Fort Monroe, Virginia

Our current campground is in the town of Fort Monroe, Virginia.  The fort of the same name is just a few blocks away and is of historical significance.  When the Civil War began, it was in the hands of Union troops, even though Virginia joined the Confederacy.  And it was at that fort that Lincoln helped to plan one of the early battles of the war.

Fort Monroe is surrounded by a moat, and within its walls is a large village of elegant homes, presumably officers' quarters in the past, and impressive brick apartments which were probably enlisted men's barracks.

Fort Monroe is right on the ocean shore, and across the road from our campground is a series of lovely beaches.  Things may get crowded in the summer, but at this time, in spite of 90-degree temperatures today, Saturday, there were a great number of parking spaces available, and the beaches had plenty of room for everyone.  By the way, Nancy and I are not among the beach bodies depicted.

Just a few miles away is the city of Hampton, the home of Hampton University, which was established shortly after the end of the Civil War and initially was exclusively for black freedmen.  It is one of the predominantly black universities scattered throughout the South, and even today the student body is, according to the internet, 95.2% African-American.  The faculty, however, is more diverse.

Neither Nancy nor I had ever before visited a historically black university, even though one of them, Grambling University, wasn't far from my undergraduate college, Louisiana Tech.  We didn't know what to expect.  Well, it is a gorgeous campus, perfectly groomed and maintained, with wonderfully impressive brick architecture.

By chance this was graduation weekend, so it was crowded with students, family, and friends.  During our entire visit we didn't see a single white person, except for each other.  That was something we had not experienced before, and at first it felt slightly uncomfortable, but everyone couldn't have been nicer, and it turned out to be a wonderfully positive experience.

We visited the Hampton University Museum, which shouldn't be missed.  It featured a gallery of African art, one of native American art (since at one time native Americans constituted a significant portion of the student body), a room detailing the history of the modern university and its considerable accomplishments, and a great gallery of African-American paintings and sculpture.  Unfortunately, no interior photos were allowed, but trust me, there was some outstanding stuff on display.  Below is shown the entrance to the museum.

We also visited the Hampton Museum, in the white section of town.  It paled in comparison to the university's museum, but to be fair, the town and surrounding area have a fascinating history, and this was well covered by the museum.  The first English settlement in the present United States was nearby, and the area was important in a number of the early wars of the nation.

On our last day in that RV park, a class-C motorhome (defined as one which has a bed above the cab area) pulled in to the site adjacent to ours.  Nancy noticed that the license plates were German, so she introduced herself and learned that the couple were indeed German citizens and had had their motorhome shipped by boat from there to the states, at considerable expense.  They had spent just under a year exploring the US and Canada, in two segments, and now were almost ready to return to their homeland and ship their motorhome back.  I'll leave the political discussion they had with Nancy to your imagination.

This area of coastal Virginia is pretty and has a very nice feel to it, but it's awfully hot and humid today in the middle of May.  We're probably not cut out for this weather.