Thursday, April 16
We were up at 7:30 and had all of our gear stored – sleeping bags, pillows, kitchenware, etc. within 45 minutes. We had to be at the ferry dock (1 minute away!) at 9:15 (an hour early) and we were done with our departure preparations at least a half hour early. So, we had plenty of time to hang out and enjoy the morning.
Unlike our crossing on Tuesday, the ferry was running exactly on time this morning and arrived at the Great Island dock at 10:00. All 6 vehicles were loaded quickly, and we were well underway by 10:15. Once we got to Davis, we had to wait in line to air up our tires – they had to be deflated for driving in the sand on the island.
One final observation regarding Cape Lookout – we were really glad that we didn’t try to camp as the wind was super strong. The sand got into everything, including the truck and we saw more than one tent that was nearly toppled by the wind.
We shared a bagel for breakfast before hitting the road north to Kitty Hawk. The drive was long, but over secondary roads (not interstates), so at least we got to see some of North Carolina in the process.
Our route north took us by Cherry Point, a Marine Corps Air Station that Markus (and our good friend, David Bolls) trained at. I couldn’t resist taking a picture, although I’m sure it looks quite different than it did in 1976 when Markus and David were there!
The drive took quite a bit longer than we anticipated – more than 6 hours, including the 30 minutes on the ferry – and we didn’t stop that frequently. We have a one-bedroom villa on the second floor (with no elevator, of course!). The kitchen seems a bit small but has a full size refrigerator, stove and microwave as well as laundry!
Accommodation: Hilton Vacation Club Beachwoods (2 Nights)
Travel Distance / Time: 208 Miles : 6.5 Hours (Including the Ferry)
Friday, April 17
We were super lazy this morning. After a nice breakfast of eggs, potatoes and a bagel, we finally got out of the condo around noon. Even though we had visited the Wright Brothers Memorial 2 1/2 years ago, we decided to return. It really is a fascinating museum – even the second time around!
To think that 123 years ago, the two brothers traveled from Dayton, Ohio to the Outer Banks, North Carolina and lived at Kitty Hawk throughout a cold December just to try to perfect flight. How far we have come since that first flight of 120 feet over the course of 12 seconds!
We left the Memorial and drove north to Duck, where we stopped for ice cream, then continued on to Corolla and the Currituck Light House.
We were back at the condo around 5:00, and got laundry started while we enjoyed happy hour with eggrolls and wine. After getting our stuff organized for tomorrow’s departure, we had a simple dinner of chicken and pasta.
Saturday, April 18
Today was a travel day. We left the condo at 10:30 and meandered our way through North Carolina (avoiding Norfolk, which took a little longer, but was worth it to avoid the city). Our route took us around Suffolk, west to Petersburg, north to Richmond, and then west again on I-64 to Gordonsville and Shenandoah Crossing Resort.
Our unit is a very nice 2-bedroom cabin with a full kitchen and a gas grill on the front patio – we may have to get steak to grill tomorrow night!
We were really hungry when we arrived at 3:30 (breakfast was scrambled eggs and a shared bagel, then we had only a mini Kind bar on the road). We got the truck unloaded and shortly thereafter, we went to the Resort’s General Store in search of sustenance – we still have leftover chicken as plan b! Our thought was to get a frozen pizza, but all that was available was Hot Pockets and Pizza Rolls; however, there was a deli that offered made-to-order sandwiches and pizza. We opted for the meat lover, and returned to our cabin with a steaming hot pizza at 5:00; a little early compared to our typical dinner time, but we dug in anyway! It was pretty good, and we have leftovers.
Accommodation: Shenandoah Crossing Resort (2 Nights)
Travel Distance / Time: 237 Miles : 5.0 Hours (Including Stops)
Sunday, April 19
This morning we woke up to a gloomy and rainy day with a temperature that had dropped more than 35 degrees from yesterday afternoon. We decided to wait out the rain, which was supposed to stop around noon; we enjoyed our coffee followed by a late breakfast while waiting. We left for Monticello at 11:45 and arrived at 12:30, by which time the sun was starting to shine and the temperature had increased to the upper 50’s.
We bought our tickets (gardens only), boarded the shuttle for the 1/2 mile ride up the hill to the estate and surrounding grounds. It’s interesting to note that in Jefferson’s time, the plantation consisted of 5,000 acres, while the current acreage is just over 500. Although we expected Monticello to be akin to modern day presidential libraries and museums, the emphasis of the exhibits and history wasn’t at all on Jefferson’s legacy as governor, statesman, minister to France (ambassador in today’s parlance), vice president, president, and author of the Declaration of Independence – there was very little said about any of this. Instead, the exhibits portrayed Jefferson as an innovator of self-sustainability of the plantation and owner of 607 enslaved people (perhaps more) that helped to provide for the estate and its inhabitants. There was a detailed history of the slaves’ positions and living quarters / conditions. That said, it was interesting to learn about the cooks – Jefferson took James Hemings (enslaved) to Paris during the time he served as Minister to France. Hemings trained as a French “Chef” and then returned to Virginia, where he served as the cook for Monticello and also trained his brother, Peter, as his successor before he was freed in 1796. The other fascinating history was that of Sally Hemings, with whom Jefferson had 4 children – all were enslaved (following the station of their mother), but all were also freed (at 21 years of age) by Jefferson in accordance with his agreement with their mother.
We spent more than 2.5 hours at Monticello, and walked 3+ miles exploring the grounds and exhibits. When we got back to the truck, we collapsed into our seats and set out for the return to the resort. We decided to take a small detour to Gordonsville to get a shrimp appetizer from the Food Lion. We got back to the resort around 4:30 and settled in for the evening.
Travel Distance / Time: 56 Miles : 1.5 Hours
Monday, April 20
We took a few final pictures and left the resort just after 10:00. We don’t think we specified that Shenandoah Crossing is an equestrian resort, so there are quite a number of horses on the property. The surrounding countryside is gorgeous!
We headed west on I-64 to Shenandoah National Park. We entered at the southern end of the park through the Rockfish Gap Gate – drove ~80 miles north to Thornton Gap Gate, where we exited on to US-211 west. It was a lovely and sunny day to drive along Skyline Drive; the scenery was beautiful – especially the dogwoods in bloom. But, it was cold, dropping to 37* when we were at the highest point of 3,150 feet.
Even though we didn’t have far to go today, traversing the park takes longer as the speed limit is 35 mph max. We had plenty of time since check-in at the cabin was 4:00. The getaway cabin is exactly the same as the one we stayed at in the Catskills (although it is now owned by Marriott). It’s certainly cozy!
Accommodation: Postcard Cabins North Shenandoah
Travel Distance / Time: 181 Miles : 5.0 Hours
Tuesday, April 21
Checkout was 11:00 this morning, which felt like an absolute luxury! We slept late, had coffee and oatmeal for breakfast and loaded our bags in the truck. We relied on Apple Maps to guide us to Somerset – oh, the route that Siri took us! We have never made so many twists and turns and traveled so many miles on narrow roads; it was certainly “by-ways” versus “high-ways.”
We stopped in Cumberland, Maryland at the Chick fil A for a grilled chicken sandwich, and continued to head west to Somerset, where we shopped at Giant Eagle. We got to the townhouse around 4:00, unloaded the truck, and settled in for the evening. Dinner was beef tacos, made with shaved beef steak. They were delicious! The meat was so tender, it was like butter. We hadn’t seen this type of beef before – at least not pre-packaged. We would definitely recommend it!
Accommodation: Hidden Valley Townhome
Travel Distance / Time: 135 Miles : 5.0 Hours (Including Stops)
Wednesday, April 22
We had a lazy day today and did nothing except listen to baseball – actually, now that I think about it, I did start to grade actuarial exams today, so I guess I did something! It was raining in the morning, so not particularly inspiring to get outside, although we did manage a walk around the complex in the afternoon once the sun came out. We had scrambled egg tacos for breakfast and repeated our shaved steak tacos for dinner. Alas, that is the end of the beef and the taco shells, so we have to come up with a new plan for tomorrow night.
Since we don’t have much to write about today, we thought we would talk about why we are staying in Somerset, since it seems an out-of-the-way destination in the spring. It is fairly close to Fallingwater, as well as Frank Lloyd Wright’s other properties – Polymath Park and Kentuck Knob – this is why we chose it. That said, our original thought was to spend a couple of nights here and a couple of nights in Pittsburgh. But, for those that don’t know, the NFL Draft starts in Pittsburgh on Thursday, April 23, and hotel prices were off the charts – $900 a night for the Hampton Inn! Needless to say, we decided to extend our stay in Somerset and we will visit the Steel City on our next trip.