Pamplin Historical Park, Virginia

Well, doggies!  If this isn't one of the classiest places we've been!  And this is PRIVATELY owned.  It's NOT a National Park Service operation.  The Travel Channel calls it "One of the best places in Virginia to visit."  (Why are we just now discovering this place??  Better late than never, I suppose.)
So the first thing we see is this plaque walk stone:

It had rained, so this may be a bit hard to read.  It says, TEXAS Estimated 92,012 SERVED 3,990 DIED.
There is a stone for every state.  I thought it was a pretty simple, elegant recognition of those who fought and those who died for what they believed in.

The next thing we see is really poignant:

Again, it had been raining.  The guy on the right was trying to fry an egg. The pan was full of water and there was rain still dripping off his hat.  THIS (as if fighting battles wasn't bad enough) is what the troops on both sides had to deal with for YEARS during the Civil War.  (World War I, II, the Korean conflict, and Vietnam, too, I'd bet.)  Etched into the marble at the base of the monument it says, "My thoughts and heart are with you at home, but my duty lies here with cause and comrades."  Mmmm-mmm-mm.

 It looks like this guy gave up trying to eat his soggy breakfast.

 They had their rifles stacked at the ready:

Inside, the flooring tells its own story.  The grey represents the states that seceded from the union to form the Confederate States of America.  The blue were Union states, the green border states, and the red was considered "the West." 

We move on to the reception desk and get the lowdown on what there is to do here:  422-acre campus featuring four award-winning museums, four historic antebellum homes, costumed living history demonstrations, guided tours and what became known as the Breakthrough Battlefield of April 2, 1865.
It also seems there will be a big Anniversary Event on Saturday, March 31st - a sunrise (5 a.m.) tour of a new walking trail to the Jones Farm battlefield of March 25, 1865.  Reservations required.  $12 a person includes breakfast and access to everything else Pamplin offers.  My suggestion is, if you're gonna be in the area, Come here!  This link gives more information:

http://www.pamplinpark.org/press_releases/030512Breakthrough.pdf

We discuss this between ourselves and decide that's exactly what we'll do.  Today, we will move on to the city of Petersburg and then come back on the 31st.