Well we have had quite a day in Virginia. Last night we got to bed around 2am but I could not fall asleep. Finally around 5am I dozed off. At 8:30 Keith woke me up so we could get a move on. We had an ambitious day planned. He had already been up for a couple of hours and done some laundry. Yes, the boy is a morning person, I have never been. But I got up and chugged some bad coffee. Three and a half hours is not enough sleep but I figured I could catch a nap in the car. So I'm getting ready and I hear my beloved say "oh shit is this a tick?" the answer was yes it is! Located about 4 inches below his belly button ( yes there) was a little brown tick latched on as if it's life depended on it. Out came the tweezers, and I am happy to say the operation was a success. We hope no lime disease is in his future. We think he may have picked it up when he was exploring his cousin Lisa's woods. It probably crawled up his leg and landed where it did. Enough said about that.
After the complimentary continental breakfast we headed out at around 10:30. After looking at the map we decided to skip Monticello cause it would have taken us out of our way and added an additional 4 hours at least to our day. We were very excited about seeing the Luray Canyons and we knew the drive through the Shenandoah Valley would be beautiful. Ever since I heard John Denver sing about this place I have pictured it and longed to see it. Oh my gosh it is beyond description but I'll give it my best shot. Picture green rolling hills and with full trees, rivers running through and ancient mountains on all sides. Everywhere you look there is a postcard. Cows and horses dotting the landscape along with dark red barns as well asnstructures that were probably once farm houses but have long since been vacated. All of it something I will never forget. It goes on forever.
Rice crispies and fruit only goes so far so at 12:30 we stopped in Sperryville VA. Sperryville is a small town, very historic and well just a sweet little place. We came upon a little eatery called "High On the Hog" I knew that was the place for us. Their tag line is" a taste of south in your mouth" I am not making it up. I had the pulled pork sandwich with a side of coleslaw and Keith had a fried fish sandwich. We enjoyed our lunch in their patio where a stream was running by the side and shade trees cooled us off. My pulled pork was as good as a pulled pork sandwich could be. The meat was juicy and sweet with just the right amount of sauce and it was wedged between a soft sesame seed sandwich bun. Perfect. The slaw was refreshing and crunchy and had a good amount of pepper, yummy. Keith said his fish sandwich was "good" high praise coming from him. After lunch we got back on the road and arrived at Luray Caverns at about 2pm. The Luray Cavernsare a U.S natural landmark and the largest caverns on the east coast. We took the tour which lasted about 90 minutes. The cavern is enormous, goes on forever. The stalagmites and stalactites were so spectacular it was hard to believe they were not made by Disney. It was really cool down there but humid at the same time. To get down in to the cavern we went down a long stairway then we wound our way through it. There were guides placed at points of interest. Young well scrubbed and clean cut men and women all locals . They shared facts and interesting bits of history. After the tour we made are way up the very long staircase which conveniently dumps you out at the expansive gift shop. As my mother would say " just a bunch of junk". Still,mi bought a few souvenirs. really, I am not a shopper, and I have not bought much of anything on this trip so far. I would like to pick up some folk art if I find something interesting. I'll keep looking.
We still had about 3 hours to drive before we got to West Virginia where we wanted to spend the night. I got behind the wheel, I like to drive,Keith has been doing most of it, his choice. So I'm getting my groove on listening to NPR weekend programming which we love. The Roads are great not much traffic at all. The posted speed limit is 70 but jeez in Southern Cali we never go the posted speed limit. Never! But this ain't Cali and I got pulled over by the Virginia State Police. He clocked me going 82 but gave me a ticket for 80 so I would not have to appear in court for reckless driving. He was very nice. I told him he had a beautiful state and he agreed and said he had never been to mine, I told him mine was beautiful too. So I put the sped control on 70 , even though Keith told me I could get away with going faster I stayed at 70. We got to our hotel in Beckley West Virginia after 7. We were too tired to go out so we got turkey burgers and ice cream . Just fine. So far we have travelled since arriving in Atlanta 1514 miles. We still have a week to go. Tomorrow Kentucky.
Peace out. Hi Mom we love you!
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