I’m sad that we missed the tulip festival we were supposed to attend — Spring came early to Washington this year — but thrilled that Amy and I got to enjoy a mini road trip together. Hours together in the car, on ferries, and enjoying a couple of adult beverages on the deck of a waterfront café then exploring a super-cute town gave us plenty of time to catch up. It was awesome.
Here are some pics from our journey to Port Townsend and back.
Restaurant at the Mukilteo ferry terminal.
Amy and Me
One of the ferries.
Washington State Ferry
Amy
Toll Booth
Ferry pulling into the terminal at Coupeville.
Cool RV
Cool RV
On Whidbey Island
Ferry History
Leaving Coupeville, view of Fort Casey and the Admirality Head Lighthouse.
Holy cow it’s been a crazy week. But GOOD crazy. Fabulous crazy, really.
A couple of posts ago, I said, “More adventures are on the horizon. Could it involve family, friends, a road trip, airplane rides, surprise visitor(s) , a voyage to another country, a boat ride? Or maybe all of the above? One never knows. I do know, however, that exciting times are definitely ahead.”
In my anniversary post, I meant to enlighten y’all a bit and reveal that we are in Washington, which is where that handsome, pancake-cooking grandson lives. But I forgot. Sorry!
I’m guessing if you follow my Instagram feed, you know — or have been guessing! — where I am. We are in Washington State. Our daughter, Amy, lives outside of Seattle with her husband, TJ, and three kids. Our daughter Shannon and her boyfriend, Chris, flew up from San Diego for the weekend. So we were just a son and daughter-in-law short of having a full house for our anniversary.
The Family
It was awesome having everyone together for the weekend.
We drove this route counterclockwise.
Shannon and Chris left on Sunday evening. On Monday, while the kids were in school, Amy and I set off on a little road trip adventure, choosing to take the scenic route to Port Townsend (PT), a historic seaport town on the eastern side of the Olympic Peninsula.
I gave Amy the option of a fast, medium, or slow, scenic ride, with me driving, of course. I was very happy when she chose the scenic route, which involved two ferries and a quick visit to Whidbey Island, one of my favorite locations in the state.
It was really, really nice spending the day with Amy. I don’t get to see her much, since we live on opposite sides of the country and all. 🙁
While we were off on our girls adventure, TJ and Hubby went to the Lemay car museum in Tacoma. Then they went to the Army base to see TJ’s boat (he’s a boat captain). The guys seem to have enjoyed their day as much as us girls did.
I’ll share pics and tell you more about PT later. But first, there’s some other excitement.
Amy and TJ had to go away for a few days, so we are in charge of the kids. Which means we need to be here to chauffeur them around to various activities, make sure they eat, bathe, go to bed on time, don’t kill each other, etc. Hubby and I are both working remotely from here, unless something else comes up.
Most evenings are pretty busy. Wednesday (yesterday) was one of the few days only one kid had any place to be (Brianna had lacrosse practice), so I decided to escape for an adventure.
Selfie in Victoria, BC
I drove into Seattle and took the Victoria Clipper (a passenger-only ferry) up to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada for the day.
Victoria is a beautiful city. I took LOTS of pics. But want to know what the highlight of my day was?
Happy hour!
Not just because it was happy hour, but because of who I got to enjoy happy hour with!
Darlene and Me
Darlene, aka Princess Scooterpie! We’ve been following each other’s blogs for a few years now. I’d been to Victoria previously, but was traveling with friends so wasn’t able to squeeze in a visit. This time, I was very determined to meet this cool lady in the flesh.
She’s every bit as awesome as I knew she would be. Our time together FLEW by. Hopefully, next time we’ll get a couple of days together, instead of two, too-short hours.
I took a ton of pictures in Victoria. It really IS a beautiful city. I’ll share more when I get back home.
But guess what? Tomorrow — Friday — Hubby and I get to meet some more moto-blogger buddies. I really shouldn’t wish my time away, but I have been looking forward to this for quite some time.
I’ll leave you with this for now…
Sunset over the Olympic Peninsula
I captured that pic from the back of the ferry as we headed back to Seattle. It was a beautiful end to a fabulous day.
Over the past ten months as I’ve explored the far reaches of Virginia, I’ve been amazed and entertained by the diversity of this state. It’s a different world. Really.
I’m not just talking about geography either, which is the most obvious difference, but the attitudes, characteristics, and particularly the speech of the people.
Different languages, accents, and speech patterns have always intrigued me. I think because my Dad’s family, most of whom stayed in and around Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, talked differently than we did (I grew up in Baltimore, Maryland). Dad’s brother, Jay, settled in the mountains of Western, Pennsylvania. His wife and kids had an accent and used words even stranger-sounding to me than the Lancaster folks.
I always tell people that the farther south in Virginia you get, the thicker the accents. That’s true, but, as it turns out, it’s not as much southern Virginia where the accents are thickest, but the western and southwestern parts of the state. A bit of digging this morning explained why. Those regions of Virginia are part of Appalachia, as is the part of Pennsylvania where Uncle Jay and his family lived.
Even though I’m aware of the differences, it still catches me off guard at times. It’s not as much the words they use, but how they say them that gets me. Like this past Friday when Hubby and I were in Abingdon, Virginia and went to the Huddle House for breakfast.
Hubby’s Bacon and Cheese Omelet with Grits and Toast
Huddle House is a lot like the Waffle House, but better, in my opinion. Less of a greasy spoon.
My Two Eggs Over Medium with Bacon, Hash Browns, and Biscuit
As I was placing my order, I could have sworn the waitress asked if I’d like water with my toast.
“Um, what?” I said to her. It was a less-than-poised reply, I know, but it was early.
When she repeated herself more slowly, I heard “watt er whit toast.” It wasn’t until she she added, “er a biscuit” that I understood she was saying “white or wheat toast.”
It reminded me of the toothless old man I’d encountered earlier in the year when I was even deeper into the mountains very close to Tennessee and had stopped at a Hardee’s for lunch. He talked to me for what felt like about five minutes before I could understand a word he was saying. For real. And I was listening very closely.
Here’s a bit of info on Appalachian English if you’re interested. If you’ve never experienced speaking with someone from that area, listen to the video embedded. The guy who shows up at the 3:43 mark sounds a lot like my toothless friend, as does the guy at the end. Except the men in the video were both easier to understand.
Different isn’t a bad thing. I really enjoy the friendliness of the people and slower pace of life in the Appalachian Region. And even if I can’t always understand what the people are saying, I sorta like listening to them talk. And I can’t help but wonder what I sound like to them.
Any of you ever encounter speakers of US English in the south or in the Appalachian mountains you had a hard time understanding?
Hubby and I ended up in the coolest place while looking for the LOVEwork listed as being in Tazewell, which is really in Burke’s Garden, about 15 miles east of Tazewell.
The Garden, as residents call it, isn’t just a town, it’s a mountain valley (the highest mountain valley in Virginia at about 3,000 feet or 915 m above sea level) surrounded by one very large mountain. How does a valley get surrounded by one mountain? According to geologists, the mountain, mostly composed of limestone with a sandstone cap, was once 6,500 feet (1,981 m) tall. Over time, the center of the sandstone cap eroded, exposing the softer, underlying limestone to the weather. Then, as the limestone eroded, the mountain basically collapsed. The softer rock formed the valley, while the edges of the cap formed ridges.
It doesn’t sound like a huge deal until you see it from above, as shown in this aerial photo from Lost World Ranch (located in Burke’s Garden, the ranch raises Bactrian Camels and Llamas). The ranch has an interesting history piece on the Garden if you’re interested.
…Burke’s Garden is a beautiful land that, to a certain degree, time forgot. The place is completely off the grid of modern life: There is no newspaper delivery in the town, and no cable television; no stoplights and no working post office. And no cell phone service. Many of the residents are retired, a few of them farm, and lots drive out to work in nearby towns, constantly challenged by often-sketchy road conditions leading in and out of Burke’s Garden.
Not only did they have my new favorite LOVEwork, there were also quite a few barn quilts, interesting road signs, and plenty of beautiful scenery.
Here are my favorite captures from the Garden.
Tazewell LOVEwork in Burke’s Garden
General Store
This building reportedly serves as the unofficial post office.
Old Building
The Most-interesting Wayfinding Signs Ever (there were several)
Amish Buggy Warning Sign
It’s a very pretty place.
And a happy place.
It felt like we were out West.
Surrounded by Mountains
Deer!
We happened upon that little gal, who didn’t want to give up the road. We followed her slowly as she trotted along, finally exiting to the left after rounding that far bend in the background.
View from the southern end of Burke’s Garden.
When I mapped the route, which Hubby later put into his GPS, I had intended for us to enter the valley from the north and exit on a very curvy road to the south. The GPS software apparently didn’t like that idea, and made us turn left, looping around the Burke’s Garden valley instead. It was a lucky detour that gave us the opportunity to see more of the lovely place. But I wanted to take the curvy route out of the valley.
Burke’s Garden isn’t an easy place to reach. The route into the valley from the north is the only paved road. Hubby had apparently had the mapping software set to avoid gravel roads when he entered the route.
Google Maps doesn’t like the curvy gravel road either. It wanted to send me along the loop shown.
The GPS didn’t like the curvy road!
VA-623 heading into the valley from the north.
VA-623 exiting the valley from the southern end.
Yes, the road was as narrow, steep, and curvy as it looks.
View from a little ways up the road.
Look at all the rhododendron!
Hubby and I were divided on whether or not we’d want to revisit the road in the Spring. I’d love to see the rhododendron in bloom, but that’s definitely NOT a road for his big Victory. There are quite a few very tight turns and even a few hairpins, all very narrow.
If any of you would like to visit Burke’s Garden, I recommend driving in from the north. The southern portion can be treacherous during Winter, with icy patches lingering into late Spring. Followed by mud. It took us about an hour to cover the 10 or so miles (~16 km) of gravel road, not because conditions were bad, but because we were enjoying the scenery. 🙂
It’s definitely a nice place to visit and is well worth the trip if you like pretty scenery. And especially if you like barn quilts.
I hope you folks in the US enjoyed your Thanksgiving. Ours was interesting.
As I mentioned the other day, we didn’t have any meal plans for turkey day. A couple of weeks ago, when I was cataloging VA LOVEworks I still needed to capture, I mentioned planning a trip in the car, since Winter is approaching. Hubby said he’d go along, so I suggested doing it on Thanksgiving.
Hubby started a diet recently, and I knew we wouldn’t be preparing a traditional meal for the two of us. So I figured a road trip would be better than sitting around the house.
Not only did Hubby go along, we took the furkids, too. That’s something we rarely do. In fact, we’ve never spent the night in a hotel with these two. K is a good car rider. Belle doesn’t like car rides. Neither of them gets carsick, thank goodness, but Belle does a lot of panting unless we’re on an interstate or other smooth, fast-moving road. I was a bit worried that they’d be a real nuisance, but they actually did good on the ride.
Overview Map
I’d planned on capturing seven of the large LOVEworks and one smaller one, which I knew to be indoors. I also included two roadside oddities, which I knew wouldn’t be enjoyed by all participants. But, since both were in areas we’d be passing through anyway, I included them.
Traveling in a clockwise direction, our first stop was in Lynchburg. Wait, I mean our first planned stop was in Lynchburg, we first had to stop at Wal-Mart to buy a dog leash. We’d forgotten to grab the leashes before leaving home and could only find one in the car.
My Traveling Companions at the Lynchburg LOVEwork
Mike, being a good sport, tried to get both of the girls to look at me for a pic. I took about ten shots before giving up.
Not knowing when, if ever, I’d get back to Lynchburg, I wanted to see the shoes. There were other oddities, like an enema collection, large metal water pitcher, and Easter Island head, but I didn’t want to push it.
Crazy Clouds
From there, we headed south and west toward Lambsburg. The LOVEwork is actually located at the Virginia Welcome Center along the northbound side of I-77, so we dipped down into North Carolina then headed north on the interstate.
The weather was warm — mid-60s F / about 18 C — dry, and partly cloudy, which made for some interesting skies.
Lambsburg LOVEwork
That’s my favorite LOVE image from the trip. The light was perfect and there was a break in the clouds.
From there, we headed west toward Abingdon, where we’d reserved a hotel room for the night. A good bit of the Lambsburg-to-Abingdon leg was along The Crooked Road Trail (a portion of US-58), which goes past Grayson Highlands State Park, a place I’d been wanting to visit. I’d read there was a pretty good view from the park. As it turns out, the Internet was right.
View from Grayson Highlands State Park
I’d hoped to see downtown Abingdon’s Main Street at night, but Hubby was tired after those 380 miles in the car. The girls needed some people time, too. So, we got a mediocre-to-crappy meal at Cracker Barrel, which was right next to the hotel, then hunkered down for the night. (By sheer coincidence, Abingdon was almost exactly the halfway point of our journey.)
After a yummy breakfast, we were off.
Abingdon LOVEwork
I’d stopped in Abingdon in July, but the sculpture had been damaged during a storm and removed for repair, so I missed it. I’m glad I got the chance to go back. Not capturing the Abingdon piece wouldn’t have been a huge deal, but it’s a pretty town in a very nice area.
We also stopped at Holston Mountain Artisans, a craft co-op which has an indoor LOVEwork I’d hoped to see. They have a barn quilt on the outside of their building, so I actually got a chance to see a full-size barn quilt up close for the first time. (The standard side on a big barn is 8′ by 8′ (about 2.5 x 2.5 meters) square.
Holston Mountain Artisans’ Barn Quilt
Hubby actually discovered a second, smaller barn quilt behind the building, which I’ll share later. Sadly, the shop didn’t open for another hour or so and we had a lot of ground to cover, so off we went.
Driving northeast toward Tazewell
I forgot to mention earlier that it was a very pretty day for a drive.
The next planned stop was Tazewell, where we’d capture the piece I was most excited about seeing.
Seen along the drive to Tazewell.
I couldn’t resist stopping to see the barn quilts on this not-yet-open arts center. Speaking of barn quilts… wanna know why I was so excited about seeing the Tazewell piece, which was also added very recently?
It is a barn quilt LOVEwork! I’m not doing a barn quilt scavenger hunt, I just really enjoy seeing them.
Tazewell LOVEwork
That piece is in a really, really cool location, too, which I’ll tell you about in a separate post.
Blacksburg LOVEwork
Not all LOVEworks have to be standalone art works. The Blacksburg piece is a very nicely done mural.
We also revisited neighboring Christiansburg to capture a pic of the piece we’d ridden past in July because it was rush hour and too dang hot to stop.
Again, not seeing it wouldn’t have been a big deal. There are no hard and fast rules to this self-imposed scavenger hunt, but since we were in the area, we stopped.
Christiansburg LOVEwork
We were supposed to see a seventh LOVEwork. Unfortunately, I’d failed to notice that the LOVEwork at the Silver Hearth Lodge, which was one of the more-recent additions to the growing list of sites, is on private property and you’re supposed to make a appointment to see the thing. We took our chances and drove up to the lodge anyway, but didn’t see the LOVEwork.
I don’t think pieces should be included on the official/master list of LOVEworks unless they are publicly accessible around the clock. I can’t be the only person to have driven to see a specific piece only to be thwarted because a piece was behind closed gates and/or doors.
The next-to-last planned stop for the day was a must-see for me. I missed it the first time I visited Roanoke.
I had planned the route, but Hubby was in charge of entering it into the GPS. His label for the next stop should tell you how unexcited he was about that one.
Just another stupid roadside oddity…
I was excited, but the girls were ambivalent.
My first Paul Bunyan Muffler Man
I should have made the girls get out of the car, but sunset was fast approaching and I wanted Hubby to see downtown Roanoke. As it turns out, he wasn’t impressed.
Looking west from Roanoke, just before sunset.
That was the end of day two. Not counting the uneventful drive home from Roanoke. I think it was just before 8:00 p.m. when we got back to Warrenton. The girls were especially excited to be back home. We were, too.
Now, if I could just muster up an iota of Christmas spirit, I might get something done today.
I’ve been a fan of kitschy roadside stuff for as long as I can remember. Perhaps it started with the big Yogi Bear statue at the Jellystone Park campground my family frequented in the mid- to late-1970s. It was about 20 feet tall and, like the one pictured on the right, included a basket into which people could climb for photo ops. (I’ll have to dig to see if I can find one of those pics.)
Even before I saw that Yogi, I remember seeing and being delighted by those trashcans at amusement parks topped with lids that were made to look like the head of a clown, lion, bear, or other animal so that you could “feed” your garbage to whatever critter topped the can. Anyone else remember those? If I am not mistaken, some even were equipped with some sort of device that created suction, like a vacuum cleaner, so that when you held trash close enough to the mouth it got sucked in.
I don’t know why the stuff amuses, intrigues, and delights me, it just does. I’m not just talking about big statues of men and animals, but all of the goofy Americana stuff that was once used to advertise and/or make a business stand out. Like Muffler Men.
You knew I was headed there, didn’t you?
Like I said, I’ve always liked these big guys, along with other roadside oddities, but it wasn’t until I met Fuzzy (aka Rachael) that I learned these big guys have names and, even better, a following. Other people think they’re important, too.
Anyway… I actually saw two giants on my recent loop through Virginia and Maryland.
Fallen Giant
I HAD to visit the Big Viking of Chincoteague before leaving the island. Currently, he is on his back in a field beside what appears to be a property owned by a “collector.” RoadsideAmerica has a picture of the Viking taken in 2008.
Fallen Giant
Apparently, the property where he was stood was purchased by someone who didn’t want The Viking. So he was rescued and is being stored here until a new home can be found.
Close-up
I don’t often get a chance to see one of these giants up close and personal like this.
Fallen Giant
Fallen Giant
Pegged Leg?
Showing him some love.
He may be down, for now, but hopefully someone will give him a new home soon.
Old Friend Revisited
Since I was sort of going to be in the neighborhood, I figured I’d stop in Ocean City, Maryland on the way home to visit this guy, who has been at the Jolly Roger Amusement Park since 1964.
Old Friend
I’d seen him before and have always thought him to be very cool. But I wanted a closer look now that I know he’s an authentic International Fiberglass creation.
Me and Roger
New Kid on the Block
To reach Ocean City from Chincoteague, I opted to go through Berlin, Maryland to say hi to this new guy.
Mark Cline Soda Jerk (Frontiertown)
RoadsideAmerica.com describes him as…
…a 21st Century Muffler Man, made by Virginia’s Mark Cline. Shorter than the classic model, with too-tight jeans, but muscular arms to heft his impressive vanilla swirl cone.
I’ve seen these mini Muffler Men before. They’re actually called Soda Jerks and Mark Cline, a fiberglass sculptor from Virginia, is the guy behind their resurrection. There’s a great Soda Jerks background piece on the American Giants blog if you’re interested.
I don’t usually get as excited about seeing these guys since they’re sorta new, but I should. I mean, they’re the new generation of Muffler Men. And Mark Cline, who I absolutely MUST visit one day, deserves some credit for keeping the muff alive.
Other Fun Stuff
Finally, some miscellaneous fun images I captured while meandering toward home on Sunday.
Also at Frontiertown with the Soda Jerk pictured above is an actual prop from the JAWS movie.
Yikes!
A Real JAWS Prop
It’s 31.5 feet long (over 10 meters).
Another reason to stop in Ocean City was to buy some fresh Dolle’s Caramel Popcorn. That stuff is the best!
Dolle’s Popcorn on the boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland.
Menacing shark at Ripley’s Believe It or Not.
Ripley’s Believe It or Not
This over-the-top mini-golf course caught my eye on the way to Jolly Rogers.
Creepy!
Miniature golf establishments have always been a mecca of oddities. In a place like Ocean City with numerous putt-putt establishments, over-the-top is sort of required.
The crazier, the better.
There was another place with aliens where I should have stopped, but didn’t. I was getting tired. If you’re curious, use Google Images to search for “Lost Galaxy Golf Ocean City Maryland.”
Anyhow, that concludes the re-cap my latest adventure or non-adventure as some folks may see it. 🙂
