Filling in the puzzle

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Day 1 – Lenoir to Ashland KY 377 miles

Well we are at it again, traveling for the second time this season. We are picking up the pieces we have missed in the traveling sisters state puzzle. We picked up the car, packed and left on the trip by 8:55 am. We are really getting good at this. Since we will be traveling through a great many historic areas, we decided to give our van an historic type name – Abigail Hamilton better known as Abby.

We headed north through Virginia and made two stops in Wytheville. The first was at the smallest church. It was really beautiful and we enjoyed going inside. Our second stop was at a giant pencil. When we reached West Virginia, we stopped for lunch at the welcome center. Afterwards, we drove for a while on the West Virginia Turnpike before taking off on the backroads to see the New River Bridge and enjoy the scenery and short trails. The New River Bridge is the longest single span arch bridge in the western hemisphere. We got caught behind several hay trucks and thought of Patrick. We made sure to stay way back and keep our eyes opened.

After the New River Bridge, we took Hwy 60 along the river to head to Charleston. This road was beside the river and very curvy. Along the way we stopped at a post office to mail postcards to the grandkids, found a nice short walk to overlook the river from high and we found a waterfall.

We arrived in Charleston excited to see the gleaming golden capital, only to see that she was in her hospital gown and completely covered in white drab except for the top of her dome. We then found the market but were not impressed so we headed on down the road towards Huntington, West Virginia. Along the way we visited Paul Bunyan and a green and pink giraffe. We were also blown off course in “the” Hurricane and missed the pink elephant.

When we got to Huntington, we were very impressed. We saw Marshall University and had a wonderful dinner. The town has little boats everywhere. The boats are artsy and there are several on each block. Since Huntington is next to the river, the cats and small animals might be safe, but not adults. Finally, we arrived at our hotel in Ashland Kentucky. The ride thru the countryside and mountains was refreshing. We are staying at an IHG Points Break hotel – so it’s not coasting many points for a free room.

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Photos

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The Virginia is for lover's sign

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a very small church

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a very large pencil

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a very tall bridge. You can fit a Washington monument, and 2 statue of liberties under it.

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The bridge over the gorge.

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The sisters at the bridge

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a trail we found to the overlook over the river.

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the river with the railroad beside it.

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a waterfall along our route

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The West Virginia Capitol building. The golden top was being renovated. so sad.

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Paul Bunyon

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Pam tried to keep the giraffe from running into the road

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Huntington WV has boats all over town. This was one of the ones we liked.