The day dawned dry and sunny as we left Washington. Picked up a rental car and drove to Fredericksburg, scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War.
The traffic was very heavy and much less well-disciplined than when we were driving in New England.
Interesting walk around the old town, following the course of the battle in 1862.
Diorama constructed by reference to a drawing made the day after the Battle of Fredericksburg.
Despite the devastation wreaked on the town, there are still many attractive buildings standing from that time.
We decided to omit Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown from our trip, so we started west, towards the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley. to go west. Overnight in Sleepy Hollow motel, Culpeper - basic but adequate.
American Lingo
There is some debate about who said of the US and Britain that they are ‘two nations divided by a common language’, but it is an apt description. Even ordering food can be a confusing experience: ‘biscuits’ turn out to be scones, hotcakes are huge griddle scones, sausages are meat patties or burgers. (P: this is from someone who was born in the US and whose mother was American!)
Mon 26th Oct
Blue Ridge Mountains
Had brunch in an excellent and friendly local cafe. It's obvious why so many Americans are seriously obese. The portions given in cafes are huge, at low prices by UK standards. A medium choice for brunch included two sausage patties, two fried eggs and 3 thick plate-sized "hotcakes".
Carolyn wanted a haircut, so we tried a hair salon where, strangely, there was no staff member who could cut hair! So to Walmart supermarket where P did grocery shopping & C got a 'family' haircut including trimmed sideburns!
As we drove northwest on quiet roads through gently rolling green fields interspersed with stands of colourful trees, the hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains really did have a markedly blue hue. We read that this is due to a gas emitted by the trees, but it seems to be an unlikely explanation. We headed for Shenandoah National Park, an area of lovely rolling wooded hills (max height about 1500m) with very pretty autumnal colours, lying along one of the Blue Ridge (part of the Appalachian chain), with views to the east towards Washington and to the west down into the flat glacial valley of the Shenandoah river. Due to an overbooking error we were given an upgrade in accommodation - a suite in a late 19th C. wood panelled cabin that had been the summer home of a noted academic.
Very rustic and full of woodworm (borer for the Kiwis) holes! In addition to the standard furniture, the lounge had two rocking chairs(!) placed in front of the large picture window, which gave an extensive and dramatic view out over the Shenandoah valley (mostly farmland). As evening fell, we sat and watched the beautiful changing colours in the sky. The night view over the valley was equally pretty, with the lights of farmhouses and a village spread out below us. A mist rolled up the valley late in the night.
Dinner was in a dining room in a lodge where we shared a table with 2 pleasant sisters from West Virginia then listened to a competent female singer in the bar, covering various old and new rock and C&W songs, before wandering back through the trees to our cabin.
P can't get Laurel and Hardy’s verson of “Trail of the Lonesome Pine” (the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia) and Robeson’s "Shenandoah" out of his head!
Tues 27th Oct
We woke to find the valley completely obscured by fog, but we were in the clear, with light cloud above. We picked up pre-arranged lunch boxes from the Lodge then went off to walk a trail (6.4 miles). through attractive deciduous forest.
It was mostly cloudy, occasionally misty and fairly mild. A few raindrops started to fall as we got back to the car and by evening the rain had really set in, along with strong winds. The evening entertainment (!) was by a troupe of cloggers (female tapdancers in cheerleader outfits) who ended their show holdng the US flag and leading singing of "God Bless the USA” - "I'm glad I live in America because at least I know I'm free" – and they were dead serious! If we had looked carefully, I’m sure we would have seen tears rolling down one or two cheeks.
Wed 28th Oct
The overnight heavy rain had largely cleared by morning but it was still windy. We drove out in bright sunshine, but we soon entered descended into the thick fog in the valley. Through the Washington National Forest, the previous brilliant fall colours gave way to rich chocolate browns, cinnamons and ochres.
In the narrow but flat -bottomed river valley, the farms were mostly agricultural and appeared to be prosperous. We drove down Highway 220 to Warm Springs , known as the Jefferson Pools because Thomas Jefferson soaked in them in his old age. Some accounts also credit him with designing the buildings (separate for men and women). They are certainly old and a bit decrepit, but the water in the pools was very clear, with the familiar smell of the hot pools of our New Zealand childhood .
We arrived too late for mixed "family" bathing so, as the day was moving on, we decided not to take a soak. Later, rounding. a bend in the valley, we encountered the ugly industrial town of Covington, dominated by the huge MeadWestvaco paper/cardboard and packaging factory. The characteristic sickening smell of wood pulp and paper manufacture is one which we know well and forever associate with Tokoroa and Kawerau in NZ. Entering West Virginia, in a more mountainous and poorer area with a mixture of sheep and cattle farming, we began looking for somewhere to stay near New River Gorge, with no sign of accommodation anywhere by the time evening fell.
A woman in the office in a State Park campground, which turned out not to have any accommodation either, said, with no hint of irony,: "You folks have a nice evening", (This not only seemed somewhat inappropriate , given our circumstances at the time, but it turned out to be a poor prediction for the actualité), . Along with “have a nice day” and “you’re welcome”, (which are now, unfortunately, creeping into Britain).it is one of several routine utterances which are presumably programmed into Americans at a young age.. There’s nothing inherently wrong with these expressions, but as they are delivered automatically at specific points of interaction, irrespective of their appropriateness, and often by people who are clearly bored or engrossed in something else altogether, their sincerity is seriously to be doubted.
A few miles after leaving the State Park, we came across a motel, just short of Hico. The illuminated sign promised “DIRE TV” (could it get any worse?), but we decided to give it a try. At the office, a sign read RING BELL. Thinking that there might have been someone in the office, which appeared to be dimly lit, Carolyn opened the flyscreen then tried the door handle. The door opened and a dog immediately appeared out of the gloom and bit her hand. A woman emerged from the back of the office and called the dog off, but was more concerned about pointing out the sign by the door than about Carolyn’s hand, which was punctured and badly bruised. As our immediate priority was to get medical treatment, we left, leaving the owners arguing between themselves about the adequacy of the sign.
We had to drive about 20 miles to the nearest hospital , where we arrived just before 7.30pm, but Carolyn wasn’t seen until after 9.30pm and we didn’t get out until after 12.30am! The care was very thorough, but the waiting between each stage was excruciating – this in the land of privatised medicine, where they criticise “socialised” medical services, like the NHS, for delays, etc. If this sort of wait happened frequently in a NHS hospital now, the Chief Executive would face some very awkward questions. We’re also hoping that we don’t come down with ‘flu – the casualty department was full of influenza cases, mostly children. Anyone with symptoms was required to wear a mask, so we hope that we weren’t exposed to too much virus!
We got to bed at about 1.30am in a hotel near the hospital .
Thurs 29th Oct
A late start for obvious reasons. We decided to report the dog attack formally to the police, necessitating a 30 mile drive to the appropriate County Sheriff's Department, who had already been notified about it by the hospital staff - something to do with reporting so-called “animal encounters” and ensuring that the dog had been vaccinated.
We looked forward to meeting the Sheriff, though frankly, we thought he should have saddled up his horse and ridden over to investigate the matter, as in the movies!! In the end, it was a bit of an anticlimax. Only a Deputy was available to confirm that the vaccination certificates were in order. He seemed rather unconcerned about the attack and ruled out criminal proceedings. As many Americans seem to think that it is acceptable to shoot a trespasser on their property, perhaps we shouldn’t have been surprised that an attack by a dog would be considered as not worthy of concern.
At 924 metres long, the New River Gorge Bridge is claimed to be the longest single-span bridge in either the world, or the “western hemisphere”, depending on what you read. It is an impressive feat of construction, at 267 metres above the gorge floor, but it doesn’t allow a good view of the gorge.
We took the very scenic old road via the gorge floor and the reconstructed old bridge, then followed Route 60 along the Kanawha River. Though quite attractive in parts, it is seriously spoiled by huge coal mining and oil refining plants sited in the valley. After a slow journey around Charleston at peak time, we were happy to reach Kentucky and stop for the night. Carolyn’s hand was already showing some improvement.
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