Day Thirteen – June 30, 2018 – Chautauqua to Lake Ridge, VA

Day Thirteen – June 30, 2018 – Chautauqua to Lake Ridge, VA

Everyone is up early!  There is lots of packing and scurrying and distributing of left overs.  Myra is the first to leave because her car is all the way at Pete and Kristina’s house, so Nick has to drive her over.  Roddy has gone to get their car while we move all our bags outside, out of everyone else’s way.  Jorge helps Betsy and me carry it all to the parking lot and we’re loaded and away by eight-thirty or so!  We have to turn in our parking pass before ten o’clock so as to avoid the two-hundred dollar fine!

We are off and running!  Mostly we’re going to take state roads instead of interstates because the drive is so much prettier that way.  An hour or two down the road we find a Bob Evans for breakfast and they are debuting a new omelet – a veggie with goat cheese!  I get mine with fresh fruit and lemon bread and it is really, really flavorful.  The waitress takes wonderful care of us, bringing Roddy another cup of hot chocolate before he even has a chance to ask!  And we can have mocha with carmel to go!

Okay, so it's just a glass of water.  I'll shoot anything if I sit around long enough!

Scrumptious blueberry crepe!

Mostly there is just a lot of driving through farmland and small towns with stops for gas and bathroom breaks and map reading.  We see not one, but two, Amish horse and carriages!  The orange day lilies that are so colorful in the yards in Chautauqua seem to grow wild along the sides of the road!! The corn is growing nicely and Betsy says, “knee high by the Fourth of July” which must be a farm saying from her childhood.  All the towns are decked out for the Fourth of July.

I'm just going to the bank, dear!

The Flying J is an interesting truck stop!

The gas pumps have three different kinds of card readers - I think!

and a fish pond!

and seven different fruit flavors of moscato!

and this!  And downstairs there's a TV room and a chapel and a laundry room.

There must be a county courthouse near by!

just growing wild!

Anyone know what this is??

We’ve been driving through the Allegheny Forest, and when we cross the Allegheny River we are getting close to Kathy’s house.  We arrive around six thirty and are happy to get out of the car for several days!!  Kathy is there to greet us and I feel like family immediately!  We take everything in from the car and most of our things go right down stairs into our palatial rooms!!  After living in a dorm-like atmosphere for a week, it is quite a treat to have a huge bed – and a door! – all to myself!  There is even enough room for yoga in the morning without an audience!

Back upstairs we have a selections of wines from which to choose and Roddy opens a delightful shiraz called The Boxer from Mollydooker Winery.  Something to look for at home!  It’s described as “alluring and unashamedly bold” and comes from south Australia.  We’re having leftover tacos for dinner and I help cut up the toppings and slice the meat.  They are exactly what we needed and there will be enough left for breakfast tomorrow for some of us!

It’s an early night – that great big bed is calling my name!  After a shower that is ensuite, and not two floors down, and a shampoo that feels divine, I think I’ll blog while my hair dries.  I’m wrong.  Ginger checks in and that’s about all I remember! (Don’t even ask about how many steps today!!)