Time Travel

Several times tonight we've expressed amazement that yesterday we were in DC. Jot down your guess as to how many states we were in today. Late in the morning we rose out of Richmond and gazed in silence at this historic spot. Where the river ran we imagined legions of grim civil war encampments. None of the dozen or so people we spoke with during our overnight stay made any mention of that time, and we didn't bring it up. Instead we asked people what they most like about living there, and received vague answers about work and family.

We headed into West Virginia, and were surprised by two things. First how smoky the Smoky Mountains are, along with the Allegheny, Blue Ridge, Appalachians and Shenandoah ranges we crossed. They're scenic, but the photos make the haze even worse so we're relying on our mental images rather than our hazy pix. Another thing that stood out in WV is how many mountains no longer do. That is, vast areas are chopped flat where entire mountains have been blasted flat to extract coal more cheaply than by mining. The rivers and lakes look polluted, and we imagined what's no longer there reflected in stagnant black pools.

Surrounding states like Kentucky didn't seem to have much mountain mauling going on, and the colors in KY were bright as you can see looking back at Pikeville where we turned south.

We got fuel, junk food and sweet hospitality from the kind people of beautiful little Elizabethton, TN.

After crossing the mountains we stopped briefly in Asheville, NC where we'd visited a friend several years ago, and we enjoyed seeing it this time from the air.

We reached Greenville, SC just at dusk. Last night in Richmond we rummaged the web for a nice place for tonight, and I was struck by the tales of this place. Waterfalls in the restored downtown, and an airport in the city. Lots of art, theater, music and the sorts of things we enoy in Santa Barbara. After checking into the hotel we walked Main Street looking at menus and wound up at an affordable gourmet place overlooking the waterfalls. Walking back we took a detour down along the falls and up across the majestic curving pedestrian footbridge. Here's a long exposure of the view back across to our restaurant.

Now it looks like weather might conspire to give us another night here, so we might go back to the airport and fetch our bike for some daytime exploration. Anne's eyes filled with tears tonight as she realized the end of this Big Adventure is approaching. So many places still to look at and to briefly sample, but not much more than a week remaining.

Oh, states we've landed in today: VA, WV, KY, TN, NC, SC = 6 + Confusion. The state of Confusion is enhanced when we think about also being in DC, DE, MD for a total of 9 within 27 hours. You might recall my mention of "prop advance," where flying for an hour makes everything you did before that seem like it happened yesterday. I doubt you can really imagine that taken to an order of magnitude, but lest you feel concerned I can assure you it's FUN! We're experiencing a sort of time travel, both back and forward. Walking "home" we talked about our early childhoods and our approaching old age, all stimulated by this amazing trip. It's as if all we have ever been or could be opens beneath us in an arc over this enchanted orb we linger upon.