Journey at an end
I would feel remiss if I didn't finish off my trip log, before I get on the plane heading back home. Brief again, since I have a house full of stuff here that isn't unpacking itself.
Day 10 - Knoxville, TN - After the 3 hour drive, another day of rest, reading in bed, and indulging in Food Network. We're starting to wonder what it's like to not sleep in a different place every night.
Day 11 - Lexington, VA - where B went to college. A very orderly campus, decorated with cannons. The humidity and heat eased off enough to encourage a walk. We wandered up to the local cemetery where Stonewall Jackson is buried. As the sun set I spotted something blinking. I stopped dead in the road and stared. There it was again. Fireflies! They are absolutely mesmerizing. That night was the most amazing thunderstorm right above, but I was too tired to drag myself up to look out the window, so just relaxed while light flickered and the room shook. Old cemeteries, fireflies and thunderstorms make Virginia one of my favorite stops on this journey.
Day 12 - Changed plans of staying another night in Lexington and went up to a place called Luray Caverns. Beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains all around, tiny speck of a town with a lazy river running through it, good organic food from local cafe. Visited amazing underground caverns, played in the hedge maze, retired for more firefly spotting.
Day 13 - Sharpsburg, MD - We put this destination on our trip so I could visit a town where my German family had settled. We stayed in the "Rorhbach Inn" which was the home of Jacob Rohrbach my great, great, great grand uncle, during the Civil War. I mentioned earlier that we stayed in the room he was shot and killed in by Conferderate horse thieves (we didn't know that when we booked it -- lucky us.) We visited the battleground of Antietam and the bridge now known as Burnside, which was Rohrbach bridge before the battle. Took in a lot of Civil War history (not something taught in CA schools much) and family history.
Day 14 - Started the morning with a visit to Harper's Ferry. The entire town has been turned into an interpretive site--awesome! Drove up to meet some of B's family in Pottsville, PA - known as a mining town in decline whose big industry now is Yengling Beer, made at the oldest continuous brewery in the US (they didn't stop during prohibition). Met aunts and uncles, had great pasta, enjoyed the first non-humid evening in days.
Day 15 - Destination in sight! Finally made it to New London, CT and got keys to the house. We were surprised to see stuff from the owners still about, but grateful for a bed which helped make the decision to stay the night rather than go on up to Manhattan. Looooong complicated story about why our stuff wasn't going to arrive until next Wednesday. Walked about the town, gave greetings to the Atlantic Ocean, slept like dead.
Day 16-19 - No rest for wicked, I guess. Got up to catch the train to Manhattan to visit with B's parents. I love trains. Discovered the apartment we're staying in is 3 blocks from Central Park and Museum Mile -- score! Guggenheim and Met were visited. Finally eating home cooked food and staying in same bed for 3 nights. Took tours through the park with B's mom who is training to be a volunteer guide. Ate fabulous food, including pizza from a coal oven with paper-thin crust. Despite being in the middle of New York, I found the whole visit a respite. I especially enjoyed watching the people scurry by from 24 floors up. Oddly calming.
Day 19-21 - Back down the train to CT. Stuff arrives, chaos ensues. Unpack like the wind. Finally make it to the beach to touch the ocean 3,000 miles away from where I began. A huge blood-red moon made an appearance to light my barefoot walk along the shore.
This trip has been so long, and yet, I feel like I'm leaving too soon. It would have been nice to have a few days to enjoy resting in a clean, well-ordered house. I return tomorrow, to the company of missed loved ones and two cats who I hope remember me. And those thoughts make me feel I can't return quickly enough.
Day 10 - Knoxville, TN - After the 3 hour drive, another day of rest, reading in bed, and indulging in Food Network. We're starting to wonder what it's like to not sleep in a different place every night.
Day 11 - Lexington, VA - where B went to college. A very orderly campus, decorated with cannons. The humidity and heat eased off enough to encourage a walk. We wandered up to the local cemetery where Stonewall Jackson is buried. As the sun set I spotted something blinking. I stopped dead in the road and stared. There it was again. Fireflies! They are absolutely mesmerizing. That night was the most amazing thunderstorm right above, but I was too tired to drag myself up to look out the window, so just relaxed while light flickered and the room shook. Old cemeteries, fireflies and thunderstorms make Virginia one of my favorite stops on this journey.
Day 12 - Changed plans of staying another night in Lexington and went up to a place called Luray Caverns. Beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains all around, tiny speck of a town with a lazy river running through it, good organic food from local cafe. Visited amazing underground caverns, played in the hedge maze, retired for more firefly spotting.
Day 13 - Sharpsburg, MD - We put this destination on our trip so I could visit a town where my German family had settled. We stayed in the "Rorhbach Inn" which was the home of Jacob Rohrbach my great, great, great grand uncle, during the Civil War. I mentioned earlier that we stayed in the room he was shot and killed in by Conferderate horse thieves (we didn't know that when we booked it -- lucky us.) We visited the battleground of Antietam and the bridge now known as Burnside, which was Rohrbach bridge before the battle. Took in a lot of Civil War history (not something taught in CA schools much) and family history.
Day 14 - Started the morning with a visit to Harper's Ferry. The entire town has been turned into an interpretive site--awesome! Drove up to meet some of B's family in Pottsville, PA - known as a mining town in decline whose big industry now is Yengling Beer, made at the oldest continuous brewery in the US (they didn't stop during prohibition). Met aunts and uncles, had great pasta, enjoyed the first non-humid evening in days.
Day 15 - Destination in sight! Finally made it to New London, CT and got keys to the house. We were surprised to see stuff from the owners still about, but grateful for a bed which helped make the decision to stay the night rather than go on up to Manhattan. Looooong complicated story about why our stuff wasn't going to arrive until next Wednesday. Walked about the town, gave greetings to the Atlantic Ocean, slept like dead.
Day 16-19 - No rest for wicked, I guess. Got up to catch the train to Manhattan to visit with B's parents. I love trains. Discovered the apartment we're staying in is 3 blocks from Central Park and Museum Mile -- score! Guggenheim and Met were visited. Finally eating home cooked food and staying in same bed for 3 nights. Took tours through the park with B's mom who is training to be a volunteer guide. Ate fabulous food, including pizza from a coal oven with paper-thin crust. Despite being in the middle of New York, I found the whole visit a respite. I especially enjoyed watching the people scurry by from 24 floors up. Oddly calming.
Day 19-21 - Back down the train to CT. Stuff arrives, chaos ensues. Unpack like the wind. Finally make it to the beach to touch the ocean 3,000 miles away from where I began. A huge blood-red moon made an appearance to light my barefoot walk along the shore.
This trip has been so long, and yet, I feel like I'm leaving too soon. It would have been nice to have a few days to enjoy resting in a clean, well-ordered house. I return tomorrow, to the company of missed loved ones and two cats who I hope remember me. And those thoughts make me feel I can't return quickly enough.