A week ago we planned to go to Washington, D.C. and then travel the short distance to Virginia for our niece’s wedding. We’ve never been to D.C., and it sounded like a fun trip. But sometimes the best laid plans don’t go the way we expect them to. We had to cancel our plans to leave on Monday, but thought we’d try again on Wednesday. An hour into the trip, Randy didn’t feel so good, so we turned around and went home. I honestly didn’t think we would go at all, but the next morning Randy felt so much better that we packed up the car again and headed south. Nine hours later we pulled into our hotel in Shenandoah Valley, grabbed dinner at a local Italian restaurant and crashed. The wedding was originally planned to be an outdoor affair, but the weather did not cooperate, so last minute changes were put in place. Earlier in the week, predictions were for about 49 degrees on Saturday. We woke up to four inches of snow! Much of it melted by the time the afternoon wedding rolled around, but the air definitely had a winter feel.
Despite everything, we had a good time with family we haven’t seen in four years and managed to consider it a whirlwind vacation as well. On the drive home Sunday I took pictures with Randy’s iPad. (Great camera! And great GPS too!)
It was hard to believe we were seeing so much snow in Virginia and Pennsylvania at the end of October. The leaves were brilliant colors in Pennsylvania – they had peaked in Virginia. Thankfully, the roads were clear and we drove out of the snow by the time we hit Ohio.
When we came to the Allegheny Mountains, we drove through a rather long tunnel. Throughout the trip, we of course, drove over bridges that spanned gullies and rivers and at one point saw an old train trestle built with stone pillars. Amazing the engineering architecture, and how much we take for granted that they will hold as we drive over or through them! As I snapped pictures in the tunnel, I was glad I was not on foot and could pass through rather quickly. This picture is the light at the end of the tunnel – quite literally. 🙂
Since Randy did all of the driving, I looked for ways to amuse myself. Managed pretty well until the last few hours when backs start complaining and you wish cars could go as fast as airplanes! Most of the way, I half dozed or read. I’m really enjoying Sixteen Brides by Stephanie Grace Whitson. What a fun story – which I am anxious to get back to and see how it ends!
Today was my catch-up day, doing laundry, running errands, and such. I finished reading through my current WIP the first day at the hotel, and am working on a speech for an upcoming mini writer’s conference this November.
In the meantime, the house is quiet except for a few straggling trick-or-treaters tonight. And I am very glad to be home.
