Post-GONE: Day 6

Last night I made the decision that I was going to drive a shorter route today than I originally planned. While I’d love to drive every twisty road I can, there is only so much time in the driver’s seat that I can take in one day (and over 9 hours was just too much). Even though I decided to take the “direct route”, it was far from boring.

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While I was driving on the interstate I couldn’t help but compare it to I-80 through Nebraska… compared to that, these roads are like the Nürburgring (Nordschleife)!

For the last few days, I’ve been chomping on Atomic Fireballs while I’m driving. They are a great piece of candy to keep my mouth/mind occupied during less exciting stretches of road. I typically chew on hard candy, but these are too hot if I do that… so I’m forced to eat them slowly. The bag that I bought in Wyoming was running dangerously low, and I couldn’t find more in a couple grocery stores, so I got to the point of rationing them. Today I stopped to get gas and noticed they had 50¢ bags… so I bought as many as I could carry!

Tomorrow I’m going to the Shenandoah National Park, so I really need to get my hands on an “American the Beautiful” Annual Pass.

One of the nice things about the direct route I drove today was that it brought me past three different places where I should have been able to get the pass… unfortunately, the only one that was open didn’t have any passes… Ug! How difficult is it to give people money!?!

At least when I visited the Senica Rocks Discovery Center I was able to take a photo of the beautiful scenery.

I’ve started to notice something when I enter the small towns in West Virginia… they are very proud of their high school sports. Under each of the “Welcome to” signs, there are lists of the State Championships. Just how into their high school football are these guys? Last night I was searching for a radio station in my hotel and I found the same high school football game being broadcasted on two different stations, with two different commentators!

Today I entered the radar detector unfriendly state of Virginia!

I feel it’s a little unfair that they are allowed to determine my speed with radar, but it’s illegal for me to determine if they are determining my speed with radar. Oh well, it’s not like I’m speeding… but it just felt weird driving down the road without the “beeping” from my Valentine 1. Just to make sure there was no question if I was using my radar detector, I removed it from my rear view mirror and put it into my trunk.

Shortly after checking into my hotel I received a phone call from my Uncle who lives in Virginia. I was only an hour away from his home, so made the trip out there for a visit. After turning off the interstate I traveled through lush green pastures… and wow there were some nice estates out that way! It was great to see my Uncle again, and the conversation over a home cooked meal sure was better than sitting alone in a hotel eating food from the “deli” at Walmart!

Tomorrow will be the first day of my return trip, as this is the farthest East I will venture on this Cross Country drive. So far I have racked-up 4578 miles and seen many new places. I’ve had a blast so far, and I’m looking forward for the rest of my trip back towards the West Coast!