PACETAH

Well, we have another national conference under our belt!  I was so fortunate to be able to take Dr. Shaffer and 3 of our grant members to Williamsburg last week to the NCHE annual conference.  As always, the sessions were really good!  This year, the conference planners sacrificed some sessions so that we would have ample time to explore the area that is so rich in history.  Our group was fortunate to have our own personal guide in the person of Dr. Shaffer, who spent quality time in the area when he earned his Ph.D. a few years ago. 

It was so exciting to hear Dr. Shaffer’s anecdotes as we strolled through the historic area, and to actually sit in the original lecture hall at Wren Hall at The College of William and Mary.  We also saw the home of Presidents John Tyler and William Henry Harrison, as well as Shirley Plantation, the oldest plantation in America!  In Richmond we got some small flavor of the South at its greatest, and at Virginia Beach we walked along the Atlantic coast.  As a Texan used to the Gulf, it was quite an experience for me to look out onto the water and see nothing BUT water – no lights, no oil rigs, nothing!