Retirement Travel and a Weird Mix of Other Stuff
Who knew LOVEworks could be moved!?! Not me.
Who suspected they could be damaged and removed for repair!?! Not me.
Now I know, of course.
This is the one other LOVEwork I saw on my recent ramble.
At least that one is more creative than the plain ole white LOVE at the welcome center, as shown in that previous post mentioned earlier.
I haven’t really given up. Yet. I may be seeing some more LOVE soon. Fingers crossed.
Like this video clip, which I extracted from a longer video taken while riding on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It would have been a nice video if this unfortunate event hadn’t occurred. Actually, it made me giggle. Good thing it wasn’t the only video of the day, though.
And today. We’ve got Friday off in observance of the July 4 holiday, so Hubby and I decided to go out for lunch and, on the way, ride the two southern sections of Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. I had never been on the southernmost part between US-33 and US-250. Now, I have. 🙂
Yes, we took the long way to get to the restaurant.
It was mostly sunny and in the mid-70s when we left home. But the mountains were shrouded in fog. I could see that as soon as we got a mile or so west of town, but figured it might be interesting in the fog.
It was interesting. And cool. Temps were in the low-60s on Skyline Drive. At least once, the temp dropped below 60. After a while, it actually started feeling downright chilly. The road wasn’t fogged in, so visibility was fine. There were few if any scenic mountain vistas to see, though. And my hands got cold enough that I used my heated grips a couple of times to knock the chill off. It worked, too.
Nevertheless, we made it. Here’s a not-so-great picture as proof.
It even rained a bit. Or, the fog grew so dense in places that it felt like rain.
Here’s a better pic of the two of us.
Then there’s this pic, where it looks like my head has been shrunken.
What’s up with that? Is my head really a size or two too small for my body? Or, wait, perhaps my body has grown too large for my head. Yikes.
We did have a good lunch. Hubby got a pulled pork sandwich with a lukewarm side of fries. It was delicious. (Yes, I got a small taste.)
I had a chopped brisket sandwich, which was okay, with a side of hush puppies (essentially deep-fried cornbread balls). We shared an order of fried pickles, too. I usually prefer fried pickle chips over spears, but the spears we had today were really good.
We had to hightail it home from the restaurant as it looked like we were about to get rained on for real.
All in all, even if it wasn’t perfect, it was a good day. And there are two more days left in the weekend. I wonder what we’ll get up to tomorrow…
I hope you’re up to something fun this weekend.
Before leaving home, I noted the location of ten LOVEworks in the region around which I thought I’d be traveling. I didn’t know if I’d get to them or not, but thought I might, being in the vicinity and all.
So, when I left Gatlinburg, Tennessee this morning, my first destination was Gate City, Virginia. To get there, I had to pass through Kingsport, Tennessee, which is rich with kitsch. No lie.
In fact, Kingsport is where I captured my favorite pic of the day. But first… something really off the wall happened on the way to Kingsport. I have to file this in the “too strange to be made up” category.
It happened right around Limestone, Tennessee. I saw this guy driving in a little dune buggy that reminded me of one of the Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars of my youth. It was a tiny little thing with those lollipop headlights. I laughed out loud when I saw it. What a fun car! It gets weirder…
The guy was zipping along ahead of me, darting in and out of traffic, so I had to make a bit of an effort to keep up. He had what looked like a tapered bucket strapped to the back of the buggy. I thought it was odd, but didn’t give it a whole lot of extra thought. Until, that is, a bunch of red flowers mysteriously appeared on the road. I wasn’t directly behind him at that point. But, a couple of minutes later, when I WAS right behind him, a bunch of blue flowers came out of the funnel-bucket.
Yes, I was actually traveling behind a Hot Wheels-looking dune buggy that shat flowers upon the road. Really. There’s GOT to be a story behind that, right?
Sadly, I had to turn off of the highway shortly after that.
Here’s my favorite capture of the day from Kingsport.
As for the Gate City LOVEwork… if you followed my route, you’ll see I rode all over town looking for the thing. It’s a really cute town, by the way.
Gate City may be in the same state, but it’s kind of a different world. The Hardee’s where I stopped to cool off and grab a lite lunch was packed with locals. One older gentleman was trying to talk to me. Bless his heart, I don’t think there was a tooth in his head. Between that and the thick VA/TN accent, I could barely understand the man. After a few minutes, when I realized he was telling me there’d been a bad motorcycle accident just down the road that morning, caused by a girl on a cell phone, I tuned him out. Rude, I know, but that’s not the sort of thing I really need to hear while road tripping.
Anyway… the guy at the counter told me where to find the LOVEwork, so off I went. Only to find no LOVE. I asked another guy at that spot and he told me it had been or was being moved to a field down the road. I looked in several fields only to find no LOVE.
I did manage to capture this lame, plain LOVEwork at the rest stop on I-81 just outside of Bristol, VA.
From there, despite the heat, which is worst in urban areas AND while crawling along in traffic, I ventured into downtown Bristol, VA, where I saw a much cooler sign painted on a building (I’ll share that one later).
There were two other ones on my list for the day, one in Abingdon and one in Galax. The latter was a maybe, as I wasn’t sure I wanted to head that far east. After a sweltering 20 minuntes in Abingdon — another adorable town — when I discovered the sign had been damaged and removed for repair, I decided to give up on LOVE for now. It’s too hot for a wild goose chase.
From Abingdon, I headed for higher elevations.
I stopped for gas along the way at a typical, quirky, ruralish gas station/convenience store/hunting supply shop, which is where I found this guy hanging out.
Oh wait, I almost forgot to share this barn quilt I spotted somewhere along the way. Yes, I should have made note of the location, but didn’t.
After the LOVE disappointment in Abingdon, my focus turned to riding. I tested one of AmericaRidesMaps recommended routes (VA-58) which was amazing.
The next pic was captured along VA-58.
From there, I headed north to Marion, VA, which is at one end of the Back of the Dragon. It was around 5:00 by that point. Had I found any decent-looking accommodations, I might’ve stayed there, but I didn’t. So I went ahead and rode the Back of the Dragon. Having ridden the Tail of the Dragon in TN three times yesterday — why not? — I can honestly say VA’s dragon is a much nicer ride. It’ll be more well-known one day, like that other Dragon, and I’m sure speed limits will be reduced and it’ll be more heavily patrolled. So enjoy it soon, while you still can!
Tazewell, VA at the northern end of that road had even fewer lodging choices. That’s how I ended up in Princeton, West Virginia. I really had zero inkling that I’d hit West Virginia on this trip. But I’m glad I did. It’s much cooler in the mountains. And I FINALLY got a margarita.
Now I just need to figure out where to go tomorrow. Stay tuned…
I’ve been telling y’all for months that I have been contemplating a wee adventure, right?
Well, I’m happy to report that my turn has almost arrived. Finally.
Hubby and I usually vacation together, but he chose to use his time off for the Four Corners ride. That’s why I’m going off on a solo trip.
My “adventure” won’t be anywhere near as grand as Hubby’s. Or adventuresome in the true sense of the word. It’s just a road trip, really. But I’ll be doing what I want to do, or not do, when I want to do it. Or not.
Faced with endless possibilities, I had a really hard time deciding what to do and where to go. I’m still not sure exactly what I will be doing or where I’ll be going, which is quite uncharacteristic for me. I have no routes mapped and no reservations made.
Saying “no routes mapped” means I don’t have anything plugged into any sort of GPS. I do have one route planned for the first couple of days, but it doesn’t require a map. I’ll be riding the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP), from the north end to the south end.
I’ve got my maps, and I’ve made note of things I’d maybe like to see, if I feel like it.
I’ll just be winging it as I go. I may stick around the NC/TN/VA mountains around Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) for most of the week. Maybe I’ll head to the coast, but, with this heat, I doubt it.
I’m sure I’ll see some LOVE along the way, and other quirky roadside oddities. Because that’s my idea of fun.
I’m supposed to leave on Saturday, but, with Tropical Storm Depression Bill potentially heading our way, I just might leave on Friday instead.
That’s a lot of uncertainty, isn’t it?
Tracking won’t work until I actually leave and activate the tracking device. So, if you follow the link and see something like, “Sorry, no messages at this time.”, it means I haven’t left. Or I forgot to activate the tracker. LOL.
If you don’t care to follow along or look at pics of the stuff I find interesting, that’s cool. I expect I’ll do a post or two from the road as well. I should be back home on or before June 28. That’s the plan, anyway, or lack thereof.
I’m excited.
Skyline Drive is one of those roads I often see on “must-ride” lists. It’s nice, but I often feel it’s overrated because it’s not really a “fun” road for me. There’s the 35 mph (56 km/h) speed limit for one thing. And it’s pretty popular, so there’re often lots of cars and big, loud motorcycles putting along. The road does have its merits, though.
In case you’re not familiar with it, Skyline Drive is a 105-mile (~169 km) road located within Shenandoah National Park (SNP). It’s runs along the ridge or crest of the mountains from Front Royal to Afton, Virginia. (If you’re interested in more stats/facts, click here.) It just so happens that Skyline Drive meets up with the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) in Afton. The BRP is another infamous must-ride route for motorcyclists, that runs 469 miles (~755 km), connecting the south entrance of Virginia’s SNPark with the north entrance of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park (GSMNP) in Tennessee. I’ll tell you more about the BRP one day soon.
The biggest attraction of Skyline Drive — here’s a map, by the way — is its natural, scenic beauty. Did I mention that it runs through the forest? And there are 75 overlooks where one can stop, get off of the bike/out of the car and take in sweeping mountain vistas, observe wildlife, and see wildflowers. Depending on the season, of course. (Some of you may remember my recent Winter visit to SNP.)
I like flowers. I do. Which is why, since we moved to Virginia in late 2011, I’ve been telling myself that I really need to visit Skyline Drive during the Spring when the Mountain Laurel is in bloom. I had a Mountain Laurel bush in a shade garden at our last house in Maryland, and I really loved seeing the flowers when it bloomed. I could only imagine how pretty a whole grove of Mountain Laurel would be.
Until now.
Lucky for me, I happened to see something on-line last week mentioning that the Laurel was starting to bloom in SNP. Knowing it was going to be HOT on Saturday, I hatched a plan for Hubby and I to leave the house early on Saturday, head west to Luray for breakfast, and then head south through the valley while it was still pleasant and then ride north along the drive during the hotter part of the day.
Since Hubby hadn’t managed to get a decent breakfast biscuit sandwich during his recent loop of the US, he was quite happy to hear that Hardee’s was on the itinerary.
It was yummy, if I do say so myself.
From Luray, we headed down Business US-340, through Stanley, and took a left onto River Road just before Alma, a fortuitous, alternating tree-lined and pastoral alternate route I discovered quite by accident on my last dog transport. As its name implies, the road runs along the South Fork Shenandoah River for a bit. It was cool and lovely.
I’d told Hubby we would take US-340 down to Waynesboro unless it started getting too hot. River Road intersected with US-340 around Grove Hill. From there, we headed south toward Waynesboro. Unfortunately, temps were starting to climb. At 9:30, it was already around 85 F (29 C), so, at Elkton, we headed east on US-33 to reach the SNP Swift Run Gap Entrance Station.
As we climbed into the mountains, temperatures dropped. By the time we got onto Skyline Drive, temps were a pleasant 65 F (18 C). It was fabulous. But we weren’t seeing any Mountain Laurel. Gasp.
We did see some wildlife, though. There’s a very valid reason for that sometimes-painful 35 mph speed limit. I slowed substantially when I spotted a White-tailed Deer on the right-hand shoulder. She saw me coming, and I figured she’d hop off into the woods. Instead, she hopped off into the road, mere feet in front of me.
We did eventually start seeing Laurel here and they, among lots of other wildflowers, ferns, and trees. It was so quiet and peaceful, and there were very few cars.
I’d done my research earlier, and knew we’d be stopping at the Limberlost Trail near mile 43, where there’s supposed to be a decent amount of Laurel, so I wasn’t too concerned about missing the bushes we rode past.
We pulled off into a couple of picnic areas, hoping to spot a bear, to no avail. So we just motored along, enjoying th natural air conditioning and lovely views.
When we stopped at the Big Meadows Visitor’s Center, I was tickled to see a couple Laurel bushes, where I could get a closer look. It’s pretty stuff. Some of it is much pinker than others.
We hung out there for a bit, checking out the gift shop/camp store, visiting the restroom, drinking, and stretching. Then we continued on to Limberlost Trail, where I’d read there was a decent grove of Mountain Laurel.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that we saw a bear just south of the Upper Hawksbill parking area. So cool. I’d only ever seen bear at SNP once before, and Hubby never had. It was in the trees to the right of the road, so we didn’t get a great look, but it was definitely a bear. 🙂
We didn’t walk very far since neither of us were dressed for a hike. Plus, we could feel temps starting to climb. It was still around 75 F (24 C), tops, as we continued north. We’d talked about riding all the way to the North Entrance at Front Royal, but, knowing it would be much warmer once we descended from the ridge, I decided to exit at Thornton Gap.
That was a smart move. Temps were definitely climbing. It was about 20 degrees warmer off the mountain (85 F [29 C] again). And, even though I chose an off-highway route to carry us from Little Washington to Warrenton, it kept getting warmer. And, with temps around 92 F (33 C), we were quite happy when we reached the house around 1:00 PM.
We’d had a nice little ~160-mile (257 km) ride, and I’d FINALLY seen the Mountain Laurel in bloom. Now I can shut up about THAT to-do. LOL.
I sure hope things cool off soon.
Hubby’s been working on his ride report. I hope to be able to share it with you in the next couple of days.
So, what do you all think about the Mountain Laurel?
Like when you eat a hot fudge sundae perched atop a freshly made funnel cake and LOVE it. How can you forget that?
Or, that time you not only enjoyed a moment with a special someone, but also managed to capture it perfectly on camera without really even trying.
Gaige is our middle grand child. During our visit to Washington in February 2014, we walked together to this little park called Sunset Point, hoping to see a sunset. What a LOVEly memory.
And what about faces? Who ever really forgets the faces of loved ones?
LOVE those expressions!
Or the excitement when your loved one, young or old, finally gets a toy they’ve been wanting for the longest time?
Why am I always taking pictures? Because capturing special moments is priceless. No matter how mundane those moments may seem to someone else.
I didn’t really forget this LOVE, either.
I captured that one during our Mothers’ Day ride with Aunt Bertha. It’s at DuCard Vineyards in Etlan, Virginia.
The DuCard LOVEwork is artfully crafted, I’ll give it that. But it needs a stronger background. It sorta blends in. I’ll bet it looks awesome in Winter under a fresh blanket of clean, white snow.
I didn’t want it to get lost in the ride post. But then, I realized I don’t love it enough to give it a post of its own.
What I loved more was the vineyard’s location. Talk about stunning scenery on a gorgeous Spring day.
The few wineries we’ve visited in Virginia really are in gorgeous locations. Even if you’re not an oenophile — yes, I had to Google “someone who loves wine” — some Virginia vineyards are worth a visit.
Of course, there’s a LOVE I’ll never forget. My Hubby. 🙂
Look what arrived yesterday.
He is still having a fabulous time. 🙂