One More River To Cross

Friday 10 March 2006

Last night it was really windy - so much so that Bob thought it was continuous thunder, and I thought that surely the siding would be torn off the building. But everything was still there in the morning.

This condo required us to bring the laundry (all the sheets and towels) in a laundry bag to the office to check out. But we were out and on our way by about 9:30.

Corner of KY 44, KY 53

AGAIN, Bob turned right instead of left at the junction of 44 and 53. He did the same thing yesterday and I made him turn around because he was going east instead of west toward Louisville like we needed to go. I recognize this intersection because when we came in through here on Wednesday, we went around the corner by that store on the left and there were a lot of people in the road on this side. But this time we were actually going east so all it meant was that we went under lowering clouds another way up to I-64.

Kentucky barn

Road to West Virginia

Side of the road geology

We stopped for lunch at a Long John Silver's A&W combo place about 12:30

Signs

Long John Silvers

A and W root beer tap

Fried fish lunch

and got to the West Virginia border before 1:30.

Bob walking in to the Visitor's Centre

The skies gradually cleared and Bob had to put on his sunglasses again.

Nitro exit 3/4 miles

Marshall University up on a hill

Exit for hotel from I-64

We got to the Hampton Inn and checked in by 2:30. There are two Hampton Inns in Charleston. This one is near the Convention Center.

Convention Center

(I think DTW stands for Downtown.)

Bob in the room

One of the reasons that I like the Hampton Inns is their complimentary high-speed internet access in every room plus wireless access in the public areas. From this one, I could also send email. The following night in Charlottesville, I could only send email from the internet. They also have free local calls which is handy if you can't use the wireless internet..

They say they have local area transportation. That usually means transportation to the airport. According to the literature in the hotel, there was an indoor pool which is most unusual for a Hampton Inn - most of them have outdoor pools which of course are closed in cold weather. I never managed to find the pool. The light bulb in our bedside light was burned out. We replaced it with a bulb from another light that was working.

This Hampton Inn had elevators and free parking. We found a place to park right next to the entrance, so we walked across the bridge (over the Elk River) to have dinner near the Sears and Civic Center. Area restaurants include:

• Fifth Quarter
• Bennigan's
• Bob Evans
• Tidewater
• Joey's
• Joe Fazio's
• Chophouse

Hampton Inn from Elk River bridge

Crossing the Elk River

Bob Walking across the bridge

We ate at Fifth Quarter. It is across the street from Joey's.

Sign out front and Part of menu

Inside of the restaurant

The salad bar would have been an option, but we both had steak.

Salad Bar

I had a dessert -

Apple crunch

Reflections walking back at night

Hampton Inn at night

Sign at sunset

There are many places named Charleston. The two most well known are in SC and WV. The SC city is older (founded as Charlestown or Charles Towne, Carolina in 1670), bigger and way more famous.

Even though Charleston WV (not to be confused with Charles Town, WV) is younger than the one in SC (the first settlement on the Elk and Kanawha Rivers wasn't until 1788), Charleston West Virginia IS the capitol of the state and also the county seat of Kanawha Co.

The WV Charleston may have been named for Col. Clendenin's father, Charles. (Col. Clendenin and his company of Virginia Rangers built Ft. Lee - the first settlement.) whereas the SC Charleston which was named for Charles II of England (1630-1685)

Figuring out where to put the WV capitol became a post Civil War political football. In March 28,1870, state officials moved the state records by steamer from their original location in Wheeling to Charleston. In May of 1875, state officials made the journey on steamers back to Wheeling. Then as the result of the 1877 state election (the cities of Martinsburg, Clarksburg and Charleston all received votes) in 1885, steamers for the third time moved all the records back to Charleston because this city had received the majority of the votes.

When it came to building the capitol there was (according to the WV website) agreement that the capitol would feature a dome and rotunda. Some of the state's officials became alarmed,.. when it was realized that the architect planned to have the dome covered with gold leaf. Gilbert asserted that the gilding was more appropriate to the building and would cost less in construction and maintenance than if stone were used...

The dome.. was originally gilded in 1931 for a sum of twenty-three thousand seven hundred dollars... At two hundred and ninety-two feet, .. dome is approximately four and one-half feet taller..

The dome is gilded in 23 ½ karat gold leaf. It was most recently gilded from 1988-91.

Guided tours conducted Monday-Friday from 9 am to 3:30 pm. Capitol open to public Monday-Saturday 9 am to 7 pm and Sundays 12 to 7 pm.

Saturday 11 March 2006

One of the things I do like about Hampton Inns is the hot breakfast. Usually they have cranberry juice which is what I drink. The hotel was quite full during our stay and it was hard to find a place to sit to eat the breakfast.

Breakfast area in the lobby

We checked out of the Hampton Inn

Charleston from the highway

Bridge and Another view of the river

and went past the newly gold leafed capitol

Capitol building

Capitol from the expressway

and out the toll road.

Approaching the turnpike

Toll booths

Paid toll light - Red before the toll was paid

Turnpike

Another toll booth

After we got past Beckley, we stopped at the New River National River Park

I am interested in the National Rivers. I think it is so cool that we have National Parks that are rivers. The Visitor's Center for the New River Gorge National Park is in Glen Jean and it is about all that is there. The New River Visitor's Center can only give you a background on the river, but that was all we had time for and since it was winter, I wasn't about to go rafting or kayaking on the river anyway.

Sign for the New River Gorge National Park Visitor's Center

Going under I-64 on the way to the Visitor's Center

Storm water run-off

Using local materials sign

Millstones

Light colored roof on the visitor's center

Sandstone Visitor's Center

Entrance to Visitor's Center

Sidewalk into the visitor's center

The narrative from the New River Park has been lost. All I have are some tips that I wrote in VT

As with most National parks, there is a movie about the park - most of the time these movies are free and it is always a good idea to watch it. At this park the visitor's center has two videos; One on the construction of the New River Gorge Bridge, and the other on how the forces of nature created the massive V-shaped gorge.

You can see some of what the movie/video shows on uTube 26:47 Upheaval ,The Story of the New River Gorge, West Virginia Public Broadcast produced "Upheaval" in partnership with the National Park Service

The first of two half-hour presentations, "Upheaval: The Story of the New River Gorge" explores the history and controversy of a region formed over millions of years as the ancient New River -- now federally protected as a national river -- carved its way through the Appalachian Mountains, following a violent collision of continental plates. . The natural resources of the New River Gorge fueled the Industrial Revolution.

Sign advertising the movie

Movie title

Some of the movie shows the river from the air

Rapids in the river

Railroad train entering a tunnel

Town from the river

Map of the New River on the Visitor's Center Floor

Potomac River watershed

Also like most National Park Visitor's Centers, there are appropriate information and park related materials for sale. If you miss the chance to buy when you are there, you can buy on the internet.

Store at the New River Gorge VC

As we were getting ready to leave,

Kids getting off bus and heading for bathrooms

school buses pulled up and disgorged kids on a field trip.

Leaving the Visitor's Center

The New River Visitor's Center can only give you a background on the river. To really experience it you should get down and into a boat -- white water rafting for instance. Or fishing from the banks of the river. Since we didn't have time to fish, and it was too cold to get into a raft, we drove up to the Sandstone Falls Overlook. The falls are 25 feet high and are located 8 miles north of the town of Hinton on State Route 26. Parking, picnic tables, and portable toilets are available at the falls. You can walk the ¼ mile handicapped accessible boardwalk to view the falls and a one-mile loop trail around the island.

Driving to the overlook

Looking Back at the Road to the Overlook

You can access this spot by following the New River Auto Tour We didn't even do that. We just went to the Overlook on the winding Route 20.

Information board at the overlook

There are picnic tables near the parking area

Picnic Tables

Overlook of the falls

New River through the trees from the Overlook

From high above the river, you have views of the falls which stretch across the river. In the winter is is more visible because of no leaves on the trees.

Falls from above

River above the falls

New River Gorge NR from above in the winter

I walked a little way down the trail to take photos. It's hard to imagine how big the falls are though when you look at them from above. The falls that look so tiny - just a couple of rocks - are really 25 feet tall

25 foot tall Sandstone Falls below the overlook

Trees at the overlook

The New River Gorge National River is the most popular whitewater river on the East Coast, for the variety of boating trips available along its 53 miles in West Virginia.

According to websites (because I have not kayaked) the Upper New River is the place for first-timers to learn to kayak - perfect for easy-does-it float trips and splashing in duckies with the kids. For the more adventuresome, the Lower New River rages with big time Class III-V rapids, rocks and drops, with most whitewater trips finishing beneath the massive New River Gorge Bridge.

American Whitewater Affiliation Scale of River Difficulty:

• Class I: Easy. Fast moving water with riffles and small waves. Few obstructions, all obvious and easily missed with little training. Risk to swimmers is slight; self-rescue is easy.
• Class II: Novice. Straightforward rapids with wide, clear channels which are evident without scouting. Occasional maneuvering may be required, but rocks and medium sized waves are easily missed by trained paddlers. Swimmers are seldom injured and group assistance, while helpful, is seldom needed. Rapids that are at the upper end of this difficulty range are designated
• Class II+ or.Class III: Intermediate. Rapids with moderate, irregular waves which may be difficult to avoid and which can swamp an open canoe. Complex maneuvers in fast current and good boat control in tight passages or around ledges are often required; large waves or strainers may be present but are easily avoided. Strong eddies and powerful current effects can be found, particularly on large-volume rivers. Scouting is advisable for inexperienced parties. Injuries while swimming are rare; self-rescue is usually easy but group assistance may be required to avoid long swims. Rapids that are at the lower or upper end of this difficulty range are designated "Class III-" or "Class III+" respectively.

Sandstone Falls - Mandatory Portage

From one of the 20 some outfitter's website:
The basic rental fee includes the use of either a canoe or kayak; paddle(s); personal flotation device(s); maps; drybag; and shuttle service. An extra paddle will be supplied for each canoe during overnight trips. Helmets and spray-skirts can also be provided.
Things to Bring:
1. Bathing suit or shorts & T-shirt.
2. Old tennis shoes, water shoes, or sandals - NO FLIP FLOPS!
3. Sun screen and a hat.
4. If you wear glasses, a retainer strap is recommended.
5. Towel and dry clothes for after the trip.
6. In cool weather, you should wear wool clothing and a windbreaker or a rain jacket.
7. Please do not bring along any jewelry or other valuables.
8. Plenty to drink!! Cold drinks for hot weather and warm drinks for cold weather. (You can even pack a picnic.)
9. Valid Virginia Fishing License is required for all persons age 16 or older planning to fish. If you are a non-resident of Virginia, you are required to have a permit if you are 12 or older.

Things to Remember:
1. Show up ON TIME...other customers may be on your shuttle and do not want to wait for you and YOU MAY BE LEFT BEHIND!
2. No glass containers or Styrofoam coolers.
3 . No pets.
4 . No littering.
5 . Drugs and alcohol have no place near a river.
6 . Age, height, and weight requirements vary by activity. Please call for details.
7 . Trips run rain or shine. We reserve the right to cancel or postpone any river trip due to unfavorable river levels and/or weather conditions (your choice of a refund or a voucher).
8 . Deposit is forfeited in the event of a "no show."

While we were there a couple of bikers stopped by to use the port-a-pots

Parking Area

Facilities beside the overlook

Port-a-pot inspection list

Interstate Highways

We got to Virginia about 12:40

Virginia Welcome Sign

Virginia visitor's center

County information sign

We had lunch at Arby's

Gas station and Arby's sign

Inside Arby's

Arby's roast beef and cheese sandwich

Apple turnover

Driving to Charlottesville

Saturday March 11, 2006 - Charlottesville

There are two Hampton Inns in Charlottesville. One is downtown. This is the other one that is out near the University of Virginia. We checked into the Charlottesville Hampton Inn a little after 3:30.

Hampton Inn van

There were a lot of kids in the lobby - the clerk said they were there for a swim meet at UVA.This was the second Hampton Inn in a row that we stayed at. They tend to blend together after a while, but they are a high quality mid-range hotel and they all have a very nice free breakfast and free local calls. The local calls are less important now that I have a cell phone and since they all have wi-fi. Charleston's pool was indoor and heated - this one was outdoor,

Hampton Inn pool in March

and obviously it is closed in the winter

TV and mirror

The room was very comfortable, with a coffee maker in the bathroom (a sketchy idea-food and the toilet together)

Coffeemaker and me in the bathroom

We didn't really need that because we don't drink coffee, and the free breakfast included a place to get hot water, and stuff to put in it (tea, cocoa). There was also a TV and one of the beds had a lapboard on it for using a laptop, or just writing. This also is standard. Bob doesn't like the duvet idea (the quilts etc inside a casing), but I think it is fine.

There were several places to eat in the shopping center. When we checked in, the lady at the desk said they tore down the he Tex-Mex restaurant we ate at when we stayed here for our daughter's wedding and were building something else in its place.

Charlottesville - Jefferson's College Town

The closest restaurant to the Hampton Inn was Chili's and I wanted to have one last meal at a non-chain restaurant or at least a new chain restaurant. So that ruled out Red Lobster. And I didn't feel like Chinese or I could have gone to the Great Wall. Other restaurants such as the Aberdeen Barn, Rococo's and Guadolajara were farther away., so we ate next door to that at Mike Maverick's.

Mike Maverick's

Maverick's is on the highway in the shopping center. You could walk to it if you knew where it was but you can't see it from the Hampton Inn because there's other stuff and trees in the way. There is outside seating around a fireplace where there is a fire if it is cool. Inside there is a bar which has a large painting of a woman over it.

Restaurant bar

In the photo you can only see her head and arm because the inside is all dark wood. There's a fireplace inside too.

Fireplace

Bob had a

Salad

and a milkshake, and I had a

Medium Rare Prime Rib

Steak Soup and cornbread

I took some of the prime rib home.

Maverick's at night - outdoor fire

Sunday 12 March 2006

We did have a place to sit at breakfast unlike in Charleston WV. Checked out and started for home - we have only about 125 miles to go today. We went up US Route 29, and then cut over toward Orange to take the route we used to take when we were going to Crozet to breed B.s mare.

Heading for the Barn

We passed Wilderness Battlefield

Wilderness road (turn off to battlefield on left)

Exhibit Shelter

(all there is is a rest stop with an information board) and stopped at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park (another stamp). According to the National Park Service, the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park is the second largest military park on the planet. It includes four battlefields and two visitors centers and is spread over the city of Fredericksburg and four counties. There are also four historic buildings that are open - Chatham Manor, Salem Church, "Stonewall" Jackson Shrine and Ellwood Manor.

Of these, only Chatham is open daily. Ellwood was closed when we went past.

Ellwood Manor entrance (Closed)

We visited the Fredericksburg Visitor's Center. This park commemorates four major actions of the U.S. Civil War: the Battle of Fredericksburg, December 11-13, 1862; the Chancellorsville Campaign (encompassing the battles of Chancellorsville, Second Fredericksburg, and Salem Church), April 27-May 6, 1863; the Battle of the Wilderness, May 5-6, 1864; and the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, May 8-21, 1864. In order to really understand the various battlefields, you ought to go to the Visitor's Center for each battlefield first. Museum exhibits throughout the building will help you understand the park's story.

Chancellorsville Visitor's Center entrance

Visitor's Center

One of the exhibits

Hooker's campaign

Art in the Visitor's Center

Mural

Art in the Visitor's Center

Chancellor House

Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor's Center exhibit

To help orient you to the battle, there is a 22 minute film. It is shown every thirty minutes. We saw the Fredericksburg movie which was good, but you have to pay to see it. This is unusual but apparently the Park Service contracted with a commercial company to produce it. The fee is $2 fee for viewing movies at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville for those 10-61. Over the age 61, the fee is $1. Under age 10 and schools groups up to 12th grade are free.

Film Times and Prices Sign

There is a separate fee for each movie.There are no other fees to see the parks, and the movie fee has to be paid even if you have a Golden Age Passport.

Re-enactment in the visitor's center movie

This park has an extensive bookstore operated by a cooperating association called Eastern National which was created by Congress to sell items in National Park Service areas. One of the main bookstores is located in a building adjacent to the Fredericksburg Battlefield Visitor Center and another one is in the Chancellorsville Visitor Center with smaller outlets in the Stonewall Jackson Shrine and Chatham Manor

Park service store

The four major Battlefields which are part of the Fredericksburg - Spotsylvania National Military Park are all run by the National Parks Service and for $4.00 a person, you can get a 7 day pass to tour all the parks. There is a ten mile round trip driving tour will allow you to visit the majority of the Fredericksburg battlefields. We stopped at the Visitor's Center on Route 3 west of Fredericksburg which is located along the historic Sunken Road portion of the battlefield.

Compass Rose

Monument

Two walking trails will allow you to walk over the same ground that was so hotly contested on December 13, 1862.

Maps of Chancellorsville

From the Visitor's Center there are walking tours.

Sign about the Chancellorsville Campaign

Battlefield diagram

Chancellorsville battle map

• Wounding of Stonewall Jackson Trail. This short trail begins at the large battlefield painting in front of the Chancellorsville Visitor Center and loops around the building to the place where Jackson was wounded. (The exact location has been pinpointed.) A printed brochure with a map is available in the Visitor Center.

Stonewall Jackson sign

Where Stonewall Jackson was shot

This site has two additional loops that both begin in the Chancellorsville Visitor Center parking lot.

• Chancellorsville History Trail. A 1/2 mile loop goes to some Union earthworks and areas that resemble the Wilderness of 1863. A 3 1/2 mile trail follows the advance of some of the Confederate army of May 3 and then loops back largely following earthworks.
• Hazel Grove-Fairview Trail. This two mile loop begins at Hazel Grove and traverses the area of the severest fighting on May 3.

In other locations there are:

• McLaws' Trail. This two mile loop traverses a newly purchased tract which was fought over on May 1-3, 1863.
• Salem Church Trail. This short trail loops around Salem Church where fighting ragged on the evening of May 3, 1863.We didn't walk on any of the trails - we were anxious to get back home.

We crossed the Potomac into Maryland about noon.

Crossing the Potomac

When we went by Budd's Creek, they were apparently having races.

Passing Bud's Creek

When we got home, we found that the oil company allowed us to run out of oil - we called before we left home and said we were low, but they didn't deliver oil until another week had gone by. So the furnace was off all winter. Fortunately it was a mild winter and nothing froze, but Bob had to reprime the furnace in addition to unloading the car, turning on the water, and starting all the cars etc. We ate dinner at the Chinese buffet.

Epilogue

At the end of March, we went up to see my mother in her home.

Mother at home

She was using an oxygen concentrator.

Mother's oxygen concentrator

We had dinner on the way home at Jethro's.

Jethro's

Inside Jethro's

Goolosh Dinner roll special $7.99

Pulled pork sandwich

When she went back to the hospital in April,

Mother in the rehab section of the hospital

my sister arranged for her to go to a nursing home. April 3rd, Bob and took up a recliner and a TV for her room there,

Chair and TV for the room

View from her room

Bob relaxing after bringing things up

and had dinner at a diner on the way home.

Diner

Restaurant menu

Matzo ball soup

Salad and sandwich

Flowering trees

All but two of the grandchildren came to visit. D and my niece live fairly local so they came. My nephew came from Detroit. B flew in from Miami. Even E from Texas came with her new baby.

E shows my mother her new great granddaughter

Rob came but didn't get there before she died and my older niece didn't make the effort to come.

My son with his niece

We arranged a memorial service,

Photos of my mother for the memorial service - left c 1970 in her early 60s - right on her 91st birthday

Church at the memorial service

Family at my mother's house

My mother's garden after the service

started the probate proceedings and started the process of clearing out her house so it could be sold. (The latter took us until July 2007).

I had already made a reservation for a cruise in the fall out of Norfolk. There were two cruises one right after the other. I took the one that returned to Norfolk because I thought I might be needed at home. But after Mother died, I thought I might as well do the other cruise too - it was a repositioning cruise like we did last fall.

So our next trip was back to back (B2B) on the Holland-American Line - Maasdam