We left Chattanooga around 1 p.m. and pulled into Beckley, West Virginia at 11 p.m., 450 miles away. But we had some good pitstops along the way.
Exit 407 on I-40 - Aside from all the tourists and straight-up rednecks (I know, it is my stomping grounds), we enjoyed a quick bite to eat at Old McDonalds.
As we toured up I-81, we decided to take our first detour and travel about 100 miles out of the way to Blacksburg and Virginia Tech.
The Arby's on Exit 69 in Virginia has clean bathrooms.
As we arrived on the campus, the sun was setting. We walked across the field to a new memorial dedicated to all those that lost their lives in April on the VT campus. There were 32 Hokie stones in a semi-circle with memorablia and flowers adorning each one. It was quite a moving and sobering experience.
Nearby, students were playing soccer, football and enjoying their lives. How could something so horrible have happened on that campus - or anywhere?
We finished the Blacksburg evening at Backstreets, a great little pizza place. Lucy ate parmesan cheese off the table, Rigby scarfed down pizzinis and pizza slices and Erik and Stacy finished off a NY style pie.
Since we had gone out of our way, we took old highway 460 through the mountains in total darkness to Bluefield, WV, then the I-77 toll road and into Beckley, WV, where we are staying in a Courtyard Marriott with speedy wi-fi access. We did stop on the side of the toll road so Rigby could pee-pee on the rocks.
On to sleep and Day 2!
1 comment:
that is awesome - so glad you went by Blacksburg - incredible!!!
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