We are enshrouded in rain and fog when we wake up. I suggest hitting the road instead of eating at the lodge - I live on a mountain in Sneem when I am there - I have seen mountain fog plenty of times - I know what the view will be from the lodge - none. So we pack up and head out about 9 am. As we hit the road, we get our last look at Hinton until the next visit.
We pass John Henry Historical Park in Talcott, West Virginia. John Henry was a freed Black who came to Talcott to work on opening a tunnel through Big Bend Mountain for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. He was full of muscles and worked hard. Legend has it that he beat a steam drill in a contest to show that he could drive more steel than the machine. A Historical Park now stands on the site of that battle.
We pass through Alderson, West Virginia where Martha Stewart spent time in the prison for insider trading. Her presence in the prison with all the media attention apparently helped local businesses.
We come down a steep hill and round a bend only to come upon a flock of buzzards!! I never expected that! Some of them fly off as we drive by. We pass sheep along with cattle on a farm on top of another mountain. I have noticed during this trip that there are many small family cemeteries on farm lands - some fenced in and some not.
Johnny cranks up the music and what is on the radio? John Denver singing "Country Roads!" It feels like a sweet goodbye as we leave West Virginia.
We eventually find a Waffle House in Lexington, Virginia - my son Danno raves about this chain - so Johnny and Vickie agree to stop. Not too many people inside - one gal is washing the floor.
I order a waffle and scrambled eggs, Vickie has a biscuit and gravy, and Johnny has a full breakfast with country - not city - ham. I didn't know there are two kinds of ham. Country is a thicker cut I guess - it was quite tasty.
With full stomachs, we hit the road again. Passing more farms, more Trump signs, more Angus cattle and more hay bales. There is fog on the mountains early on, and then it is cloudy and drizzly with occasional heavy rain.
Again there are so many tractor trailers passing each other at what seems like break neck speed - I'm glad Johnny is driving. We pass many farms, and all the cows are laying down in the fields - must be the damp weather.
Sometime along the drive, J&V ask what I think about driving straight home since we had an early start this morning, and we are making good time - we had planned to spend the night about halfway. I am along for the ride so I say whatever they want to do is fine with me - I offer to drive if Johnny gets tired. So we continue along until we start getting hungry sometime about 6 - it was still daylight. We see a sign for the Reddington Diner on the highway. We decide to try it. Today is Vickie's birthday so I am hoping that it is a nice place. We head inside - there only are people at one other table - otherwise the place is deserted. Johnny orders steak, and Vickie and I order crab stuffed flounder - our fish is delicious - the mash potatoes are perfect - and there is plenty of food! I am so happy that Vickie has a nice dinner on her birthday - I had offered to pay for supper and didn't want it to be fast food.
Back on the road again. We hit 95 North about 8:11pm. We make good time until we go over the George Washington Bridge then things slow down for a while. We pick up speed again until we pull over to get gas. Johnny is pumping gas, and a guy comes over asking him for money - he says his car broke down, and he doesn't have enough to fix it - he is holding his wallet open. Johnny tells him that he can't help him and gets back in the car. He was going to make a pit stop but was afraid to leave Vickie and me alone in the car - he didn't know who else was with that guy. So he drives to the next rest area and gets out in peace.
We make it to Bourne about 12:30 am - their son Jason and their dog King greet Vickie while Johnny drives me home - I feel badly that he has to make this extra trip after driving for over 12 hours - it is 15 minutes each way to my house - but he says everyone will be calm and maybe in bed when he gets home - he will read a while before going to bed. And he did - Vickie tells me later that Johnny took a shower and read for an hour before going to bed.
This was such an interesting trip - getting to know about Vickie's family - searching out places they lived and were buried. Learning about life when coal was king, and coal companies took advantage of the mountaineers. I can't wait to come back!!
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