We hitched up the Cottage to our new truck in late June, and headed north. Our first stop for a few days: Lake Gaston, VA, where our friends Bonnie and Mark were spending the summer. Nice cg, on the lake, where we visited last summer for some kayaking and catfish suppers, and this stop, time with our friends. Stuart and I picked wild briarberries (blackberries) on the Heritage Tobacco Trail between Brodnax and LaCrosse, VA. It was a typically hot summer day, but the trail is shady in places, and we had a nice walk.
In an earlier century, Stuart's mother graduated from Longwood Normal School, now Longwood College, in Farmville, VA. I'd never been there, and we headed there from Lake Gaston. We parked the Cottage in the vacant parking lot for the stadium at the University, and rode our bikes through the small town, touring the campus and finding the original buildings Anna Vries probably had classes in. It's a pretty campus, and the downtown looks vibrant and interesting. I'd love to return, and bike to the old Saylor's Creek Bridge on the rails-to-trails path, and see the State Parks in the area. Driving on after a picnic lunch on the campus, we found a bare-bones cg just outside of Appomatox Courthouse, where we set up for the night. The Appomatox National Park, and the house where Lee surrendered to Grant is just 3 miles down the road from the cg, so we get on our bikes for the short ride. It's a beautiful, rolling hills place, full of emotion from 150 years ago. Our National Park interpreter led us through the history of the days just before the surrender, giving details and asking us to imagine the scene. We walked through the small town of Appomatox Courthouse, seeing the restored buildings and imagining life there. We biked through Grant's headquarters, just over the ridge from the Courthouse, and past several small graveyards. The cold beer back at the cg was so good, it called for another! Chicken and chorizo and corn stew for dinner. Yumm yumm!
One night in Appomatox was enough, and we were on the road by 9:30 the next day, heading for Charlottesville. Even though we have gps, I still managed to make a wrong turn off US 29, onto a single lane paved road that appeared to be someone's very long driveway. I had to back the Cottage about .5 mile, backing onto US 29. Wow. The KOA in C'ville is the only cg in town, and is a few easy miles out of town. We found a pretty site, and set up facing the woods. We spent the afternoon enjoying the pedestrian-only downtown where we had pho noodles for lunch. The UVA campus Stuart spent four years on is no longer in sight: it has been replaced with many buildings and parking lots and beautiful lawns and a bajillion cars. Try as we might, we couldn't find a place to leave the Bigass Truck long enough to take a walk. We gave up the battle with traffic and found a gym for a late afternoon workout. The chops on the grill for dinner were better than any we've ever cooked, accompanied by birdsong and rustling leaves. The nights have been cool enough to leave the windows open, so not-normal for early July!
Monticello. My most favorite house and gardens in the whole world. We arrived mid-morning, and found a new (to us) Visitor's Center and many parking lots. We bought tickets for the house tour, and boarded a bus up the Little Mountain, after paying our respects to Mr. Jefferson's statue. He was a remarkable man, in many ways, and left incredibly detailed notes about his many curiosities. In particular, I love his gardens, and his endless experiments and observations. We spent most of the day on his Little Mountain, in his house and gardens, which made me very happy.
The vegetable gardens at Monticello; Stuart and me with Mr. Jefferson's likeness.
After a shower and change of clothes, we headed back downtown to South Street Brewery, where we might have been the only people on the planet who were not watching some kind of ball game on the tvs. But, the beers were good, and I have a t-shirt to document the visit! We then walked in the twilight a few blocks to Orzo Kitchen, where we had a truly marvelous dinner. I had a wonderful mac-and-cheese, that was nothing like the mac-and-cheese picture that just popped into your head. This dish had chunks for browned pork betlly, sauteed greens, garlic, peppers and onions, lovely local cheese and house-made breadcrumbs. Oh, a little pasta. It was heavenly! We walked through downtown a bit, before heading home to sit outside and think about the nice day.
Winchester, VA or bust! We drop the Cottage in a storage lot on the edge of town, and feeling strangely light-weight, we drove over the mountain to Capon Bridge, WV, where we happily spent a few days with our friends Julie and Drew on their little mountain overlooking the Cacapon River. Julie cooked a great dinner - chicken and pasta, and we enjoy the evening on their peaceful back porch, plenty of wine in the fridge! Julie is a docent for the Nature Conservancy's Ice Mountain, a geological curiosty close to their house. I love hiking there, and she takes us up there. We explore the ice vents and rare plants along the river, then hike up to Raven's Rock ridge for an eagle's view of the valley. I hope this place remains undiscovered and undisturbed.
A peaceful visit at Julie and Drew's house is like medicine for the soul, but we must move on. Because it's the 4th of July weekend, we had to make reservations for three nights at a cg in Hancock, MD. So, we reluctantly head back to Winchester, hook-up the Cottage and find a supermarket before heading a little further north. Hancock is on the Potomoc River, in the little pinched-up part of MD, and really should be a part of VA. Or, WV. The Happy Hills cg is far out of the small town, in abandoned fruit orchard country, beautiful rolling hills. The C&O canal and towpath , and the B&O rail trail both run through here. So much history! The canal and railroad were begun on the same day in 1858 (so the local story goes), and it was a race to the finish, with the winner earning all the transportation business in the area. We drove over the mountain, stopping to admire the long views, to PawPaw, and to the engineering miracle C&O Canal tunnel. The 3100 foot-long tunnel was dug under a mountain, to connect the canal and tow-path in this very mountainous area. Thankfully, Julie had hiked this tunnel, and warned us to take a flashlight!
Today, the canal is dry in some places, but the tow-path is maintained and well-loved by hikers and bikers. Many of the locks built to navigate the canal are long-since rotted, but there is a small museum just outside of Hancock at one of the former locks. We enjoyed a long visit on the front porch of the lock-keeper's house, with the docent and his grandson. They talked about the history of the area orchards, and of winter ice storms and floods. That day, we were biking the B&O rail trail just outside of Hancock, which runs beside the C&O canal, and runs all the way to Washington, DC.
After a nice 4th of July long weekend of hiking and biking and a great history lesson on the C&O Canal and B&O Railroad, a country-music band at the cg, and fireworks, it was time to move. We headed towards State College, PA. I want to visit my old friend, Lois, who is living in memory-care facility. She looks great, and for a moment, I believe she knew me. No matter, she was happy and we had a nice visit. Later, she told her daughter, my friend Barbara, that an old high-school classmate had dropped by for a visit! Stuart and I enjoyed a couple of days in State College, sampling one of it's breweries and the downtown farmer's market, while "glamping" at the Ft. Bellafonte cg. Nice place, quiet, no frills, great for big rigs, easy access to the city. It's a nice city, all about the University. Too cold for me in the winter!
Next stop: The Allegheny National Forest!
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