Our Big Trip

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Another Art Gallery.

Local artists paint the Valley and the mountains.

Visiting Marjorie Norton in Blacksburg, VA

Nat's cousin George and his wife Marjorie live on top of a hill overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains in a big house George designed 13 years ago. It was beautiful...and full of an amazing doll collection that Marjorie has so tastefully displayed in their home. We had a nice visit and then went out to a local spot for dinner. I encourage my other cousins to come here to visit!

George is in Bangladesh and so we missed him. He is an Agricultural Economist. He does International Development-not using pesticides. He has grants from the Gates Foundation and the EPA. Their son, John, lives in Seattle.We might be able to visit with him too.

Many of the dolls she has are from countries George has visited in his work. Others are antiques.

Some dolls, like this Last Supper scene, are from craft fairs.

More of Virginia

Spoke with a Red Sox Fan at a rest stop.

and of course the Dandelion!

Virginia home made- yum

a bit of history

of course Norm always finds Wine barrels.

Virginia - Shenandoah Valley and the Blue Ridge Highlands

The Blue Ridge Mountains are really beautiful It was rainy but it was still wonderful. Really green fields- the enduring American Landscape. The leaves on the trees were that nice light green of spring. We listened to Irish music and the Blues. 70 degrees. Big Semi trucks speed past us. Gas is $2.24. Speed limit is 70. Saw black cows on the hillsides and lots of new calves.

Maryland and West Virginia

First time cooking on our little stove. Fun. Norm hooked camper up without difficulty even though Dan wasn't here. Driving to Virginia...Rain. Norm says that's OK. It will wash off the bugs!
Seeing more green, more woods. Still farms; lots of Civil War Battlefields on signs. Going into Shenandoah Valley. At rest stop noticed more Signs of Spring. Only 48 degrees though. No buds on trees yet- just beginnings of Daffodils and Forsythia. As Norm is driving 60 miles an hour, seeing big trucks pass us a lot, I am writing this on my laptop. Dan taught us how to use the I Phone Mobile Hot Spot to give us Internet access on the Laptop- on the highway! Norm can control the lightbulbs in lamps at home too- from our car here in West Virginia with an App on his I Phone. Isn't technology great? Sometimes.