Fall in Virginia!

Stacey and I just returned from our annual trip to see the Fall color.

This year we traveled to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, about 4 hours northwest of Raleigh. It did not disappoint! We typically head to the Blue Ridge Parkway or the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Due to all the sotrm damage from our multiple hurricanes this season, however, we opted to head further north this year.

We drove to Charlottesville Saturday morning, through the rolling farm country of the NC piedmont and southern Virginia foothills north of Durham along US 501. In Lynchburg, we picked up US 29 north to Charlottesville.

We had never been to downtown Chalottesville before, but this time we stayed right across from U VA, in an area called "The Corner" on West Main. We ate at the C&O Restaurant Saturday night, which came recommended to us and I would gladly recommend to anyone. The Charlottesville outdoor mall was also very cool to spend time checking out on a nice Fall evening.

On Sunday, we headed out to Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive, about 30 miles west of town. There were some amazing views along the drive into the valley below, though it was very windy with a temperature of only 48 degrees!

After leaving Skyline drive, we headed west to I-81 and proceeded southwest to Roanoke. Along the way, we stopped at Natural Bridge for a break and some more amazing pics. Then, south to Greensboro it was, followed by a short trip on I-40 east to home.

Total round trip approx. 530 mi.

Debate #1

Wow, Kerry definitely won last night's debate without question! Bush is definitely not a public speaker. It will be interesting to see what happens in the upcoming debates and how pulic opinion is affected in the weeks ahead.

Quote of the night:

"Of course we're after Saddam Hussein"
-George W. Bush