Day 11 – Staunton VA to Home via the “Scenic Route”
On Sunday morning (Day 11) we awoke rested from a good night’s sleep. After a great breakfast at the hotel with home-made waffles (Mmmm), we packed the car and headed north. We made a slight detour to check out the historic town of Staunton VA.
Downtown Staunton VA on a quiet Sunday morning.
Another view of downtown Staunton on a quiet Sunday morning.
Imaginative flower display at an overpass in Staunton.
And this flower display was on the other side of that overpass. (Staunton VA)
An hour north of Staunton, we turned west on Rt 33. This was part of the route we took to drive to my grandparents’ old farm when we were stationed at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton Roads VA.
Our last big town in Virginia is Harrisonburg. Home of James Madison University, it is a vibrant town. We stopped downtown to look around a little bit before crossing into West Virginia. Lots of familiar sights, but also lots of new ones, too.
Downtown Harrisonburg VA – quiet Sunday morning.
Downtown Harrisonburg VA – lots of restaurants and things to do.
Downtown Harrisonburg VA – youthful atmosphere.
Courthouse Square in the middle of downtown Harrisonburg VA. Rt 33 goes east-west through here, so this is like a huge traffic circle with the courthouse in the middle. It’s been that way forever.
Wetsel Seed Company was a large business in downtown Harrisonburg until about 10-20 years ago. My grandparents in West Virginia would order seeds from here. Now it is an office building. Nice to see it being used and maintained.
From Harrisonburg, we headed west on Rt 33 through Amish/Mennonite country. We saw dozens of families heading to church in their horse & buggy rigs. The Shenandoah Valley is rich farmland, and these early settlers knew that.
Crossing into West Virginia, we crossed the Shenandoah Mountain. Thick fog this morning, but it soon cleared.
After passing through Germany Valley, we saw this old barn surrounded by yellow mustard plants. Lots of scenery in West Virginia, too!
Another view of the old barn with yellow mustard plants.
Our next stop was Blackwater Falls WV. This is a favorite stop of ours. The snack bar there has excellent BBQ sandwiches.
View of Blackwater Falls as we descend the long staircase. We stopped for a 40th Anniversary photo on the way down.
Blackwater Falls is named for the dark tannic acid that comes from hemlock and pine trees upstream.
Lots of steps down means lots of steps UP when it’s time to leave.
In two hours, we were home! It had rained several times while we were gone, so Beth’s flowers looked GREAT! I had grass to mow!
It was fun to take an 11-day trip and see family and friends, but it was also nice to be home. It’s hard to believe it’s been 40 years since Beth and I were married. So much has happened since then. Looking back, neither of us would change anything!
