Corridors of commerce

Charlottesville, VA – We have escaped the snow. For the last few hours of today’s trip, no matter how carefully I scanned the roadside, even deep amidst dense bush, I saw not a single trace of white. Not only that, but when we stepped out of our RV for a breath of fresh air this afternoon, we had no need of extra layers, scarves, gloves or anything! We even saw some people outside the hotel this evening in shorts and T shirts! Though I might not have gone that far with a high of 17 degrees (or 64 as they measure it here).

There was white stuff this morning when we got on our way; some vehicles in the parking lot had frost on their windshields, but ours didn’t. We took to the Interstate 81 again, southbound. It wasn’t terribly busy to begin with, but before long we found ourselves surrounded by 18-wheelers, with just as many – or more – heading in the opposite direction. On a dry day like today was, it didn’t present too many challenges. We’ve been on rainy highways when the passing of one such vehicle would shroud us in a deluge of muddy water, half-blinding us momentarily! What it did demonstrate in no uncertain terms is the huge movement of goods that takes place every day across the country.

Factories with smokestacks belching plumes of smoke into the sky flitted past our windows, as well as large business complexes with crowded parking lots, and towns and cities of various sizes. The odd work crew was tinkering away on the highway but with little impact on the constant presence of cracked pavement, dips and potholes, some of alarming proportions. Fortunately, though, as we continued further south, the condition of the roads improved quite a bit, so Val didn’t have to scrutinize every metre of surface as we sped along.

We hit four states today, passing out of Penn-sylvania into Maryland, crossing a very brief section of West Virginia and entering Virginia for the final leg of our trip to date. We stopped at the Virginia welcome centre to pick up some literature, as we hope to spend more time here on the way home. There was a nice photo backdrop of the word LOVE in huge stand-up letters that beckoned to us. It took some doing to capture us, part of the big word and the “Virginia is for Lovers” slogan in one selfie shot, but I did it finally!

In late afternoon we left the humming 81 interstate and turned eastward on Interstate 64 toward Charlottesville. It was a much more peaceful drive, with hardly any transport trucks and quite a bit of attractive natural scenery, including rolling blue mountains and farm fields dotted with cows (or, as Val calls them, bovine flatulators) and sheep – and even some hillsides that were beginning to turn green!

 

Our hotel was just off the interstate, so we settled in quickly and had a nice dinner at the hotel restaurant, which meant we didn’t have to go hunting for a place to eat.