We woke up early with the sun and snuck out leaving John and Jeannie with the sleeping kids. The lake was perfect for a morning swim. It was clean and in the 70s. Perfectly still and glossy. We stayed parallel to the swim area and swam 4 long laps. I love that packing a suit, cap and goggles takes so little space in my bag yet brings so much happiness.
We got back, got cleaned up and ready for church. The building was close and in a charming rural Virginia neighborhood. This was my favorite house.
After church, which was at 10 not 9am, we packed up quick because had a long drive ahead. Sadly we were not quick enough. A huge down pour drenched us pretty bad.
Owen and Scarlett were on returning from the bathroom when the rain hit. Owen ran back for cover, but Scarlett just stood in the rain unsure of the whole event, taking in the full experience. She didn't mind being wet one bit.
Our big site of the day was seeing the New River Gorge Bridge. The bridge is the longest arch bridge in the western hemisphere. It was quite a site. Many stopped to see it and there was a cute visitor's center. This picture is a great symbol of what we saw in West Virginia--amazing green cliffs and mountainsee with strong industrial sites.
West Virginia had the most beautiful wild flowers along the roadside. All colors and types seemed to be everywhere.
From the bridge we headed NW along the New River. There were little towns nestled into the cliffs between the river, railroad tracks and the road. They surrounded coal mills and lumber yards. Their style reminded me of Rio Dell and Scotia up in Northern California where we used to live. They were cute little box houses painted spring colors.
In every village there was at least one gynormous American flag in pristine condition with ground lights. The buildings and streets were worn and aged, but not the flag.
We also saw this on the interstate highway! Maybe it's legal in WV? Legal, but for sure not smart!
Mike kept saying our day was cursed. We ran into thunderstorm after thunderstorm. But they seemed to hit us when the roads were the safest. We thought we took a wrong turn, but when we stopped for directions, our detour took us away from a road that been closed the day before due to a mudslide. Although our trip sometimeso is difficult we are all safe, healthy, enjoying time together and seeing this great country of ours.
No comments:
Post a Comment