Travel days. . .

We continued on our way Tuesday and are happy to say that our fuel pump problems are apparently solved. No more problems and MinnieMee has performed admirably.

One place Terry has always talked about since his travel days with his company was Seneca Rocks. He would find himself in this area of West Virginia covering sales territory with one of his dealers. He was impressed by the rock formations and has always talked about taking me there someday. Well, someday arrived and we drove across West Virginia to see them. They are impressive. We spent some time gazing at the interesting rocks which jut out of the mountain. We walked around a bit studying the displays of history in the area and took lots of pictures. They we continued on our way toward Virginia. Seneca rocks is probably the most famous of the rocks in the area, but there are other rock formations that are impressive as well and you can see these as you drive north to Petersburg.

 We decided that we would take a detour at this point and head north. We have an extra day to get to C-ville because Tom had a work day in D.C., so we decided to do something we always wanted to do but never did. We entered the Shenandoah National Park and drove the Skyline Drive from Front Royal all the way to Rockfish Gap. It is 105 miles and a lovely drive along the ridge of the mountains. It is too far to go when we are visiting the kids and we always have Phaeton Place, which would probably not fit under the tunnel at the 32 mile marker, so we had never been on the northern part. So this was a treat.

We had just got into the park and saw a black bear lumber across the road in front of us! What a treat! We have never seen one in the wild and it was something special. It happened so quickly that I didn't get a picture, but it was exciting just the same. We drove along and I think we stopped at every pullout to look at the scenery. We did this north of Big Meadow, but after that, most of the overlooks were closed for resurfacing. We have been on that portion of it anyway, so we didn't spend a lot of time at the few that were open. It was a sunny day, but it was hazy in the valleys, so it was hard to get crisp, clear shots. It is still interesting to see the "layers" of mountains which are different shades. Looking out across the mountains looks as idyllic as a painting.  This was really a special treat and something I have wanted to do for a long time.

Yesterday afternoon we arrived at the Charlottesville KOA and have our regular spot which is more than adequate. We have room for the trailer and a nice spot to move in and out of, since we will be doing that with MinnieMee.

Today we went to see the kids and I got a good fix of Aenea and Ronan. They are both so cute and sweet. Aenea is a very healthy baby, actually 5 months old, but in reality more like a 2 month old because she was born so early. She is doing well and developing normally which is wonderful. Ronan loves her and she watches her big brother. When he touches her she gets all excited and grins and kicks her little arms and legs. We are looking forward to more time with them before we leave here on Sunday.

Till next time. . .

Dale