Blogs from Virginia, United States, North America - page 6

Saturday morning and it was time to leave DC. It was nice to stay in the one spot for a while, but the south was calling. I headed into Virginia. I hit some heavy traffic as I left the expressway to get fuel (or gas as they call it here) but overall it was a pretty smooth run to my first destination – Fredericksburg. Once again, I was diverting from the Revolutionary War into the Civil War. In the area around Fredericksburg there were 4 major battles fought during the Civil War, so I had decided to spend the day looking around. My first stop was the Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitors Centre. Again, the battlefield is a national park, and the visitors centre featured a small museum and a short film narrated by James Earl Jones. I ... read more

Well, we had decided to do something about the sorry condition of the living room carpet. We decided on wood flooring. We went to Lowe's and picked it out, signed up for them to do the labor--moving the furniture around the house, tearing up and disposing of the carpet, etc. Took forever for them to get enough of the flooring (standard stuff, not a special order) from the warehouse to the store to our house. Finally got that delivered. Made an appointment for the installers to come. However, when they did, they measured the 'moisture level' and declared it to be too high for them to be able to lay the flooring. Seems the combination of dog 'accidents' and over-shampooing to make up for it (we thought) caused the flooring to be wet. SO, Mike ended ... read more

Tidying up below decks yesterday, I heard someone tapping or hammering persistently on the wooden dock at Great Bridge. Boaters usually investigate every odd sound that might mean trouble or an opportunity to chat. When I popped on deck, the only person to be seen was a well-dressed young woman on her hands and knees, working on some ropes going into the water. I decided that her very high heels must have caused the rapping sound as she arrived. “Are you a fisher person I asked?” “Well sort of,” she answered. “I’m just checking my crab pot, but I’m really mad because someone has stolen it. I thought this place had more class but I guess I was too optimistic. I just had the pot in my truck from moving and I thought I would give ... read more

What a full and fun day today was. We did so much, and lots of it was unexpected. What a day. We began by driving to the Peaks of Otter recreation area on the Blue Ridge Parkways, where we were to climb Sharp Top Mountain. The drive was spectacular, with ups and downs and twists and turns right up and over the blue ridge. The hike up Sharp top was breezy and cool in the shade of the trees, but pretty much 1.5 miles up hill...a lot of it on rocky stairs. There were lots of breaks going up. At the summit we were greated by the old stone cottage, and all of the stairs and boulders that top this pointy mountain top. The views were literally 360 degrees...it was amazing. Jack was climbing on all ... read more

So we finally got off on vacation. Vicki and V went to work and school in the morning while I packed the car. I think I got everything, but it always seems like you forget something. I am sure I did and I'll find out when we get to Maine. Anyways, V settled in quickly and was enjoying her cartoons. Even though we went west to avoid Baltimore, Philly, and NY the traffic was still horrible at points. After V insisted on making a potty break at her Granpa Hank's in Harrisburg we got back on the road again. Unfortunately because of the traffic we didn't make it to the Poconos until it was almost dark out, so we didn't get to see some of the great scenery, but the drive was still very enjoyable. The ... read more