This is a retrospective blog of my seven-week exploration of Virginia along with a journey through the Shenandoah National Park and on down the Blue Ridge Parkway to Cherokee, North Carolina. 'Retrospective' means simply that it wasn't written during the trip, but is being written in hindsight a little over a year later. Baaswell Sheep accompanied me and is writing the blog in the way he's done my later blogs, since he's so good with the color commentary. Unfortunately, since I didn't plan for this blog back them, my pictures are limited to the major attractions, but I'll try to make those galleries a little bigger than I do in my later blogs.
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This was one of our slow days, of which we have a decent number planned given that my companion has to work remotely on weekdays. We're also spending seven weeks away from home, so we have to have some downtime now and then. Thankfully, our only driving today was just within the Damascus city limits, and the town is not all that big. We enjoyed our room in the morning and had lunch there, then drove over to the library and my companion worked from there until about 5 PM while I read up on modern farming techniques.
Appalachian Trail, Damascus, VA
Once the workday was over, my companion got on his hiking gear and hit the Appalachian Trail, which runs right through town and passes not far from the library. He hiked southbound for about three-and-a-half miles, crossing over into Tennessee for about a quarter of a mile before turning around and coming back. He said it was a harder hike than he expected, as there was a lot of uphill heading towards Tennessee. He was rewarded with getting to see a little rock arrangement other hikers had made to mark the state line, spelling out TN and VA on the appropriate sides of the line.
Subway, Damascus, VA
As my companion didn't want anything fancy after the long hike, we just went back to the Subway and got a Philly cheesesteak sandwich (with cookies, of course!)
Laurel Creek, Damascus, VA
On our side of town, there's a park area along side the Laurel Creek, which runs through town. We went over there after dinner and hung out until dusk, watching an amazing array of waterfowl on and beside the river. We went back each of the next two days as well, as this area made for a great way to end the day.
Please note that all restaurant and product names are used simply for referential purposes and links provided as a courtesy. Reviews are the sole opinions of the reviewer: no restaurant has paid to be listed here, and no restaurant is being explicitly endorsed. In other words, go out there, try them all, and form your own opinions!
This was one of our slow days, of which we have a decent number planned given that my companion has to work remotely on weekdays. We're also spending seven weeks away from home, so we have to have some downtime now and then. Thankfully, our only driving today was just within the Damascus city limits, and the town is not all that big. We enjoyed our room in the morning and had lunch there, then drove over to the library and my companion worked from there until about 5 PM while I read up on modern farming techniques.
