We are back in the saddle again! Today, 3 April started off uneventfully (the best way). Given the lousy weather forecast we put the top up before leaving and were glad that we didn’t temp the gods because the rain was fierce all the way out to Warrenton, VA. Afterwards it cleared up for awhile, then it rained again, and continued to rain on and off all the way down US 29 to my daughter’s new home in Ruckersville, VA where we stopped for lunch and a short visit. After lunch we went across US 33 to Harrisonburg where we stopped for a conference call and then resumed the journey to Stuarts Draft down I 81. The drive across US 33 is truly beautiful. It goes through Shenandoah National Park as it crosses the Shenandoah Mountains and along the way we saw trees starting to bud. Sadly, the weather was so bad that we didn’t want to stop for photos. I 81 was, as usual, heavily trafficked with trucks. It is not a pleasant road, but it’s the most expedient way of getting to our destination. We finally arrived at Stuarts Draft where we spent the night with a very dear friend.
View of Shenandoah Valley
Ready to boogie.
Wednesday morning (4 April) we said goodbye to our friend and got back in the saddle about 11 AM. The weather had cleared up, but we still ran into rain squalls from time to time and again we decided to keep the top up and not to temp the gods. As we continued southwards, we noticed more and more trees starting to bud and little yellow flowers along the roadside. Clearly, spring is popping up all over. The varying shades of green of the fields and budding trees with the mountains in the distance make a pretty landscape. The patches of daffodils, tulips and wild yellow flowers (Canola plants??), and flowering fruit trees add to the patchwork of colors. Unfortunately, the overcast skies and raindrops don’t make for good photo ops. We stopped for lunch and fed the car just outside Bristol, TN, then continued down I 81 to the end where it merges with I 40. From there we continued to Knoxville and arrived just in time when they blew the whistle at the factory and everyone was on the road going home. We got through Knoxville and proceeded a little longer to find a place to stay for the night that would be far enough away that we could avoid tomorrow morning’s rush hour.
That’s pretty much the story of our day for today. We’ll keep you posted.
Trees starting to blossom. (Crab apples?)
PS A little way south of Bristol, TN there was a road side warning: “Hands free devices only” which gave me the strong urge to post an addendum to it saying “Does not include steering wheels”.