condition’. We got lunch and then it was approx. a 90-minute drive to Luray and Jim & Kathie, Chris & Elizabeth Mailander, and Sara & Jaime Capella’s Virginia Farmhouse Homestead: Stonewall Crossing. It was built in 1739 and they have restored parts of it, modernized parts of it, and expanded parts of it to make it a fantastic ‘getaway’.
At some point I will try to get a registry of who all is at the Pollard Reunion, but initial thoughts is that this is a good turnout. My initial chart is that it all starts with Malcolm, Bob, Art, Oren, & Ima Jean (the Pollard siblings). Obviously Oren is Jill’s Grandpa…so that is our connection. Malcolm & Ruth had 4 kids (and 2 attended – Marilyn & Cheryl) the other 2 are deceased. Bob & his wife Jan didn’t have any kids. Oren: Kathleen attended. Kathie and Jim obviously were there as were their children’s families. Chris & Elizabeth with Connor 5 and Abraham 15 months. John Mailander wasn’t there. Sara & Jaime Capella were there with Antonio 4 & Marcos 21 months old. Ima Jean attended as did her kids. Steven and his wife Kate from Ogden, Utah along with their 2 girls Jane and Clair. Karen and her husband Preston from Baton Rouge, LA with their 2 boys Clay and Keenan.
Thoughts / Observations
• From a very self-centered perspective…I would love to see the Swanson’s / Greene’s pull something like this off. I suppose we did it at Grandpa’s funeral and at Karlynn & Scott’s house last Christmas…but to get most of the group together in a fun place would be priceless. The other roadblock would be getting the Swanson, Greene, Magnusson, or Bendickson extended families together would be even a greater challenge.
• Absolutely love being on the East Coast and surrounded by all of this history…much like an artist/sculptor would love to visit Venice or Rome, a Cubs fan visiting Wrigley Field, or a Duck fan visiting Eugene, OR. I am reading info regarding the Civil War and hearing first hand accounts of real life personal experiences with Civil War encounters (property encounters) with the Civil War. Luray, VA is kind of known for being Stonewall Jackson’s territory…and it is obvious. Roads, bridges, and other items are all named after him.
• We are staying in a 2-bedroom cabin on the Shenandoah River approx. 1 mile away from the Stonewall Crossing. It is very nice…but coming in at night means lots of moths, gnats, flies, and mosquitoes come in with whomever. It has a fairly rustic feel to it, but will be nice to call ‘home’ over the next week. Andrew & Avery are sharing joint sleeping quarters (futon) for the first time…not pretty to start, but asleep now.
• It is 11:30 local time and I am beat. I need to get some sleep – have been on the ‘go’ since 4:30AM local time…NICE!!!
PICTURES INCLUDE THE FRONT AND BACK PICTURES OF 'STONEWALL CROSSING' AND A PICTURE OF OUR 2-BEDROOM CABIN THAT WE STAYED IN FOR THE WEEK ON THE SHENANDOAH RIVER.
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