Sunday, October 1 – Sunday, October 8
On the first, I got to visit with friends in the neighborhood, Sydney and Rick, who had been to Savannah a couple of weeks ago. They gave me some tourist information literature to help me familiarize myself with things to do in the area.
On Monday, the second, the sun rose as I was driving to the Daytona Beach area to stop in to see my brother-in-law, Edward, before meeting up with my niece, Melissa. Edward’s roof over the family room had leaked on Saturday covering the entire floor with water. He had ServePro come out to rid the house of the standing water (Edward estimated about 200 gallons.) Shortly after I arrived, Cousin Lou dropped in. Lou had come over to Edward’s on Saturday morning and seen the standing water in the house. After talking about what ServePro did and didn’t do, he suggested that Edward call a water restoration company to have them evaluate the entire downstairs for water damage in the baseboards and walls. Those folks said that the walls and baseboards were OK, but the bar in the family room, glassware cabinet in the kitchen and kitchen island all had water penetration. Also, the kitchen floor would need to be replaced. After getting their report, I headed south to Port Orange to meet up with my niece, Melissa, to have a late bite to eat and then go to her home to stay the night. I was at Edward’s Tuesday, 10/3, morning to begin helping unload some of the cabinets that would need to be replaced. After finding out that the insurance adjuster would come out the next day, I returned to Melissa’s. Edward texted me that evening saying the water restoration people had placed six fans and four dehumidifiers in the entryway, living room, family room and kitchen. On Wednesday, 10/4, I had gotten about two-thirds of the bar unloaded by the time the insurance adjuster arrived. He told us that he would submit his report and it would most likely be about two weeks before Edward would hear anything definite. When I told him what the water restoration people had said about needing to remove the three pieces of built-in furniture as well as the laminate floor in the kitchen, the adjuster said that he thought only the bar and the floor had enough water in them to be replaced. While I was driving home, Edward texted that the insurance agent called and said that they had arranged for a roofer to come out to check. The next day, the roofer came and found a cracked translucent panel over the second-floor porch and a missing shingle panel in the area where the leak was. On Sunday, before leaving on my vacation I talked to Edward. He said that the insurance company had called to say they were now sending out a leak detection company to investigate exactly how the water had gotten into the house.
October 9, 10 and 11 – Savannah, Georgia
I picked up my friend, Jackie Sosville, on Monday morning and we drove up to Savannah to check in to the Cambria Hotel in the Historic District. We asked the hotel manager to recommend a casual place to eat supper nearby and he directed us to Rancho Alegre Cuban Restaurant. We both enjoyed our Cuban sandwiches and were not up for long after returning to our room.
On Tuesday, 10/10, we walked 5 miles (Jackie has a step counter on her phone.) We started by visiting a nearby visitors’ center; then walked down to the Savannah riverfront walk. We walked the entire length of River Street stopping along the way at a Starbuck’s and several shops. We saw a Christmas tree decorated in snowman ornaments. Since Jackie’s last boat was named Snowman, she thought she might like to do something similar in her new home this season.
We came back to the hotel for a couple of hours before heading out to get a bite to eat and hopefully catch a sunset from a rooftop bar/eating establishment. Jackie’s brother-in-law, Curt Mahoney, recommended either The Grove or Sorry Charlies. We couldn’t make up our minds, so we went to both before walking back to the hotel (before sunset).
Our last day in Savannah, Wednesday, 10/11, was predicted to be overcast and rainy. Before we left the hotel, we asked for a good place for breakfast and were told we would not go wrong at Franklin’s at 5 W Liberty St Savannah, GA 31401. We walked to the next block to buy tickets for the Old Town Hop-On Hop-Off Trolley Tour. This live narrated tour has 15 stops seeing 100 points of interest (including all 22 squares in Savannah). Many of the spots we had seen yesterday while walking, but there were still some that I wanted to see, and the trolley had a stop just around the corner from the restaurant that had been recommended to us. It also saved our feet quite a bit of wear and tear (we only walked about one and a-half miles today.)
You can click on any image to enlarge it.
Jackie and I both ordered the Croque Madame from numerous French offerings and it was very good. After eating, we reboarded the Trolley with our next stop being Forsythe Park. This is a 40-acre park in Savannah with one of only two replicas of a fountain in Paris.
Another part of the park has a Fragrant Garden for the visually impaired which is filled with a variety of fragrant plants.
We returned to the hotel before the rain was predicted to start and ate supper in the hotel dining room. We plan to make an early start tomorrow driving to Wytheville, VA where we will stay overnight before taking the Blueridge Parkway for its remaining 200 miles in Virginia.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our family and friends who gave us suggestions for places to visit while we were in Savannah, including: Rick and Sydney Shaurette; Jimmy and Tillie Parker (Rick’s aunt and uncle); Curt and Ann Mahoney (Jackie’s sister and brother-in-law) and Robmat Butler (my nephew – Rick’s sister’s son.)
October 12 – 26 – Virginia
It started raining about midnight on Wednesday and continued until afternoon as we traveled from Savannah to Wytheville, VA on Thursday. We ate supper at a charming restaurant called the Log House 1776 Restaurant described on-line as a “quaint cottage with 18th-century origins serving formal Southern fare in early American décor. Our waiter’s suggestions for dinner were excellent.
We were seated in the upstairs dining area. The waiter told us that the other couple in the room were also from Florida, so I went over and spoke to them and found out that they live in Wimauma which is just twelve miles away from where I live in Parrish, Florida.
On Friday, October 13, 2023, we got an early start headed north in Virginia on the Blueridge Parkway. Our first stop was at Mabry Mill at Milepost 176. A short trail leads to the Mill.
We also saw the aqueduct that carries water to the mill.
The trail winds around several smaller buildings including an old Appalachian house.
We continued north to Milepost 86 to stop at the Peaks of Otter Lodge for lunch. Then took a short stroll along the edge of Abbott Lake enjoying the view of Sharp Top Mountain.
Our last stop on the parkway was at the James River Visitor Center at Milepost 63.7. This is the lowest elevation along the parkway. The 0.4-mile Canal Lock Trail leads down to a pedestrian path beneath the highway bridge over the James River.
We walked halfway across the pedestrian bridge to see the view below.
About 4:30 in the afternoon, we checked into the Massanutten Resort. Later, we had a steak dinner to celebrate what would have been my 51st wedding anniversary. There was a nice duo playing music while Jackie and I enjoyed our meal. I had made a reservation at the Base Camp Restaurant, but they moved us inside to the Encounters because of the cool weather.
Saturday afternoon, we attended the annual fall festival at the base of the Massanutten ski slopes near where we had supper last night. Jackie and I both bought a couple of things and got to visit all of the vendors before the raindrops started to fall.
On Sunday, October 15th, we drove west on US 33 and then turned south on US 220. This route took us through a good portion of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forrests often near the Potomac River. I had heard a local weatherman say that this area was the best for “leaf peeping” and the colors were beautiful. Unfortunately, we didn’t have opportunities to pull off the road to take a picture where it was prettiest. Along US 220 we stopped at a scenic overlook at Falling Spring Falls shown below.
Next, we searched for another waterfall called Panther Falls. We turned off of the highway and drove about 6 miles down a very curvy and bumpy rustic road of rock and gravel.
Then, with help from a couple of walking sticks, we traversed a rocky trail about half a mile long to see this waterfall.
On Monday, 10/16, we drove a short way to visit Luray Caverns.
Luray Cavern is the largest cavern in the eastern United States. Our first stop was in the Discovery Room where William Campbell, Andrew Campbell and Benton Stebbins found a small sinkhole. They dug into it a hole large enough to slip through and found a huge cavern.
The self-led one-and-a-quarter mile tour is a fairly easy walk with many handrails along the way and brick pavers on most of the path. Scientists estimate that the caverns are four hundred and fifty million years old. The stalactites (hanging from the ceiling) and stalagmites (growing up from the floor) appear in a number of natural colors caused by the minerals contained in them including white calcium carbonate; reddish-brown iron oxide; and grayish black with manganese oxide. The green ones have algae growing on them due to moisture near a light source.
We saw a fallen stalactite which was attached by the right end to the ceiling. Scientists believe it fell during an earthquake 7,000 years ago. It has now become attached to surrounding formations at the left.
Another formation was called Saracen’s Tent. This type of formation is known as drapery. As flowstone grows larger, they become longer and thin – sometimes translucent – which resembles a delicate curtain. In the picture below, Jackie looks as if she’s surrounded by it.
In the room called the Cathedral, we heard notes being played on the Great Stalacpipe Organ- the largest musical instrument in the world according to the Guiness Book of World Records. This instrument was invented by Mr. Leland M. Sprinkle starting in 1954 and finishing three years later. Rubber mallets are electronically signaled to gently tap a stalactite producing a musical tone. Different tones come from the different sizes and shapes of the stalactites. The mallets cover about 3 ½ acres of the caverns with the Cathedral at the center of them.
Just down the trail, we came upon the Wishing Well. (All the coins tossed in the well are donated to various charities.)
One of the last formations we saw was small in comparison to most of the others in the caverns. These were called Fried Eggs.
We enjoyed our tour very much.
In my research about the Massanutten area, I ran across a map titled “Virginia Wine & Waterfalls Road Trip. On Sunday, we saw the first two waterfalls on the map and today, Tuesday, October 17th, we went to the final waterfall, Crabtree Falls. I had read that it was not an easy climb to the falls, but definitely worth the effort. We stopped at the first overlook .1 miles up the trail and accessible to the handicapped. Then went up, up, up to the second overlook at .3 miles. We had spoken to some firefighters along the way (who were practicing their rescue techniques) asking if they thought we could make it to the top and their reply was, “It’s pretty treacherous.” We had enjoyed the strenuous walk so far but decided to turn around at this point.
The next stop on the map was the King Family Vineyards where they have a tasting room that looks out over their polo grounds. They advertise a match every Sunday. The surroundings were lovely, but it was chili, so we chose to sit inside. While there, we were introduced to their “president” Frankie – the cat.
We finished the route on the map by stopping at the Barbourville Vineyards in the town of Barbourville which is named for a former Governor Barbour. Again, it was cool and overcast, so I didn’t get any pictures.
Late in the afternoon on Wednesday, 10/18, the sun finally came out and we visited the nearby CrossKeys Vineyard. We learned about this vineyard at the Fall Festival this past Saturday. My friend, Jackie, is trying to find a white wine that is not too dry, not too sweet and not too acid. The “tastes” were good, and the weather and surroundings were lovely. We sat on the patio in the sun enjoying the view. You may notice in the picture below the crossed keys on the veranda above the fountain.
We got an early start on Thursday, 10/19, to travel north on the Skyline Drive from the Swift Run Gap Entrance in Elkton, Virginia to Front Royal, Virginia.
We saw nine deer as we drove though the Shenandoah National Park. At one of the overlooks, we learned a little of the history of the hemlock forests in this part of the country. Within the last 30 years, what was once a thriving species suffered attack from a pest. Now 95% of that forest has died. The feature of this overlook was a dead hemlock tree.
While the colors for this part of the drive were not as vivid as some of the others we’ve seen on the trip, it was still a very enjoyable drive.
At the northern end of the Skyline Drive is the town of Front Royal. This area played an important role in the civil war. There was a lovely park near the center of town line with very colorful trees. Below is a picture of just one.
A cold front came through the area on Friday, 10/20, bring with it rain. So, we decided to stay in for the day and took the opportunity to get some laundry done.
I had read an article about Roanoke, Virginia, which made it sound like it would be an interesting place to visit. So, we set out driving about 2 hours south on I-81 Saturday, 10/21. Our first stop was at the market in Historic Downtown. All the fruits and vegetables looked great and the few arts and crafts were nice, but I’m sure it is a much better experience in the summertime. We left the market and headed for Black Dog Salvage. The people that own and run this place have a TV show which is now playing on the Magnolia Network. They dismantle old homes and businesses to salvage many architectural treasures. Some of the things that they salvage, they recycle into new furniture as well.
Our last stop in Roanoke was at Mill Mountain Park. This is where we found the Mill Mountain Zoo. We saw a variety of animals including some very colorful birds in the aviary and this snow leopard sunning.
In 1949, in an attempt to provide Roanoke with nationwide publicity and increase commerce in the city, the Roanoke Merchants Association devised the idea to erect a giant illuminated star on the top of Mill Mountain. It was a great success, and the city now has the nickname “The Star City of the South”.
We said goodbye to Roanoke and drove north about 30 miles to see The Natural Bridge a National Historic Landmark in Virginia. After paying $9 for a ticket, we walked down a sometimes steep path along with many, many steps before arriving at the paved pathway to the bridge. After walking about another quarter of a mile on a flat, paved pathway, we saw this natural wonder which was carved out by an underground river. Thomas Jefferson thought it was so awesome that he bought the property along with acreage around it. Natural Bridge is the tallest limestone arch in all of North America – nearly 19 stories high.
Graves Mountain Farms has been in operation since 1850. We attended their annual Apple Harvest Festival on Sunday 10/22. Arts and Crafts vendors, music, food, apples, pumpkins, hayrides and entertainment are just parts of the celebration. We spent a couple of hours here as part of the thousands of people who were there despite it being a blustery day. We loved the hot apple cider and bought several food items made with apples as well as some other items from the vendors.
Monday, 10/23, found us traveling to Charlottesville, Virginia, to visit Monticello, the plantation home of Thomas Jefferson. As a member of the Continental Congress, he wrote the Declaration of Independence and subsequently served as the Governor of Virginia, US representative to France, Secretary of State, Vice President and the third President of the United States.
Once retired from public service he moved back to Monticello which is just a couple of miles from where he was born.
Jefferson had a suite of rooms on the main floor which included a small parlor, his library, his office and his bedroom. His bed was sandwiched between his office and his bedroom and could be accessed from either room. Even though Jefferson was 6’2”, his bed was only 6’3” long. It is thought that he, as many people at that time, usually slept sitting up in the bed.
In his yellow dining room, he had a “wine trolley” built into the side of his fireplace.
The wine would be sent up from the wine cellar on the floor below.
After touring the home, we walked down a half-mile pathway to his gravesite. There were many of his family buried in this cemetery as shown on the plaque below.
Remember you can click on the picture to enlarge it.
We had a very long day on Tuesday, 10/24, driving into the sunrise on our way to and into the sunset on our way from Washington, DC. To try to make the most of the time we had there, I booked a “Hop-on Hop-off tour of the city and Arlington National Cemetery. Jackie had never been to Washington DC before. I had been there a couple of times and was excited to show her our nation’s capital. Of course, we saw the white house and the capital. The picture below shows flags flying letting everyone know that both the House of Representatives and the Senate are both in session.
We got off at the stop nearest the Lincoln Memorial.
On our way out of the memorial, Jackie took this picture of me with the reflecting pool and Washington Monument behind. The reflecting pool is a long and large rectangular pool located on the National Mall, with the Lincoln Memorial on one end and the Washington Monument on the other.
On one side of the reflecting pool/national mall, we found a memorial to Veterans of the Army who fought in the Korean War. My father served in the Navy during the Korean War and is a proud Veteran.
From the Lincoln Memorial, we were picked up by a shuttle bus that took us to the nearby Arlington National Cemetery where we boarded one of their trams to take a tour. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres.
Our first stop was at the Kennedy Family Gravesite. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on my husband’s birthday, November 22, 1963. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery (one of only two presidents buried here). His gravesite is marked by an “eternal flame”. After Jackie Kennedy died in 1994, her body was placed beside his.
When we walked back to the tram stop to be picked up, we were informed that there were more than 20 burials taking place here today, and the tram could no longer travel through this part of the cemetery. So, we were instructed to walk up the hill to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to catch a tram to complete the tour.
Not many people know that my husband, Rick’s, mother was married before she married Phil Hoffmeister. Her first husband was Richard L. Day, Sr. They had two children, Eileen and Richard L. Day, Jr. Rick’s birth father served in the Navy as a cook, and they lived in Washington D.C. when Rick was born. After their divorce, Eileen and Rick were adopted by their stepfather, Phil. Mr. Day passed away in 1961 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. We were given a complimentary ride to his gravesite so that I could take a picture.
We left our resort at 7 a.m. and returned at 9 p.m., but the weather was great, and we were very glad that we went.
We have been watching the local weather reports. They told us that since we had frost the last two mornings, this would be the peak time to see the changing leaves along the Skyline Drive. We drove the north portion last week and drove the 40 remaining miles to its south end on Wednesday, 10/25. The colors were more vibrant; unfortunately, they just don’t translate as well in our photographs. The picture below was taken at Moorman’s River Overlook.
Right across the street from the end of Skyline Drive in Waynesboro is the beginning of the Blue Ridge Parkway. When we drove up the Blue Ridge Parkway on Friday, the 13th, we didn’t have time to complete the whole road; so, today we drove about six miles on the northern end of that road to reach the Humpback Rocks Visitor Center and the Outdoor Farm Museum. This farm was known as the Willliam J. Carter Farm. The structures are authentic and have been moved here from nearby. The exhibit included a garden with a scarecrow of course.
A one-room, furnished farmhouse with a loft.
A fox-proof henhouse – complete with hens.
A barn for a horse and a cow.
And a nearby bear-proof pig pen. Hogs ran wild in the nearby forest. In the Fall, the farmer would gather some into the pen and feed them corn to get them ready for slaughter.
For the past two weeks we have been on a “quest for color”. Today, we found it in our own backyard. All of the next pictures were taken today on the resort property.
We also saw these two deer under a colorful tree in our parking lot this morning.
On our last day at the Massanutten Resort in Virginia, 10/26, we made an appointment to tour the Diamonds in the Fluff Alpaca Farm. The first animals we met were a flock of. Karen, our host, explained that they eat bugs from the ground and have helped immensely in keeping the tick population down.
Next, Karen told us that they have a few llamas on the farm because they act as protectors of the herd. They keep a couple of the llamas far out in the pasture near the base of the mountain which have proved very effective in keeping the cayotes at bay. Abby, the black and white llama pictured below, stayed with the herd. Llamas are taller than alpacas and have hair a little more course.
Karen had two white alpacas who had been bred. One will be giving birth any day now.
In addition to “Sugar”, we saw a dark brown alpaca named Cocoa.
And, a light brown one named Honey.
Jackie was a little concerned about the possibility of one of them spitting on us, but Karen told us while they do spit, it is usually at each other as a method of putting the other in their place. She also told us that they have a soft pad on the bottom of their foot rather than a hoof. You can see that Honey had three toenails. Their toenails, just like ours, must be trimmed regularly.
One alpaca, with mottled colors, was the oldest of the herd at almost 18 years old.
When you buy something from Karen that has been made from one of her animals, she includes a picture of the animal so you know exactly where it came from. You can learn more about this farm by going to www.diamondsinthefluff.com or follow them on Facebook.
This was our last activity for the two weeks that we stayed at Massanutten Resort in Virginia. When we checked out on Friday, 10/27, that not only had the leaves changed while we were there, but the resort had already started decorating for Christmas.
October 27 – 28 – Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
We arrived in Myrtle Beach late Friday afternoon. After checking in, we went to a recommended restaurant on the beach called Snooky’s Oceanfront. Jackie had blackened salmon and I had two wonderful lobster crepes.
On Saturday, 10/28, after watching an awesome sunrise, Jackie walked down to the beach while I went to a meeting.
In the early afternoon, we drove down Ocean Boulevard to see the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk. We saw two Ferris wheels, a large roller coaster and many more rides, but none were open. Apparently, we just missed their season. But, we saw dozens of miniature golf places and they were all open. For supper this evening, we booked a dinner show called Pirates Voyage.
This turned out to be an amazing acrobatic show with pirates and mermaids swinging from the rafters, walking the planks and swashbuckling everywhere! They even had a couple of performing seals. In other words, it was a fun way to spend the evening.
Home again
We left Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at 7 a.m. and I got home at 7 p.m. on Sunday, 10/29. Monday was a day of rest. On Tuesday, 10/31, Halloween, I stopped by the store to buy candy to give out tonight before going to Jackie’s. We went to lunch and then to Michaels for Jackie to buy some Christmas decorations for her new condo as well as craft items to make decorations for her “snow man themed” Christmas tree. I’ll be sure to include a picture of it when she has it up for the season. In the evening, I sat in front of JP and Kellie’s side of the house passing out candy for Halloween while they were trick of treating with Emma and a bunch of her friends in the neighborhood until the mosquitos drove me inside.
