A Tullyroan Travelogue

After a wet night, we awoke to sun peeking through the grey clouds and a beautiful view of the Western Virginia mountains. Having sampled the warm weather over the last few days, we were keen to descend again from altitude and its chillier climes so we departed our penultimate state in the morning and arrived in Lexington, Virginia via the steep inclines and descents of I-64.

I emerged mid-morning from ‘up back’ (see glossary) to find that the boys had granted me a opportunity to peruse the local antiques at the ‘Antique Mall’. It may have had something to do with its proximity to the Tractor Supply Company…

…or Applebys, our lunch destination. Either way,my suitcase and I were unprepared for the vast warehouse of vintage-wares and antiques on offer. Row upon row of dealer booths with shelves stacked high with storage tins, etched and coloured glassware, vintage pyrex, patchwork quilts, antique furniture, all at reasonable prices. I mused at the fact that the vintage revival in America must have quite a momentum given the strong sense of identity in America during that period, leaving a wealth of artefacts and wares from that era. I came away with a cake storage tin for a mere $6.

 

 

After an enormous lunch, we waited for many hours until Ryan eventually emerged from the Tractor shop with various trinkets to continue his careful nurturing of the rig, although we are only one day from ‘home’. I suspect the separation could be an emotional one.

We had toyed with the idea of finishing the journey via “the Skyline Drive” in Virginia, a 105-mile route along the ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. The possibility of a encountering a very low tunnel en route gave cause for conern, in particular being so close to destination without scratch or tarnish on the rig thus far. We opted instead for a scenic campground outside Charlottesville, ahead of our final stretch up the US-29 to O’Bannon Road tomorrow.

We celebrated our arrival in Virginia state in the customary fashion of the trip – drinks, snacks, a good meal and a camp fire. Perhaps a little heady with the sense of accomplishment, we stoked up the fire with a huge tree trunk scavenged from the wood which unfortunately fell out of the fire pit later during the night. Luckily Ryan’s 6th sense activated itself and he was out in the legendary PJ outfit staving off a forest fire at 3am.

It seems we are on schedule for our initial prediction of arrival at Chetwood at 5pm Friday eve, and look forward to catching up with family and sharing tales from the road.