Message in a Minute Collection

Our children and grandchildren are such a blessing. How lucky we are.
After a glorious week in Charlottesville, VA visiting our son Dan and
Malena and their children, Ali and Corey with our motor home (G-2)
parked in the driveway as an "annex" to their house, we had to say
goodbye and move on to begin our winter 2007 adventure.

The weather has been breaking records in the northeast; high
temperatures, no snow, glorious days and clear nights. We left on a
Tuesday with a change in the air, cold temperatures and a promise of
rain or snow down the road. No matter, the sun was shining as we said
goodbye. We took our leave from Charlottesville with good memories,
smiles on our faces and the promise of a return in the spring.

There were now a few clouds in the sky:
Not being true fans of major highways, we climbed in our "rig" up the
Blue Ridge to drive along the Parkway, one of the most beautiful byways
in the country. Perhaps the barrier in the road going north was a sign
of some sort, but the road heading south was open, the air clear as a
bell and the vistas immediately breathtaking. It is hard not to
constantly say "oh look, oh how beautiful" at every turn, distracting
the driver who is supposed to have "the eyes on the road."

How strange to be the only vehicle on the road, save one or two cars
going north. We selfishly breathed in the beauty and the solitude, a
very different atmosphere from the bustle of our kids' household. The
valleys sparkled in the sunshine.

The sunshine faded away:
Clouds appeared on the horizon and soon the sun played "peek-a-boo
games" with us. We spotted fog and possible storms in the distant
vistas and sought an exit from the Blue Ridge Parkway. The descent
into the Shenandoah Valley led us along highway 60W and through the
picturesque and seemingly old Virginia town of Buena Vista, nestled
under the splendor of the mountains. Pride of ownership apparently
resides in this town. The homes were immaculate, the lawn manicured,
the businesses neat and trim.
We approached route 11S still able to avoide the big highway (81) until
we were offered no other choice. Our lively conversation focused on
our visit with family and then onto the months of travel, discovery and
adventure ahead. How lucky we are to live as vagabonds when we choose
encountering a wealth of different people, sights and sounds.

Go south for snow;
We drove awhile longer and pulled into the Natural Bridge Zoo parking
lot for lunch. It was drizzling and 37degrees F. Lunch was
accompanied by the braying of donkeys, chatter of gibbons and baboons
and calls of macaws joined by other animal sounds filtering through the
zoo fence. Once under way, the rain became suspiciously thick and a
bit white. Indeed, the meadows were covered with snow as we continued
south. How ironic we thought to meet snow in the south after a
snow-free fall up north. Auspiciously we drove passed a road sign
noting an accident at exit 42 warning of the closure of the right lane
some 80 miles away. "Oh," we thought. "It will be cleared by the time
we arrive at that distant exit."

The snow covered the hillsides:
Ordinarily on travel days, we aim to reach a campsite between 4 and 5
Pm, before dark. This was our plan on this day as well. We had called
Baileytown campground in Tennessee, and old favorite and they would
expect our arrival a bit later than usual, we still had 100 miles to
go. Indeed, we made good time, admiring the irony of the southern
snowfall and listening to a CD of poetry by Walt Whitman. Soon, we
reached mile marker 50. Traffic stopped, after a forced merge to the
left as an 18 wheeler deliberately blocked the right lane.

We all waited;
We all waited, crawling every little while to gain just a few feet.
Some anxious folks exited when possible, but the adjacent roads were
clogged as well. We all waited a bit longer, crawling every little
while to gain just a few feet. One hour and 45 minutes passed, eased
by the words of Walt Whitman, cell phone calls and our own
conversation. What kind of accident could cause all of this delay?

And then it was our turn to observe the answer. Two 18 wheelers lay by
the side of the road. The back of the one facing down the road was a
mess. The second truck was on its side turned 180 degrees, the wrong
way on the road. The cab of this truck was ripped and torn as if made
of cloth and formed a black hole spilling burnt debris onto the
pavement. Someone had lost his life that day, I am sure of that. It
gave us all pause as we drove past the wrecks and began to resume our
travel speed only to be slowed down once again as we drove into blowing
snow and wind and more delay.

Luckily the storms were intermittent allowing us to catch our breath
and continue slowly to our chosen campground. The campground hostess
welcomed us as we arrived well after dark. The grass was bare and not
covered with snow, the sky was brilliant and clear, shimmering with
starlight and our rig became cozy and comfortable as we set up our camp
site after so many hours driving down the road. We are vagabonds, we
have wanderlust, but we do appreciate the warm and welcome feeling of
"home."

Travel safely ya'all and may your skies be clear and your roads all dry.