Up at 4:00 AM and off by 4:30 AM. We decided not to let the cancellation of our London trip get the best of us. Road trip ... Virginia ... North Carloina ... South Carolina. The concept is simple. We lower our eyes, squeeze out a tear or two and and speak softly. We follow up espoused determination to move on and not let the disappointment get us down. Meanwhile, the sympathy pours in and we lavish in it. We make the full circuit. Brother-in-law in VA ... cousins in NC ... nephew in SC. We're like Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox. Well-planned, well-coordinated lightning strikes ... then we melt back into the swamp. They will hardly realize that we have been there until they check their now-empty refrigerators.
We know the circuit by heart.Eight hours to the VA line and ten to the Staunton Quality Inn. We ruled out local B & B's. I'm too cheap. I took over the search and got the QI for $53 a night. We were both shocked when we arrived. The room was actually nice. Believe me, we have been in worse.
Like I said, eight hours to the VA line. That is, if you only stop for gas ... no food. I did an Aunt Bee. Fixed a roasted red pepper and horsradish meatloaf for sandwiches the night before for the trip. Once we got to VA, we decided to take US Rt. 11 from Winchester to Staunton instead of interstate. Scenery was great. Huge farms with green and yellow blankets of new spring growth. Stopped by the Belle Meade Plantation. It was the home of James Madison's sister and her husband. Also stopped at a gallery in Edinburg. The artist/owner was Mark Strauss. He is a Ukranian Jew and a Holocuast survivor. For two years, (age 10-12), he hid in the home of a friend, unable to stand up in his hiding place for fear of being seen. He had to relearn how to walk when he got out. His gallery was filled with his work and with pictures of presentations he had made in local schools about his experience and the letters of thanks from the students. The gallery was certainly an unexpected find.
To tell the truth, both Anne and I were exhausted. Trying to make heads or tails out of the London fiasco and attmepting to recoup some of our prepayments turned out to be pretty stressful. We finally realized this and headed out for an early dinner followed by some rest. Ate at a spot called the Mill in downtown Staunton. Turned out to be an excellent choice with quite a diverse menu. Anne chose the St. Loius ribs with a Kansas City BBQ sauce. I opted for a rabbit liver pate for the appetizer and then a black bean burger for the entree. We were in the South ... iced tea to drink for the both of us.
Staunton VA .. Home of Mary Baldwin College, the Stonewall Jackson Hotel, the Frontier Museum, birthplace of Woodrow Wilson, historic downtown, Civil War Trails. It was a nice ending to several long days and worth a closer look. For us, however, it was on to SC early the next day.
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