Blogs from Virginia, United States, North America - page 4

It was an easy drive out of North Carolina. And traffic was sparse. However, once we were in Virginia the pandemic reared its ugly head. There was no indoor dining at the McDonalds where we stopped for lunch. Luckily though, we were still able to order inside the restaurant and use the bathrooms. We were left however without a place to sit down and eat our food. I always refuse to eat in the car whose seat I am trying to get relief from after sitting in the same position for hours. So I just drove. I had no idea where I was going, but I was convinced that there was going to be somewhere ideal to eat the burgers and fries we had just purchased. I barreled ahead, although my search was proving unsuccessful. Mom ... read more

Everything is fixed. After another month in Portsmouth waiting for parts, I finally returned to Hampton. I've been here a month relaxing. It got a little tense when Isaias came through but no damage. Seaquel is up for sale and now I am in waiting mode again , this time waiting for a buyer. It is nice not having to check weather and tides and to not be at the helm for hours every day. Time to get off the boat and move into a condo. Ha. Bring on the next adventure. ... read more

The run up through Jefferson National Forest to Covington is recognized as one of the more challenging sections of the route. It is a day of continuous gravel, deep in the national forest, tracking the ridges towards the NE. Very tough if wet. The route planners have it down as one day's run. I wanted to complete it in half a day, and then do half of the following day's run, up to Williamsville VA. Getting there would put me in Highland County, and allow me to sleep in comfort and for free in our cabin just south of Monterey. So, it had to be done. The first of the classic sections is Tub Run Road, high in the mountains West of Blacksburg. Maybe 15 miles long, it is a never ending set of badly maintained ... read more

There are many routes from Arlington to Damascus VA, the starting point of the Mid Atlantic Backcountry Discovery Route (MABDR). Most of them require going South on I 81, a truck filled artery linking industrial towns in the gritty underbelly of the Mid Atlantic states. This freeway strikes fear into the hearts of ordinary four wheeled motorists -- and panic into two wheelers like myself. So Beth and I chose the most round about option, and headed for the town of Monterey in Highland County, Virginia, where we own a cabin. We spent Saturday night (June 27) there enjoying the quiet cool evening. Sunday I started South, following VA Route 92 to White Sulphur Springs and the famous Greenbrier Resort. From there the route followed the Greenbrier river til it emptied into the New River at ... read more

BAPTISM OF FIRE Our sixth cousin, four generations removed, was a fellow named Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain from up in Maine. At the beginning of the Civil War Joshua was teaching the German language at Bowdoin College, conducting Sunday school lessons and leading a choir. After First Manassas he got struck with patriotic fervor and enlisted in the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He was appointed as lieutenant colonel and made second in command under Colonel Adelbert Ames. When those recalcitrant Maine men got trained up some they marched off to join Dan Butterfield’s Brigade in the Fifth Corps commanded by Joe Hooker. Butterfield is the guy who wrote Taps, he gave his men several other bugle calls distinctive enough to guide them through confusing times. After his failed Peninsular Campaign General George McClellan was removed from ... read more