Travels with Sasha Day 3

The Comfort Inn in Martinsburg is left at 8:30 a.m. after first scraping the windows of ice. The sky is still cloudy and the temperature 33 degrees. I am having dilemma about taking Rte. 66 to 17 to I-95 or staying on I-81S to I-77S. Google maps said the latter route was quicker to Charleston, S.C. and could take only eight hours if traffic conditions are good. The question is taking the same route as before or doing something new. And if I do the new, would that area be more mountainous and perhaps icy? 

The Virginia border is crossed at 8:45 and I stop at the VIC. The temperature is 39 degrees. I chat with the guy inside, but he isn’t very helpful. Then again, he couldn’t be. This is my decision to make. Do I play it safe?

However, this trip isn’t a repeat of the one in 2013. Yes, I may revisit my favorite places, but this trip needs its own adventures. I think about those bridges I want to see again… but is it necessary? The exit for Rte. 66E is bypassed as I stay on I-81S.

The landscape is often those rolling hills and open farmland that I find so intriguing. I hold the camera up and take photos hoping they’ll come out. Virginia speed limit is 70 mph. The drive goes on and on. Two hours later, I see interesting fencing, an old farm, and a sign for the Virginia Museum of the Civil War. A break is needed and the next exit taken. 

The road to the museum parallels the highway. There is a huge round building which I find out is a theater. I don’t want to spend a lot of time here, so I only purchase a grounds pass and back outside, I take photos of the scenery. Then I drive to the old farm which has been preserved. The fields are rolling with an apple orchard, barns, and views to the mountains. I read about the family that lived here and between the self-guided tour of the house and outbuildings, and driving further along where there were graves (there were graves all over this property), tears fill my eyes. 

Imagine building a home, raising a family; then have some war come over the top of you. Many, young confederate men were killed here. One of the story boards had the last words of some of these men. How sad. Killing is so horrible. I look over this beautiful piece of land and find it hard to imagine the horror that went on here during battle. (I will do more story when I write the book.) 

Back on the highway, the driving goes on and on. I try to get a few pictures, but after awhile, I’m just so tired. A stop is made at a rest stop, but I don’t get out. I push to make I-77S and North Carolina. It isn’t easy. There are moments of beauty. Oh, I so want pictures of the farmlands. There are moments when I wonder if I’ll have to stop for a nap or call it an early night. 

At the VIC in North Carolina, I am told of a Comfort Inn in Jonesville and I’m checking in by 2:05 p.m. The lobby here is gorgeous. The room is just OK, not as nice as last night, but I have internet access and that’s important.