I have spent the better part of today editing my travel journal and putting it into this blog. I'm still officially on vacation so I took a short break this afternoon for a trip out to the Saugatuck Dunes for a hike through the woods. It's been a constant 80 degrees with low humidity and it's a clear blue sky kinda day. The winds coming out of the north brought small waves to Lake Michigan where the water was crystal shades of blue and green. Boat traffic was further out to sea. It is a perfect beach day. We didn't stay long, however, as we had Baxter in tow and he doesn't appreciate folks just hanging around trying to get a tan. Besides, if Mr. Ranger decided to take his quad for a ride, we'da got ourselves a tongue lashin and maybe a ticket to boot.

Following is the journal. There's always more to tell......

August, 2006 – Virginia

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

It’s been a rather long day looking for the perfect campsite near the Blue Ridge Parkway. After finding Peaks of Otter not to our liking, we have situated ourselves at the Cave Mountain Lake Recreation Area, which is managed by the US Forest Service in Jefferson National Forest not far from Buena Vista.

If we are satisfied our intent is to stay here for the next 3 nights, assuming we can find enough to keep ourselves occupied.

Our trip officially began at 11:30A on Saturday the 12^th, much later than anticipated. Heading south, we took a left turn at Louisville, Kentucky and proceeded East on I-64. Basically, outside of side trips to campgrounds, Monticello and trips on the Parkway, everywhere we go has been I-64. Our first night was spent at Clear Creek Campground in the Daniel Boone National Forest, East of Lexington. We had a lovely private site but, as has happened to us in Kentucky before, the air was heavy. Camping in the foothills isn’t as pleasant as camping in the highlands. Our neighbors played music till well after 2AM. The tunes kept us from sleeping, but their tune selections were to our liking, nonetheless.

Sunday morning we broke camp and off we went due east. We found Sherando Lake Recreation Area in the George Washington National Forest, not far from the Parkway near Waynesboro, Virginia, and within 30 minutes of Monticello. Site A22 turned out to be perfect for this trio. I have been thrilled with these US Forest campgrounds. They all seem to offer stands for stoves and tall lantern posts. The bathhouse at the campground is new and the entire park is spotless. This campground has seen bear and lots of them. They work hard at keeping sites swept free of any debris that might smell good to a critter.

Sleeping was much improved at Sherando. Waking Monday AM we headed (guess!) YES, East to Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson. Arriving for the 1:00 house tour, we spent the entire afternoon learning about Jefferson’s home life, his management of the plantation (Mulberry Row), and a little about the Jefferson lineage. Oh, he was a busy, busy boy. It’s a beautiful home and garden. Well worth the visit. I think an earlier arrival (opening time) would have allowed for more time to see the grounds and the dependencies, which is where most of the household action took place.

After leaving Monticello we took a short trip into Charlottesville to see the rotunda at the University of Virginia. This is what Jefferson chose to do during his retirement – build a University. Talk about a hobby!

After 2 nights at Sherando Lake (highly recommended), we headed out this morning to find ourselves here at Cave Mountain Lake. We made this choice after several hours of driving the Parkway South, then back North. We hit a patch of rain at a higher elevation that followed us here but politely cleared when it was time to setup camp. Our friendly neighborhood Volunteer Campground Hostess just stopped by to say hello, hand us a trash bag, and tell us about the Natural Bridge we might want to go see tomorrow. There’s a package deal with a wax museum which I think we might pass on....

Camping has certainly changed for us over the years. Yeah, I know folks out there have fancy RV’s with satellite, air conditioning, TV’s, etc.. But this family has been strictly tenting it for 26 years. Granted, we have added many amenities as we have gone along. If you figure Ed and I could get all camping gear and a dog into the back end of a small Subaru wagon 24 years ago. Today we have to rent a van with stow-n-go seats to take us down to half the van for people, half the van for stuff. And boy do we have stuff! But, we use most of it. A small amount of stuff is packed for no other reason than a good intension. Last year it was my hiking stick. It never left the van. It’s with me this year, hoping to make a good intension come-back. I hope to squelch that idea by actually using it. No excuses. I’ve got a hiking trail running up the other side of the creek next to my campsite.

So, speaking of how camping has changed for us. Check out Number One Son. He’s charging Mom’s laptop, his ipod, and falling asleep watching the movie ‘Office Space’.

Every once in awhile he yells, ‘WI-FI’. By the time he’s unplugged himself and handed the portable (hah!) laptop to me, I’ve once again missed an opportunity to get on-line. One can mooch off somebody else’s signal just so long. But what Mom can do is sit quietly at her picnic table, sip a cup of cappuccino, listen to Mozart over the sound of water cascading along Blue Ridge Mountain rock, and journal to her heart’s content. Ahhh, bliss…

In the meantime, critter count so far is about 6 deer, including 1 Philip fed and petted, 3 groundhogs who hardly had enough sense to get off the road, an infinite number of butterflies, an anonymous visitor rattling my cooking pot in Kentucky, and 1 snake which Ed called a ‘rattler’. Yeah, right….but it did remind me to be careful where I drop my drawers.

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Today started out as one of those lazy days. Everybody slept till they were done. We made a fine breakfast of spicy cheesy eggs and bacon. Yum. After morning chores we headed out to see what we could find to do. Coming around a curve, just before departing the campground, we screeched to a halt. A beautiful red & green 3 legged turtle (identification yet unknown) was determined to pull his heavy body across the road. After trying to get the perfect photo (he kept moving) we assisted him to the other side of the road, thereby avoiding the possibility that we would find him squished flat by the time we returned.

Rolling through the hamlet of Natural Bridge, we determined the natural bridge was not something we needed to see. It is a tourist trap, definitely. We continued on along SR 11 toward Lexington, where we found a very helpful host at the Visitor’s Center. We were guided to points north on SR 11 that sounded interesting and were given a good overview of opportunities within the downtown area of Lexington.

After a quick drive through Washington & Lee University, as well as the Virginia Military Institute, we headed north on SR 11. Stopped at Rockbridge Winery where we tasted and purchased a sampling of the local vino. On to a wonderful old farm that was recently lovingly restored to an herb farm and private residence, next door to Wade’s Mill, another historic landmark. After a quick stop at the lookout on Goshen Pass, we headed back to our campsite.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Considering that today would be our last day of exploration and adventure we rose early, departed with pancakes in our tummies, and headed toward Lexington. Back to the Visitor’s Center where we could leave our car all day if need be. Next door to the Visitor’s Center is the Stonewall Jackson home, where we purchased tickets for a tour and brief history lesson. It was a short tour but interesting. After our house tour we decided to tour the city via carriage. We met Shanna and her two helpers, Danny and Charlie. Danny does all the work (left) and likes it that way. Charlie is one full pace behind. They work an average of 4 hours per week, with Poptart treats in between. What a life!

Philip has come to enjoy spending time in military cemeteries. While mom went shopping and dad went for ice cream, the kid explored one of our country’s oldest cemeteries, last resting place of many historical figures including General Stonewall Jackson, less one arm.

Lexington is a very, very old city. It is still quite small and dedicated to its history and the universities within its borders. The homes in this town are absolutely gorgeous, with ongoing renovations strictly controlled. It was well worth our time and money for the tour.

If I was going to hike, today would have to be the day. Ed and I decided to take the trail around the lake. It turned out to be what I would call a wussy hike, only about 45 minutes over easy terrain. But, it was a hike nonetheless. The Mountain Cat trail would have been over 4 hours one way to go only 4.5 miles. Considering the fact that we had walked all afternoon in Lexington, the wussy way to go sounded okay by me.

Tonight’s dinner of steak, southwestern style mashed potatoes, and canned corn was a delightful end to a wonderful week. Not too much bickering, no rained out campsites, no major bug issues, lots of wildlife, excellent camping facilities, and just the right pinch of historic education. I’m not yet ready to go home. I’ve got another week’s worth of food and clothing. I do, however, need to wash my hair. I haven’t washed it since Monday and I plan to hold out until we arrive home early Saturday morning. Brush and pin it up is my method. So far, so good.

Friday, August 18, 2006

Last night we packed up everything we possibly could with a plan to depart immediately upon waking. Our departure from the campground this morning was 8:30A. We headed north on I-81 with a plan to drive home via Maryland, West Virginia (twice), Ohio, Indiana, and on to Michigan. After making several stops enroute, including a short visit to the Rocky Gap State Park in Maryland, we arrived home shortly after 2:30A Saturday.

It was a lovely trip. The Virginia landscape was exactly as every travel photo I’ve seen has shown – mountainous in the background, historical farms dotting the hills, horses and more horses everywhere (Jeannine, I thought of you often). It’s not as mountainous as North Carolina, therefore the elevation is lower. There is so much more history in the small area we explored. We have barely scratched the surface.

Epilogue

Well, the hair got washed, the camping gear is stowed, the laundry is done, and our house is in order. All there is left to do is shave my legs and sort through 6 inches of travel literature.

I am a reader. However, I picked up crossword puzzles a year ago and haven’t put them down. All reading and handwork came to an end. This past week I put the puzzles down and picked up an autographed book dear Connie gave me and I was again bitten by the pleasure of reading. I came home from my vacation with a few new books. One book about Thomas Jefferson, a 3 inch volume about General Stonewall Jackson (promised to read like a novel), one about slavery in Lexington, and a book about hiking trails along the Blue Ridge Parkway (planning for a future vaca – all hiking). I always appreciate the opportunity to get recommendations on books from people who are familiar with the available options and willingly offer their suggested good read.

Sorry to say I didn’t come home with much in the way of geological wonders. Just a couple pieces of Virginia granite. We unwittingly brought home a very well preserved and pressed lizard/salamander (we don’t know what it is) who stowed himself away in the tent. Ed found him this morning when he pitched the tent to clean it. This little guy is beautiful. He’s various shades of iridescent blue. Too bad he’s toast now.

Returning from vacation is such a bummer. I could have kept going – I wasn’t quite done yet. Although, I still cried the usual ‘YEAH’ as we crossed the Indiana/Michigan border early Saturday morning. I’m looking at a week of adventure at my company. Things are changing. No doubt some changes will be positive, others negative, for me as well. But, life is about changes. It’s about how we deal with those changes that will make or break the situation. In the meantime, I will look forward to next year’s getaway. Philip is growing and his life is changing too. I keep thinking this might be the last year we can do a full week of family camping as a trio. We are thinking big for next year, anticipating that we go ‘whole hog’ for a 2 week trip out west, focusing a chunk of that time at Yellowstone. It’s a trip the guys have talked about for several years and I think it’s something we need to do. We don’t know yet if it can happen BUT, YA GOTTA HAVE A GOAL….

Guess Who Came to Dinner?

There are 2 teenagers who have spent the last 3 nights entertaining us. They are fearless and think nothing of coming up close or allowing us to get close to them. They have climbed every tree, every metal pole, dined at every bird feeder, drank from every water source, and performed amazing acrobatics in the process.

Needless to say, this could become a problem. But, in the meantime, we're amused.