Traveling from winter towards spring
It was remarkable how, as we headed south very early this morning from Clifton Springs, NY, just north of Albany, how we transitioned from winter towards spring.
First, there was a trace of ice of the parking lot at 6:30 am, but then rain, with surroundings still cloaked in snow and ice. The roads were full of de-icing mist, coating the windshield. Thank goodness for windshield-washer fluid. The stretch from Poughkeepsie to Scranton was still rainy, but the snow was becoming thinner.
From Scranton to Harrisburg, hmm — the roads were fine, but it was FOGGY through the mountain passes, living up to the “fog” warnings. Traffic slowed way down, and fortunately there wasn’t much. Traveling further south, it kept becoming warmer, and brighter, and by the time we got to the head of the Shenandoah Valley, it was in the upper 50’s. Lovely.
We stopped at about 4 pm having left so early, in Scranton, a delightful historic town in Virginia, where we’ve stopped before. I talked my gardening companion into staying at the historic hotel downtown, where we’d stayed before, instead of the highway-side Sleep-In, which is also nice, but....
We took advantage of the mild afternoon and walked with Woody through Sears Hill, an impressive neighborhood near our historic hotel. Wonderful. After dropping off Woody at the car (a familiar place to leave him while we had dinner), we walked through downtown and discovered the historic Wharf district (really the old railroad district) for the first time — remarkably restored and interesting. Staunton is full of quirky shops, antique stores, and artist’s galleries, as well as good restaurants. It’s a very nice mix of interesting, artistic, and food-centric culture, and certainly has an affluent underlay, supporting this diversity.
First, there was a trace of ice of the parking lot at 6:30 am, but then rain, with surroundings still cloaked in snow and ice. The roads were full of de-icing mist, coating the windshield. Thank goodness for windshield-washer fluid. The stretch from Poughkeepsie to Scranton was still rainy, but the snow was becoming thinner.
From Scranton to Harrisburg, hmm — the roads were fine, but it was FOGGY through the mountain passes, living up to the “fog” warnings. Traffic slowed way down, and fortunately there wasn’t much. Traveling further south, it kept becoming warmer, and brighter, and by the time we got to the head of the Shenandoah Valley, it was in the upper 50’s. Lovely.
We stopped at about 4 pm having left so early, in Scranton, a delightful historic town in Virginia, where we’ve stopped before. I talked my gardening companion into staying at the historic hotel downtown, where we’d stayed before, instead of the highway-side Sleep-In, which is also nice, but....
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| a venerable black walnut in Sears Hill |
We took advantage of the mild afternoon and walked with Woody through Sears Hill, an impressive neighborhood near our historic hotel. Wonderful. After dropping off Woody at the car (a familiar place to leave him while we had dinner), we walked through downtown and discovered the historic Wharf district (really the old railroad district) for the first time — remarkably restored and interesting. Staunton is full of quirky shops, antique stores, and artist’s galleries, as well as good restaurants. It’s a very nice mix of interesting, artistic, and food-centric culture, and certainly has an affluent underlay, supporting this diversity.
Since we hadn't seen the sun here for days and days until yesterday; you must be bringing it with you! Ha Ha. Staunton sounds very interesting! I love that part of the country. Welcome back to your southern home.
ReplyDeleteIt was beautiful in the Shenandoah Valley this morning; now heading through SW VA, the sky is perfectly clear. Lovely.
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