We started out from Wytheville VA in a drizzle that soon turned into a downpour that lasted most of the morning. All of this surprised us, as there was absolutely no rain in the forecast. I couldn’t figure it out. One possibility, I guess, is that I was looking at the inside forecast.

In any event, visibility was down and the trucks looked like they had grown in size in the rain, like mushrooms. I soldiered on; in fact, none of that really bothered me. What did bother me was the light that went on on my dashboard saying that our tires were out of balance.

I figured we could hop off the Interstate and pull into any of the gas stations and ask someone to check our tires. I have never been so wrong. None of them provide that service.

At the first place I stopped, I was given a card of someone to call who was nearby. I called him; he only deals with trucks. A specialist. But he gave me another number. I never got to what he would cost, because he told me he was an hour away and had two calls before me.

My tires did not look low, so I thought I could go on to a larger town. I got off at Salem, Virginia, and went to a Sheetz station, a big one. But, no, they could not help me. One of the Sheetz guys, though, had a thought for me. Go down the street to the Walmart, and right next to it, you will find a Mr. Tire. That sounded right, he checked my tire, three were fine, one was quite low. He filled the low tire in the driving rain and then said, “You’re okay. No charge.” Of course, I gave him a tip for his service.

We stopped for lunch in Lexington, the home of both Washington and Lee and VMI. But here is what I did not know. Maybe you did. Do you know that the two campuses adjoin each other? That the only thing different is the architecture?

And do you know that after he signed a treaty at Appomattox and proclaimed loyalty to the United States, Robert E. Lee became president of what was then called Washington College (the Lee name was added after Lee’s death) for the last five years of his life. Not only that, a statue of a reclining Lee, Lee’s basically untouched office, and the tombs of Lee, his wife and several descendants, as well as the burial place of Lee’s horse Traveler, are all there. If you don’t believe me, just look:

On the VMI campus, there is another statue, that of George Washington

And elsewhere in the center of town, in the large Oak Grove Cemetery, along with 144 Confederate soldiers, you can find the tomb of Stonewall Jackson and family members.

You might think that Lexington must be a bastion of right wing voters. Au contraire. Lexington voted almost 2-1 for Kamala Harris. And their Democratic headquarters is prominently located.

We left Lexington (after lunch, a gelato stop, a book store, and some wandering) about 2:30. The weather was better, and we drove and drove, getting home about 6.

Trip over.