A trip to Gettysburg brings a real sense of awareness of the sacrifices made by the Union and Confederacy soldiers fighting for their personal beliefs. We walked over parts of the battlefield reading the monuments, looking at the cannons, and marveling at the courage displayed by the men that charged across the open area during Pickett's Attack. We stayed at Artillery Ridge Campground (a Passport America participating park). They had a large diorama set up with a 35 minute program describing the battles of July 1st, 2nd and 3rd, 1863. It was quite a history lesson!
Friday, Oct. 24th, we left Pennsylvania, crossed the Mason-Dixon line into Maryland and continued into West Virginia. We are learning geography first hand as we traverse mountains where we had no idea they existed. There are several 7 % grades in western Maryland that we have added to our "not so much fun" list. Gene downshifts to 3rd or 2nd gear and handles the grade down well - it's the turns that having me gripping the door and praying fervently. It was during this section of the trip that the engine light came on. We read the Chevy owner's manual and Gene determined it was a combination of ethanol in the fuel and steep uphill grades. The engine was not skipping or hesitating, so we continued on down the road. Some of the interesting names in this area are Polish Mtn, elevation 1246 ft., Martins Mtn, elevation 1636 ft., Big Savage Mtn, elevation 2200 ft., Meadow Mtn, elevation 2710 elevation and Keyers Ridge elevation 2880 ft. Now why would a ridge be higher than a mountain?
We were driving on I 79, then took US Hwy 50 in West Virginia. The real fun began when we got on Hwy 16 to get down to Mike and Diane's in Mt. Zion. Just picture a snake - which is what the road looks like on the GPS. We were rewarded with beautiful foliage and glimpses of deer grazing in meadows and front yards. We finally arrived at their house, unpacked some essentials and waited for them to come home from their deli in Spencer (about 30 minutes away). We spent the next few days enjoying their hospitality and the beauty of their "holler".
The deer come into their yard to graze, the creek started to gurgle again after the rain of Friday night, and the rocking chairs on the front porch are so inviting. The temperature dipped into the high 20's and frost covered the ground on Sunday morning, but it warmed up to the 60's by afternoon. It was enough to make us think of the more temperate climate of Florida.
Tuesday we were on the road again heading down through Charleston and then east on I 64. West of Lewisburg we saw raindrops on the windshield which then turned to snow flurries. We view these with mixed emotions. It's really pretty to see the snow floating down and swirling around and we were thankful it didn't stay on the road to hamper our driving. Crossing the state line into Virginia, the flurries continued but stopped before we reached our destination of Stoney Creek Campground (Coast to Coast) in Greeneville, VA for the night. It was pretty cold though, and our electric heater stayed on all night.
Wednesday we made a short jaunt to Charlottesville, VA where we had scheduled an oil change. I spied the sign pointing towards Mitchie's Tavern and we went there for lunch. They have the absolute best fried chicken. It's buffet style and the server will bring refills of whatever you want. I only had one refill of stewed tomatoes - they were so sweet they could be a dessert. We toured the Clothier store and then were on our way back to Bill Price Chevrolet. They had WiFi and I was able to catch up on some of my emails. We spent the night at Shenandoah Crossing - a very upscale member of Coast to Coast-near Gordonsville, VA. We were there in November 2006 and they have made (and are making) a lot of improvements including yurts and cabins. The leaves were beautiful there. It's been interesting to see the progression of leaves changing as we travel from area to area.
Yesterday we made another short jaunt to Thousand Trails Chesapeake Bay in Gloucester VA on the Piankatank River. I took a short walk to the beach to enjoy the view of the river, but it was a little too nippy to stay long. We will stay here for four days to visit with our friends in Mobjack. We met Keith and Martin in San Antonio, TX in 2007 and spent a delightful time visiting with them today. We will go out with them on their large sailboat on Sunday on the East River. Yes, I will layer so I can stay warm.
We really are heading home, just taking our sweet time doing so and "stopping to smell the roses" as we go. We never know what will be around the next bend and what will beckon to us to investigate. We are so blessed to be able to pursue this lifestyle while we are able and we want to enjoy every minute.
Until next time, God's blessing to all of you.
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