What was March 16, 1990 like for Christie and Scottie?

Christie, Scottie, Louis, and Bill in front of Montpelier, then under renovation (see ladder to the left)

It was an early spring day, just two months before Louis and I were to be married on May 19, 1990, in Abingdon, VA at the Martha Washington Inn.

Christie & her beloved husband, Bill Kitchin, left Yorktown early that morning to drive several hours west up I-64, then US15, to Montpelier Station and Madison's estate. She had prepared the proclamation and had it printed by her ever-reliable print shop in Grafton, VA.

Louis and I drove about 3 hours south on US 29 from the DC area, where he had been working on  contract to the US Dept. of Energy. I did the driving because Louis had been up all night working on a contract deadline, and he needed to take a nap. I was on spring break that week from my studies at Virginia Tech for a PhD in public administration, so I had spent the week with Louis while he worked in DC. We both lived in Blacksburg, VA at the time. B'burg is in far SW Virginia, rather off the face of the earth as far as I was concerned, so for me to spend the week with Louis in DC was a great treat.

The four of us, Christie, Bill, Louis, and I were great traveling companions, because we liked the same kinds of things - ideas, food, drink, & interesting people and places. As I've told you, little Christie, Big Christie was the most curious person I ever met. Add that to her intelligence, and it was a winning combination. All of us were very happy that spring, because Louis and I had found each other three years before and were about to be married.

As it turned out, in 2002, Christie died on our 12th anniversary, May 19. We miss her still, but are thrilled to have Christie V. Vernon to share her stories with.