Appalachian Laura

Virginia is named for Queen Elizabeth 1, who never married and so was known as the Virgin Queen. I felt like a virgin this morning as I walked into the Huddle House for breakfast. It was my first time!!! As I huddled over the maps trying to figure out a plan for the day, the coffee kept coming. Laura arrived about 7:30, and we huddled some more and decided on a plan. Soon we were riding out of Appomattox toward the National Park where Lee surrendered to Grant. On the way is a small confederate cemetery where one guy is buried after surviving the entire war only to be killed in the last 24 hours. Arriving there after only about 3 miles, we paid the $4 admission charge and walked toward the courthouse. We did the tourist thing and meandered around all the buildings in the original village of Appomattox. It is interesting to see how Grant chased Lee all over before the surrender. They have the room where the meeting took place as it was in 1865, so you feel like you were there. The rangers answer every question with a canned response. After noticing this, I wanted to touch their belly button and see if they would respond like a Tickle Me Elmo doll. Tired of the jaded rangers, we left there about 12:30.

Hungry again, we looked in every little town for any place to chow. These villages don't have diners, so we ended up at a convenience store, eating day old cheesesteak and pretzels. After lunch as we rode through this area, I was reminded of Thomas Jefferson, since we are in his neighborhood. Monticello is only about 25 miles away. When he became president in 1801, there were 5 million people in the U.S., and 20% of them were slaves. T.J. himself had 200 slaves, one of which is rumored to have lost her virginity to Tom. He played the violin, invented the dumbwaiter, and suggested a decimal money system. There are only 2 presidents that signed the declaration of independence. Thomas is one, who is the other? Every day for 60 years, he took a cold foot bath. Why? He was the first president to shake hands instead of bow, and the first to have a grandchild in office. One of my favorite stories is about Jefferson receiving a 1235 lb. hunk of cheese, giving us the term "big cheese".

Fifty three miles later my ruminations ended as we pulled into Fork Union, Va. Named this because the forks of some rivers fork here, there is one motel in town, with a surly clerk behind the desk. We are averaging higher speeds lately, because the terrain is almost flat. Recovery is slow, but we are looking a little better. Laura looked a little rough for a few days in Appalachia, as you can tell from the picture I posted of her by some hillbilly's mailbox. She wouldn't let me show anyone until she was sure she'd get back to normal. The bandana she's wearing is stylish in that region. As you've all noticed, I also began wearing one as a fashion statement. Tomorrow we plan to get to Ashland, which is just north of Richmond. There is not even one place to get food in the morning here, so we'll have to leave sans nutrition. It's hard to find food here, but easy to find 40's of beer for lunch. Thanks to all who bother to read the blog, it really does make us feel a little less homesick. I love all the comments. We are inspired by Michael Phelps, but will someone tell me where he got those ears? Without a swim cap, there's no way he could go through the water that fast.