Day 204 – Clifton
It was odd waking up to the sound of children Sunday morning after spending the night at Tracey’s brother TJ’s house. The boys were in a playful mood as we drank our coffee and said our goodbyes. We made the drive into the heart of Washington D.C. to visit Michael’s coworker Rachel and her family at her house. After two years working with his current employer, this was the first time meeting a coworker in person. We ate an excellent breakfast casserole and enjoyed showing off our van to her three-year old son. Afterwards, we headed back to Tracey’s parents house for dinner and a fun game of Train Dominoes.
Day 205 – Clifton to Harpers Ferry
On Monday, it was time to leave, so we packed up the van and said our goodbyes to Tracey’s parents, then we headed west. After stopping for lunch and groceries, we made it to our destination, near the entrance to Harper’s Ferry National Historic Park.
Day 206 – Harpers Ferry
Tuesday started with a little work, then a hike to the Lower Town area of Harpers Ferry. We tried to get a relatively early start to beat the coming rain, but unfortunately we still waited too long. The rain got steadily harder as we walked around town, so we cut short our visit and took the shuttle back to the visitor’s center to get closer to the campground. The rest of the afternoon was pretty wet, so we stayed in the van and worked for the remainder of the day.
Day 207 – Harpers Ferry to Harrisonburg
After a morning of work from the campground, the rain let up and we got back on the road. Our first stop was in Front Royal for groceries, then we went through the north entrance to Shenandoah National Park and onto Skyline Drive, which winds through the entire park. We stopped at several overlooks when we caught a break in the fog, and were surprised to see the trees were completely frozen near the top of several peaks along the way. After the long drive, we got to our campground outside Harrisonburg and setup camp.
Day 208 – Harrisonburg
Thursday was another grey, chilly day so it was mostly filled with working from the van. We planned on taking a hike into the adjacent National Forest, but we saw a sign warning that it was hunting season and you needed to wear bright orange clothing, so we opted out.
Day 209- Harrisonburg to Charlottesville
Friday started with a morning of work, then we made the drive to Charlottesville. We did a quick drive through the University of Virginia (Tracey’s alma mater) but since we had the next day to explore, we continued on to our campground about 10 miles south of town to finish the work day and relax.
Day 210 – Charlottesville
We started with a slow morning of drinking coffee and waiting for the weather to warm up a bit (the low was 23 degrees, our coldest night on the entire trip). Once it did, we drove into Charlottesville to visit the UVA campus. We visited the Rotunda and explored the surrounding area for a while, then headed to The Corner, a group of restaurants and shops just off campus. Next, we hiked around the neighborhood for a bit longer, then got back in the van to head to the downtown area. By that time we started getting hungry, so we found a place to eat downtown, then headed back into the cold to visit a few shops along the downtown pedestrian area. Eventually we headed back to the campground, stopping at Wegman’s for some free samples and groceries along the way.
