Hanging Out In Virginia

The Mountains Of West Virginia

8:47

It's 7:14 and both Drew and I have been up for an hour, Drew working and me just surfing the net. Now, however, he's on their great outdoor porch for a Zoom call with various people from the States and Kazakhstan, where he's been doing some contracting work. He goes there every few months for a week. It's 10:00 as we finish this. Evie did not get up until late so I had time to drive to BJ's for gas since our gauge was on empty. It looks like a fine day, high in the 60s with lots of sun. 

Halle's Off To School At The Uncivilized Time Of 6:54

Thursday was basically a five-hour road trip through 'Wild and Wonderful West Virginia. It made me wonder if they had any roads that were flat and straight! We left Morgantown in the rain and for our first hour or two, it was mostly a wet drive, strangely on truck routes. Once we got to the George Washington Parkway, it cleared up and we drove up and down mountains, with one turn after another. 

Early Rain

Wet Roads

Fortunately, the signs would not only have the direction of the turn but also as suggested speed limit, from 55 mph down to 10mph. The colors were striking most of our drive. We got off the George Washington onto #48, a divided highway but also spectacular, with its valleys and mountain views. Around noon, we stopped at Melanie's Diner, just as we entered Cathedral State Park, in Aurora, WV. 

Hot Turkey Sandwich On White Bread

Shopping For A Deal

When we walked in, the place was virtually empty and we thought, no wonder, it's in the middle of nowhere. By the time we left, thirty to forty diners we waiting for the lunches, their cars from various states. We had a long wait for our lunch because there was one waitress. Fortunately, we enjoyed our meals. I had a hot turkey sandwich, with gravy, mashed potatoes, and cole slaw. Evie had a couple of eggs, buckwheat pancakes, and sausage. We wished we had more time so we could have hiked some of the trails.

Clearing Up

Lots Of Turns

After lunch, we still had a couple hours to go, fortunately, much of it was on scenic and mountainous #48 which eventually left for Interstate 81 North. We were glad we took back roads to our daughter Jill's house and we were also happy to get to her home. Halle and Jill were home and greeted us with big hugs since we had not seen them since July. We were happy to finally relax on their great outdoor screened-in porch and by 5:00, when Drew returned home from work, Jill got us a charcuterie board and we had enjoyed a nice white wine as well. We filled them in on our visit to see Hayden in Morgantown and they told us all about their week in Maine. 

At 6:30, Drew and I drove to pick up our dinner, three dishes from an Indian restaurant with lots of garlic naan. Dinner was tasty, especially the naan dipped in various sauces. We stayed up talking and watching the West Virginia University football game until 10:00 when Evie and I decided we were too tired to stay up any longer after our long drive.