We start this journey by dropping the kids off then hitting the road. We’ve taken a Friday to drive, which is ok as we do plenty of work. D will do some work in the car while I will do most of the driving. We crank out a few hours before stopping in Harrisburg at a coffee shop, Elementary Coffee, which is pretty good and in the shadow of the Capitol building. I do not take a picture of it.
We stay here for a little bit before hitting the road again.
I listen to a Three Mile Island documentary of some sort, the contents of which I no longer recall. I know that every time I’m in this area I think about it. I cannot say that I remember TMI, as I was too young. But I find it fascinating still. I did watch the documentary on one of the streaming services and it was ok.
We pass through the small state wedges and once in Virginia we stop at a rest stop to pee. D picks up some literature which would end up at the house for many months after that. I believe I recently found it and put it in the travel bowl. We make our way to Harrisonburg and stop at Grilled Cheese Mania for lunch.
It’s pretty good. I would go again.
The biking destination for the day is Carvin’s Cove, somewhat, but not entirely, picked randomly from the litany of places in the world, In Roanoke, VA. Before we left, D said I should bring her spare derailleur with us. This is called foreshadowing.
Maybe 45 minutes into the ride she ripped her current one off the bike. She was pretty distraught but to me, shit happens. Maybe this saved us being attacked by a bear. I head back to the truck and drive to get her.
The Strava link can be found here.
We stop to get gas and grab a Subway sandwich for dinner. We decide to drive all the way to Asheville tonight, so we do. Last time I came down it was a single drive of 10 hours, which was a lot. Today is a better drive. We’re heading down to see Terren & Cheryl for a few days, my old college friends.
I had come down here last year to see them with Julia, and it was a great reunion. I hadn’t seen them in quite some time, as our friendship had taken a pause for a few years. But we picked right up where we left off last year as well as this year.
We hang out with them for what little time remains in the evening.
Traveling Normandy 