So after we left Dad and Sharon in West Virginia, we headed east towards Lexington, Virginia, where Tom’s parents have recently bought a new house. If you recall, Lexington was where Tom and I got married, so it’s always nice to visit and now we’ll be visiting there quite frequently! Tom’s parents are still in the process of doing a total remodel on the house, so they are still staying at the family farm in Goshen, which is about a half hour outside Lexington, when they are working on the house in Lexington. The new house is beautiful and I can’t wait to see it in its finished state.
We spent two days in the area. The first day, we went with Tom’s parents over to Wade’s Mill, a historical flour mill which still grinds the flour using a water wheel. Very cool. We got to meet the folks who run the place and they let us take a peek around the mill. I’d never really seen how flour was made, so it was an interesting process. One that I still don’t really understand, but that’s why they do it and not me. We spent the night at the farm, which is one of our favorite places in the world. We’ve been going there throughout our entire relationship and it holds a special place in our hearts. It’s also where we had our rehearsal dinner and we hadn’t been back since, so it was a nice place to spend a few days.
The next morning, Tom and I went for a drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway and did a hike up there as well. The leaves were all changing and it was literally a riot of color along the ridges. We hiked the Apple Orchard Falls Trail, which intersects the Appalachian Trail. It is what I call an “inside out” hike, meaning you hike downhill to your destination and then back UPHILL to get back to your car. This is not my favorite kind of hike. However, I was distracted by the pretty leaves, the rich smells of the forest that are so different from our forests here in the Pacific Northwest and by the amazingly beautiful waterfalls. So I didn’t mind the “inside out” characteristics of the hike. Too much.
After our hike, we continued to drive down the Blue Ridge Parkway to Buchanan, where we HAD to check out a swinging bridge that Tom remembered from his childhood. Now, I should include that Tom’s memory of this bridge is not a pleasant one. In fact, it terrified him. Apparently there was much crying involved the last time he had to cross this swinging bridge. When we arrivied at the bridge, I could see how it could be scary for a child. The bridge does not meet the side of the road at a 90 degree angle as it should. Instead, it does this weird slanting thing before it levels out. Truly terrifying indeed.
We stayed at the farm again that night, and in the morning we wandered around Lexington for a bit and paid a visit to my favorite bookshop of all time, The Bookery. Now, I have a thing for book stores in general, but this one is truely unique. Jam packed, wall to wall, floor to ceiling BOOKS. I mean everywhere. It’s kind of amazing. Its what I secretly wish my house looked like.
Later that afternooon we headed down the road to visit Mom and Charles in Richmond….
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