Go north young man... And woman.
We move our camp from Roanoke further north on I81 and into Shenandoah National Park. Well, just west of the national park in a small town called Mount Jackson. We are still in Virginia.
We start our drive north on I81 and encountered a couple of interesting vehicles along the way.
First, this is presumably vacation, USA style... 3 vehicles in 1 so to say...
We liked this honey bee or hunnny b. Note the colour scheme and the yellow honey bee against the black on the side. Very cute.
At Waynesboro, we exit I81, drive through the town, up into the hills and find this sign...
The Blue Ridge Parkway turns into Skyline Drive, effectively a continuation north. This is also now Shenandoah National Park and driving into it, you have to pass the gate and pay an entry fee of $15 per vehicle. Oh well...
But wait... The Park Ranger advises us that it is National Park Week and therefore entry to the park is free. So, for no fee, we are provided with all different kinds of maps and information finished with a "have a nice day".
Skyline Drive is pretty similar to Blue Ridge Parkway except that there a far fewer entry and exit points (and the trees up here are not as spring green as further south).
We drive for a while and stop at Big Meadows where there is a cafe and visitors centre. After having the lunch of sandwiches that we brought with us, supplemented with a cup of tea from their cafe, we wander into the Visitor Centre and arm ourselves with hiking maps and more information. The young female Park Ranger that we spoke to had all the right credentials including advising us that she had been on one of the walks that we considered only a week and a half ago.
Here is Di outside the Shenandoah National Park Visitor Centre, with a statue of one of CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) boys who constructed the Skyline Road in the depression times of the 1930s.
We drive off the Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park at the Thornton Gap and continue back west towards the I81. Unfortunately, we realise that Mount Jackson, where we had booked the next 3 nights accommodation is a bit too far for driving in and out of the park, so we cancel the 2nd and 3rd nights there and rebook those nights in Luray instead. Luray is the first town you encounter when you drive west down the hill.
After check in at the Super 8 in Mount Jackson, we have a break... And read online that Manchester United is English Premier League champions in football after their 3-0 win over Aston Villa. Go United!
(We went to Old Trafford back in 2010 to see Manchester United beat Tottenham Hotspurs by 3-1, what an experience).
Dinner at Denny's, which is physically attached to the Super 8 in Mount Jackson. The location is good but this time the food quality is not. We dismiss Denny's from our list.
Not a big day apart from United's champions win and not many photos. Hiking is on the agenda for the next 2 days. Good night.
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