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  Breakfast at Big Meadows, Fruit Parfait for Deb, Eggs and Bacon for me!

Big Meadows Lodge - Stanley, VA

 In my carefully constructed Type “A” getaway, we were to go to Longwood Garden, Chaddford Winery, then the Inn at Montchanin, with dinner at the the KitKat.  All that was turned upside down when Longwood Garden shut down because of a fuel spill.  

Deb and I have always wanted to spend the night at the lodge at Big Meadows in the Shenendoahs.  We love the campground, but thought staying at the lodge would be fun.  Even though it was a Saturday night in July, they had one room left.  Now if that isn’t a sign.  As part of the fun, I got to drive the northern end of Skyline Drive (in Deb’s sporty Lexus, rather than an RV).  Some of the fun was dampened as Deb slowly turned more and more green (not a fan of curves, especially at 35MPH), and kept looking at the map to see how much more of this enjoyment she was going to have to endure.

After a short hike, we had drinks on the terrace, and then dinner on another terrace.  All very rustic.  Tomorrow, I think that after a short hike, we’ll scoot down off the access roads rather than completing the rest of Skyline Drive. (I think I got a sign!)

Cork Factory Hotel - Lancaster, PA

 

Up and ready for our promptly served breakfast at the Inn at Watson’s Choice.  We were expecting toast hoping for bagels, we got fruit bowl, omelettes, home made sausages and banana bread.   Our scheduled tour at Falling Waters was at 9:30 and since tours are already booked through the end of the year, late was not an option.  Although I had been there years ago with Son two, Deb had never seen it.  Surprisingly, it is as modern and relevant now as it was 80 years ago, with open spaces and a focus on the surroundings.

On to the Flight 93 Memorial.  After walking the black walkway that defined the path of flight 93, we stopped at flight path lookout, which overlooked the crash site, but it was all somewhat confusing.  So we went to the visitors center which had a timeline of what happened that day with quite a few exhibits.  There was a 1.2 mile long circular walkway that lead eventually to the crash site.  Deb and I talked about what it must of been like on the flight.  You can’t go to the crash site but there is a large boulder that marks it.  After reading the names of those who died, we walked back to the car.  It was not a remorseful visit. Afterwards, I googled the architect, Paul Murdock, to read that this was precisely the way he wanted the memorial to be viewed!

On to our rest stop in Lancaster.  Son one went to college there, and we had always stayed at the Lancaster Arts Hotel, but they insisted on a minimum two night stay, so this time we stayed at the Cork Factory Hotel, another upscale boutique hotel.  Because it was Friday night, I went big time and booked reservations at the fanciest restaurant in town, John J Jeffries.  Well it turns out that the John J Jeffries is the hotel restaurant for the Lancaster Arts Hotel and we ate there many times on college trips.  The dinner was delicious, served with a heaping plate of deja vu!

Inn at Watson’s Choice - Uniontown, PA

This is new travel for us: we have been traveling by RV for seven years.  Our first test of our new car travel life style is to just park on the street in the quaint little town of Warrenton, VA and have lunch at a sidewalk cafe…easy peasy! Although there are many ways to get from here to Uniontown, PA, Deb has requested that we take shortest, straightest route.  Google maps is only showing winding roads to get there but the GPS in the Lexus is showing only straight interstates (of course it would, it’s her car!). 

When we get to the inn, there is a sign at the registration desk that gives the phone number of the innkeeper.  Nancy, the innkeeper, answers the phone and chastises me for not knowing the name of my room (it was on the confirmation e-mail!).  With detailed instructions on where she would meet me, which I vaguely remembered, we headed out to find our room.  This was sort of like an escape room adventure.  As we neared some cabins at one end of the property, a man posing as a landscaper said “no, no, those are not it, you have to go over there.”  Once we got to the pavilion area, a woman posing as a a guest said “Nancy went in that door.”  In exasperation, Nancy appeared and redirected us once again to the correct door which had a combination lock that was encoded in the receipt she gave us along with a key which had fob with a floral pattern that we had to match with door to the room.

A check of é mail revealed that the third destination of our trip, Longwood Gardens, had to close because of an accident with a fuel spill.  During dinner, we made a tactical decision to leave the gardens for another day and instead spend the last night in the Shenendoahs.  We booked the last room at the Big Meadow Lodge while sitting at the table in a wonderful Italian restaurant waiting for our entrees.

Home

Down the dreaded Northeast Corridor, we sidestepped Philadelphia, Baltimore and DC.  All together the trip lasted 46 days and was slightly over 9,500 miles.  We enjoyed every minute of it!

Spruce Run Recreational Area - Clinton, NJ

 According to their web site, there are 7 sites with electricity here, and this is the only park in New Jersey with any hook-ups at all.  This place pretty much splits the trip home into two equal parts.  I bet Deb a nickel that she would want to just keep going and not stop, just to get home…I lost!  There are so many cicadas here, it is deafening (and they land on everything), and the park ranger just informed us that there will severe thunderstorms in about six hours. 

Surry Lane - Pelham, NH

 Arrived in the old family stomping grounds.  It’s been well over a year since we have been here.  The plan is to settle in on the first day, see family on the second, play some cards on the third.  

Executed with perfection!  It was great to see the extended family again…it’s been a long time

We followed it all up with dinner at the Tuscan Kitchen in Salem, it seems that knowing the entire staff has some advantages…thanks Marie and Nan.