My First Mini-Trip In My New Ride. A Pleasant Day, But Also An Hour Or So When I Was Quite Emotional (for lack of a better word).

Had no idea where I was going when I left home. Decided to head for Suffolk and take Highway 58. It was a tad warm, the temperature in the mid-high 80s.

Tons of traffic (Virginia Beach, Virginia...Saturday). Folks who don't live here coming here and many of us who live here gettin' outta Dodge.

I often go out 58 and then go north on 460 toward Waverly and Wakefield. Today, I went past the 460 turnoff and headed north on a highway the number of which I do not remember.

Then back on 58 and went further west and hopped off on another road headed north.

I then saw a sign: Albert G. Horton, Jr., Memorial Veterans Cemetery, Suffolk, Virginia.

I had never heard of this cemetery and frankly had no preconceived idea about what I would find. Though for some reason, I imagined it would be small and possibly not well-cared for.

I was surely wrong on both accounts. When I made the turn on the street that paralleled the cemetery I was amazed at the number of grave markers. Being a military cemetery they were all the same size and there was line after line of them. It was about three o'clock and I was the only one visiting.

I guess I was just a little overcome with the number of tombstones. I sat on a bench for twenty minutes or so. Hmmm.... Then walked around and took a few photos. I guess I was there at least an hour.

Though, at least intellectually, most of us know we can't reach out to the dead, we often place items at the grave. That's why I took this photo of the flag. I tried to imagine how the person who placed it must of felt.

Many of us get great comfort when we visit where our loved ones are buried.

After I left the cemetery, I had a great late-lunch at Ruby Tuesdays. Perfectly grilled chicken with an interesting and spicy BBQ sauce, baked potato, and steamed broccoli. To add to my dining experience the waitress was a delightful young lady who kept my iced tea topped-up.

All in all a good day. And, yes, I'm glad I visited the cemetery. I think we need to do that from time-to-time. To think about all of the service men and women who were killed in our wars. And, to try to imagine how their friends and loved-ones felt when they learned they had died.

No buyer's remorse (yet). Filled the tank after 135 miles of 50/50...yippee, 33 MPG. My WRX was getting 16/18.

PLEASE NOTE: I just couldn't get these photos aligned properly. I thought it better to have them than not.