Lucky or unlucky? You be the judge…

Friday, 13 June 2008Monday, 6 July 2026Leave a comment

13 June 2008

Dawn came early this Friday the 13th. We were up at 6:15 in hopes of being on the road by 7 or so. Ha! We had a minor setback as we were pulling out of the parking lot and Kim reached for the tape recorder to add something about our day and there was no tape recorder to be found. We knew we had had it the night before, so we went in search of. Twenty or thirty minutes later we left, sans tape recorder. Unless it was packed away really well. Not to worry too much – she had brought a back up and we would have only lost a couple of days worth of entries. Strike one.

So, it was almost 8 AM when we pulled out of the Skyland Resort, heading north on Skyline Drive to its terminus (actually, its origin) at Front Royal, VA, where we would be having breakfast at Sandy’s Diner. Our first stop along Skyline Drive was the Big Stony Man overlook, so that we could see the man himself and see where we were standing on our hike the day before. So here he is, in all of his recumbent glory. It’s kind of hard to tell from this photo, but that highest part on the left if supposed to be his brow, and that’s where we were. Guess you kinda had to be there to fully appreciate it.

Back on the road, we stopped at least four (and maybe five) for these friendly encounters with Bambi’s cohorts. We were surprised how unafraid of us they were (of course, the fact that my car makes very little noise allowed us to sort of sneak up on them) and how LONG their tails are! We rolled into Front Royal about nine, which is when we wanted to be at our next stop. We found Sandy’s Diner with no problem. Except one…Sandy’s is now home to Virginia Auto Group Car Sales. Strike two. On to Plan B.

We had passed one place that looked like it might be open for business, so back we went to the Knotty Pine. Indeed, they were “serving complete meals from 5 AM to 10 PM” so we were in luck. The Pine was a happening place to be – we were lucky to get a booth. As it turns out, these people must be of hardier stock than we are. It was like a Frigidaire in there and they were all in tank tops and camisoles. Maybe their cigarettes were keeping them warm. It was sort of like being in the land time forgot. Kim had her usual scrambled eggs, but with ham this time, and I had a cheese omelet with home fries. They were tasty but nothing to write home about.

Now fortified, we were off to Middletown and the Route 11 Potato Chip Factory. Jill (our friendly Garmin voice) was having a hard time letting us get there without taking the interstate, but we overruled her at every turn. Eventually, we got there! Alas, unbeknownst to their website, they had moved production to a new facility thirty miles south of here. Three weeks ago. Strike three.

So we satisfied ourselves with some picture taking and potato chip buying. We purchased Lightly Salted, Salt and Vinegar, Dill Pickle, and Chesapeake Crab chips. We have not even opened the first bag yet, showing remarkable restraint, we think.

Our next stop was Dinosaur Land in White Post, VA, home to replicas of forty species of dinosaurs (very educational) and a “cheesy” gift shop. We did not test either claim, but here were a couple of our favorite big guys.

Given our late start, we opted to pass on stopping in historic Charles Town and Harpers Ferry, WV, and just zoom on to Antietam, Maryland. Although we decided not to take the 8.6 mile tour of the battlefields and the cemetery, we did stop in at the National Cemetery there. It was a solemn place, and it was interesting to see how little the area had changed since Civil War times – the battlefields are still lined with fencing and low stone walls, and there are several cannons strategically placed.

The cemetery was very well maintained, and this cool building sat just inside the ornate gates. The number of graves was staggering – it truly must have been a bloody battle. What a sad time in our history!

From Antietam, we went in search of the Washington Monument State Park in Boonsboro, MD. This was the site of the original monument to our first president. We were looking forward to climbing up lots of stairs to get to the top of it. Someone must not be wanting us to get our exercise, because when we got almost to the park (finally, with lots of pleading with Jill) the road was blocked by a big gate and a sign telling us the park was closed due to storm damage. Aha! That explained all of the downed trees and dead branches we had been seeing. Strike four!

Then, as we tried to move on to our next stop (lunch at Chubby’s Bar-B-Q in Emmitsburg, MD), both Jill and AAA tried to send us down some totally impassable roads. This one below is gravel and heavily rutted. And there are fallen trees all over. Argh!

We were thinking a little ‘que from a place recommended highly by Road Food (Jane and Michael Stern) might just take the edge off what was becoming a frustrating day. But nooooo!

The Sterns surely are not from the south, if they think Chubby’s serves ‘southern style’ barbeque! Bless their hearts! And the sides were no better – I had macaroni and cheese that looked good and tasted like pasta with yellow water poured over it. My baked beans were tasty and almost lukewarm. Kim’s potato salad tasted sort of like the variety that is usually served hot, but it was cold. And the barbeque was not up to our high SOUTHERN standards. The sauce was okay though. Not worth finding your way to Emmitsburg for, that’s for sure! And for those of you who are clean freaks, don’t even think about going in!!! Strike five!

Okay, so surely the rest of our day would be better. We were off to Gettysburg and a little more Civil War history, albeit with a Union slant. What we discovered instead is that we Americans can trivialize, sensationalize, and commercialize ANYTHING. Let’s just say our new name for Gettysburg is “Gatlinburg of the Civil War.” YUCK!!! Even the old Visitor’s Center with its Cyclorama and Electric Map are closed now, and it’s hard to know where to go to see the ‘real’ Gettysburg. But if you want the Gatlinburg/Disneyland versions, you are in luck. Your sisters passed. Strike six!

Moving on, ever the optimists, we struck out for York and the Barbell Museum and Weightlifting Hall of Fame. Jill took us all over the Pennsylvania countryside, which thankfully was pretty. At long last, we were about to give up on ever finding our destination, so we decided to make a pit stop instead. I filled up the car while Kim tried to figure out where in the Sam Hill we were. She asked two ladies who worked there and got two different answers. At the same time! Anyway, we left and then immediately found what we were looking for. We just couldn’t find how to GET there. But we did save this image just for you! So maybe that’s strike six and a half.

Now you want to know what’s really funny? I looked down at the gas gauge and it’s still showing the same thing it was before I filled up. Now it’s starting to make sense why the machine didn’t give me a receipt… AAAARRRGH! Okay, so maybe a visit to the Haines Shoe House would cheer us up. Ha, ha, ha. Traffic on Highway 30 was heavy and not moving too quickly. We were so spoiled from the parkway! And then there was road construction. Is it five o’clock yet??? No, but it’s so close to five that if we want to get to Wilbur’s Chocolates (and you’d better believe we HAD to get there at this point!) before it closed at five, we would have to come back to the Shoe House later. Off we went with a bead on Wilbur’s. Jill seemed to know she was guiding two EXTREMELY desperate and possibly dangerous women and we got to Lititz (stop snickering – we are in Paradise tonight and are going to Intercourse tomorrow!) just about 4:30. Hooray! Chocolate saves the day!

And we loved the quaint little village of Lititz. Finally, we got to do and see something we really wanted to! I bought milk chocolate covered potato chips and milk and dark chocolate Wilbur’s Buds, and Kim got chocolate coconut clusters. And we still have some, even though they are YUMMY! Check them out at www.wilburbuds.com. After getting our chocolate fix, we walked around town where they were observing their second Friday “Lovin’ Lititz” day. We love Lititz, too.

Enough sightseeing for one day (except for the Shoe House). We went in search of our resting place for the night, the Red Caboose Motel. We arrived around seven and got checked in to…. the HONEYMOON SUITE! Yikes!

Alas, the motel is full because it’s a THOMAS weekend here in railroad crazy PA. So guess who it’s full of. KIDS, lots of young Thomas the Tank Engine crazy kids and their parents who indulge their every whim. At least the honeymoon suite is separate from the other cabooses. Isn’t it cute?

And on the way to the motel (which is right next to the Toy Train Museum, which was closed when we got here and won’t open until after we leave) we got to go over this covered bridge and see lots of Amish folk on their buggies and funny bikes/scooters. At the motel has a farmyard, complete with roosters, hens, chicks, sheep, lambs, ponies (they bite), pigs, and fainting goats, at least one of whom is very acrobatic. After we got a wireless connection on the front porch and posted yesterday’s blog, we went in search of dinner. Alas, we had not only waited too late to go see the Shoe House (it was dark) but we had missed the last seating at the Hershey Farm Restaurant (allegedly open until nine, but evidently not). We did get to take a picture of Amish Abe, and we found our way (a minor miracle) to Jennie’s Diner, which is open 24 hours.

Were we in luck there! Kim had Chicken Corn Noodle soup, which was true to its name plus it had broth, and a small salad. Well, at least she thought she ordered a small salad. In reality, it was maybe two small heads of lettuce. I had marinated grilled chicken with a baked potato and stewed tomatoes. I did get a small salad, a softball-sized potato (that’s a conservative estimate – it was almost volleyball sized!), some really sweet tomatoes, and THREE chicken breast cutlets. We were stuffed! And so now we’re back on the front porch and it’s half after midnight and we have another early morning ahead of us. So you know we really love you! Let us know it was all worth the trouble by posting some comments! We are moderating them, just in case you write something personal that you didn’t intend for the whole world to see, so if you don’t see your comment immediately, keep looking.

We’re sure glad it’s not Friday the 13th anymore, but we’re feeling lucky!

Sleepyhead Jan

Today’s expenses (for both of us, not counting tips)

Gas $31.02 for 7.92 gallons
Food: Breakfast 9.73
Lunch $27.83
Dinner $20.57
Chocolate $19.34
Potato Chips $5
Hotel $178.50 (cabooses are extra on Thomas weekends…)

Old Stony Men

Friday, 13 June 2008Monday, 6 July 2026Leave a comment

12 June 2008

We’ve started off on the right foot – we were up by 7:15 and on the road to Lexington, VA, by 8:15. Our stay at the Natural Bridge Hotel was adequate, but it was not without a couple of unpleasant surprises. Let’s just leave it that our first assigned room had clearly already been assigned, and in our second room, we were glad that we observed our Road Rule about checking the tub (shower stall in this case) before getting naked.

On the bright side, we had a huge, lovely balcony (our reward for the first room fiasco) and an eventual internet connection (after making friends with the maintenance man, while in our PJ’s, and one trip back to the front desk for the ONLY Ethernet cable…) And we had a TV that worked (unless you turned the light switch off) and beds with clean sheets and an AC that worked most of the night. And we got to take a trip down Memory Lane back to junior high gym class when we used the towels after our showers!

So, we were not sad as we made our way up the road to visit my two honorary fraternity (Phi Mu is officially a fraternity) brothers, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. But first, we were in search of a good breakfast (don’t go too far without one)! As we wandered the streets, we didn’t find a breakfast place right away, but we did see this great sign. And then we hit paydirt when we found Sweet Treats, where Kim had scrambled eggs and bacon (I know, it’s a total shocker) and I had (now this is a shocker) a veggie egg white omelet. Both were served with great potato hunks and homemade bread. Yum. And they had freshly brewed iced tea. Our day was looking up!

Little Lexington, VA, is home to two institutions of higher learning, which happen to be adjacent to each other. Washington and Lee is where Robert E. Lee and his whole family are interred, and Stonewall Jackson is buried (well, except for his left arm) at VMI (Virginia Military Institute). The schools could not be more different – W&L survived the Civil War almost unscathed, so the main buildings are those that were there in George Washington’s time. Lee Chapel, where the Lees (and R. E.’s horse, Traveller) are buried, was built immediately after the Civil War. We were even allowed to take one picture (we got two, since we each had a camera) of the general’s statue, though photos were not allowed in the Chapel. We were on our best behavior.

VMI looks like a tremendous spartan citadel with a huge parade ground (no trees) out front. Jackson is buried there, and his horse, Little Sorrel, is preserved (not stuffed – more on that later) in the museum in the basement of Jackson Chapel. We found Little Sorrel’s story to be of particular interest because of our beloved Peppy, who is made of plaster of Paris. Little Sorrel’s taxidermist used a brand new technique to preserve him – he removed his hide, made a plaster cast of his body, and covered the plaster cast with his hide. He’s been restored just once, and he looks great, don’t you think? We just don’t think Peppy would be quite the same with fun!

As we left Lexington for the Blue Ridge Parkway, we buzzed right past a funny silvery tin house, and then we noticed it had a spout. Oops, time for a U-turn! I wish I could say it was the first of the day, but alas, Jill (our disembodied Garmin voice) had led us astray more than once in Lexington, so we had already gotten in some good practice. After we took the picture, I realized that I had read about this coffee pot house (closed, no trespassing) and had even made note of it, but it still surprised us.

Back on the Parkway, we thoroughly enjoyed our scenic drive. The weather was gorgeous, blue skies and a temperature of about 73 degrees. We rolled down the windows and turned off the A/C, and we loved watching the computer tell us we were averaging over 41 miles per gallon. We stopped at a few overlooks and again enjoyed very little traffic. When we got near Waynesboro, we got off to take a little lunch detour to Wright’s Dairyette Drive In in Staunton.

Of course, even though interstate 64 was right there, we opted for highway 250, but Garmin Jill did not agree with us. Too bad, it was her problem and she spent the whole trip ‘recalculating’. Maybe it’s my imagination, but I swear that by the 20th time she said, “recalculating” it was sounding pretty nasty and sarcastic. We just laughed. But she may have had the last laugh, since the only reason we let her keep talking was we thought she would be helpful when we actually got to Staunton. But no, she directed us to Car Dealer Row and we had to call the drive in for directions. Which they were unable to adequately give us, other than to tell us we were on the right road and “we would just see them – can’t miss it.”

Thankfully, we persevered and were rewarded. I had a Superburger (a Wright’s original and specialty of the house since 1952), Kim had a corn dog, and we split some homemade onion rings. We even got to call in our order (dial 71) on the phone at our table! How cool is that? We were strong, though, and did not have milk shakes. But we wanted them…. Peppy was in plaster animal heaven though, as he got a new car!

Just across the street from the drive in was an enormous old facility – lots of big brick colonnaded buildings and lovely grounds that looked like what I imagine old-timey sanitariums (or sanitaria) were like. We could not tell what it was, so we went exploring. Whatever it is, it’s being turned into condos. We listened to the radio real estate info and all we found out was that it was called “the Bindery” (couldn’t decide if that was as in book binding or strait jacket binding). Oh well!

Anyway, we figured out how to get back (with no help from the stubborn Jill) when we saw a giant watering can in the middle of the road. Again, I belatedly remembered I knew about it, too, and the two flower pots on the other side of the bridge. So, we turned around again and got this shot. Did I remember to mention that Staunton was home to Woodrow Wilson? Just thought you’d want to know. What we really liked about Staunton was their gas prices – $3.88, so we filled up on the way back to the Parkway.

The Parkway quickly became Skyline Drive and we entered Shenandoah National Park. For some reason, there was a long and slow-moving line at the ranger station, so even though we had our NP pass, we just sat and waited, and before we knew it, we were pulling into Skyland Resort, our lodging for the night. We almost missed it, but we hung a quick left just in time! We checked into our room, and this time, instead of lugging our bags to a room that may not be ready for us, we went to check it out. It was perfect! If only we could get in the door efficiently…

You know how Abe Lincoln’s log cabin had a drawstring latch or something? Well, this door has some strange latch. We had a hard enough time getting in, but getting out is a whole ‘nother story. There is no handle!! We had to practice before we went back for our bags! It takes both of us, but with a little teamwork we can get in and out of our room… We had a fantastic view of the Shenandoah valley and the town of Luray below us. Because of the late afternoon sun, I didn’t take a picture of our view, but it was beautiful. Since the day was so nice, and since we had arrived at our destination at about 5:15, we decided to go for a hike. We hiked the Big Stony Man trail, which took us on the Appalachian Trail for a piece (in fact, we were at the highest point on the AT in the Shenandoahs) and then we hiked up to the second highest peak in Shenandoah NP. The view was spectacular, and we learned lots on the trail on the way up.

As we started to head back down the mountain, we realized we had not taken a good picture of the back of old Stony Man, so we went back. And look what we found…

By 7:15 we were on our way back to Skyland and a well-deserved beer. And dinner. On the way, we saw a big doe just munching away by the side of the road.

Back at the lodge, we tried (quite unsuccessfully) to connect to the internet via dial up. What century are we in here? Since that didn’t work, we satisfied ourselves with uploading our photos and blogging on Word. Sorry our post is late! We had dinner at the bar (!) at the lodge. We shared a plate of sweet potato fries (health food) and each had a house salad. Given that it had apples, goat cheese, and candied pecans, we thought that would be dinner. And it would have, if it hadn’t been served on a bread and butter plate. So I ordered some chili and Kim ate the cornbread that came with it. We then had some ice cream (just one scoop, and not one Cold Stone Creamery scoop, but one that the US Government would serve you). Kim had chocolate and I opted for blackberry. Yum. I might mention that the whole time I was blogging or messing with photos, a duo (Shen Fine, as in Shenandoah’s Finest) was playing guitars and singing live music in the bar. To an almost full house. They were pretty good.

Today’s totals:
Mileage 170
Time on road 9 hours
Money spent on food: B, $15, L, $12, D $30 beer, $16
Attractions: $4 (plus NP fee – we used our pass)
Gas: $18
Lodging $61