Virginia and West Virginia

October 29
Thursday

Stopped in Fredericksburg, Va at a Verizon store for a SB card  after being notified that my phone photo storage is full. The 32GB card has room for another 10,900 pictures. Good thing I'm almost half done with my trip!

 Now in Virginia near Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, 

I had wonderful memories of having seen Monticello in 2001.

But at the time didn't visit this wonderful 1784 tavern nearby.

This time I stopped for lunch at Michie Tavern where the wait people are dressed in colonial garb.

You would have thought Jefferson would hang out here since it is very near his home. During Jefferson's time it was 17 miles away and only moved here in 1927. 

Spent a rainy night in a Walmart parking lot with 4 other RVs to test my generator for a few weeks from now when I'll be dry camping for a week with no hookups.

In the morning all electricity was working.

Historic Charlottesville, Virginia has a wonderful downtown pedestrian mall.

An art cooperative on Main Street had this beautiful glass mosaic loveseat out front with a NFS tag.  

Using a map from the Visitor Center, I took a walking tour of the historic district.

This brick home once housed a school and was occupied by Union soldiers in 1865 when they captured the city.

I must keep reminding myself I'm below the Mason Dixon line.

Finding no place to park on campus at Jefferson's University of Virginia, I gave up and took a trolley tour.

Jefferson founded the University in 1819 toward the end of his life and considered it one of his greatest achievements.

The Rotunda, the symbol of the University, was totally covered with scaffolding and not worth 

photographing today.

Beautiful state with beautiful RV parks.

Driving thru the Shenandoah Mountain Pass I was awestruck by the many gorgeous vistas around nearly every curve.

 This trip wasn't supposed to be about nature and National Parks, but it's becoming so.

Civil War history is everywhere in these little villages.

McDowell, Va only had about 6 buildings in town and this cemetary.

View from a high mountain pass.

Sometimes I had to drop down to 2nd gear because of the steep inclines.

The Doodle held his own.

In West Virginia now.

Some of these small hill towns show the effects of a bad economy.

There is also some good country music in these hills around Ararat and Floyd I've only heard on the radio.

Arrived at the Clarksburg, West Virginia Country Club to have lunch with Peggy, the sister of my brother's wife, Kathy.  Does this make us sisters-in-law once removed?  or something.

Peggy's daughter-in-law, Meredith, and granddaughter Natalie joined us for the afternoon of Southern Hospitality back at her home.

It was fun catching up with Peggy who I had spent a lot of time with as a kid with her sister, Kathy.

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Driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway, it's easy to see where it got it's name.

This beautiful curvy drive winds its way 450 miles south

 to the Great Smoky Mountains.

This cabin sits

near Humpback Rocks, which are two large outcroppings on the mountainside above.

Back in the day, early travelers used these rocks to gauge the distance they had traveled.

Back in Virginia, I visit Tuckahoe plantation near Richmond. It was begun around 1715.

Thomas Jefferson's parents lived here for many years caring for the children of deceased relatives. Thomas attended the little one room schoolhouse on the property from first to fourth grades.Today it is still used by owners but is open for tours with much of the original furnishings. Truly a family home. 

Goodbye to Virginia and West Virginia