VISIT IN VIRGINIA

Dear Family,

We were invited to visit our friends, Larry and Madeline Manwaring in Virginia. He was Mission President in Frankfurt during the time we were in Munich. He is a retired ENT surgeon who grew up in Virginia.

They built this beautiful home in Warrenton. County code called for 10 acre house lots. The neighboring county required 25 acre building lots.

This is a most beautiful part of Virginia. Rolling hills, manicured meadows, temperate climate and simply peaceful. Their family has a 1100 acre farm 1/2 hour away in a gorgeous countryside with the Blue ridge mountains om the horizon. This is open hunt country and there are groups that dress up and ride to hounds chasing the elusive fox which abound in these parts. We drove past Civil War battlefields and saw the local cemetery with special markers for the confederate sons of Virginia who fell in those battles.

We share similar tastes and hobbies but Larry has perfected them. He is an avid horseman and has Tennessee Walkers at his home. He is also an avid bird hunter and trains bird hunting dogs. He has a coop full of chuckers that are then released for sport. He also entertains large hunting groups on his acreage. Here is a shot of Larry with two of his Brittany Spaniels which I thought were superb hunting dogs. These dogs range and when they scent the bird, get close and freeze on a point, There were three dogs; the first would freeze; the other two would quietly sneak up and "honor" the first dogs point. They did not flush the bird.

I used John Deere Gator to get around and it was great to be able to pull right up to the birds, get out and make the shot. They did not spook. Larry is a crack shot and was excellent backup.

Here is the first days bag/ We dressed them out and cooked them for supper.

Here is Larry who is also an accomplished chef, preparing the game birds for supper.

The next day, three other hunters came for another hunt. Larry's son, a retired Colonel, a retired Admiral who was a Naval Aviator. These were all great shots as well. The two retired military men are what one might call spazz bird hunters who travel the globe on wing shoots. They go on plantation hunts, hunt from horseback, go to Argentina and shoot thousands of doves which are a pest there. They were crack shots and when they hit a bird, it was hit with the center of the shot pattern. They were great guys and we had a good time watching the dogs work and covering more of the farm up hill and dale.

We had the best time with Larry and Madeline. While we were out hunting. Mary helped Madeline prepare for her Sunday Relief Society lesson. We spent hours just chatting and discussing missionary work then and now.

It was the best vacation and how wonderful it is to meet such great people everywhere through our church connections.

Next week it is off to Rick's farm in Northern California.

Love, Dad