Showing posts with label West Virginia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label West Virginia. Show all posts

Heading East on Route 64

Day Four
June 11, 2012

Monday mornings are always difficult, even on vacation, especially when it means saying goodbye.

By 8:30 am, Jason and I were packed and heading back towards Virginia. The dog and cat were comfortably curled around each other in the back seat and the GPS alerted us to a four hour and seven minute trip to Toano.  The magnificent spectrum of greens coloring the hills was a stark contrast to the gray that blanketed the skies, and as random raindrops hit the windshield, sometimes with more ferocity than randomness, I was happy to be in the truck and not on the bike.

Sunday was a lazy, normal day spent with Courtney, Becky and the kids. Joey and Jason headed off to the golf course, but not before the pot of gravy (if it's got meat in it, it's gravy) was on the stove slowing simmering and filling the house with wonderful scents and the mouthwatering anticipation of dinner.

A brightly sunny but muggy day, Courtney dragged out the blow-up pool and the kids took turns splashing each other and on occasion, us, as we sat courtside to their antics. Boomer decided the pool was not for him, so he toddled around the perimeter, filling his shoes with water and dumping it on his siblings, himself and once on an unsuspecting Ajax.

We laughed and talked the afternoon away, and after Jason and Joey returned, got the breezeway set up for dinner. They’re a great combination, my daughter and son-in-law. She’s the baker and he’s the chef, so meals at their house are always a delightful presentation and taste. 

True to form, Joey outdid himself…again. The table was lined with a feast of eggplant parmigiana, chicken parmigiana, a heaping bowl of spaghetti, meatballs, sausage, salad and bread. It was awesome. Courtney’s apple pie prompted Jason to quip, “Baked Alaska AND apple pie in the same weekend! I’m never leaving!”

But leave we did, and once again, I find myself typing in the truck, only this time it’s not with the exhilaration of seeing my daughter, but the sadness of having to leave her again. 
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A Day in Coal Miner's Country

Day Two
June 9, 2012

We’re watching the Devils play the LA Kings in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup.  Being a Devil's fan by marriage, it's an anxious night and the end of a great day. Boomer’s in bed, Zan’s reading  (inspired, he said, by the fact that I told him I’m writing a story) and Lia is on the couch drifting quietly into Fairy Princess dreams.

Boomer (Joey)
Lia
It was a beautiful day, weather-wise, and a great day with the kids. Boomer, at just 17 months old, is solid as a rock, and certainly not a baby any longer. He kept up with his sister and brother all day long; playing in the yard, swinging on the swings and climbing fearlessly to the top of the slide before zooming down, arms flailing and uproariously laughing.

My son-in-law, Joey, a magician with a grill, made an awesome dinner of bbq ribs, corn on the cob and baked potatoes.  And just to remind us of our Italian roots, there was a colorful plate of ruby red tomato slices topped with mozzarella cheese, fresh basil leaves and sprinkled with balsamic vinegar.  We ate like royalty. And to top it off, Courtney made a perfectly toasted Baked Alaska, Jason’s favorite dessert. He couldn’t be happier.

Zander
My niece, Becky is also here this weekend. Her sister, Kaila, is pet-sitting with Ajax and Getty while we're gone on The Ride. The girls aren't nieces by blood or marriage, but by lifelong friendship. Their parents, Steve and Beth, and I have been friends for more than 32 years. The six kids – Courtney, Becky, Jarrod, Carrie (the third sister), BJ and Kaila, have known each other all their lives. It’s a full house here in Beckley, and a fuller house when both families get together.

Tomorrow, Jason and Joey are golfing; Courtney, Becky and I are gabbing. And I’m definitely looking forward to the eggplant parmigiana Joey has planned for dinner!!
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The Ride Begins... Sort Of...


Day One: June 8, 2012

There’s something strange about writing this blog from the front seat of the Silverado. While it’s efficient to write while we drive, it seems a bit like cheating.

The first few days of The Ride are actually happening in the truck with trailer in tow. Before we get to the Harley, we’re going to West Virginia to see Courtney, Joey and the three kids, who we haven’t seen since Christmas. We left at 9:00am this morning (I’ve been up since 5:30) and headed down to Beckley, West Virginia.  Why coal miner country? It wasn’t their choice. Their new address is courtesy of the United States Air Force. It’s the furthest my daughter has ever lived from me in her 32 years (oops.. she probably won’t appreciate that) and the longest it’s been between visits.

The drive was simple; 84 to 81 and make a right at 64. Okay, maybe that’s a little oversimplified, but it was a fairly straight shot. Unfortunately, it took 13 hours thanks to a lot of single lane construction traffic through Pennsylvania.

Despite the excessive windshield time, traveling through Virginia and West Virginia was quietly picturesque with lush green hills rolling on either side of the highway. It really was a pleasant ride, except for the Deliverance-like gas station we stopped at somewhere in The Middle of Nowhere, West Virginia.

It was great to see and hug my Baby Girl, and two of the kids, Zander and Lia, were still up when we got here. Six months is a long time when you’re 3 and 8 and they’ve both gotten so big, but Boomer has gone from a baby to a happy bruiser of a little boy. I’ve seen pictures and videos on a regular basis, but all I could do tonight was peak in at him sleeping in his big boy bed.

It’s late and the effects of the coffee and 5 Hour Energy have wained. More, including pictures, tomorrow.
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Live from Danville, Kentucky

I'm coming to you live from today's winner in the Local Fare Lunch Raffle... a great little place called "The Hub" in Historic downtown Danville.  It's been a long ride again today...,not as long as yesterday.. and definitely not as wet, but we did have to dodge a few...well, more than a few... raindrops.

So last night I crashed and burned after a day of deluge. We got soaked on three separate occasions, but we made the most of our soakings and chalked it up to the experience, but certainly not one I'd relish day after day. We didn't see the sun or blue skies until 5:00pm, but the last few hours of the ride were worth it. 

While it was challenging to really appreciate it through rain speckled goggles, the landscape in West Virginia, along Route 219 where we spent the majority of the day, was full of natural beauty.We were traveling along was what essentially a road cut through the mountains, in Appalachia, with miles of forest interrupted by gorgeous farms and the most unnnatural collection of residences I've ever seen cobbled together. Farmhouses with collections of outbuildings in every size and shape, residences built of brick with  beautifully manicured laws, and trailer home after trailer home - some neat and tidy, and others that looked inhabitable, except that there were cars and trucks, and the occasion Harley parked outside them. They wre interdispersed without rhyme, reason or design, which made me all the more curious to know why someone would build a beautiful two story brick home next to Sanford and Son.

The farms, once there were seemingly nothing but farms, went on for acres and acres, with cows meandering in small clusters or larger herds, with no cares in their worlds.

Jason is getting very adept at manuevering the "sweepers"... long stretches of road with lots and lots of curves...becuase we've been on quite a few of them. Normally I am unphased, looking at the landscape and for the next photo opp, except for the one time I looked to my right and saw how close we were "sweeping" to a gizillion foot drop! Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but it was a long, looooooooooooong way down.

Lunch is here, so I'm going to eat. Will be back later tonight with yesterday's pictures and today's tale of adventure.
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Day Two: Wet and Wild West Virginia

It's 11:00pm EST and we're exhausted. We left Gettysburg at 8:30am and got to Princeton, West Virgina 12 hours later. Not because it was twelve hours of driving time, but we had several rain delays, and unlike yesterday, not a bar in sight.

It was cloudy and overcast when we left Gettysburg, but not before an emergency stop at the Gettysburg's National Monument Park Visitor's Center. We had planned to send our 6 year old grandson, Zander, a post card each day, and we forgot to get one when we arrived on Friday. The side benefit was a brief  ride through Monument Park, and another reminder of my promised 4 day weekend. : )

We experienced our first rain, sprinkles really, outside of  Chambersburg. It was annoying more than anything else, but if forced us to don denim jackets.  It was on Route 9 that we had the first soaking rain. Luckilly, Jason spied a picnic bench with a covered area and we pulled in, bike and all. We sat for 45 minutes before deciding it was time to break out the unattractive rain gear and forge on.  I laughed and said we'd probably get two miles down the road and find nothing but sunshine ahead of us.

Boy, was I wrong....

And boy, am I tired.  I'll finish this Tale of Three Deluges in the morning.
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