2015.04.12 Mabry Mill

One of the attractions along the Blue Ridge Parkway is Mabry Mill, and it was definitely on our list of things to do. We headed out in the morning and made this our first stop for the day. Jeff and I love these old buildings and it's truly a treat for us to be able to visit these areas. There was an old still there, and also a recipe for homemade soap. I've been seeing a lot of recipes on Pinterest for homemade soap that still use lye, so this was kind of interesting to me.

We decided that we had seen enough of the Blue Ridge Parkway after this and headed west. We ended up in West Virginia and drove across the New River Gorge Bridge. At one time it was the longest arch bridge, but can no longer claim that title. It was pretty cool to drive across, especially for this woman that used to be nervous going across bridges.

2015.04.11 Skyline Drive

We have decided since most of the park rangers will be gone for the weekend, that we will start heading west towards the Blue Ridge Highway. Jeff saw a documentary on this highway quite a few years ago and has wanted to see it ever since. The first year that we traveled to Florida we tried to drive there, but it was closed, as it is not maintained during the winter months. (We were very disappointed at the time.) 

Our drive took us along Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. There were beautiful valleys and great scenery to enjoy.

We stopped for a hike along the way down to a waterfall and it ended up being a pretty tough hike. It was downhill for a little more than a mile, which meant that it was all uphill on the way back. It was very pretty though and well worth the time and effort. What is it about waterfalls that is just so fascinating?

2015.04.10 Heading South

We rented a car in Washington, DC and we are heading down to Florida, but our plan is to take our time and explore all the states in between.  We just mostly drove today, stopping in Fredricksburg, VA.  Our plan is to stop and see some of the Civil War battlefields while we are in this area. We stopped at one Battlefield this afternoon and discovered that there is an event in Appomatix where most of the park rangers will be for the next few days. That's a bummer for us.

2015.04.09 Washington, DC (Day 3)

It was another cool, drizzly day in Washington, DC, so it was probably a good thing that we had decided that we would see the museums that were on our list today. We saw the Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of the American Indian, National Gallery of Art and a couple of others. At one point while we were walking from one museum to the other, the Presidential motorcade drove right past us, but by the time that I figured out what was going on, it was too late to dig out the camera. That's the way it goes. 

I loved the National Gallery of Art and could have spent the entire day in there if time had allowed, but it was not to be. One disappointment there was that the photography exhibit was closed for renovation. I wish that I could have seen that, but I guess I will just have to return some day.

Sarah Huber flew in that afternoon, then Jerry treated all of us to supper at the very exclusive Cosmos Club. Wow, was that a treat! We had a really nice time catching up with Sarah and Jerry and thoroughly enjoyed our supper. Jerry is a fantastic host.